Squirrel Mischief

The artwork is Christmas related this week. I am definitely getting into the Christmas mode now. The cards are almost finished and my own are waiting to be written and posted before we have another national postal strike!!!

This is called "Unexpected" for obvious reasons. Not sure if there is a man in the background or whether the skimmer wants a kiss under the mistletoe.

A very stylised partridge in a pear tree.

This is a quick digital sketch I did last Christmas as a response to seeing a TV programme where one of the characters got fed up with all the Christmas razzmatazz. I think quite a few people look like this at the end of the festive period.

Now for some childrens' illustrations. I love browsing the charity shops for childrens' books. They are extremely cheap and have some amazing illustrations. This is from the book "The Winter Hedgehog" by Ann and Reg Cartwright. I really like the colour palatte they have used here and that gorgeous purple gallinule. This is from a blog called Childrens' Fantasy Illustrations which you can find here.

Alice and Martin Provensen are American artists who illustrated childrens' books in the main. They worked together to produce some amazing artwork and I have posted some examples below. They were a married couple and I believe she is still alive although he died in the 80s.

This is the Flickr site here where you can find the Alice and Martin Provensen group.

A book illustrated by the Provensens uploaded to Flickr by john.red who can be found here.

An illustration from Karen's Opposites illustrated by the Provensens. This is from Flickr user art.crazed who can be found here.

The cover of the childrens' book illustrated by the Provensens. I love those hens.

An illustration from The First Noel by the Provensens. You can see all the illustrations here on wardomatic blogspot.

The woods don't look like this anymore. Most of the leaves have dropped now with the incredible gales we have had for the past week. It was great looking at and walking over carpets of leaves though.

I love this necklace by Etsy seller klmjewelry. You can find her shop here. She has some lovely items. This reminds me of the tiny coloured sweets we had as children.

I was out walking in local woodland a couple of days ago and spied this cute fellow. Not a brilliant photo but he was high up in the tree. I spotted lots of squirrels scampering around in the wood. They are very easy to spot when the trees are bare of foliage.

I was quite surprised to see him start munching on the tree bark. Then I noticed the bare patches of exposed wood and realised that he, or his countless relatives, had been chewing on this tree for quite a while. I looked around and there were quite a few trees with similar bare patches.

Apparently they strip the bark to get at the sweet sap underneath but sadly leave the tree exposed to infections and possible death over a period of time. They prefer some trees to others. I am not sure what species this one is.

He seemed to be saying to me "I can eat all the bark off this tree and you cannot do anything about it...hahah". I knew squirrels could be very destructive but hadn't witnessed it first hand before. Grey squirrels get a bad press but some of it seems deserved. I hate to see trees being damaged.

I found the website of textile artist Pamela Allen quite by chance when I was looking for something else. I love her bright, contemporary quilts. They are so full of life, colour and texture. Her website is full of lots of lovely fibrey things to look at here. (You will need to click on the pictures to enlarge them to get more of the detail.)

Getting My Ducks In A Row

Wanna Bite?

3 Guinea Fowl

Some of you may be familiar with the work of artist and ceramicist Claire Loder because she has recently been seen at Origin. This is the two week contemporary craft show at Somerset House which is organised by the Crafts Council. I used to go when it was in Chelsea but I haven't visited since it has relocated. I think I will have to start visiting again.

Claire produces amazingly quirky ceramic heads and faces. She is interested in the stories faces tell and is inspired by naive and outsider art. She has a website here and a very interesting blog here with lots of her work displayed.

She's Sunny

Her Hair

Her paintings can be seen here at the Brownston Gallery in Devon.

The Great Unknown

Shelter

Absolutely love this very graphic peacock wall decal by Sally Boyle. Lovely colours and design. Sally is a graphic artist and can be found here on Etsy.

Oxaca (pronounced Wa HAH ka) is one of Mexico's poorest states but it has a folk art tradition to rival anywhere. The woodcarving men and women of the area are famous for their beautiful and exquisitely painted carvings of animals, birds and people. They are deliciously humourous and quirky and are very collectable worldwide. The book below is one I have had for many years and is full of great illustrations of the art.

Mermaids - Avelino Perez

Turkey - Moises Jiminez

The beautiful Oxacan carvings below are from the Flickr site of Teyacapan who has some amazing Mexican artifacts, pottery and textiles. Well worth a look. Also lots more of these carvings to be seen here on her site.

