Creative with Nature Exhibition Extended!

Hello everyone and a warm welcome to those that are new to subscribing!

Can’t believe the days are so long now and that the summer is virtually upon us; it just needs to get a little warmer and we’ll be there! Already the last six months have zipped by before I have said the word ‘kni……

I am pleased to announce that Joe from Creative with Nature, in Rochdale Road, Todmorden, has decided to extend the exhibition for another month throughout June. This is great news and, if you haven’t been already, please pay the gallery a visit. It is primarily a willow workshop/gallery and the first thing that hits you as you walk in is the fresh smell of the willow. Mmmmmmmm.

If you would like to buy artwork on line, please visit ‘shop’ here on my site. Not all the work that is at Creative with Nature is online here. So if you can, please go along to the gallery and check out all the other lovely art & craft on sale there.

From 5-7th July I shall be participating at the Hebden Bridge Open Studios, sharing artist Phinefibre, Josephine Gornall’s lovely studio space at the Birchcliffe Centre. The Birchcliffe centre was once upon a time a church. It is now partitioned off as studios and well worth a visit. Josephine’s studio has the most handsome window made of stained glass with the image of Jesus Christ looking down upon her. She is in good company and so will I be. Here is the link to find out more: http://hebdenbridgeopenstudios.org/

The Map of Todmorden I illustrated for the Water Quarter Collective is slowly being rolled out. It is great to see the map being printed in large format and displayed in various locations. There is still some more work to complete as new sponsors come along. I shall be illustrating their business fronts to be included on the map shortly.

More besides as there is a lot of exciting activity on the horizon, which I can’t talk about, so for now I’m signing off. Speak to you soon. Buckets of love.

Shameless plug - but come and visit, though!!

Creative with Nature Spring Launch

Hello everyone,

Very excited to announce that I am participating in a group show at Creative with Nature.

For this exhibition - and since I am showing at an art gallery that works with nature - I pondered upon how that would apply to me. Fortunately, the pondering didn’t last long. Thoughts soon directed me to my love of plants. I’m not very good with plants and I am not a gardener. Something about a slug war and chopping worms into two that doesn’t agree with me. House plants can get a little neglected too, yet they complement a house so much! So my answer to this problem is to paint them instead to enjoy them that way!

The exhibition launches with an event on Friday, 5th April between 6 - 8 pm and will run until the 25th May. You are invited to the event, so please come along if you around! There will be free flowing booze, nibbles as well as art to feast your eyes upon!

I will be showing my work alongside the wonderful wicker worker, Joe Gregory, as well as fantastic artists, Maria Clancy and Naomi Neale who both work in watercolour depicting nature and wildlife.

You will find Creative with Nature at 22 Rochdale Road, Todmorden. Here is the link to the website if you would like to find out more: https://www.creativewithnature.co.uk/

Hopefully see you there!

Illustrated Map of the Water Quarter, Todmorden

Very happy to preeesent!…….

Hello everyone, just like winter is a time for hibernation, I, too, have been spending the winter months in quiet contemplation, holed up in my garret, wearing layers to keep me warm with one solitary heater to keep my layers warm. Hector, our lovely german wire haired pointer cross and Youtube (so addicted, help me!) have been so very kind as to keep me company as I work. What a tough life! :)

What have I been doing all this time? Well, I have had a couple of projects on the go. The first one I’m excited tell you about now and you can see it above, it’s an Illustrated Map of the Water Quarter in Todmorden.

By now, you may have heard me relentlessly talk (or rather illustrate) about post industrial Todmorden and the breathtaking landscape. I have illustrated the buildings, the doors and mills, the woolly sheep (a common sight is seeing them on the street as they go awol), the dry stone walls and my very own Tod Map, which has proven to be a bestseller on account of the fact that Tod holds a special place in the heart of many people.

Which is why I was thrilled when I was asked to create a map for the Water Quarter Collective of the Water Quarter in Todmorden. The ‘hood is a popular and busy location in the centre of the town, intersected by the Rochdale Canal. This Water Quarter is close to the train station (Manchester is only 25 minutes away), bus routes and plenty of (free) parking. Here, you will find a vibrant, diverse, children and dog friendly community with cafés, music venues, street food, art galleries, workshops, gift shops, well-being and plenty of more besides,

And it is not just this area that will benefit. We will be starting on the reverse side of the map shortly, which will embrace the larger area, including useful information, places of interest and more info on the local business. This is also a very useful aid for when you come and visit! Please feel free to share this post or print out the map in preparation for the day you do come and visit. Come and support our local community, which has so much to offer and for everyone! Looking forward to seeing you!!

Happy 2019!!: Time to reflect

Hello everyone, happy 2019! May the new year bring health, happiness and abundance in bucket loads to you!

So, it’s resolution time and I’ve been over eating recently and am starting to cultivate a splendid double chin, so the New Year’s Res is to eat less and to eat healthy and don’t give in to my tummy that reckons it’s hungry every time it gurgles. There is enough weight on my chin to last for days without truly experiencing hunger.

My second resolution is to try my best to continue to cultivate the practice of ‘Kindness’, which the community of Todmorden has in spades (in many ways, such as the recent acquisition of kindness boxes for the homeless, where all the stuff you don’t need can be distributed to these boxes to someone who would appreciate them, this is a fantastic idea). I love this philosphy, that kindness is about being less greedy (like my food habits) and sharing around our abundance, because we all struggle and it helps to help one another.

Art wise, January is downtime as I catch up on art working and start preparing for new and exciting projects, which I will reveal in due course. The RARE exhibition at Water Street Gallery, Todmorden, continues until 27th January, so, please go and visit if you have time, there is some excellent art on display. I also need to totally rejuvenate my art room (a huge job, because I want to decorate it too), which is looking somewhat of a bomb site after the Christmas rush. Even Hector, the dog, has a hard time trying to find a spot to sit down.

I want to say a big thank you to all my customers who bought art work from me over said Christmas period when I was out and about doing the art markets. It was an absolute pleasure to meet all of you, make new connections, hear your views and news and learn and grow as I was hopping along.

Oh yes, and lastly to say that art prints of the Old Co-op, Todmorden (see pic) are now on sale at the Old Co-op for £20 each. If you are interested in a print, give me a holler or pop in there during Yakumama’s opening hours. Yakumamas, based at the Old Co-op, is a fine new restaurant selling South American vegan/vegetarian food. You should go. Food is gorgeous! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

TodConnect Art & Craft Fair and Promo Discount!

The next outing my original illustrations and artprints are gearing up to be part of, will be the TodConnect Christmas Art & Craft Fair. This event will take place this Saturday at The Old Co-op in Todmorden and starts at 10am and finishes at 4.30pm. There will be lots of delicious food on sale and fantastic eye candy to buy for all your Christmas needs. Exclusively only to this blog, if you say the promo code ‘The love it promo code’, then you will get 20% discount on all my work for sale. See you there!