new work

'Gracious'  - a new gouache sketch -

I have just added to my shop  a small selection of gouache sketches and new embroidery work.

Fantastical Blue

 Fantastical blue - an embroidery artwork. I've been working on this piece, a little at a time, and quite intensely today. The central figure came about last week and I liked how she appeared, with those tear-dropped faces around her. A little different. So I decided this was a piece for a more experimental background. Instead of a black thread intricate backdrop, I chose this regal blue shade - it's a colour I like to use and have been using in pieces over the past few months. I like the energy of the colour and how it contrasts with black and white. When I began stitching the blue, I was a little uncertain and thank my daughter for encouraging me onward. But once I got to the halfway point, I could see it materialising and realised it was working......






the completed work

and the back of the work is quite a powerful image also, I feel - I shared an in-progress shot of the back on Flickr earlier today - but here's the completed 'back'. Usually I add a backing of felt to my work, but have decided to leave this as is, because I hope who ever enjoys this piece will enjoy seeing the reverse, or at least have the option....

This embroidery artwork, along with another piece - and a selection of gouache sketches - will be in my shop tomorrow. And also to let you there will be new paper works next week.

Hope your week is going well x

mosaic monday

1. summer of dyeing continues, 2. Taj Mahal Dreaming..., 3. Vintage pics make everything better... #renegadebrooklyn, 4. printed silk, naturally, 5. Untitled, 6. Colección visual de caligrafía, 7. painting and owls, 8. kiss on neck, 9. cushions_0287, 10. Untitled, 11. Caceria, 12. Colar c/ contas em papel e em papier maché, 13. Paper Doll Origami, 14. Untitled, 15. untitled, 16. necklace N.1, 17. Untitled, 18. Black block, 19. Yawarakai tsuno (2012) Acrylic and charcoal on Arches 300g 560x760mm, 20. Profiles

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

A Sunny Monday to you.... many thanks to all the artists, makers and photographers featured in this week's mosaic of inspiration, coming to you via my Flickr contacts. Please follow the links to discover more. 

The month of June is zooming by.... It really has been an unpredictable month, especially weather-wise, with April showers dominating last week. Let's hope for brighter skies in June's last days. Time is going by and soon it will be the school holidays, but I will be working on, happily so! I have many ideas evolving and taking shape just now (some are house shaped, some are textured with stitches....) 

 Thanks always for your comments here and elsewhere, and for taking a look at my shop. I hope to update later this week - either Thursday or Friday. I like to vary the day so will try for Thursday, but will confirm soon. I will be offering a new selection of gouache sketches and more. 

Wishing you a very bright and creative week ahead, more soon x

sepia in the garden

Recent sepia photography - here is a viola, a variety called Helen Mount or 'Johnny Jump Up'. I grew it from seed sown this spring. Violas are my favourite little flowers.






Roses never look less than interesting, even on the way out...




 busy bee on clover flowers

midsummer dreaming

midsummer dreaming - a miniature embroidery artwork

It is a busy Friday - I have completed several new artworks this week and have just updated my shop. Apologies but I have not added any new gouache sketches today, time went by so quickly over the past several days and I do not like to rush anything. There will be new gouache sketches in my shop next week.

A little about the embroidery - this piece features a figure with her dress 'embellished' with tiny dreaming faces. I am thinking perhaps the faces are emerging through her and beyond, or she has sat and stitched them for hours and hours.... The background to this piece has dancing organic patterns, inspired by medieval artwork. I love lilies in medieval artwork - one of these days I will make a piece with lilies (just writing a note to self!). The detailing in this piece is really intricate as the whole measures just 9cm by 7cm approx.  I had in mind a larger piece for this theme/title but after a few false starts I decided it wanted to be smaller - and that's just the way it goes some times. However, I have a slightly larger piece in the works right now. Don't want to say too much about it just yet - except that when ever I look at it I tell myself 'only work on this when you are absolutely focused and revved up'. It is easier to know those moments, these days, I get the itch to sit and stitch intensely, and I know that's when the work may flow....

An enjoyable time with paper and fabric and stitches this week - and much more I haven't even show you yet. Did I mention there are new mixed media dolls in my shop today?

