Packed like Sardines - Launch party of "Fish & Ships" at The Amberley Inn

A large crowd  of visitors enjoyed the launch party last week  at The Amberley Inn of Diane Young's acrylic paintings and my own stamp collages in our exhibition entitled, "Fish & Ships".

Sardines - Stamp Collage by Rachel Markwick

Sedna - Acrylic  by Diane Young

 As well as Fish collages and paintings by both artists, and collages by Rachel, featiuring many types of ships,   on show in the main dining room, there are also animal and bird paintings by Diane,  and a heart, a Union Jack and Stonehenge landscape stamp collage  by Rachel displayed in other downstairs public areas of the hotel.

The Amberley Inn, Culver Hill, Amberley, GL5 5AF (01453 872565) is located in stunning surroundings between Stroud and Nailsworth near Minchinhampton common and is a great place to stay, dine, and explore the wonderful local countryside. You are welcome to call in any time and the exhibition runs until 30th October 2017. If travelling from a distance, it would be advisable to check times just in case there is another event in the dining room.

Cotswold Essence (Summer edition) features my stamp collage work

I was delighted to be be invited to feature in Issue 39 of Cotswold Essence,  which came out at the end of May, for the June/July/August issue. It's a great free magazine which can be found in and around Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds. I've only recently become aware of this interesting and informative magazine through friends who recommended it and then just by chance Sue Smith, the editor, got in touch with me.
I've reproduced the article which appears on pages 66 and 67, and you can't find a hard copy of the magazine, you can  also read the magazine online  at www.cotswoldsessence.co.uk and click on the link for the latest issue with the pretty cover, by Gemma Dawks, a local photographer also featured in this month's issue.  So much to read in this lovely colourful magazine!

Beautiful People exhibition by Mark Amis in Stroud

I first met Mark when he was a new arrival to Stroud and took part in the annual Open Studios festival, as he will be doing again this year.  His Beautiful People exhibition is currently on at Stroud Subscription Rooms until Saturday 15th February and is well worth visiting.
His large portraits are beautifully painted and include well know personalities such as Jensen Button. Mark is pictured here between two portraits. On the right is his mother enjoying a candyfloss on a great day out at the seaside! I think she would have been very proud of Mark's portrait of her!

detail of eagle by Mark Amis 

One of my personal favourite is this eagle - one of a pair of paintings of this magnificent bird!

The Stamp Lady of Stroud - that's me!

Torbay Stamp Centre's Tim and Basia Clegg have made a series of videos on Youtube, which you can view via their website www.torbaystampcentre.co.uk.  A wonderful new angle on the hobby of stamp collecting and hoping to promote the hobby to a wider audience.  Click on the Youtube link and you can see the latest videos including The Stamp Lady of Stroud, which was filmed last week in my studio in Stroud where I make my stamp collages.   Unfortunately it was a particularly wet day and our beautiful lane was full of muddy potholes, as you'll see from the film - it's not always like this, but I often suggest people wear their wellies if they walk down here to visit at this time of year!   The Studio is open next week-end Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November from 10-5 but can be visited at other times if you get in touch beforehand.      Pictures, prints and cards, including Christmas cards will be for sale, and a warm welcome!

Lest we forget ... take a closer look at the poppies ..

It wasn't until fairly recently that I examined my poppy stamps up close with a magnifying glass and  saw so much more in the design than first meets the eye.  I wonder how many people have missed the fine detail.  So beautiful, but so sad too.

You can still buy these stamps to use on your letters in some post offices, including Stroud.  

Here comes the sun ... and it's great to get outside and paint!

I love making my stamp collages but I also love painting with oils and have a particular fondness for using oil bars, compressed oil paint in stick for. It's good to have a change and I have had quite a long break from painting so I've decided to concentrate on my other art interest for a while - especially while the sun is shining and I can get outside and look at the wonderful view we have from our home in Stroud .  Immediately in front of us is an area called The Heavens, which certainly lives up to its name.  The Horns valley is  below  and there are some wonderful walks through woodland and across streams.  On the horizon is Rodborough Common and Minchinhampton common where cattle wander freely in the Summer months. The skies are spectacular and I'm hoping for some good sunsets to paint soon! It would be great to paint outside every day, but I have a feeling I may need to get a large umbrella sometime!