Virgen de Soledad

Blue Bat

Blue Eyed Fox

Oxacan Jack Rabbit

Keeping The Kitties Calm

We had Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night a few days ago when effigies of Guy Fawkes are burned on bonfires, and firework displays take place all over the country. As children we were thrilled with bonfire night and loved saving our money to buy as many fireworks as possible, but these days, sadly, I think it is just a waste of money. The fireworks are very expensive and many of them don't last very long. A large public display is the best way to see the very best fireworks. Personally, I prefer to stay at home and keep the cats company. One of them is deaf but the other finds the noise very distressing, especially the really loud bangers.

I haven't done much in the way of new artwork this week as I am still knee deep in Christmas cards. Making that is, not writing - that will be the next thing.

I thought I would draw some fallow deer instead of red deer for a change. I like their palmate antlers. We have herds of fallow deer in a forest estate a few miles away and it is good fun to drive through the area and see if you can spot the deer. It is a vast area so you are very lucky if you can get a glimpse of them. This picture is called "Sheltered".

This is Mischievous Bird which is the coloured version of the pen and ink drawing I did a while back.

Lindsey Hambleton is a Derbyshire artist who paints beautifully vibrant and colourful images of the English landscape. She builds up her paintings with textures and glazes which give a lovely sense of light. There is lots of gorgeous art on her website here (don't forget to check out the archives). She is also involved in painting scenes from an ancient trackway in Derbyshire called The Derbyshire Portway. Details of which can be found on the website also. I used to live in Derbyshire myself for a short period as a child and the scenery and landscapes of the Peak District are simply wonderful.

Cattle On The Horizon

Ilam Church

If you are like me and love a nice cup of tea, what could be more fun than making it in one of these gorgeous teapots. I think in this day and age of instant teabags in cups and mugs, the poor old teapot is losing ground. It is great to think nostalgically of times past when the teapot sat on its trivet, centre table, with its woolly hat on and the tea left to steep. Yuck...I loathe strong tea. I actually do make tea in a mug and the bag is left in for seconds before being whipped out. I still like the idea of a nice teapot though...! These pots are from Onehappystore here.

Funky Rooster Teapot

Garden Dance Teapot

Frizzle Chicken Teapot

I took a stroll past a local church the other day and took some pictures of my favourite lime trees. At least I think they are limes. They were just starting to turn a beautiful greeny, goldy, brown colour, and looked beautiful against the grey stone of the ancient building. The church dates from 1140 AD but stands on ground which was revered before that date.

I have discovered a new greetings card producer whose work I totally love. Her name is Diane Williams and she goes under the name of "Bird". You can check out her website here. She paints the most gorgeous animal and bird images in gouache and acrylic and also produces greetings cards from them. Below are the three I bought. There are lots more in the series but the shop I bought them from only carried about 6 different designs. If I had owned the shop I would have stocked them all. Diane's paintings are so beautifully delicate, colourful and detailed and each card is signed by her in pencil. The trouble is you would want to keep the cards for yourself instead of sending them to people.

I have used watercolour for years but never really tried gouache. If these are the results you can get I think I will have to start using them.

Geese

Cock Pheasant

Brown Hare

I first came across Grainne (pronounced Grawn-yuh) Morton at the Chelsea Craft Fair which is held in the in the Old Town Hall, King's Road, Chelsea. This was quite a few years ago because I haven't visited for some time now. Her intriguing metallic contemporary jewellery made quite an impact. She uses lots of miniature pieces of found and vintage items to create her beautifully designed work. Go here to find lots more jewellery and other items.

Row Of Flowers Brooch

Blue Horse Collage Brooch

Butterfly Bracelet

The two images below are the work of artist/printmaker Rosemary Farrer. Rosemary admits to being inspired by nature and it shows in the beautiful work on her website here.

First Worm

Snow In Kew Gardens

I love these cushions by Rustique Interiors. Lovely and "folky" tweed with appliqued hearts. They can be found, among other lovely items, here.

Some people will already know of the work of Elaine Pamphilon as she is well-known and represented in the UK's galleries. Her work is beautifully naive and contemporary and full of colour. She paints what she loves which is an excellent reason for painting. Much of her inspiration comes from the lovely coastal area around St. Ives. I love her spontaneous and free style of painting mugs especially, and, of course, her delightful birds. So quirky and whimsical. You can find a huge display of her work on her website here and also at the Bircham Gallery site here.

Blackbird And Berries

Mug And Spoon St. Ives

Molly Talking To The Birds

Sea Song At St. Ives

Bird