Rowley Gallery Blog
Long ago I made cups, real ones out of porcelain to be exact. And now I don’t do that anymore. Instead, I often paint pictures of cups. It began innocently enough, as a path for transposing the ceramic cups that had always inspired my pottery into paintings. This simple idea launched an obsession and soon my desire to paint cups got a little bit out of hand. Because I had so many different ideas, I began numbering them in an effort to hold it all together. Continue reading “100 Cups”
First Light
These new works are borne out of a need to bring light and life into my studio during the dark winter months. They have a direct link with my garden and the majority of the plants and birds in these paintings can be seen from my kitchen window. Continue reading “First Light”
Another King Penguin from the collection of Evelyn Hallewell. This one’s a beauty but sadly missing a few pages from the middle. The illustrations are by Irene Hawkins but Rampion, Scabious, Rock Rose and Pasque Flower have disappeared. It was published in 1947 and, according to the label in the back, it was purchased from Binns Ltd. (Book Shop), Princes Street, Edinburgh 2. Continue reading “Chalk Flowers”
Cathedral Green at Wells, the eternal stone partnered with an inflated upstart. We arrived just in time for the Somerset Schools Folk Dance Festival, a ceilidh for more than 2,000 primary school children, all stepping and skipping and turning circles on the green. Continue reading “Wells & Mells”
Two new prints just arrived from Beatrice Forshall, both drypoints printed from multiple plates in small editions and hand-coloured, which means they’re short-lived and not designed for mass production. It’s a form that suits the content, since these are images of endangered species. This tansy beetle is just a detail; for the complete picture, and Bea’s thoughts on the subject, please see below. Continue reading “Beetle, Crayfish & Mussel”
Pin Mill sits beside the River Orwell, south east of Ipswich, a pretty refuge of yachts and dinghys, where X marks the spot at the crossroads of a figure-of-eight walk. Continue reading “Pin Mill”
Fanny Shorter has been shortlisted for a design bursary, courtesy of award-winning blog Confessions of a Design Geek. She is one of five contenders for this prestigious award but she needs your vote to win. Please cast your vote at coadg bursary :: the 2014 shortlist and vote wisely but please vote now! Time is running out. Voting closes at 23:59 Wednesday 27th November 2013. Spread the word!
We took a half-term weekend break to Amsterdam. It seemed like the city was being relaunched and rebranded/rembrandted. The Rijksmuseum reopened in April following an unprecedented 10 year renovation, the Stedelijk Museum reopened last year after a 9 year refurbishment, and 2013 marks 400 years since construction began on the city’s iconic canals. Continue reading “I AMsterdam”
Myddleton House was named after Hugh Myddleton who built the New River, an aqueduct carrying fresh water into London. Over the years its course has changed but originally in 1613 it flowed through here, beneath these iron railings marking an earlier bridge. Continue reading “New River, Blue River”
In France in early August we’d been too late to see the famous Luberon lavender, but back in England it’s not harvested until September. We went down to Banstead in Surrey to visit Mayfield’s lavender farm. The flowers bloomed in the late August sunshine and the fragrant fields buzzed with intoxicated bees and butterflies and other lavender enthusiasts. Continue reading “Banstead Wood & Mayfield”