Now I hope you will enjoy taking a look and have a very good Friday and weekend x

chairs

 

 lady of the house

 

a little waiting chair

  

dreamer chair

I have been very busy with making new things out of old books.... Here for you to see are my newest chairs. Three here and there is another one I have yet to complete - they will be in my shop tomorrow.

Each takes quite some time to build, in stages, using pages from old novels, glue and gouache paint. A chair must have its own individual personality and I like to give them names. The tallest is 'dreamer chair', at about 24cm tall. They are designed as sculptural handmade objects. They are not for sitting on - which reminds me of walking around old houses open to the public and seeing little card signs saying: 'please do not sit on the chair' and because of the sign every child visitor is so so tempted to try and see if they can just put their bottom on the seat, if only for a moment..... But please, do not attempt to sit on these chairs, or place heavy objects upon.....

I've still things to complete before tomorrow's (Friday) update. Will be sharing more soon.

mosaic monday

1. Óleo sobre madera.2012, 27 x 22 cm., 2. Diveando, 3. Untitled, 4. Iris in Tsuyu (Rainy season), 5. mini books, 6. hand study, 7. Yellow doll, 8. erotic manoeuvres in the dark - extended & on Explore, 9. Untitled, 10. Allotments, Wales, 11. A Memory, 12. Heading For Saturday, 13. flickr.com/photos/10072076@N00/7376229904/, 14. Untitled, 15. flickr.com/photos/68126097@N00/7372377798/, 16. The Land of Cockaigne II, 17. Untitled, 18. et si on allait plutôt faire un petit tour de scooter ?, 19. Fabric booklet, 20. Untitled, 21. There and Back again, Page 73, 22. 179/365, 23. Untitled, 24. Are you for real?, 25. Pigeon Girl outfit

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Another Happy Monday to you - many thanks to the artists and makers featured in this week's mosaic. Please follow links to discover more.

A bright start to the week here, though we had rain overnight. There's a lush feel to June this year. The front lawn has a confetti of rose petals from the big old shrub rose.

So this week, I have another busy one ahead of me. The plan is to complete a range of 'in progress' things and update my shop on Friday. I'll hope to share with you new chairs, new mixed media collages and dolls, embroidery, gouache sketches.... It will be an eclectic mix and something to see:)

Thanks always for your kind comments here and elsewhere. Always appreciated. Hope to share with you more pictures of new work and more, as the week goes on..... take care and have a happy, creative week ahead x

small book of sketches

 

Another smaller book of sketches - this book is simply black gouache sketches.... exploring icons and motifs, in my own way. Some of the ideas here may be translated into embroidery. And some of my recent embroidery ideas have found their way into my sketches.... I like that.

work in progress

a sepia one -I've photographed here a sample of recent monoprint drawings. I'm working on new mixed media collages - also have been busy with new chairs. It's been a busy week and the time has gone by so quickly. Hope to share more new images very soon. Until then, wishing you a good weekend x

Four Miniatures

Four miniature embroidery artworks - these are all quite small yet very detailed. They are now in my shop from today (one has sold already). The tiny-tiny faces on the coloured gowns were indeed a challenge, but I enjoyed stitching these. I particularly like the challenge of working intricately.

Also new in my shop today - a selection of my 'summer paintings' that you have been seeing over the past few weeks. And there's one in there that I had not previewed so you might like to take a look. Thank you.

mosaic monday

1. green plate, 2. ................., 3. Calmet, 4. Frida-exhibition6, 5. armadilhas, 6. rosy posy, 7. sunday's sketches, 8. world, 9. Untitled, 10. Untitled, 11. Untitled, 12. cards 2 jun 12, 13. Untitled, 14. Untitled, 15. mix-013, 16. in the midst of it all, 17. saco de retalhos, 18. 變出好心情, 19. Crochet pillow, 20. samples

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Happy Monday to you - many thanks to the artists and makers featured in this week's mosaic. Please follow each link to discover more....

We seem to be having a very wet and less-than-summery June. A week of rain is forecast and the trees are growing heavy. I think there may be small windows of sunlight, now and then, and for those I will be very grateful. There's plenty of photographing that needs to be done - as I am going to be updating my shop tomorrow - Tuesday. Expect to see a range of new art including: new miniature embroidery artworks, and a selection of new watercolour paintings, as previewed over the past few weeks.

