Aliette on Etsy
Aliette is a graphic designer based in Chartres, France.
She has a quirky, yet delicate style and sells her work on Etsy, prints and jewellery and that is all that
I can tell you from her website. So let her work speak for itself.
Whilst you are over on Etsy, and if you haven’t done so already, please have a look at my decorated
ceramics there too. You’ll find mugs, vases, bowls, tiles and tea cups here.
Fishink Ceramics
I was at Tones’ studio this week to put the transfers on some new pieces that we
are working on. Here are some sneak previews before they get their transfer firing,
where the blue surrounding colour burns away. Bowls with small handles work well
with rabbits and birds don’t you think ?
And some plates with foxes too.
We will be adding these to our ceramics site on Etsy soon.
You can find more Fishink Ceramics here.
Evelyn Dunbar. A Second World War Artist
Another amazing discovery to come out of my recent trip to the Imperial War Museum was the work
of Evelyn Dunbar, the only British female artist paid by the government to record World War Two.
She painted unsentimental images of the Women’s Land Army that are easily recognised,
yet she is largely forgotten in discussions of Second World War art today.
Dunbar was a mural and landscape painter who was commissioned by a government committee to
record scenes from the home front. In her paintings, there is a recurring theme of women adapting to
unfamiliar work and surroundings as both the war and technology moulded, framed and shaped lives.
The middle purple painting below is called The Winter Garden.
Evelyn Dunbar’s most famous commissions were part of the official schemes the British government
established for artists to record both the First and Second World Wars. During the Second World War
a structured approach to official picture collecting was taken by the War Artists Advisory Committee –
a governmental committee which had been created during the First World War and resurrected during
the Second World War. After the war, one third of the collection was allocated to the Imperial War
Museum, some of which are presently on show at their London site.
There was a strong pastoral theme in Dunbar’s work, and she was an apt choice, with Charles Mahoney,
to illustrate Gardener’s Choice, in 1937. In 1941 she illustrated A Book of Farmcraft by Michael Greenhill,
designed to help the novice farmhand and Land Girls tackle jobs on the land with greater proficiency
and safety. I love these smaller sketchier pieces of her work.
There’s a great more information about Evelyn here on the St. Barbe Musuem site and a fascinating book
by Gill Clarke available on amazon here. There’s also an old audio clip from Womens’ Hour here.
Sadly the exhibiton mentioned in the audio clip has long since finished, but some of the Bletchley School
murals, mentioned in the audio can be seen here.
Neil MacDonell. Egyptian Inspired Ceramist
Neil MacDonell was born in Southwark, London. ” My Father was an architect and I had a lot of
exposure to the arts and crafts, particularly old buildings. When I first started working with clay
at college it was the transformation of materials during firing that held me in thrall – it still does. ”
” As a 6 year old visiting the Egyptian rooms in the British Museum I was overwhelmed by the textures,
patterns and sinister esoteric nature of the mummified remains. I remain interested in disguise and
concealment as expressed in primitive cultures and the way that the damage found in archaeological
artefacts speaks of their history. My fascination with the human face has made it an obvious choice as a
focus for my ideas, though I am conscious of how difficult it is to avoid clichés and pastiche.
Yet it is the ubiquity of images of the face throughout the history of humankind that draws me to them. ”
Great use of textures and I like the contrast between the tranquil face and the busy decoration.
Neil MacDonell shares his studio in Bath with his wife Sally who is also a sculptural ceramist.
Claire West. A Colourful Artist of Nature.
Claire West strikes me as a bubbly, effervescent and cheery artist, who’s work looks to be as bright,
surprising and emotive as it is bold, colourful and complex.
She explains ” I am a painter, who paints because it makes me happy and I hope that it does the same
for the viewer. I have a strong belief in the power of colour therapy in uplifting the spirit. ”
” I love colour and enjoy exploring its contrasts and its vibrant and intense nature. In working in colour
I like using colours that are often believed to not work together, in doing this I hope to break down the
boundaries of what we should do and explore the freedom that is so often lost in art, when we are
no longer children.” Just look at these rich pinks, blues and oranges.
