Sunday 7 November 2010

Stamp Collage - Work in Progress

picture<br />of a pumpkin
I've been busy in the studio today, working on another stamp collage, a fishing boat inspired by a visit to the Musee des Terre-Neuvas et de la Peche which is a fantastic little museum in Fecamp. It has a wonderful collection of items related to sea fishing, including some beautiful paintings.



picture<br />of a pumpkinI've used my sketches and photo reference material and drawn out my image onto watercolour paper. I tend to paint the background, sky etc prior to arranging the stamps to form the image, in this case the fishing boat. Stamps which feature coastlines, fish, birds etc may also be incorporated into this seascape, but I haven't yet finalised the design. I have a large stock of stamps and over a period of time have endeavoured to sort them into some sort of order so I can find what I'm looking for fairly easily. Many are kept in stock books, arranged by country, and many of the more common British stamps are in packets according to colour, so I can use them a bit like choosing a paint colour from a palette.











picture<br />of a pumpkin
The tiny Chapel of Notre-Dame de Salut on the cliff top overlooking Fecamp was another amazing discovery containing more than 40 "ex-voto" (votive offerings) and the beautiful stained glass window.
I spent a while sketching and photographing some of the marine paintings, many of which were by an artist called Eugene Grandin.
I'm hoping to make a series of collages based on the theme of these rather primitive pictures, and have completed one featuring a red sailed fishing vessel typical of the area in the early part of the last century.






I'll update the blog when I've completed the latest picture. It can be quite time consuming cutting the stamps to size and piecing them together. One of my favourite bits is locating that special feature, such as the people who may be on deck or finding a stamp with a postmark which happens to fit in with any pattern - postmarks are often really useful to use on the rigging or for creating waves in the sea.


Saturday 30 October 2010

Exhibition at Taurus Crafts, Lydney in the Forest of Dean

My latest exhibition - Stamping Ground - starts tomorrow 31st October and runs until Sunday 5th December.

My work is on display in two separate rooms of Taurus Crafts wonderful cafe.
Oil paintings are in the main cafe area and the stamp collages are in the garden cafe area. All details are available on the link to Taurus Crafts on

www.tauruscrafts.co.uk - click on the Arts box on the top panel. The Exhibition is called Stamping Ground, due to the link with the postage stamps used in the collages!

You can also spend time looking round art and craft workshops, the gift shop and food shop. There's always something exciting going on and their programme of events will give details of the other activities on offer.

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Impressionism in Normandy

Just got back from our fortnight's holiday in Fecamp, Normandy. It's a great area for many reasons and this Summer there's an additional reason to visit the are if you're interested in the art of the Impressionists. There is an Impressionist festival and there are many exhibitions and displays around the ares.

I was lucky to be able to visit a great exhibition which continues on until 26th September 2010 at the Musee des Beaux Arts in Rouen. It's called "Une ville pour L'Impressionnisme MKonet, Pissarro et Gauguin a Roune. As well as many paintings by these artists, including (I think) 11 of Monet's paintings of Rouen Cathedral, you can discover works by lesser known artists. It was the first time I had come across the beautiful oil paintings of Charles Frechon, Joseph Delattre and Robert Antoine Pinchon.

There are other major exhibitions in Le Havre and Dieppe, but it's worth checking visiting times and dates and beware of the French lunchtime closing hours, which I'm afraid I had somehow forgotten when in these locations!

While we were in Normandy we visited Fecamp, Etretat and Yport, all towns which have Impressionist connections and many of the small shops were displaying reproductions of the artists' work alongside contemporary artists' work.

A great area for a last minute break and to take in the wonderful coastline and the Hautes Falaises (high cliffs) made famous by the Impressionists. We managed to get a very cheap ferry crossing Dover to Dunquerque with Norfolk Line for just £49 return in August for car and family of four, but did have a 3 hour drive to reach our dstination in Fecamp.

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Press coverage and Open day on Sat 7th August

As a result of the recent Open Studios festival I was interviewed by Tracy Spiers of Stroud Life and the following article appeared in today's edition of the paper.



I'm opening my studio again this Saturday 7th August from 10.30 until 6 p.m.

Also had a small piece in Stanley Gibbons stamp monthly in July. I recently made a series of Tulip collages and one of them included a stamp issued by Brazil in 1953 commemmorating an artist called Horacio Hora. As often happens to me when I'm making my collages, I go off at a tangent trying to find out more about the subject of one of the stamps I have been using! This man was obviously a very well known artist in Brazil in the early 1900s and apparently painted more than 300 paintings, but I have been unable to find out much about him, so wrote to the magazine in an attempt to get some feedback. Hoping to hear from someone, somewhere, sometime, but it hasn't happened yet! Not much on the web either and any art galleries in possession of his work seem not to have photos!



