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Welcome into 2016. I am a little late to raise a glass with you as  I have been working like a beaver to get these two pieces finished for an upcoming spring exhibition with the South East England Embroiders Guild. … Continued

Back in the UK, I enjoy thoughts of the mountains of  my British Columbia home. This little piece of encaustic art was a playful way of remembering. It was created with the oil/wax sticks of encaustic and applied with an … Continued

I have just completed the commission for my dear neighbour, Judi who loves textile art. It is rare to find people who appreciate the extensive time needed to complete art on fabric and wish for it to hang on their … Continued

It has been some time since I wrote about this commission. A family wedding and travel in Canada has kept us busy. I was given a colourful whimsical card by Judi. my neighbour as a inspiration not to be copied. … Continued

I have a commission to make one of my stitched paintings. My neighbor in Canada loves the Yorkshire dales and their dry stone walls in the UK. She has asked me toi do a piece for her with this subject. Fortunately … Continued

What a treat to be on a one week oil painting course with my favorite instructor,  Martin Kinnear and a jolly group of nine other artists. Martin and his assistants have us roaming the hills and beaches of this beautiful … Continued

“NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A GROUP – A COLLECTIVE ETHOS PUSHES IDEAS FORWARD” – S.C. Ceramicist This was the quote that welcomed us to the four day summer school with the Textile Study Group. Our instructor was Mary Sleigh … Continued

Recently we had the pleasure of visiting the Champahne District in France. Now I know that Champagne is a title restricted to just those vinyards in the Champange District but had no idea on the depth of history surrounding it. … Continued

In our recent holiday to France, we were taken by our friends Eve and Dave to Reims to see their magnificent 12th century  Notre-Dame Cathedral. It has a wonderful panel of stained glass windows by the 20th century impressionist painter, … Continued

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to France. I have had a visit to Monet’s garden on my bucket list for years and it sure didn’t disappoint. Wow is all I can say. I can see why he … Continued

The embroiders guild held their exhibition  involving the guilds in the SE England yesterday. Along with many sales booths to tempt, there was the judging of the Alice in Wonderland competition held between the clubs. Our Brighton Club was awarded … Continued

Kathy Anne Whites column of june 2015 had an excellent quote from the blog on ArtsyShark by Caroline Edlund. It concerned the topic many artists struggle  with in finding their own voice. I found this enlightening and aspirational. I hope … Continued

Recently i had the pleasure of reading an article about self critiquing ones art by Susan Purney Marks. She included several articles which i found very helpful and will repeat below. We often wish for feedback on a piece of … Continued

I am delighted to announce that the traveling Canadian Textile Art show with the Surface Design Association is coming to Alberta and BC next year. At present it is traveling in Ontario and then to Newfoundland in the fall.  Many … Continued

A visit to the Royal Albert Hall has been on my bucket list for some time. I took advantage to see a wonderful dance theater production of the Follies which was only being shown for one day with two shows. … Continued

My sisters and I enjoyed a few days in La Connar, Washington’s tulip festival which was so colorful and stunning. It is an inspiration for art. Unfortunately when we got back home here in Vancouver, we discovered that my email … Continued

We recently returned from a one week holiday trip to Las Vegas in the company of my sister Pat and brother in law Gord who acted as our tour guides. My husband had never experienced the place and was blown … Continued

Here we are having s warm sunny break in Tenerife on the Canary Islands which is just off the coast of Africa at 23 degrees from the equator for you folks who may wonder. I had no idea of these … Continued

A few days ago I treated myself with a trip to the Knitting and Stitching show at the very impressive and huge Alexander Palace in London.  This yearly show is absolutely packed with impressive displays of contemporary textile works from … Continued

Having goals in life gives you something to strive for, to look forward to each morning and to celebrate once these are achieved. The goals can vary from losing weight, which is a perpetual one with me, to learning new … Continued

I have a few pieces including oils, encaustics and textiles,  going into a show at the Paul Badham Gallery in Haywards Heath in East Sussex, UK. The opening is October 4th at noon which should be fun. All are welcome. 

