New Stockists

I've been trying to get my work into some new galleries and I'm very pleased to say that three I approached have said "yes".  Today I delivered a stack of tea towels to the new VK Gallery in St Ives, Cambridgeshire.  It's run by Victoria who has a great eye for design having previously managed Cambridge Contemporary Arts.  The things that caught my eye were beautiful paintings by Karen Birchwood, Nikki Monaghan and Liz Toole, plus jewellery by Jonathan Deer and ceramics by Ali Tomlin.

Today I am also sending tea towels to the Gribbin Gallery in Polkerris, Cornwall.  We visited the gallery in the summer of 2013.  It's a magical spot with a lovely selection of artwork and I hope my sea-side tea towels will be a hit.

Next week I will be sorting out some more tea towels to be sent to The Robin's Nest Gallery in Berkshire, along with a selection of my unframed prints.

Sorry You're Leaving

Here is my latest card design published by Phoenix Trading this month.  It's 6" x 6" and all the letters are embossed on glossy card.  They are are great company to design for and always send their artists some free samples.  However it could take me a while to get through these, especially as I don't have any work colleagues.

Bird themed prints

Following on from the Blackbird print, I've been working on some more Bird themed images for a forthcoming exhibition at Cambridge Contemporary Crafts, opening on 1st April.

We often have magpies in our garden, their squawking always sets the chickens off clucking even more than usual.  I know they are thuggish creatures but I love the subtle colours in their plumage.  This is an edition of ten, all are hand tinted with watercolour.

This Goldfinch was based on a photograph captured by a friend in Milton Country Park.  I often see 'charms of goldfinches' whilst out with the dog and love the way this one is so alert from it's vantage point. Editioned at just one of six, as the plate is so fragile.

I picked up these two from the framers today.  The one on the left, 'Two Birds', is based on an existing coaster design, but has been enlarged and had more detail added.  The other is called 'Cherry Pickers' and is a decorative interpretation of blackbirds stripping a cherry tree.

They are all hand-pulled drypoints using either perspex or coated cardboard plates.

Cambridge Open Studios 2015

This weekend is the deadline for completing the applications to take part in Cambridge Open Studios.  It's always a struggle selecting a single image that I hope will capture the attention of someone flicking through the yellow guide book.  How do I stand out amongst the other 250 artists and entice someone to read further and then hopefully decide to visit my studio?  The text also takes careful consideration, with only 150 characters permitted to convey concise information about my work.

I have chosen this new drypoint print depicting a blackbird about to feast on the remaining golden apples seen in Milton Country Park.  The apples use chine-collé (paper collage at the same time of printing).  A square image is the optimum size for the guide, so I have cropped the image from the rectangular original.  I hope it does the trick.

New Product - Meal Planner

Here is another new product launched by Phoenix Trading this month.  I always like receiving commissions and after several attempts at various styles, layouts and designs we settled on this.  It's magnetic so can be attached to the fridge for easy access.  There are sheets of paper to plan out meals for the week and a shopping list to buy what you need.  No excuses for not using up left-overs!

 They aren't available to buy at the moment, but if you host a Phoenix 'coffee and cards' event at your home or work-place, then it is a gift to the host (at the discretion of the Phoenix Trader).

I love all the little details and it was nice to use pen and ink combined with digital artwork for the layout and some of the colour.

This is a detail of the pattern that's on the board beneath the paper pads.

Happy New Year 2015

Wow, 2015 came around quickly, I've only just got my head around it being 2014.  I actually took some time off work over Christmas and of course I came down with a cold - that'll teach me to relax!  So back in the studio today to work on new ideas and finish off a couple of commissions.  I have reopened by Etsy shop and it's really lovely to read the nice reviews from the orders I had before Christmas.

This is a new product launched this month for Phoenix Trading.  A pack of ten 5" x 7" Thank You postcards printed on matt textured board (code: TY107), £4.50.

Wooden Decorations

Today I've uploaded a few of my hand-printed birch wood decorations onto my website.  There are only 15 of the birds and 10 of the hearts available.