I discovered The Henley on Thames School of Art last year - when I was looking for something creative to do that fits around working and making lampshades. Thank goodness I discovered it! What a lovely place it is! It's a warm, welcoming, sunlit studio at the back of Hart Street, with a little courtyard. You'd never know it was there, unless you spot the little sign at the entrance to the alleyway...
We discovered this National Trust property quite a few years ago and have been going back regularly ever since. It is definitely one of my favourites - the house is quite small and incredibly homely; you can imagine the Brunner family living there. And the gardens (with it's ancient wisteria) are very English and beautiful, surrounded by lush rolling hills. Perfect for an escape from the hustle and bustle, with lunch or a cream tea in the lovely cowshed tearoom.
When I was younger people used to go on pub crawls quite a lot. Now the number of pubs in our towns is decreasing and being taken over by coffee shops and restaurants. I really like coffee shops but there’s nothing like a British pub; for a cosy night out in the winter and a great pub garden and a glass of Pimms in the summer.
Very quick blog post today I'm afraid. I'm not sure where the week has gone, feel like I'm on a bit of a roller-coaster really. But I didn't want to miss writing on here. It's so easy to get out of the habit so I must make sure I find time.
What a busy week. My mind has been buzzing with ideas for next month's Art on the Street so I spent the day yesterday working on that. Mostly looking at old house pictures I've drawn and playing around with Photoshop, great fun. I've realised I need to be structured with my time, so Thursdays are my day for art stuff and nothing else. It really works. I also feel like I achieved a lot this week - I managed to book a summer holiday (what a relief!), squeezed in lots of exercise and even did a bit of gardening.
I love old buildings, especially the fine details that architects used to incorporate and that are often missing from new builds. I also love drawing old buildings. So it made sense to set myself a challenge to draw my favourite local ones as a personal drawing project. Something to do in between making lampshades, working part time and being a mum (not much time there then!)
I completed this drawing a couple of months ago but couldn't post it on here as I didn't want to ruin the surprise (it was a present for someone who loves their camper van, Jerby!) Ideally I would scan this into the PC and colour it in but this was requested as an ink drawing with the gilhoolie patterned sky background so here it is.
That's how I felt when I met up with a friend of mine last week - Samantha Johnson - who is a very talented Interior Designer with nearly 20 years experience of designing amazing homes. Sam recently moved house to a lovely cottage in Buckinghamshire and asked me to draw it for her so that... Continue Reading →
Well, it's a new year and I'm feeling good, I hope you are too! Why am I in a good mood? I've been thinking and I put it down to: A break in the rainy weather (the sun is shining even if it's cold out there!) I'm a big fan of starting something new and... Continue Reading →
