Union Jacks of all sorts make a great Christmas Gift

Union Jack - Big LOVE version

The Union Jack is such a wonderful flag and I've enjoyed making several different versions with stamps for several years now.  They are very popular to give as a gift at any time of year, but if you are looking for a special Christmas gift look no further!   I'm happy to say that they have travelled the world too and been purchased by people in USA, Canada, Denmark and Australia either as canvas prints or giclee prints and in sizes from A3 to larger than A1! I've also been asked to customise them by including  particular stamps which have a special meaning for the recipient.  You can see other versions of the Union Jack as well as flags from many other nations, made with the stamps of those countries on www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk - see the  FLAGS  page.

Union Jack - Beatles Version

Union Jack with Queen Elizabeth II

This one has a smaller LOVE stamp in the centre 

LOVE - England Winners

Article in local papers to promote the Longfield Big Heart Charity auction

Thanks to Sally Bailey, on behalf of Longfield for getting in touch and interviewing me , and producing this lovely article which features in the colour magazines of this week end's  Gloucester Citizen, Gloucester Echo and Western Daily Press,  covering several counties.
I donated this original Heart stamp collage, now framed,  as I felt it was appropriate for the Big Heart Charity auction which is now live on Ebay and will finish on Thursday evening 30th November . More than 250 pieces of work have been donated by  professional and amateur artists and celebrities and will help to raise money for art therapy  at Longfield's Minchinhampton centre.  Visit
www,Longfield.org.uk and click on Big Heart 2017.
The article in full is below:

Brighten up your post! A little slower than e mail but it's lovely to receive a real letter or postcard.

Having joined in the wonderful activity of  Postcrossing.com a few years ago, which anyone can join for free,  instead of just boring brown envelopes,  I now frequently  receive  mail like this from all parts of the world and have gained some lovely regular penfriends :

I decided to get started with writing some letters to many of my overseas friends before the Christmas rush starts, and chose some pretty stamps and decorations to add to the envelopes, so my pile of post looked like this:

You don't have to stick (excuse the pun!) to the small definitive stamps to put on your letters, ask at the post office for Commemoratives (the ones with a picture of an event or historical reference.  which will always make your post look far more interesting! Zoom in on this image to see the latest stamps issued including the toys and children's story books, windmills etc.  And you can pick up interesting cards anywhere you go, and can often also find them very cheaply in Charity shops.  

Australian flag stamp collage going down under ... to the tune of Waltzing Matilda

Folklore stamps issued in 1980

My Australian stamp collage flag is bound for Australia, as a canvas print, along with three other national flag canvases.   I had great fun making this one using Australian stamps predominantly in shades of blue and red to replicate the flag, and enjoyed  including a set of 5 22c stamps issued in 1980  featuring verses fromWaltzing Matilda. This famous  song was written  by the  Australian poet Banjo Patterson and these stamps were designed by Richard Bates. You all know the words, so singl along!

A Patchwork Quilt Presented to a Stamp Collecting US President and my Stamp Collage version

Franklin D Roosevelt's Postage Stamp Quilt inspired this stamp collage piece.

Back in the 1930s, a very special quilt was made by an African American,Estella Weaver Nukes, as a gift to President Franklin D Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. Estella was a talented quilter and knew of FDR's love of Stamp Collecting so, with a team of helpers, made a huge bed cover using postage stamp sized cotton pieces.    I read about this in Kyra Hicks' book "Franklin Roosevelt's Postage Stamp Quilt" and having received a parcel of stamps from the USA containing many 6c stamps with FDRs portrait, was inspired to use these and other US stamps to make a stamp collage version!  It's a large picture and I don't often have occasion to display it easily, but it can now be seen in my latest exhibition at The Vault, George Street, Nailsworth  until 30th December 2017.  Together with Diane Young I'm  exhibiting a variety of work: Stamp Collages with subjects ranging from Flags, landscape, hearts, flowers and Quilts, and Diane is showing acrylic paintings including birds, animals, and fables. (www.dianeyoungartist.com)  The Vault is open from 12 noon until 11 pm every day.

The colours of Morocco - Mixing Pigments

By way of a change I spent a pleasant afternoon recently making some of my own oil paint from pigments purchased in a fascinating store in Marrakech.

