Unicorns

The Unicorn stamp collage recently finished has been a work in progress for some time!
My version of this mythical beast was inspired by a suggestion from a customer who had bought work from me some years ago, and who is an "authority on Unicorns"  having written a children's book about one, and told me that they have characteristics of many animals combined, including the horse, and the goat, with cloven hooves and a lion's tail.

The beautiful tapestry series in the Musee de Cluny in Paris, la Dame a la licorne (the lady and the unicorn) has a mille fleurs background (a thousand flowers), suggesting the unicorn is in a green forest, and I have tried to recreate this setting using stamps which are predominantly green and including flora and fauna.    The original picture will be included in my forthcoming exhibition at Pegasus Arts, Thrupp, Stroud,  Gloucestershire in November. Prints and cards are also available.    

French Flag - Version 2 including Hector Berlioz

A second version of the French flag is now available. So many beautiful stamps have been issued and the history and landscapes of France as well as the art and culture make up this stamp collage.

Included are stamps commemmorating Hector Berlioz, composer of the music of the French national anthem, the Marseillaise, the writer Louise Michel, Louis Braille inventor of the Braille system for blind readers, and the philosopher Pascal. Art stamps featured include Jean Clouet's painting of Francois I and two tapestries of very different styles, the Lady and the Unicorn showing one of the series of tapestries in the Musee de Cluny in Paris, and a modern tapestry by Lurcat. Cathedrals, chateaux, coats of arms and the Marianne definitives also feature.