I'm looking forward to sharing my new work with you. This week I am also continuing with projects, including new stitches and chairs.

Lots more to come - have a very good start to your week x

inspiration

Every so often I like to rearrange my space and put together a new selection of inspiration - though old favourites will stay out for longer... you may notice here, if you look carefully at the glazed box frame, I have put together some tiny sketchbooks from a few months ago, framed as a group. Somehow I like to have my own work/ideas with inspiring and beautiful images from other places. As a regular visitor to public galleries, I have collected many postcards over the years....

grandmother

 

 grandmother - watercolour & gouache

here's another recent painting - a selection of new original work (no prints, the originals) will be in my shop next Tuesday - along with some new embroidery works...... 

grandmother - is more an archetypal portrait, not an exact representation of..... I'm interested in exploring older women in my work. I think you may see them in past and future, in my embroidery and paintings/sketches. Older women can be beautiful in their energy, stories and knowledge - with their flaws, graces and memories....

Quietly - a mixed media story

 

Quietly - mixed media - a doll person and her chair

It seems every so often, when I write a list of 'things to make and try' - I put down: make a doll and a chair together. So, finally.... quietly came about over the past few days. That chair is simply inspired by my gouache sketches. It is not a perfect grand reproduction but its own quiet self. The doll person is made using hand dyed linen and cotton fabrics. She is inspired by the simplest primitive dolls you might imagine a girl or a woman might sew hundreds of years ago. She has a distinctive stuffed nose. I nicknamed her Spoon, as I was working on her, because of her longish neck. She has a gently asymmetric head and body on purpose, because I chose to draw her on fabric rather than make a pattern.

mosaic monday

1. Lunch is collected, 2. Molly dolly, 3. Retrato-Casa, 4. june 3, 5. Untitled, 6. Cygnets., 7. Fiddle Jam, 8.Huddleston Studio, Amy Huddleston, 9. Untitled, 10. Love is the satisfaction with ourselves, 11. Untitled, 12. a imitação da vida, ou a imitação da natureza - imitation of life, or the imitation of nature, 13. Untitled, 14. Peacefull studio, 15. 2 more mishima porcelain pendants #sproutstudio, 16. Staffordshire Dogs and paper blossoms, 17. may312012, 18. Untitled, 19. LittleKings06, 20. 140, 21. ., 22. sleeping together, 23. Wonder person, 24. Hey! I sent you a boat.25. Not available

Created with fd's Flickr Toy

Good Monday to you, this first Monday of June - and a bank holiday here in the UK. Many thanks always to the artists and photographers featured in this mosaic. (Apologies for the no.25 being unavailable - there appears to be some kind of glitch going on with the mosaic software.) 

It's early here and rainy. Very quiet. Even the sparrow are less chatty this morning. 

The  plan for this week is to start on a few individual ideas that have been whispering in the margins for a while and really want some attention already.  So I will hope to share more with you soon. Thanks for your recent feedback here and elsewhere - especially pleased you may have liked the new paintings I have shared so far. I'm continuing to enjoy my sepia photo series too. The sepia shots have made me consider how simplicity is important, how less is more, and so on.

I'll not be updating my shop this week, but will be updating early next. Expect to see a range of new new new. There are always new and recent things to see and thanks always for taking a look. 

Not been writing very much over at nevering lately. Despite having work published recently (thank you The Rialto) I have had a dip in my writer confidence. This may be that I simply need to not do any writing for a while because my visual work is dominating. It's not a worry, just an observation. And perhaps I do understand why I write less these days.

Anyhow, onwards - more tea required - and I hope you have a very good start to your week. More soon x

I feel pretty today

I feel pretty today - watercolour painting

another recent work - I don't often paint in this more colourful way, but now and then, I feel the green calling.... the idea for this painting came from a sketch I made some time back. the main figure with her distinctive dark hair is someone who appears in my sketchbooks now and then.

I have now a small selection of new paintings to offer in the near future.... Very recently new smaller stitched works have been happening and I am looking forward to sharing. Many ideas ahead.  But for now it is a long weekend here and am enjoying some relaxing time....