 I'd visited the colourful Majorelle gardens where the walls  are painted in the glorious colour known as Majorelle Blue, and the pots containing cacti and other exotic plants are  in vibrant shades of red and yellow.
 I wish now that I had bought more bags of pigment but I chose these three colours only.  An online tutorial instructed me how to mix linseed oil and pigment together on a sheet of glass, combining these carefully to eliminate any air, and this took roughly half an hour.  I used the three colours to produce some small pictures of my memories of the Majorelle gardens.

 I also purchased some empty aluminium paint tubes from Jackson's Art Supplies and mix the remaining pigments to keep for future  use. 

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.

Japanese Watercolours - sale of work by Katsumi Harada in Chippenham

When we decided to go to Japan on holiday almost two years ago, I wanted to try and learn a few basic phrases in Japanese, and was very lucky to find an amazing teacher, Junko Lake, who has become a very good friend as well as continuing to teach me!  We've had some wonderful times together, and recently visited the Hokusai Exhibition at the British museum.  I learned that her late father, Katsumi Harada was a very talented artist too. She has many of his beautiful watercolour paintings which I have also seen and admired. Unable to keep all of them, as there are very many, Junko is having a sale of some of these small pictures shortly, on two separate dates.  She hopes that others will appreciate the beauty of his work and that his name will live on in this way!

Here are the details of the forthcoming sales in Chippenham:

Fish & Ships at The Amberley Inn - 1st September until 30th October 2017

Our exhibition, "Fish and Ships"  can now be seen in the main Dining Room of  The Amberley Inn, Culver Hill, Amberley, GL5 5AF Gloucestershire - tel: 01453 872565.
We have used this  catchy title as there are many  pictures of both Ships and Fish in some form or another, but there are other subjects too including animals, birds,  and hearts, and in the "snug" and on the stairs you will find a few more of Diane's acrylics, together with Rachel's large Union Jack shown below and a large collage of Stonehenge! Something for everyone! Do call in! Cards by both artists are also available to purchase in The Amberley Inn now!   Diane's work can also be seen on www.dianeyoungartist.com and Rachel's on www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk

Going round in circles - a recent commission for a stamp collage picture

I recently received a commission with just a few basic guidelines but leaving the final design to me! The recipient is a lady who loves designs featuring  circles and also loves bright colours including red and orange. I had fun with my compass playing around with circles of various sizes and then choosing stamps to fit my colour scheme! Remembering the Cosmati mosaic floors I'd seen in ancient churches in Rome, I found my holiday photos and printed out examples from those in San Giovanni Laterano, Santa Maria Cosmedin and Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Stamps lend themselves to this type of mosaic pattern and I was soon enjoying putting together the design using stamps from Belgium, France, Spain in various shades of red and orange, as well as British stamps for the grey marble - postal labels which I have also found to be useful in creating the sails on one of my recent ships! It's great to be able to find another use for this type of stamp which most people will just discard.  Not me of course!

Tall Ships

The first stamp collages I ever made featured ships and this has remained a favourite subject for me!
My website includes a ship category, showing collages currently available, as well as an archived section showing others which have been sold and now reside in many locations around the USA, Italy, UK and Singapore.  I'm always on the look out for new inspiration and the Tall Ships Festival in Gloucester Docks, provided much food for thought!

We were lucky to be able to board La Malouine,a magnificent Brig, built in Gdansk, Poland in 1972.

and also to see her sister ship Lady of Avanel which appeared in Disney's 2016 film, "Through the Looking Glass", filmed in Gloucester Docks.

The attractive Cornish Lugger, White Heather,  was also moored nearby, and we were able to walk around on deck. Built in 1926, she has recently sailed to Morocco and Brazil returning to Britain via the Caribbean. 

With her  turquoise, black and white paintwork, she is almost sure to be one I will just have to use as a subject for a picture!  Check out my website www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk in a while .. I hope to add some new ships before too long!

Open Studios Stroud - my studio in Bisley Road open on both week-ends 6-7 and 13-14 MAY

With a working studio comes a lot of mess and general untidiness and I always feel I have to sort it all out in readiness to open to the public on the Open Studios week-ends! And this is about as good as it gets!  Those in charge always say "People like to see it how it is"! but they wouldn't get through the door if I left it exactly as it usually is!  I've been busy hanging framed original stamp collages, prints and  canvas prints. Full details of access to my studio appear in the Open Studios brochure www.sva.org.uk  on page 31  and mine  is listed as venue no 21. The Lawn, 132 Bisley road, Stroud, GL5 1HL .  Please park in the main part of Bisley road as we are on a narrow lane with no additional parking places. It's short, picturesque walk along and only takes a few minutes! Black and yellow signs point the way!