” I usually work on canvas in acrylic and inks, I produce textured work through layers of paint and
random dripping of inks. As the painting develops I will discover happy accidents which have evolved
and help to form the finished painting, often dictating where detail will happen. ”
There’s a beautiful range of styles and subject matter from birds to meadows and still life to seascapes.
I particularly love portrait painting below called ‘The Croft’, what amazing colour and perspective.
I know she’s a talented and clever artist because not only has her work has featured on many television
programmes, like I.T. Crowd, Life of Riley and Eastenders, but she’s also a loyal reader of my blog :-).
Many thanks and keep up the great work Claire.
Mr Benn, King Rollo and David McKee
Some of you british folk who don’t want to show their ages may quietly remember a 70s’ cartoon
called Mister Benn. Artist and creator of the series David McKee has gone on to illustrate many
other great childrens’ books such as King Rollo and Elmer the Patchwork Elephant but for me,
the thirteen episodes about Mr Benn were the first thing that captured my imagination.
They were all about a man called Mr Benn, who had adventures by going into a local costume shop,
trying on a costume of a knight, a diver, a clown etc and then by going through the other door in the
changing room, he could then enter another land and there he had his adventure. Until, that is,
when the shopkeeper always appeared again, and took him back to the changing room.
More often than not Mr Benn would find a small memento in his pocket to remind him of his trip.
David turned his home in Festing Road in Putney, into Festive Road for the Mr Benn books and there is
a lovely story on the BBC site here about how people have remembered the place with fondness.
David not only creates wonderful books, but decorates the letters to his editor quite amazingly too.
A few more images from Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, what a talented guy.
Fishink Drawings. Lions and Dogs
More trials and styles of drawings, just playing around with mixed media. Chalk pastels and pencil here.
And some sketches, turned into photoshop patchworked dogs.
Any thoughts ? All Fishink drawings are Copyrighted. More products available here.
Matthew Cusick. Mapping Mad
Matthew Cusick was born in 1970 in New York, NY and now lives and works in Dallas, Texas.
He received his BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1993.
I feel his mix of science and art explains the complex work he now creates, a wonderful collaboration
of maps and paint. I’m not for a moment comparing the two, but there is a link in my mind back to my
early childhood days, and of the ‘Paint By Numbers’ kits I struggled to complete with any enthusiasm.
I think it’s something to do with the colour having definite visual areas in which it’s contained.
I love his roaring seas, cool landscapes and captured mapped out people.
There’s a slight amusement for me in that his motorways are made up of places to travel to and cities
to visit, I wonder if that was intentional ? You may also find this earlier blog on Ariel Views interesting.
Sara Fanelli was born in Florence in 1969 on the day that man landed on the moon. Her American
mother was an art historian, and her father taught the history of architecture. She studied for a Diploma
di Maturita at the Liceo Classico Michelangelo before coming to England to continue her education.
She completed a City and Guilds Foundation Course Diploma at London Art School and a BA (Hons) in
Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Art before going on to study for an MA in Illustration at the
Royal College of Art, London.
“I like to experiment. When I make a collage illustration I start with a drawing of the composition,
the layout. Then I play around with it, interweaving it with all the different items I might be using.
I like to play around with the typography too and create my own lettering. I don’t use a computer to
create artwork. Too many designers rely on them”. Sara has also helped illustrate many books.
“I might use a piece of paper, perhaps one with curious stains or marks on it, or a sweet wrapper
or a piece of my Grandmother’s writing – a shopping list for example. I enjoy printmaking,
particularly etching, and sometimes I’ll cut up the prints and use them in my collages”
“Every object has a story behind it to be relayed or reinvented. Handwriting in an unexpected context is
very evocative. I create the different textures in my work by sprinkling the surface with things like sugar,
lentils, spaghetti and rice”. I’ve noticed her childhood dog ‘Bubu’ makes a few appearances too.
Beautiful variety in her work, strange creatures painted on tickets, graph papers and an eclectic mix of
found and created surfaces, give Saras’ work such diversity and rich textures.
There is an interesting interview on mad.co.uk here.
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