Taunton Stamp Shop also sells my cards!

Just one of the card designs now stocked by Taunton Stamp Shop.

I'm often in Taunton now as one of our daughters is at college there.  I found there is also a stamp shop in the town!   Taunton Stamp Shop,( 66 Bridge Street, Taunton TA1 1UD)  is a lovely old shop which has been run by the same family for more than 35 years.  It has a wide range of philatelic material, including a vast amount of stamps as well as accessories for stamp collectors, postcards, cigarette cards, coins  and model vehicles. They now also have some of my stamp collage greetings cards in stock, so if you're in Taunton call in and have a look around!  It's easy to find, just slightly out of the town centre and a short walk over the bridge, near the Antiques centre, which is also worth a visit.  

Christmas is coming!

Just a month away now until Christmas and every year I try to make a new Christmas card design.
My latest one has just come back from the printers and I've added it to my website.  The Christmas Wreath is this year's design and incorporates mainly stamps from Great Britain, USA and Canada.

I can't imagine quite as many robins will be eating the berries on my real Christmas wreath!

Fish exhibition at The Old Passage Inn, Arlingham

Pop over to The Old Passage Inn at Arlingham, on the banks of the River Severn for coffee or a delicious meal and see the wonderful variety of work on show.  Kel Portman has curated this exhibition of paintings, drawings, photographs, jewellery and 3D work with a Fish theme.  All work is for sale. www.artworks.eu.com/fish for a slide show.

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!

Jilly Cobbe: Artist In Residence at Nature in Art this week

Bisley  artist Jilly Cobbe is Artist in Residence at Nature in Art this week (until Sunday 11th November).  I visited her studio yesterday in the garden of this wonderful museum and art gallery at Twigworth, just north of Gloucester.  The studio was busy with visitors including a group of art students who were joining in sketching animals and birds.  There is so much to see at Nature in Art and there is also an exhibition of Wildlife Photography, with some very interesting images.   

American Flag on Stamps of USA

Help! I'm disappearing under a huge heap of stamps which a friend in USA sent me some time ago.  I've been gradually sorting them out as I'm using some designs in Stamp collages and it's always good to have another look to get inspiration.  But what a lot of them have the flag of the USA on!

It's a beautiful flag anyway and well worth it's lovely name of the Star spangled banner.  There's even a museum in Philadelphia dedicated to Betsy Ross who is said to have made the first flag, although there are various stories regarding the exact origins and designers of the flag.  I wondered just how many stamps there are featuring American flags in their various designs and having googled " US flag on American stamps"  got 4,240,000 potential images, and pleased to say that my own stamp collage design was among them!   As it's the last day of the US presidential election campaign, here it is flying again!

Stamp Collage Exhibition at Pegasus Art Shop

The Private view of my exhibition, Stamping Ground,  was well attended and original work, limited edition prints and greetings cards sold well.  Pictures still on show at the exhibition  until 20th November and some pictures  still available to buy from Pegasus Art Shop, which  is open from Monday to Saturday 9 - 5 and the address is: Pegasus Art Shop, Griffin Mill, London Road, Thrupp Gloucestershire GL5 2AZ.  

 Most of the pictures are available as cards and prints (some limited editions)  as well but  direct from me via this website/email as it's not practical for Pegasus to deal with card or unframed print  sales for my work from their shop premises.
The Colosseum shown on the poster will shortly be going to a new home, and  three ships also went sailing by!  I've also been commissioned to make a picture for a wedding present which I will enjoy doing!   It's great to meet new people at events such as this and to talk about my work and the background to how it all started.