This is as tidy as it gets! Open Studios in Stroud this week-end and next. See Brochure.

Tomorrow is the first day of the first Open Studios week-end in Stroud and my studio will be open to the public.  The organisers of the event always say that people like to see us as we are and not to tidy up too much, but I don't think they realise just how untidy I can be, and it would be a job to get through the door some days.  So here it is ... pictures on the walls, cards on display and prints to browse through and the kettle and coffee at the ready! Since last year, I've made quite a lot of new work including more flags, famous buildings, ships and boats and gardens, all made from stamps. I've also made a quiz for children to do. As always, looking forward to meeting new visitors as well as old friends and answering questions about my love of making stamp collages!  Hope to see you if you're in Stroud either this week-end of next, and if not, and you'd like to come over, just get in touch! Details on my contacts link page.

Art in the Stroud Valleys

There's so much going on in and around Stroud in May and over the next two week-ends many artists will be opening their studios to the public in the annual Open Studios festival.  You will see yellow and black signs all over Stroud, Bisley, Naislworth and Painswick and routes in between.  The Subscription Rooms in the middle of Stroud has a Taster exhibition where one piece of work by each artist in the Open Studios Brochure can be viewed and you can then make your choice of studios to visit. All work is displayed in the order it appears in the brochure, according to the Route it is on.  The images in the brochure are not all the same as the ones in the Taster and you can pick up a brochure from the exhibition.
Taster is open during Sub Rooms opening hours 10-5 Monday to Saturday and also on Sundays until 19th May.  Artists' studios are open on 11-12-18-19th May from 11 - 6 pm or by arrangement with the individual artists - all details in brochure.

Cleo Mussi

"There's an article you may be interested in in the Telegraph Magazine - it's called A world in Pieces, and it's about mosaics!"  My mum handed me the open magazine and I immediately recognized Stroud artist Cleo Mussi, whose work has become so well know both locally and internationally. The article mentions Cleo's Stroud studio and forthcoming exhibitions in Edinburgh, but sadly fails to mention the Select Trail preview currently on at The Museum in the Park in Stroud which includes a showcase of her work alongside textile artists and other makers including Ingrid Hesling and Jenni Dutton. Cleo Mussi's  work will also be on show at Frogmarsh Mill, South woodchester, near Stroud soon together with that of other makers.  The Select Trail and Open Studios will be taking place on the week-ends of 11-12 and 18-19 May in and around the Stroud area.  Visit both their websites on www.sitefestival.org.uk and www.sitselect.org     So much to see and do in Stroud during May, it's worth coming here for a whole week-end  or two if you don't actually live here and I have had visitors to my studio who have done just that.!      My own studio will be open to visitors on the two May week-ends mentioned, and is listed on P.14 of the yellow Open Studios brochure.(Venue 15) at The Lawn, 132 Bisley Road, Stroud.

The Art of Shorthand Exhibition by Tracy Spiers

I first met Tracy Spiers when she called in to my studio in Stroud  during an  Open Studios week-end in June 2010.  Tracy was very interested in my pictures and we chatted easily about how it had all come about, and shared our experiences of the Access course at Stroud college, which she had just started and which I had completed 10 years before.  She asked if she could come back to do a proper interview and write an article about me for a future edition of Stroud Life.   Little did I know then how talented an artist Tracy is in her own right!  A journalist of 25 years, wife and mother of five daughters, Tracy  completed the Access course and is currently doing an HND in Fine Art.

As a journalist, she has used shorthand throughout her career and this has now combined with many of the other skills and art forms she has mastered to create a fascinating body of work.  The Art of Shorthand is  at Kendrick Street Gallery in Stroud until December 31st, and you can meet Tracy on Friday December 7th at the gallery between 6 - 7.30 pm,  at Stroud's  Goodwill Evening.

Secret Artist 2012 at The Museum in the Park, Stroud

Last year I took part in the Secret Artist exhibition, and have been invited to take part again this year.
 It will take place on 17th and 18th November in Gallery 2 at the Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stroud GL5 4AF, where postcards will be on display which have been anonymously donated by established artists and students from Stroud College.  You can buy a ticket for £15 and once the exhibition has finished all will be revealed and you will be given one of the works of art from the display, according to your ticket number being matched up to one on the back of the work.  It's great fun and you may go home with a real masterpiece by a well known professional artist, and will be contributing to the worthwhile fundraising efforts towards  renovating  the walled garden in Stratford Park.   for further details : www.museuminthepark.org.uk
It's a good idea to get involved as early as possible as tickets sold out last year and many people were disappointed!

