On the walls

Posted on January 28, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Burslem, courtesy of, Fine Art, Life, Murals, painted onto walls, Photo, Stoke-on trent, The Leopard Hotel2 Comments

I got a couple of photos from my friend of the Arnold Bennett suite in the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. These were taken before the fire that destroyed most of the building although some walls are still standing.

People have asked if the paintings were removed when the pub closed two years ago. But they were murals. The room originally had flock wallpaper inside framed areas on the walls. When the new owners took over the pub they decided to have murals painted in there. They contacted Burslem School of Art and I was asked if I was interested. I’d painted murals and scenery before so I said yes.

The owners lined each space with lining paper and I got coloured emulsion paints to create each mural.

I think this photo in particular gives an idea of the size of the murals and how they were laid out. I hope to get more images of them so I can have an archive of them for my records.

Huge spider

Posted on January 28, 2022 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Armchair, Big, Cat, Help, House spider, huge spider, Jump, Life, SpiderLeave a comment

I just looked down because I saw something from the corner of my eye… A huge house spider was boldly walking out from under my armchair! I don’t mind spiders normally, but I jumped! My hubby gently picked up the spider… And put it on the other side of the room! They are good for catching insects. I think it had come out to look for food. It had better watch out though. I’m afraid out cats patrol for them and sometimes catch them.

Open

Posted on January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, faucet, Imagined, Life, open, Prompt, Sketching, Tap, WaterLeave a comment

Thursdays #bandofsketchers prompt was open. I didn’t know what to draw. I thought an open tap. But instead of drawing the real thing I imagined it. Using felt pens again… I need new ones!

Tabby

Posted on January 27, 2022January 28, 2022 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Cat Food, Cats, Drawing, Food, Fun, Humour, Life, Photodirector, Poem, Poetry, Sketching, tabby cat, treatsLeave a comment

She sits and stares

The tabby cat

Contemplating your face

Will you open the treats

Will you give her some biscuits

Can she have a fish?

What will you put in her dish?

Staring, hypnotic, unblinking,

This tabby cat knows what she wants!

Relaxed cat

Posted on January 27, 2022January 28, 2022 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Big cat, Black and white cat, Cat, Cat flap, Life, Photo, Relaxed, Sleeping, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

Cat next to a box of my minature paintings that I did a few years ago. He’s come in from the cold. He knocked the cat flap door off again (his tummy is too big for it sometimes). He’s not exactly fat, just big, huge, massive! You can see he’s at least as big as the box. He takes up most of a seat on our three seater settee. He is a handsome cat, with golden, yellow eyes. Such a cool character.

Farming remembered

Posted on January 27, 2022January 28, 2022 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Animals, Cow, Drawing, Ducks, Farm, farm labourer, Hubby, Lamb, Life, Memories, Sketching, Tractor, trailerLeave a comment

My hubby was brought up on farms and remembers the byres and barns of Yorkshire and Lancashire. His childhood was spent between going to school and working on farms in the summer holidays. When he was old enough he would even drive tractors. His father was a farm labourer and went from farm to farm following the seasonal work. Sometimes hubby fed cattle, other times he helped plough or harvest crops. They even raised day old chick’s in the attic of their house.

It sounds like a hard life, but an interesting one. He did this drawing of a tractor a few years ago. There are ducks, lambs and yes that’s meant to be a cow. X

My stats are booming?

Posted on January 26, 2022January 26, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blog, comments, increasing number, Life, likes, Questions, Statistics, Thinking, Views6 Comments

I’m not sure what is going on, but I’ve had a lot of views on my account. No extra likes or comments than normal. It seems strange. I don’t mind but it’s just odd. Should I be bothered?

Well I think whoever is viewing my blog isn’t that interested in it if its just one person. So that makes me question its content. Maybe I should try and work out if there are any improvements I could make?

I don’t know if I should question things like this. Maybe I’m oversensitive. I know I think too much. What do you think?

Willow pattern banner

Posted on January 25, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, banner, Design, Life, Memory, Painting, penkhull mystery plays, Potteries, Spode, Time, Willow pattern9 Comments

A banner for one of our Penkhull Mystery Plays. We hold them most summers and the one this was painted for was about the pottery industry and its history. This banner was based on the willow pattern famous in the potteries. Spode was one of the factories that made plates and pots with this design, but if you Google ‘willow pattern’ you can find lots of images from many manufacturers.

Blue acrylic paint on a canvas cloth. It took me a while to paint. I also painted the local church and methodist Hall as they would have appeared in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Brindley again

Posted on January 25, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on paper, Brindley, Canal and rivers Trust, Cauldon canal, Leaflet, Life, Navigation, Trent and mersey canalLeave a comment

In 2016, nine years after the Leopard murals, I was asked to do a series of illustrations for a leaflet about the Trent and Mersey canal and the Cauldon canal. This is of James Brindley taking measurements for the canal navigation. The image was painted in acrylics on water colour paper and was one of several paintings including Middleport pottery and the Kidsgrove canal tunnel. The leaflet was published. I don’t know if they did more than one set.

Almost midnight

Posted on January 24, 2022January 25, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Burslem, Fire, Leopard Hotel, Life, molly leigh, Mural, Painting, Stoke-on trent, Theodore Gericault, Witch2 Comments

She stands in front of her cottage. Molly Leigh, the Burslem witch. Notorious and buried in the local churchyard at 90° to the other burials. The painting is based on a peasant woman painting by Theodore Gericault.

This was one of my murals in the Leopard Hotel in Burslem. The pub burnt down at the weekend. I am bereft. I am trying to pass on my memories to keep a feeling of what it was. I painted these on the walls. Emulsion on lining paper directly onto the wall. I’ve had a few comments that they could have been taken down. I don’t think people understand what a mural is.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life