Friday, May 29, 2009

Who Rides The Tiger

You may have noticed the Flickr gadget on the right sidebar. This is my new site to record all my drawings and artwork over the past year which I have produced for my blog. I thought it would be easier for anyone who wanted to see my work, to be able to see it all without having to go back to over a years' worth of older posts. I am still uploading them so it is not completed yet.

This was inspired by the old Chinese saying in the text. I have simply substituted the he for a she. This is an ink and watercolour drawing.
A purely digital image called A Tree To Be Proud Of. The leaves of the tree took ages to draw. I think they look a bit like a herringbone pattern.



This is a detail of my pen and ink and watercolour drawing called Sheltering The Red Birds.




And the complete drawing.

This is another Art Angel greetings card by Clare Curtis. This is called Winter Fox and is a linocut. It would make a lovely Christmas card. I love the contemporary graphic design.
This youtube song is called "My Immortal" and is beautifully sung by Gregorian. It was originally sung by Evanescence but I prefer this version.


The paintings below are by the very talented and imaginative artist Simon Garden. His work has a lovely sense of mystery and narrative, even when the people he paints are doing everyday things. You can find lots more of his artworks on his website here, and also here and here.

Copse

Blackberry

Leaf Gathering


These beautifully quirky ceramics are by Helen Martino. She has exhibited widely and is extensively collected. Many of her works display women in ordinary situations relaxing, dreaming or chatting to unseen persons, but she has quite a varied repertoire. My favourite of her pieces is the lady in the gold trousers below. Her website is here. You can also find a good selection of her work here and here.






This is one of the most beautiful blues I have ever seen. Definitely one of my favourite colours. I took this picture a couple of years ago and it achieved front page on Flickr.


Some handsome bovines I came across some time ago. I love the curiosity of cows.


Oystercatchers are always great to see in real life and in art and craft. I often use them in my own work. These cute fellows are embroidered by Amanda Wright. They are also known as "Sea Pies" which is a lovely name for them.



I love this vintage bird embroidery found at a sale by Flickr member Art Craft Thrift. I think the red bird is an American Cardinal.


I love all birds but I am particularly fond of rooks. They epitomise the English countryside for me. The sounds of them quarrelling and chatting while building their nests in the rookeries in February is an enduring sign that spring is on its way.

These images are by artist and printmaker Adrienne Peverall. Her work is varied but very much inspired by Cornwall where she lives. I have always loved her rook etchings and paintings. She gives them such character and personality. You can find some more of her images here.

And here are three of my photos of rooks. They are very wary birds and very hard to get close-ups of unless you have a long range lens. These were tempted by a bit of food.






The paintings below are all the work of Irish artist and sculptress Margaret Egan. She imparts a wonderful sense of narrative and mystery to her figurative artwork, almost as if the viewer could step into the lives of the people she paints. She is also has a great love for and talent for painting the seas around the Irish coast. Two galleries where you can find lots more of her art are Courcoux & Courcoux and Solomon Fine Art.

Ladies Day
Yellow Dress
Moment Of Happiness
After The Ball 2
I will Go On
Surrender
White Lady
The Artist
I enjoyed watching Britain's Got Talent along with a huge portion of the country. There were some really good acts. I think Susan Boyle has a beautiful voice but I think she was definitely suffering from serious nerves on the night. Apparently she has been hounded by the paps recently and for someone previously living in relative obscurity, that must be quite frightening. I am glad in a way that she didn't win. She is now well known enough to make the most of her singing but will not have the terrible stress of appearing on The Royal Variety Show. She may not agree with me of course..ha ha. I am also glad the little girl Hollie didn't win for the same reason. She seemed to be having trouble coping and I don't think her voice is strong or reliable enough for public singing at the level of TRVS. Diversity, the winners, were absolutely amazing. Incredible choreography from the leader. I think they are on a par with Flawless for great dancing but Diversity just came out with the better showing on the night. I am sure Flawless will find their dancing careers boosted though. I hope so anyway.

16 comments:

Acornmoon said...

What a lovely and varied collection of visual delights.
Your digital drawings are wonderful and unusual. I think they are very decorative and would work well on printed textiles.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I always seem to whisper "wow" at least twice whenever I see one of your delightful posts. So many pretty and inspiring things! Thank you!

~ Phyllis ~ said...

Hi Cathy.
Oh, I just loved your Riding the Tiger drawing. Very colorful. I'm not at all surprised that your lovely floral photo was featured on Flickr. It's beautiful. Thanks so much for the link to Gregorian-My Immortal. I got goose bumps listening to it. I hope I can find it on Playist to add to my blog playlist. I'm not familiar with this artist. His voice is lovely. I too am sad that Susan didn't win. I think she just wasn't prepared for all the publicity. She does have a beautiful voice. I'm sure she will get a recording contract.
Have a good week.

Cathy said...

Thanks Valerie. I love doing digital drawing but it does take forever.....!!

Cathy said...

I post them in the hope that people will be inspired, as I am, Pamela. So much incredible talent in the art and craft world.

Cathy said...

Hi Phyllis. I love that Gregorian track. It is such a beautiful tune. Try listening to the Evanescence version. It is a woman singing it but it is still really lovely.

I think in view of the news about Susan's meltdown that most people will be relieved that she didn't win. The stress would have been off the scale. I didn't think she looked at all happy or relaxed singing in the final. When we first saw her she was smiling and cheerful. Diversity look better able to handle the stress.

ArtPropelled said...

I 'm smiling at Helen Martino's ceramics and I love A Tree to be Proud of.
Poor Susan. I think you are right..winning might have been too much for her though I was so hoping she would win.

Cathy said...

Hi Robyn. I love Helen Martino's ceramic pieces too. Very witty. They think Susan may be in the Priory Clinic for several weeks. Very sad for it to have ended like this. She was so happy at the first audition.

Holly Zemak said...

Clever idea with Sheltering the Red Birds. I enjoyed Simon Gordens work and website, what a great imagination.

bunnits said...

Thanks again for sharing all the wonderful creativity, both yours and that of others. I just looked at your needlepoint designs. Wow!

Cathy said...

He certainly has Holly. I have never seen any work of his before. It is amazing how many excellent artists are generally unknown.

Cathy said...

Thanks Melissa. It is about time I got down to doing some new needlepoints. I love doing them but they do take quite a lot of time.

bunnits said...

Lol, Cathy, yes, the furries are all ours. However, technically, Pushkin, Pascal, and Stormy belong to our daughter who is at college living in the dorm and Twinkie belongs to our youngest son who is still living at home. I wonder how many will still be here when the kids actually move out?

Cathy said...

I bet you will end up with all of them still living with you Melissa and the kids popping back to see the animals when they visit you. I cannot imagine anything nicer than a house full of furry creatures...ha ha.

BeadBag said...

Cathy - love "Flora" - which would make a lovely embroidery! - and also adore the Constance Howards. All your posts a gorgeous.

Cathy said...

Thanks Shirley - I am glad everyone enjoys the art I find. There is so much lovely stuff out there.