Coffee pot

Posted on July 4, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 1950's, Coffee, coffee and tea set, Coffee pot, Decorated, Dragon, Life, Photo, Pottery, Time, wedding present3 Comments

A coffee pot decorated with a dragon. My parents got this tea and coffee set for their wedding in the 1950’s. It was rarely used and was mostly stored in a glass fronted cabinet in the parlour or ‘best room’. Considering we were a large family the room wasn’t used except for Christmas and sometimes birthdays. That is why the coffee and tea set survived I think! I guess the set wasn’t that old because some of the decorations are done with what looks like an air brush, the colours look sprayed on, not painted on parts of the body of the pot.

Growling!

Posted on July 2, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Dragon, Fed up, Pottery, saucer, stomach, Tired, unwellLeave a comment

I’m trying to find a gentle way of explaining how I am feeling today. My stomach is growling like a dragon in a bowl!

I don’t know what caused it, but I did put some slightly ‘off’ milk on my porridge a couple of days ago because I thought it tasted OK. One of the problems of losing my sense of smell several years ago means my taste perception is not very good. For instance I can’t smell burnt toast. And I wish I could smell the scent of night scented stock. Its so long since I really smelt flowers properly….

Anyway, I’m babbling on, ignore me! Stomach cramps make me feel fed up (pun intended). Hope the dragon calms down soon, I think I will have a nap.

Winkhill Mill

Posted on June 23, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Ceramics, Industry, Life, Pandemic, Photo, Pottery, pottery history, Sunset, Winkhill MillLeave a comment

I haven’t been back to Winkhill Mill in Stoke for a few years. When I did it was a thriving pottery making artistic tiles or other ceramics. I went to an exhibition about Minton tiles there. I do wonder if it’s still working after the pandemic. I was pleased with this photo that I took as the sun was starting to set.

Falcon Works painting.

Posted on May 31, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Autumn, Fine Art, Goss works, Landscape, Life, Painting, PotteryLeave a comment

This is another of the paintings I will be exhibiting/for sale in Stone. Its the derelict pottery in a nearby street. This is the main factory. To the left of it are two bottle ovens (which were used to fire pottery in the past). The process eventually became gas fired and many of the old kilns were closed and fell into ruins. I think only thirty two of the many hundreds that were in Stoke-on-Trent are now left, and only a few of those have been restored or repaired.

The reason I painted this is that I wanted to include the Falcon plaque on the end of the building. It actually depicts a Goss Hawk and I think the pottery is actually called the Goss Works. Others know the history better than I do.

Dereliction

Posted on May 10, 2022May 10, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Canal, Dereliction, History, Industry, levelling up, Photo, Pottery, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

I was listening to the Queens’ Speech today (the state opening of Parliament). The government announced that they would be trying to do something about the cost of living and ‘levelling up’, spending on improving the country across the UK. But it never seems to happen. Seeing our once industrial city collapsing in ruins, losing historic buildings. Being overcome by the cost of energy so that factories and shops cannot afford to run. Yes we need to reduce our use of energy, but there seems little effort to do anything about it. Our government are talking about bringing back fracking and opening new oil and gas wells. Yes it is complex, but after twelve years in power we don’t seem to be getting a good result.

Dereliction of duty?

New WIP

Posted on April 25, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, dragon coffee set, Painting, Pottery, Still life, Work in progressLeave a comment

I’ve started painting the saucer to the dragon coffee set that I photographed at the weekend. I’m gradually building it up as it’s very complex and I want to make sure I position the details as well as I can. I’m also struggling to get the effect of air brushing that is on the pottery. That will be difficult.

Dragon pot

Posted on April 23, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged air brush?, Art, art pottery, Colours, Decoration, Design, Dragon, Foreign, Pottery, raised decoration5 Comments

Part of a coffee pot that just has foreign stamped on the base. It has raised decoration of a dragon on it. I am not sure how old it is and whether it is Chinese or Japanese. Its a delicate design and it arrived wrapped in bubble wrap and it has gone back to its home the same way. I guess some of the design is airbrushed on, but that might mean it is more modern than I think it is. It would be interestingvto find out.

Tea for two

Posted on April 16, 2022 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Challenge, Digital drawing, Drawing, From a photo, Potteries, Pottery, Sketchfu, Sketching, Stoke-on trent, Tea set2 Comments

Another of my Sketchfu digital drawings. One of the things was a challenge to copy a photo just by drawing it. I think that’s what this one was. I wish I knew which pottery made the tea service. X

Falcon Works

Posted on March 10, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged collapsed, Falcon pottery, Goss works, History, Industrial archaeology, Penkhull, Pottery, roof damage, Sad, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

The derelict Goss Falcon Works at the back of Portmeirion pottery. (I hope I’ve got this right). You can’t see from here but part of the roof has collapsed at the other end of the building. You can see it from Penkhull New Road but I couldn’t get a close enough view to get a good photo. The city of Stoke-on-Trent that I live in is becoming more derelict. History is being forgotten or neglected. So sad.

WIP a while ago

Posted on February 18, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Ceramic, Fine Art, Painting, Pottery, Sad, Shaking, Work in progress4 Comments

Before my arm started shaking I was doing paintings like this. (for the last year and a half or so my left arm has been gradually getting worse with increased shaking ) Then I had to see the doctor and mentioned the problem. He said it was above his pay grade! I am waiting for tests. The thing is that art and particularly painting mean everything to me. I don’t know if lockdowns have knocked my confidence? Plus illness gets to you. Making it more difficult to complete work. I’ve got myself into a situation where I will do quick pictures and sketches, but I feel nervous of doing anything more substantial. I don’t usually talk about how I feel mentally, but I’m feeling down today. I will probably be OK tomorrow?

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Pottery