Stamp Magazine and Stamp Monthly also published articles about the Cargoes series of stamp collages in 2008.





Sunday 18 July 2010


Catching up after a busy couple of weeks. The studio is looking a bit more like it's normal untidy self after the transformation for Open Studios, and I've been making more cards to take into Made in Stroud, and now also my new contact, M.A.D.E., a shop I've recently found in Cirencester.
Lots of interest in the Stamp collages and the canvas prints of the Union Jack and Stars and Stripes are now available to buy through both these great shops. Made in Stroud shop in Kendrick Street, Stroud,is a wonderful place to visit, with a wide variety of wonderful items made by local artists and craftspeople. The stock is ever changing and includes greetings cards, postcards, prints and pictures, soaps, ceramics, wooden utensils, textiles, books and many more exciting things.
I recently discovered M.A.D.E. (Makers and Designers Emporium) at 9 Silver Street, (www.made-gallery.com) and it's another lovely little gem of a shop well worth a visit next time you're in Cirencester.
Had a great day out visiting my eldest daughter who's just moved to Bristol, only to find that there's a collectors shop near where she lives! Came home with two large bags of stamps on paper which have taken me days to sort out and soak ready to be
turned into collages at some stage when inspiration strikes! I have to say that many of them are recent GB stamps which I have now put into my own collection, which had been slightly neglected over the last few years, so any stamp collectors will be relieved to know that I do have great respect for the hobby of philately as well as putting the more common items to good use in my collages!

Here is a, hopefully, slighly better reproduction of the Union Jack "Love" Canvas print, mentioned above.

Sunday 20 June 2010

Stamp collages were a great talking point

The last two week-ends have been so busy! My studio was part of the Site 10 Open Studios event and people came from far and wide to visit.
There are several studios in the Bisley Road area of Stroud and it makes a great circuit for people to see several artists during the course of one day, and our work is all so different that we're not really in competition with each other, rather providing a great variety of experiences for the public. As the event is over two week-ends it is possible to visit many other studios in other parts of Stroud and surrounding villages too.

This year I have been showing new work which has been produced mainly over the last two years - stamp collages. Subjects include Tulips, an owl, cats, Ships, Peacock and Gaudi mosaic designs. Stamp Collage Union Jacks and the US Flag, Stars and Stripes and the Dove of Peace caused much interest.(Postage stamps are used to create the pictures as opposed to rubber stamps!)Visitors were clearly amazed at the unique use of stamps, and my slight concern about adverse reactions from any philatelists were needless. A lifelong stamp collector, and journalist, all the way from the USA, visited my studio and was fascinated with my work, so much so that he is planning a piece for inclusion in an American Stamp magazine.
I have much enjoyed hearing stories and memories connected with stamps, mainly from adults. However, two very young visitors also enjoyed doing a "Stamp Search" I had devised to help them to look closely at the work. I think their parents had fun with it too!

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Art is a lie that tells the truth

This morning I had the pleasure of stewarding the Drawing show in Stroud Subscription rooms. It was a great opportunity for me to spend some time looking at the work of other artists taking part in the Stroud Site 10 Festival. Michelle Ohlson and Kerry Phippen have done a great job in putting together an interesting and though provoking selection of work by local artists. I found the piece by Carlos Ordonez particularly moving and was glad that I was able to watch the slide projection through several times. (It takes just a few minutes). Other visitors to the show were very appreciative of the explanations provided by the artists which are available to view in the sub rooms, and I would encourage others to go along to see this exhibition. It is on until 30th June. Monday - Sat. 10-5 pm and Sunday 20th only 10 - 4.
If visiting on 19th or 20th June, why not visit other Open Studios artists in Stroud and make a great day out? Brochures are available online. www.sva.org.uk

Saturday 12 June 2010

"Dove of Peace" stamp collage canvas print


The dove has become known as a symbol of world peace, and appropriately my stamp collage includes postage stamps from all over the world.

It would be great to think all of these countries could exist in harmony with each other.

"U.S Flag" stamp collage canvas print


This beautiful canvas print is taken from the original stamp collage, using mainly US postage stamps, in the colours of the Stars and Stripes- red, white, and blue.

"Love" Union Jack canvas print


Approx. A3 size, slightly smaller.

Hello!

I'm totally new to this whole blog business, but I've had such a great reaction to my work, which I'm currently exhibiting at site 10 Open Studios Festival, at my studio at my home in Stroud, that I decided to take the plunge and set up my own blog.

I'll be uploading photos of my most recent work. If you see anything that takes your fancy, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Stroud Open Studios is running this weekend, 12th and 13th of June 2010, and also 19th and 20th June.