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

Variations on a theme of the Union flag, or Union Jack

We're so lucky to have such a wonderful colourful national flag and I've enjoyed making stamp collages of it using a variety of British stamps over the years.  These have been themed to include the word LOVE in the centre, large and small, using the Greetings issues, and in 2012 the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee I used more stamps featuring memorable events and icons from the Queen's 60 year reign.  All our stamps have the Queen's head, on so every stamp was appropriate for this particular version of the flag. A previous blog post gives more details about this one - complete with an acknowledgement from Buckingham Palace!
The Beatles have also been featured, with the LOVE,LOVE,LOVE  reference together with six Beatles album covers included in one of the collages.  A Christmas  flag is made up mainly of Christmas stamps!
The original flags are approximately 12 x 9 inches but canvas prints or giclee can be scaled up to any size and the most recent commission was the largest I've ever been asked to produce.

Just before Christmas I received a request all the way from Australia, from a British ex-pat working in Perth asking if I could customise one of my collages and enlarge it as big as possible and have it flown over there. He listed subjects he particularly wanted me to include, such as the Beatles, Sir Winston Churchill, a red telephone box, a guardsman, the England flag, references to Wales and the North West of England - and Mo Farrah winning his Gold Medal at the 2012 Olympics!  There is just one image which is not a stamp -that of Britpop artist, Noel Gallagher, which he particularly wished to be included, and supplied to me to fit somewhere in the design. The poppy was also chosen to be the central image.
I was very pleased with the quality of the print and the efficient service I received from my local printers in producing the canvas from my design to more than a metre in width, and the transport company who collected the parcel from my home and delivered to a very satisfied  client in Perth just 5 days later - in time for Christmas!

International Beatles Week in Liverpool 21-27 August 2013

This week is International Beatles week in Liverpool! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah - wish I was there!
I made this Beatles tribute Union Jack stamp collage flag which incorporates the 6 Beatles album cover stamps issued in 2007, along with other iconic British stamps to make up the flag.  In clockwise order from top left of flag are : Abbey Road 64p, Let it Be 72p, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1st Class, Help! 64p,  With the Beatles, Ist Class, and Revolver, 72p.  It's available as a giclee print on high quality paper at £35 (unframed)  plus P&P or as a canvas print mounted on a wooden frame at £60  Plus P & P. Both images are approximately 36 cms x 26 cms (approx A3).  E mail  markwickfamily@aol.com  for further details. Cards also available.

If you want to find out more about  International Beatles Week, have a look at their website:
bit.ly.LivBeat.   I can personally recommend the Magical Mystery tour, which I've been on twice.
It was such fun!

Rachel Markwick stamp collage cards on ebay shop

UPA (Universal Postal Auctions) now have a selection of my greetings cards on their EBay stamp  shop page.

Currently included are The Union Jack, Flag of Australia, Canada, Unicorn, Colosseum and various ships, and many more popular designs.   The stamp collage Heart card, suitable for both Valentine's day and to give as a Wedding or Birthday Card is also featured.   All cards are A5 size, with the exception of the Heart which is square, and include envelopes and are packaged and priced at £3 each plus postage.

Waterstones bookshop, Cheltenham and Costa

I now have six pictures hanging in Costa on the first floor of Waterstones bookshop in Cheltenham - opposite Cavendish House. Treat yourself to a coffee and have a look at some unusual art at the same time!
I hope the poetry fans will like to see the three ships which are Stamp Collage versions of the Quinquireme of Nineveh, the Stately Spanish Galleon and the Dirty British Coaster of the poem Cargoes by John Masefield. Each picture has the verse incorporated in the mount. As well as these there are three canvas print flags, the Union Jack (Diamond Jubilee version, with the Queen featuring in the centre), the French tricolor - Cheltenham is twinned with Annecy, and the Irish flag (see previous blog).

20% of sales will be donated to Waterstones current chosen charity, Rainbow Trust, which helps families of children suffering from Leukemia. Framed ships are £75 each and flags £70.

Diamond Jubilee Union Jack Stamp Collage

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II this year, I've updated my Union Jack stamp collage using stamps of Great Britain issued during her 60 year reign. The very first ones to appear on 6th February 1952 were definitives including the 1d blue and 2 1/2d red. Coronation stamps were issued the next year - a set of four including the 2 1/d red and 4d blue.

A set of stamps showing castles was issued in 1955 including one featured in my flag, the 10/- (10 shillings) blue depicting Edinburgh Castle. Too many stamps to mention them all, but iconic images appear including the Word Cup 1966 stamp and a later issue of 1999 showing the England Captain Bobby Moore with the trophy.That great ship, the QE2 and the first flight of Concorde, are shown on stamps issued in 1969. The Queen's portrait is printed every stamp issued by Great Britain, but there are many here also featuring special events and dates in her life. The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales also appear, and appropriately a stamp featuring the Union flag or Union Jack as it is popularly known flies next to a stamp with the Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip together.

This stamp collage is available to purchase as a canvas print size approx 30 x 40 cms priced at £70 and also as a greetings card at £3. Other sizes also available on request.

A great way to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee!

Artshape Artshop Open in Beechwood Shopping Centre

Unit 15 in Beechwood shopping centre, Cheltenham is now the Artshape Artshop until at least Saturday 5th November, with the possibility that this time may be extended.

A wonderful variety of work is on sale in the shop, made by artists and students who work for Artshape or who attend classes run by the charity. 20% of sale price will be donated to Artshape, and it's well worth supporting them. Visit http://www.artshape.co.uk/ to find out more about classes and courses run by Artshape and to see some of the work on sale.

I have several of my stamp collage canvas prints and pictures on sale, as well as cards and a couple of very eye catching A1 framed Union Jack and US Stars and Stripes posters! You can also visit my website on http://www.rachelmarkwick.com/

Union Jacks and more ...

This week-end is the start of Stroud Open Studios. My studio will be open to the public on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June, and also next week-end 18th and 19th June from 10.30 to 18.00 each day. Nearby are many other artists also with their studios open at the same times and you can view the online brochure on http://www.sitefestival.org.uk/ Click on the Open Studios brochure to get full details of the studios and directions.

This huge Union Jack will be on show in my studios.

It's an A1 high quality print taken from an original collages made entirely of British stamps. Smaller original versions of stamp collaged Union Jacks will also be on show, together with canvas prints of flags from many other nations. I will also have a wide range of greetings cards featuring my stamp collages , oil paintings and oil pastels.

Hope to see you!

Union Jack/Union Flag - Penny Red

And here's my latest Union Flag. This time it has a Penny Red in the centre and also features the Two Pence Blue. Lots of interesting stamps to discover, a bit like a "stamp search" .. Can you find .. Sir Winston Churchill, The Post Office Tower, Concorde, the QE2, Mr Punch, a Victorian Postman, a London bus, the Mini, Robert Burns and the Queen? I don't actually know how many stamps I've used here, but it was fun to make!

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.

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!