My studio in Stroud will be open during Open Studios week-ends 6-7 and 13-14 May 2017

I'm looking forward to welcoming  visitors from near and far to my studio in Bisley Road, Stroud, open from 10.30 - 6 pm on both week-ends. The unmade road leading to my studio has no parking places, so please park in the main Bisley Road, near the cemetery lodge and walk the short distance along. Those who have been before will be pleased to know that this  rather rough road has recently been levelled off  slightly and potholes filled in to make walking along a little easier!

The brochure for Stroud Open Studios is now available in many local outlets as well those further afield in events venues, shops and museums, coffee shops, pubs and hotels  as well as online via   the following link   www.sva.org.uk

My studio is on Page 31 Venue No 21

Cats on stamps .. or cats made of stamps .. or in Emerald's case, Cats sitting on stamps

Whereas some philatelists collect stamps by country, some prefer to arrange their collections by theme,  and a popular one is Cats on stamps!  There are many new issues every year and I am not tempted to continue my late mum's collection although it's nice to look at them once in a while.

However, I have made a few  stamp collages on a Cat theme .. see the Cats page of my website.
This one hasn't yet made it to the website ..

Purple Iris


















My black and white cat, Emerald, has taken the theme to a whole new level ..

Latest Commission - a personalised flag of Uganda

I'm always happy to consider commissions, and the latest one was a pleasure to make! I was asked if I would  create a personalised flag of Uganda as a 70th birthday present.

 My first thought  was that it would be difficult to find enough stamps of the right colours, Black, yellow and red, from  Uganda itself, to make up the six bands on the flag.  For other stamp collage flags I've chosen only to use stamps of the country concerned.  However, I was told that this was not essential and I could use practically any stamps, but maybe keep to countries holding some significance in the life of the recipient, so that made it a bit easier!

I thoroughly enjoyed the search for elements connected with family, work and travel  in countries including Australia, New Zealand, the USA,  South Africa, Great Britain and the important connections still retained with Uganda. I was also  told he enjoys crosswords,is a fan of the Beatles, is a Capricorn, and was also born in the Chinese year of the pig! The national bird of Uganda, the crested crane,  appears in the central disc of the flag - that was probably the hardest thing to track down, but I found a stamp with one on which fitted the bill!

Now that the flag has been framed and presented at the birthday celebrations, I can also reveal a tiny secret addition, a fountain in Naples, the destination for a surprise holiday!

Other personalised commissions have included the flag of Barbados, made into a slightly larger canvas print, and a Union Jack also featuring many personally chosen themes. This was reproduced as a huge canvas print more than 1 metre wide, and sent to Australia!

If you'd like to commission a personalised flag, please get in touch!

Boring "labels" on your letters? .. Single use only?? Recycle them is what I do!!

It's quite difficult to find stamps that are predominently white so I've been hoarding these rather boring "labels" which the Post Office put on Special Delivery envelopes in anticipation that they might come in useful sometime ....

 "Single Use Only" is printed in the bottom right hand corner, but I've managed to recycle them effectively I hope,  into the sails of my latest boat.


Almost finished .. just a few  details  to add, including a crew and a flag to hoist!

Not all the animals made it into the Ark .. the stamp collage version that is!!

Noah's Ark  is now finished, I think, because  we artists tend to wonder if indeed we have actually finished ..I had thought it was finished a few days ago, until someone pointed out that I had included two King Charles's Spaniels!
 This brings me to  a dilemma I often face and that is "authenticity or artist's licence?"
 I have to say that probably the latter should win every time with my particular type of work.  But the dogs really did have to go as I agree that they are just "too modern" for the ark.  They have been replaced by a pair of Golden Palm cats .. found on a stamp issued in Sri Lanka. I hope they are suitable candidates!

Stories of sailing and the sea .. The Jolie Brise, a new stamp collage in progress

The Oxfam shop in Stroud has some great bargains! I picked up an interesting book last week called "Jolie Brise - A Tall Ship's tale" by Robin Bryer.
Briefly, she was launched in 1913 at Le Havre and was in her time a pilot boat, and carried the Royal Mail, rescued the crew of a burning ship and won the Fastnet race three times!