Exhibition of Stamp Collages at Pegasus Arts

Union Jacks at The Amberley Inn

My stamp collages are now hanging in the bar at The Amberley Inn, Amberley, Stroud GL5 5AF  and I'm told they're proving very popular! As it's the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, they specially asked for some Union Jacks and  framed originals, prints and canvas prints are on show in  various sizes.   All are for sale and would make great Jubilee souvenirs!    http://www.theamberleyinn.co.uk/   for directions and details of this lovely Inn.

In the restaurant  and reception area you can also see beautiful original watercolours, by local artist Jilly Cobbe, which are also for sale.  Visit her website  http://www.jillycobbe.co.uk/.

Landscape and Garden paintings by Rosemary Lewis

The variety of art on show during the Open Studios week-ends which take place every year in Stroud never ceases to amaze and surprise.  I visited Rosemary's Lewis's studio in Bisley Road  by appointment as I have my own studio open and need to be here to receive visitors, and was delighted to see beautiful acrylic, pastel and mixed media works featuring very familiar territory. The paintings of Conygre wood  are  sensitively executed and Rosemary has painted many of these in situ.  Her garden has also provided inspiration for her work which can be seen on her website http://www.rosielewis.co.uk/    Open Studios continues on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th June.  Also see venue 37, P. 21  of the Open Studios catalogue  http://www.sitefestival.org.uk/  . Catalogue gives  details of all the other artists' studios which will be open then.

Stroud Site Festival 2012

So much going on in Stroud at the moment - just wish the rain would stop though!
Site Festival 2012 opened last week-end and as I was stewarding at the Brunel Goods shed during the afternoon I was priveleged to be able to see Darren Almond's six-screen HD video Sometimes Still - shown for the first time in the UK.  This 25 minute film follows a Buddhist monk on a nightly journey through the forest, returning to the temple at dawn.  Full details in the Site Festival Programme p.04.  Last screening on Thursday 10th May 11 am to 9pm.  It's extremely dark in there, but adds to the atmosphere!  Well worth seeing.  http://www.sitefestival.org.uk/

Also a reminder that Open Studios starts this week-end with 88 artists opening their studios, in 50 different venues.  See Open Studios brochure, also accessed from same website http://www.sitefestival.org.uk/ 
My own studio is listed on Page 20, venue 35 and full directions and contact details given there if you require further information.  Studios are open from 11 am - 6pm 12th,13th,19th,20th May and may also be open at other times - contact the artists individually for other dates.

In the frame ...

I attended the  monthly Stroud Business Women's Network meeting this morning at the Old Lodge Inn. I've been a member now for a few months and it's a great place to meet others who are in business and keen to promote themselves, their products and services. 
On a rota basis, members get to "Shout about" their business and today Lesley Young gave us an interesting insight into her framing service.  Not only does she frame pictures and  photographs, but also often gets asked to frame personal items such as children's clothing and holiday souvenirs.  Luckily for me, Lesley had just completed framing my "Dispatch" stamp collage featured in my previous blog, and it was on display for all to see.  As always, the framing was perfectly in keeping with the picture and Lesley had given me her expert advice on the way she felt would enhance this particular subject, using the technique of float mounting the stamp collage which is on watercolour paper, and exposing the decaled edge of the paper. A deep spacer had been inserted to raise the glass, showing the picture off to its very best advantage. The frame is tulip wood and tones in very well with the wood effect of the ship, for which I had used  heavily postmarked US stamps portraying the Landing of Columbus.   This picture will be displayed with others in the Walking the Land exhibition called Earth.Water.Wind.Sky opening at the Old Passage Inn, Arlingham on 4th May until the end of May, and possibly beyond.
Lesley can be contacted for advice on framing by e mail on framingbylesley@hotmail.com.     

Valentine's Day - Valentine Card

With Valentine's Day fast approaching on 14th February, this pretty design made entirely from US LOVE Greetings stamps is available as a canvas print or card. Varous sizes available.

Can be ordered direct from Rachel Markwick email: markwickfamily@aol.com and can also be purchased from Made In Stroud Shop, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

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