Tea set

Posted on August 24, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Antiques, China, China clay, Clay, Design, Life, Pottery, Tea set4 Comments

Bone China tea set my friend is getting rid of. I’m going to try and find someone who wants it. I think another friend will have it.

Bone China was manufactured by potters who wanted to find a substitute for porcelain that came from China. It took several years to find a formula that produced thin, strong, translucent pots. It contained clay from the China clay quarries in Cornwall, calcined bone and flint (heated and ground to break them down into a fine powder). The bone gives off phosphorus which adds to the strength of the bone china. You end up with a material half way between pottery and glass. This fine white china was then beautifully decorated with hand painted flowers, fruit and landscapes.

I’m sure there is far more to say on this subject. But that’s enough for now.

Fish patterns,

Posted on August 24, 2020August 24, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Design, Drawing, Fish, Handwriting, Life, Pattern, Permanent markers, SketchLeave a comment

Fish drawing in permanent inks. Patterns in the water, scale patterns on the fish. I left the edges blank but I think it might look better if I add more or crop the image closer in. I do know I have a style of drawing. When you move your hands it follows a certain pattern, I sometimes try and fight the way I do things, but if I imagine something it usually comes out similar each time. Faces generally look left, three quarter faces look towards the right. Horses heads look left. I think it’s because I’m right handed? Maybe it is because I draw left to right, the same as writing?

Tree spirits

Posted on August 23, 2020August 23, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Autumn, Colour, Design, Faces, Life, Painting, People, Spirits, Tree spiritsLeave a comment

Acrylic on canvas

I keep finding old photos of paintings that I have done over the years. This was called tree spirits and went to a lovely couple who had fallen in love with it. Those that follow my blog know I love pattern and shapes. My favourite shape is the spiral. I don’t know why… But curving round and twisting, leaves shading the faces. I want to do more like this.

Clarice Cliff mural

Posted on August 22, 2020August 22, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art deco, Burslem, Ceramics, Clarice Cliff, Design, Leopard closed, Life, Mural, My murals, Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire, The Leopard Hotel, Umbrella designLeave a comment

This the mural I painted at the Leopard of Clarice Cliffs Umbrella design. It is one of several murals I did. They were painted directly onto the walls, but as the original room had several large squares and oblong of flock wallpaper surrounded by wooden framing, the owners stripped the flock paper and covered the patches with lining paper. I then painted on that. For some reason people think the pictures are painted on canvas. They will get a shock if they try and take them down. They would have to remove a layer of plaster probably too…!

42 year old etchings

Posted on August 20, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acid etching, Aquatint, Art, College, Design, Etching, Print makingLeave a comment

I was rummaging around the front bedroom where I’m doing my college work and found a sketchbook that I did when was on my foundation art course.

These are etchings, created on metal plates by painting areas with a varnish and then putting the plates in an acid bath to etch away the surface. Then to get more detail you can cover more of the plate with varnish or a wax resist. Acid bath again, rinsing it off before adding more wax or varnish. You can also use something called aquatint which gives you an interesting background. I’m remembering this from over 40 years ago. So I might not have it right. Eventually you ink up the plates and place them onto paper which you then put in a press and squash them together. These are the result.

Drawing portraits

Posted on August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Design, Drawing, Faces, How do I?, Life, Measuring, Pictures, PortraitsLeave a comment

_20200717_170656_optimized This is from a few years ago. I think it was just someone in a cafe or a pub. I don’t remember asking permission to draw him. But this is about twenty years old, so there is no reason why I would. What I like to do is draw carefully. I don’t pick my pencil up to measure, but I do look carefully. I try and get the proportions right. I look at the length of the nose, the width of the lips. The length of the hair and the shape of the person’s face. Portrait drawing and painting can be nerve wracking. But I enjoy doing it. I’m addicted to art.

Mark making

Posted on August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Creative, Design, Fun, Happy, Learning, Mark making, Poem, Poetry, SkillsLeave a comment

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Take a pencil a pen or a paintbrush

Make a mark

See what happens

Feel joy and wonder

Learn your skills

Slowly, patiently,

Or fast

Reach for your imagination.

Be creative.

Create!

Illustration books

Posted on August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Books, College, Creative, Design, Drawing, Illustration, Learning, Semiotics?, SketchingLeave a comment

I ordered three books through a well known delivery system and they have all arrived safely. Now I have to read them. They are about designers, creatives and illustrators. There is a look into unpublished sketchbooks, an introduction to semiotics and another one about illustration. (OK so I forgot what the third one I ordered was and the text is to small to read off this photo). I shall be reading them tomorrow.

Cat in garden

Posted on August 9, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Art, Begonias, Cat, Cat sculpture, Design, Fun, Garden, Life, Plants, SculptureLeave a comment

This is the cat statue I showed on this page yesterday, in situ in the garden. I’m afraid the plants have dried out a bit and wilted in this heat. I might put some new pots in front of the cat.

I think the lilies are being munched by lily beetles. They are big and bright red. They don’t have spots like ladybirds. I’m hoping they don’t do to much damage. You are supposed to squash them but I can’t do that.

Anyway, thanks to my friend again for making Esher cat. He is a real friendly face in the garden.

International cat day

Posted on August 8, 2020August 8, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Art, Blacksmith, Cat, Design, Garden, Garden sculpture, International cat day, Life, Plants, Sculpted Steel, Sculpture, Steel2 Comments

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This is the cat sculpture my friend from Sculpted Steel made for me from a sketch I drew. It’s lovely and she just shared her photo for international cat day. It cost quite a bit but it was worth every penny. It now lives in my garden with plants growing through and round it. I am very grateful to my friend for creating it for me. She is a brilliant blacksmith.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Design