New paintings and regular art updates.
My friend Eve let me used a black and white photo of a horse as the basis of this acrylic on canvas titled “Red Horse”. I had thought of doing a blue or green version too, but I think this works best. He’s certainly a character. On display at the Etruria Industrial museum in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. I think he could be one of the horses that used to haul barges along the Trent and Mersey canal.
Etruria Canal festival. Doomsday Morris dancing by the side of the junction of the Trent and Mersey canal and the Cauldon canal. I love watching them. They have a small group of musicians playing and clash sticks together as they dance. You can hear their boots stomp and the bells they wear jangle loudly. They dance in intricate patterns and whirl and twirl in convoluted ways. A brilliant display of ancient terpsichory.
“In Greek mythology, Terpsichore is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word “terpsichorean”, which means “of or relating to dance”. Terpsichore is usually depicted sitting down, holding a lyre, accompanying the dancers’ choirs with her music. Her name comes from the Greek words τέρπω and χoρός.Wikipedia”
I have some paintings up at Etruria Industrial museum. The museum is open this weekend (31st May and 1st June 2025).
Red horse. This is a painting I did a few years ago, acrylic on canvas. From a friends photograph. I had her permission to paint it.
The Canal festival has all sorts of activities including music and canal boats on display and usually morris dancing. I’m looking forward to it if the weather is OK. I might struggle to walk around but will try my best.
A cat moved into the warehouse where we held out art and craft show. It has a home in a local housing estate but I guess because the warehouse is heated it’s found a place to visit. The main problem is there is a ladder up to the loft space and on Saturday it climbed up and went to sleep!
There was a panic because they couldn’t lock up the building until it was found. Luckily someone bought some cat treats so it came down!
What have you been working on?
Nose to the grindstone
Getting ready for a small stall
At a craft fair
First one in months
I’m shattered!
Some mini paintings including abstracts, I’m trying to get some work done for a small stall at Etruria Industrial museum in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire this weekend. It’s the last steaming of the princess engine this year. I haven’t done anything for months but I finally got some miniature canvases so decided to have a go.
Drawings for the Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers group. I was sorry not to see any other urban sketchers there at Etruria today but I was just there to sing with Clay Chorus and the Boat Band. I was getting a lift there and back with someone so I couldn’t stay. First drawing, The Forge with someone sitting on the wall. The second was across the canal on the car park looking back at the festival while waiting for the Shuttle bus. Hampered by a stiff breeze and my hat blowing off twice!
Some of my tiny miniatures hung at the cafe at Etruria Industrial museum, for sale at the Etruria Canal Festival in Etruria, Stoke on Trent, this weekend, 1st and 2nd June, 2024.
For reference these paintings are about 2×3 inches.
We visited Etruria Industrial museum today. This was in the colour room in the flint mill. The room had been set up for a bit of play with clay. I tried to make a pinch pot but it wasn’t very good. The cat in the window is a paper cut out, the lady doing the workshop had a witches hat.
The industrial museum is run by volunteers and doesn’t get a lot of funding. It would be good to know it will be secure in the future, but who knows what will happen in then?
This weekend at Etruria Industrial museum, steaming the Princess engine. Pleased they’ve used my painting of it to publicise the event. (28 and 29 Oct 2023). I think the opening times are on their Facebook page.
The industrial museum includes Jessie Shirley’s bone and flint mill. The Princess engine is a beam engine that ran the belts to grind the flint in large floor pans in the adjoining building. It’s steam powered and runs by using a beam to rock up and down like a seesaw. This uses steam to push a valve down and then the vacuum created pulls it up again. I’m not an engineer, but you could come and see it running.
Etruria Industrial museum
Kilndown Close
Etruria, Stoke on Trent
Staffordshire.
(on the Trent and Mersey canal).
Mallaband-Brown