Hilary Paynter

 More wood engravings.

Bridge in Calabria   1971

  Again great use of diagonals in the compositions.

The Wall  1995

  Man-made rift between peoples. Here Hilary writes about this piece.



The Discovery of Lascaux  1977

  Inspired by the story of cave paintings found by children whilst searching for their lost dog.



Tree with a Long Memory   2003

 Here she uses the natural wood shape beautifully and echoes the rings of the tree. Cracks in the bark bite into the edges of the print.

This exhibition, just off St Paul's Square in Birmingham was well work hunting down. 

I enjoyed it very much.  

Angie Lewin   Mug with Feathers

Their detail and skill is amazing.

 Chris Daunt   Magda with Flowers

Rosamund Fowler  Flying Fish Flowers
I love the qualities of line and use of contrast in wood engravings. Original limited edition prints are for sale and affordable. One hundred and twenty three beautifully designed and crafted wood engravings currently showing at
RBSA, Birmingham
but only until 20th November.
Visit here to catch the exhibition at a gallery near you.

Tessa Farmer

Tessa Farmer's work is incredible in its intricate detail. Evil skeletal "fairies" dominate, torture, murder and devour insects, birds and small mammals. She creates another world with gruesome materials.

Seen at Birminham's Waterhall Gallery -

 Art of Ideas, The Witching Hour.

I initially overlooked the glass case holding her sculpture but further into the room was her stop motion animation film in collaboration with Sean Daniels. Here is an extract.

Seeing these creatures come to life was amazing.

See more - Tessa Farmer

Henri Riviere

I am big fan of woodcuts and the Japanese are experts of course. I recently discovered the work of french artist, Henri Riviere, who was heavily influenced by their powerful compositions.

He also painted in oils and watercolours and produced several lithographs. His restricted colour palette captures cold, wet, stormy weather perfectly .....brrrr!

As artists do, he seems to have obsessed at times - cliffs, sailing boats, the wind, tree trunks, umbrellas and something else ............. illustrated 7 times in this post. 

Some of his "Thirty Six Views of the Eiffel Tower" are a great record of life in late 19th century Paris. The tower was the tallest construction in Europe and must have made parisians feel so small with its omnipresence.

Pottery Craft

Following the Radio 4 programme 

I had to find out what the Potter Wasp's pots look like.

Lovely miniature urns!



clay kimono

I am very pleased with these colours and tones so wanted to share it. The cobalt oxide is blue where glaze touches but otherwise quite black. I like how a very thin coat of glaze creates a rust colour, which goes well with blues.

This is crank clay - with grit in it.

Next I want to venture into 3D.