Today I enjoyed a at the regency house in Brighton on silhouettes which were all the rage in regency times. We were shown two machine used in past times to help produce these lovely pieces. They were also painted as … Continued

Since my last blog, we traveled later then usual to Canada due to the death of my father in law. We traveled to the Calgary Stampede for pre booked events with friends from England after which I attended the encaustic … Continued

Recently I spent a lovely day with two girlfriends looking at the magnificent Chagall stained glass windows  in the wee little All Saints Church located in the middle of the beautiful Kent countryside. We were the only ones there so we were able … Continued

It is now the calm before the storm with the opening of the Brighton Festival Artist Open Houses which I am in. This is a huge month long event during the year and a busy one for artists. I was … Continued

Wow, turners seas are so dramatic and full of action. On the 15th my husband and I visited the show, Turner and the Sea at Greenwich. It had mainly his large oils which gave me goose bumps. The energy that … Continued

On April 5th I had the pleasure of presenting my Paper, Paint and Stitch workshop at Leslie Irving’s Studio in Chewton Mendip, Sommerset. What a fun group of textile artists attended. Leslie spoiled us with an amazing lunch. Her studio … Continued

Yesterday I meandered my way through the trains and tubes to the Excel Centre in east London to attend the Creative Stiches and Hobbycraft show. I was there to help fellow textile artist Bobby Britnell in her booth which was … Continued

I am just completing a three day oil painting course with a wonderful teacher and artist, Martin Kinnear. It is on abstraction with oil painting. My brain is stuffed full of his teachings. While staying at his old studio which … Continued

As an artist, we appreciate the power of great design in our work. It just makes things so much more successful be it a piece of art or equipment. My husband and I just purchased two folding Bromton bikes and … Continued

In my previous post, the picture of my painting did not transfer and being less then capable of fixing it, I will just add the picture of the painting here. A fees weeks ago I was travelling home on the … Continued

I have been assisting Tina Stiles with the organising of the BHAC art show which will take place April 8-12, 2014. There is much to be done for such a large show. I was pleased that the committee chose my … Continued

Earlier this month I spent a splendid day with textile friend Donna Jones viewing the 80’s fashion retrospective show called Club to Catwalk. We also took in the lovely the pearl show. Seeing two in one day kept us on … Continued

A couple of days ago I had the pleasure of celebrating the 72nd birthday of my friend Carol Cleveland. For those who don’t know Carol, she was and is the only female member of the Monty Python group, Carol is listed … Continued

Spending a day teaching others in new ways to work with  textiles can be both educationsl and inspiring. That is what happened this last Saturday when I taught a group of ladies from the Brighton Embroiders Guild. We spent the … Continued

As part of my series, Painting the Masters, I have just completed this picture which was inspired by Millet’s  Angelus. This is part of a series under the able direction of Martin Kinnear, oil painter and teacher in Norfolk, UK. … Continued

When it doesn’t rain, it pours! I have been fortunate enough to be involved in not one but two textile shows in BC which will show concurrently. I helped to hang both shows. The first one was at the Kay … Continued

Norfolk painting school teaches an on line instruction from oil painting master painter, Martin Kennard. He teaches painting the way of the old masters. I have just completed my study of the Turner painting on the Burning of the Houses … Continued

August has rolled around again with the art group I belong to having their annual show. For those of you who wander into a gallery or an art show, little do you possibly appreciate the time and work it takes … Continued

From July 22nd to July 26th I had the pleasure in attending the Textile Study Group’s summer school which was held at Harper Adams University in Schropshire, UK. The theme of the summer school was ‘Breaking Boundaries’. There were three … Continued

On July 13 gave a workshop sponsored by the Brighton embroiders guild here in Patcham. It was so much fun teaching a group of enthusiastic and talented stitchers how to paint on watercolor paper, bond it to calico and stitch … Continued

On Saturday the 15th Brighton and Hove celebrated People’s day with dozens of organisations and groups performing or displaying their organisations, works and talents. Thousands attended with kids playing in the makeshift playgrounds, food courts busily selling all sorts of … Continued

On may 28th I visited the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace to see the wonderful show called ‘the Art of Tutor and Stuart Fashion. It is a stunning exhibition of paintings of glorious clothing and textiles as well as actual pieces … Continued

On May 23rd I drove with a friend to the Horsham Quilters Guild day to listen to a talk by Jan Beany, one of the two artists known as Double Trouble. These two artists have over 20 books to their … Continued

On May 18th I helped with a workshop at Ascention arts which is part of the Brighton and Hove Fringe Festival. It involved working with 6-14 year old children from the young embroiders group as well as local children. I … Continued

