Umbrellas

Posted on August 11, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Burslem, History, Leopard Hotel, Life, Memories, Mural, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Time2 Comments

Memory from 2017 of a mural I painted in 2007. This was at the Leopard Hotel in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. I have a strong connection with Burslem from doing a series of murals in the hotel. Who knows whether I will do anymore?

I would love to do a bit more mural painting, or scenery, or large paintings. I’m hoping if I can get my shaking arm under control I might be able to do it.

Memories are a great thing, but also they can be tinged with sadness when you think of all the things you could have done. I do wonder about the pandemic times. Could I have done more to keep my art business going? What things can I do to actually sell my work? I’m not a sales person, I’m an artist…. I don’t think I’ll ever have a USP!

Hand painted jug

Posted on August 10, 2022 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Cat, Drawing, Painting, Pottery, Sketching, Stafford Pottery, Stoke-on trent, Tortoiseshell cat2 Comments

I did this a few years ago. Living in the city of Stoke-on-Trent means there are places where you can pay to paint pottery with glazes and then collect the finished piece a week or so later. I found a place in Burslem which was about half the price of other potteries and the vase was double the size. I think it was called Stafford Pottery, its on the opposite side of the road to Burslem Town Hall. I gave the resulting jug as a Christmas gift. I usually paint cats but have been known to paint horses too… I know it’s mainly a kids thing, but it is fun.

Wall painting

Posted on August 9, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Burleigh ware, Burslem School of Art, Colour, Middleport pottery, Mural, Pottery, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Wall paintingLeave a comment

Wall in Burslem painted with the Burleigh ware pattern that is available on pottery from Middleport pottery just down the road. There was a board below it which explained more but I was in a rush so just took a photo and then had to go. This is visible outside Burslem School of Art on the wall to the right of the front doors. As you probably know I love pattern so this is right up my street. Also this colour of blue is fabulous although the pieces I own are dark red and white.

Balsa Wood models

Posted on August 9, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Balsa Wood, Burslem School of Art, Engine, Steam engine, steamers, Stoke-on trent, TrainLeave a comment

I went up to Burslem School of Art today and after looking around downstairs we went and had a look at the first floor. There was a lot of work by a local school. There were also these train engine models that had been made of balsa wood.

I don’t know their history but one has a named City of Stoke-on-Trent. If my hubby has been there he would have known what type of engine it was and who originally made it. He’s very good at recognising them.

They played jazz

Posted on August 5, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Band, Burslem School of Art, Crowd, hundreds, jazz, Life, Music, Stoke-on trent, three counties open exhibition2 Comments

At the three counties open. There was a small group of musicians playing gentle music. I think it was jazz. They were in a corner, just taking up a small space by one of the doors. Three hundred or so people milled past them, looking at pictures, photos, paintings. The band played on. I don’t think any of them were hit by out flung elbows, but it was a lucky escape! As the evening progressed more people arrived. The ‘one glass of wine’ policy seemed to be relaxed. Two hundred and more unmasked people mingled and breathed on each other… And I felt worried and anxious. I’d forgotten to take a mask. I was like a baby taking my first steps… Very nervous.

Art for sale

Posted on July 27, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, England, Etruria Industrial museum, Fine Art, Jessie Shirley's bone and flint mill, Painting, Staffordshire, Steam engine, Stoke-on trent6 Comments

I have four new paintings up for sale at Etruria Industrial Museum cafe. This is Etruria, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. This Saturday and Sunday there is a steaming weekend at the Flint mill when the Steam engine that was used to provide power to grind bone and flint to be added to clay to make fine bone china. Come along and see the working steam engine and maybe stop for a cup of tea in the café if you happen to be near Stoke on Trent.

Industrial Museum

Posted on July 26, 2022 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Etruria Industrial museum, Jessie Shirley's bone and flint mill, Painting, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Work in progressLeave a comment

Final work in progress for tomorrow. Its a painting of Jessie Shirleys Bone and flint Mill at Etruria Industrial Museum. Using a similar technique to the other three. I have been working hard on them all.

I sometimes get painting fits where I paint for days. This is one of them. I have an idea in my mind and I want to explore it. I also think it’s the influence of my illustration course I just finished. I have realised I can experiment and come up with more ideas when I’m painting.

Another idea

Posted on July 23, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bees, Butterflies, England, Exercise, Photodirector, Plants, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Walking, Westport lake, Wildflowers2 Comments

I might do a painting based on this photo that I have added texture to in the Photodirector app. The wildflowers were all in bloom at Westport Lake today. I could not identify many of them but they did make a lovely show. I managed to get a few thousand steps in for a change, I haven’t been doing enough walking recently. It is the season for bees and butterflies. We actually saw a few today.

Shards

Posted on July 23, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Mugs, Plates, pots, scattered, shards, Small lake, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, turn over club, Westport lakeLeave a comment

On our walk we came across a green metal table. There were fish and chip wrappers discarded on it at one end, but also these pottery shards, like an archaeological dig. I didn’t want to disturb them but I took a photo. If you live in Stoke-on-Trent you might look at the backstamps on the back of pottery. I just zoomed in on the mug base it has a green lion printed on it, a scroll or banner shape under that and then just about decipherable ‘Maddocks and Sons Ltd’ there were other words below I couldn’t read. People who look at the bottom of pots sometimes say they are part of the ‘turnover club’. I haven’t looked at the image much yet but I can see a dark band that would encircle a plate with a white interlinked chain on it. Perhaps these came from the waters edge? The small lake at Westport, next to the table, looks to have a lower water level than normal so they might have been scavenged from there.

My city

Posted on July 22, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Buildings, England, heritage, historic, Industrial heritage, Life, Neglected, Politics, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent3 Comments

I just wrote this reply to a local Councillor who has explained that a court case against the owner of a listed building in the city has been postponed again. The sections in brackets have been added later to explain the situation.

“Having seen the report on Midlands today (a local TV programme) about zero tolerance to owners that are letting the cities heritage deteriorate (including buildings being set on fire) I find this very disappointing. I’m also concerned about the councils proposal for Spode. (to partly demolish it and build a large amount of apartments on the site). I’ve put in an objection. The idea that places should be partly demolished goes against the cities heritage. Surely there could be sympathetic restoration like along the canal between Shelton and Etruria (two bottle ovens have been restored and incorporated into a housing scheme) or let places be rebuilt like at the black country museum? (a large industrial heritage museum in Dudley, West Midlands) Instead we get the headline of a twelve million pounds black hole in the city finances and the prospect of more cuts. Is this levelling up or just levelling the city? (levelling up is a bidding system where cities try and get funding for specific work granted by central government). I came here over forty years ago and the place just gets worse!”

It seems that industrial heritage is not wanted in thus country. We should use funds to restore buildings, but making sure they are carbon neutral, instead we seem obsessed with ‘growth’ despite the damage that can do in a world of dwindling resources.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Stoke-on trent