The very first chapter starts with a quote I love, "What people really like are stories about sailing and the sea!"  I have found this to be so true.  Over the years, I've made several stamp collages based on boats and ships of many types and although most of these have now sailed off to new homes, you can still see them on my website www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk  under the SHIPS heading!
I thought it was rather appropriate that Jolie Brise at one time carried the Royal Mail, as my version is of course made from stamps!

I hope to have the picture finished in time for the  Open Studios festival in May in which I will be taking part, opening my studio along with many others in the Stroud area on Saturday 6th - Sunday 7th and Saturday 13th - Sunday 14th  from 11 - 6 . Hope to see you!

The animals went in two by two .. or seven by seven in some cases

Noah's Ark - my latest stamp collage - is still a work in progress and proving quite challenging in so many ways.   Faced with a pile of elephants ( stamps, that is), I 'm still  unsure whether to take two African elephants or two Indian (or Asian) elephants.  You can tell the difference by the size of their ears and the African elephants' ears are the largest!

  But having found an ancient and very large and heavy Bible, published in 1848,  I discover that it would be perfectly OK to take four elephants, two of each type! Not sure that I will though, as it depends on how much space I have on my paper!!
This version of the bible story says that Noah was to take 2 of every species of clean animals, which includes Horses, sheep, Dogs and cats,  but 7 of every species of unclean animals which includes Badgers, weasels and Rats!

I love the Bible's engraving showing the size and supposed design of the ark itself,  and  the list of animals that are to be loaded on board!

 Interesting reading regarding the many species per genus .. for example there is only one type of Giraffe - so simply 2 to be included, but two types of Hyena - spotted and striped, so 4 of these! And a total of 10 bears of five different species!

Luckily I found the missing Polar bear!
Clean and unclean animals are listed separately and include 19 different species of Squirrell (two ls) so 38 altogether!  If you want to read more, I suggest you find a very old bible ..
My own interpretation will of course be just that!!

The Bible referred to here is The Catholic Family Bible with notes and illustrations by the Rev. Geo, Leo Haydock - Dublin, London and Edinburgh - A. Fullarton and Co, 1848

Where's my polar bear? Creating Noah's Ark in stamps ..

One of the most irritating things that happens when I'm making my stamp collages is losing the stamps! I have to be careful not to wear woolly jumpers which attract stamps getting caught in them, and then walking away I find a trail of stamps all over the house ..   And once I start sticking them in place, it's even worse as I usually get the glue on my fingers too and then I pick up even more little bits of stamps without intending to.

I'm in the middle of making a new piece, Noah's ark,  using stamps in various shades of brown to construct the ark itself, and I've sorted out a lovely collection of animals but there must be two of each species to be authentic .. and  I just KNOW I had two polar bears .. but where is the other one? 


You guessed!                      

Cat Postcards from Italy

During last year's week in Rome, we found these attractive postcards featuring cats wearing elaborate theatrical costumes.  There are possibly more than 12 different designs and these are some of my favourites:

Postcards are always popular but it was not easy to find anywhere to buy stamps - even a small post office I visited did not have any!  The easiest place to get stamps and know that the postal service will be reliable is the Vatican post office.  Other options are to buy  your stamps in a local Tabbacchi - small tobacconist shop or in a  general store,  

Newsagents and street kiosks  offered special  Swiss post stamps, but you can only post these in designated boxes which again, were  not  easy to find. (I later discovered that you can get a map of the box locations, but it was too late on this occasion).

So these beautiful cards, which are printed in Venice,  have been added to my growing  collection of Cat cards!  

Back CAT-alogue ..Cat Collages Take 2

Last Summer I spent time outside sketching cats.  Not real cats, although around here there is plenty of opportunity! No, these were ornamental cats, from a rather large collection which my mum had amassed over many years.

 The idea was partly to photograph and sketch them and then maybe part with them as they have rather taken over the house.. but that hasn't happened yet, although a few have been rehomed!  The next stage was to make some collages based on the sketches, but although I enjoyed making them, I wasn't quite happy with all the results, so they were in a folder for a while. Now, I have been looking at them again and also inviting criticism from family and friends. I made alterations,changed backgrounds and generally fiddled around until I was happier. Now I have a Cat category on my website www.rachelmarkwick.co.uk  where you can see some of them .. more will be added shortly. Some are entirely stamp collage, others are mixed media, using Japanese crayons, and inks.