Opening night!

Posted on May 29, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Artist, Blog, Centre space, Eleanora st, Exhibition, Fine Art, Life, Painting, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent9 Comments

Thank you to everyone who came to the exhibition. I think people enjoyed it. I will be putting up more photos if I get some. These are quick snaps but I’ve included all the paintings. The people at Centre Space gallery, Darren and Sarah, could not be more helpful. If there was a trip advisor for galleries (maybe there is) I would recommend them.

If you would like to see it it’s on till Sunday from 10.30am to 4.00pm at the Centre Space gallery, at Spode Site, Eleanora street, Stoke, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 1QQ.

It’s up!

Posted on May 28, 2019May 28, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Centre space, Eleanora street, Exhibition, Fun, Life, Painting, Spode, Spode Heritage visitors centre, Stoke, Stoke-on trent5 Comments

received_1320679581414188

I’m so pleased with my exhibition which opens tomorrow. Darren and Sarah who run the Centre Space couldn’t have been more helpful.

I will post some photos of the paintings tomorrow when they are on show. I was pleased with the way the exhibition looks and the careful way that it was put up. I hope I get a few commissions out of it.

Will people understand my passion for painting green men? Or my love if planets and astronomy? My quirky ideas about earth, air, fire and water and a series of national and international animals and birds?

I hope whatever people like there will be something that will pique their interest. Like a victorian collector of curiosities I enjoy the odd, interesting, and fun.

Winkhill Mill Co

Posted on May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Cliff Vale, Drawing, Hartshill, Industrial archaeology, Industrial history, Life, Machinery, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, Swan Street, Urban Sketchers, Urban sketching, Winkhill Mill CoLeave a comment

I needed a break today from painting, so I went out with Stoke Urban Sketchers for a couple of hours this afternoon. I’m still a bit in and croaky so I couldn’t manage more than that. Thanks to Danny, Andy (hope I’ve got his name right) and Richard from Winkhill Mill for letting us have access to the building. If you wonder what the machine is I think it’s a dust press for making tiles.

I went to the Mill a few weeks ago to see an exhibition there and I drew one of the tiles, the Fox and the Crow.

Stoke has lots of hidden museums. It’s open on a Friday and I think Saturdays?

Bottle oven / pizza oven….

Posted on April 8, 2019April 8, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bottle kiln, Hotel, Life, Pizza oven, Pot bank, Pottery, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, Stoke-upon-Trent8 Comments

A replica bottle oven is growing on the grounds of Spode at the moment. It’s going to be a pizza oven at the hotel on the Spode site.

Around the other side of Spode near the Church Street side is the base of an original bottle oven which had been demolished years ago. There are very few real ovens still standing in the city. Many were knocked down or fell into disrepair over the years. Where hundreds once stood and smoke stained the city sky less than fifty are still standing and many of these are in danger of being lost to the history of the city, county, and country.

Even now buddleia and other shrubs are growing in between their bricks, pulling the ovens down in continued dereliction. Hopefully some can be conserved.

For those who don’t know bottle ovens are bottle shaped buildings containing a central kiln which the oven surrounds. Pottery was stacked inside the kiln and fired by stoking fires under the ovens with coal.

Ducks

Posted on March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Birds, Ducks, Hello, Life, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

it’s not often that you walk down the road in your local town and see a duck and a drake walking down the road in front of us. Crossing by a taxi rank. There is a river called the Trent that runs through the town, but it is in a culvert until it comes out near our local football ground.

When people say hello to each other in Stoke they say “hello duck” where in other places it might be “hello chick, or hello dearie”.

So we hope the ducks found the river or flew off to a park. I didn’t know who to contact and neither of them were injured. Just taking a walk….

Spode pots

Posted on February 20, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Elanora Street, Heritage centre, Photographs, Photography, Pottery, Spode, Stoke, Stoke-on trent2 Comments

Spode heritage Centre is closed at the moment because they are choosing photos for the 3 counties open photography exhibition. I had a quick glance as I was meeting the man in charge of the space to make arrangements for a show I’m holding there in May/June this year.

I have some paintings ready, but I might use photos from the Spode shop as inspirations for new paintings. I’ve been doing a lot of Blue and white work and the ceramics there are very striking. I also like looking through cabinets or windows to the view beyond. Using them to frame the subject.

Anyway my suggestion for today for you is “stay curious!”.

Thai-m for food

Posted on February 14, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Food, Life, Sawadee Thai taste, Stoke, Stoke-on trentLeave a comment

Well after painting all afternoon we’ve decided to go out to our favourite Thai restaurant for tea. It’s valentines day so I’m treating my hubby.

We have ordered Tom Kha (Thai soup), Gang Phed Ped Yang (roast duck curry) and pork with pac choi, plus some rice. I think that’s plenty. I imagine I will be asleep before we finish it I’m so tired! As usual the chef has sent us out extra food!

Have a lovely valentines night if you are celebrating! Might be back later.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Stoke