A delightful yearly gathering of my three sisters included a theatre weekend in London and tours of the cities treasures. After a delightful lunch with our husbands and the Van der Welle’s, it culminated with the four of us fitting … Continued

After a very busy time in BC which ended with a super trip to the Sechelt meeting of the surface design group, we are back in Brighton. Having survived a week of jet lag, we went to the opening of … Continued

Our local art store chain has a series of free demos using many types of art processes. To my delight, I saw that Catherine was listed as one of the presenters on march 23rd and immediately signed up. Catherine is … Continued

On march 18th I drove down to the lovely La Conner area of Washington, just south of our White Rock home in order to pick up my piece of art which was shown at the recent successful show of students … Continued

We are here at our Canadian home in White Rock. Although it has been a wet spring here, there have been sunny days as week. This morning walk along the ocean front was a delight. I so enjoyed the sun … Continued

I attended a wonderful presentation of Valentino, Master of Couture at the Somerset House, London on February 12th. What a wonderful display of his beautiful gowns which were designed over the past 40+ years. So many famous people wore his … Continued

The Cutting Edge Art Group is having a show at the Squamish library foyer gallery in British Columbia from February 5th to march 4th. It is called Read on Red. I have a piece in it which is also featured … Continued

On this sunny day, I played with art on my iPad with friends. I have used the ‘Brushes’ app in the past and still enjoy using it. I discovered a new app for me called Artstudio. I found it to … Continued

Gee, in about 12 hours we had about 6 inches of snow come down. As usual, roads were a mess, airports closed, schools closed, etc. and more is forecast in the next few days. This is an adventure. I have … Continued

On January13th we attended a birthday party being held in the beautiful grounds of Brighton’s Royal Pavilion. Each year they have an ice rink and surrounding marquees with a restaurant. I loved the way they bathed the Pavillion in lights … Continued

Today is the start of the art show, ‘Complex Threads’ being held at the Schack Art Center in Everette Washington. It involves former students of the Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts. I have a piece called ‘Galaxy’. In the … Continued

My husband Chris and I celebrated the coming of the new year with friends. Looking back over 2012, I feel very blessed and thankful to have had the opportunities to share my art with others, to travel to various places … Continued

This morning I awoke early and lay in bed listening to the morning singing of the birds. Their music was so cheerful and melodic. It makes one love nature and appreciate what we have in life. Here in England, we … Continued

We had the results and party for the ‘painting the pub competition’ with my DuPont art club. It took place at the Duke of Wellington where we have a permanent gallery for our art. The patrons of the pub voted … Continued

Brighton photographer, Nick Ford, and I work together on occasion. He forwarded this lovely close up photo of a sculpture which is on the Brighton sea front. In order to understand the full sculpture, I have included a photo I … Continued

Well, we had a lovely flight home only to discover a rather wet carpet under the Eve’s. Apparently the hot water cylinder had cracked and started to leak after my father in law turned on the heat the week before. … Continued

Last night I attended a retirement party with people from my former employer, the WCB, for my former coworkers, Eric Fielder and his wife Debra. It was lovely seeing many faces from the past. It was also amazing to hear … Continued

From September 29-31st I attended a two day workshop given by Jason Pollan on mixed media. The aim was to extend ones comfort zone in art. We’ll, the few studies created certainly did that as these two pieces can attest … Continued

My piece which I have titled, ‘Reeds on Red’, is finally finished after dozens of hours of work. It is hand stitched mainly on painted silk. The size is 30 x 48 inches so required many hours of stitching. It … Continued

There is nothing more rewarding and fun then spending a day out with a soul mate who is also a wonderful artist. That is exactly what happened yesterday when my dear friend, Anni Hunt Martin and I spent the afternoon … Continued

A day with fellow artist Joanne Waters in West Vancouver showed those of us there, the diversity of art. Joanne makes beautiful wire sculptures which she sells. I must say that you need to get your hands and wrists in … Continued

Attending a lunch with former colleagues can be fun. When it involves displaying art, it becomes even more interesting. This is what happened with the work safe retirees semi annual lunch. It was great fun to be asked to show … Continued

What a lovely three days in an encaustic workshop with Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch. It was held in a roaring rain storm on West Vancouver’s waterfront. Encaustic (wax painting) can be used with various types of mixed media. The glow of … Continued