Artweeks in Eynsham 2018
Read moreFind out what you can see during Artweeks in Eynsham 2018. Spoiler alert! I’m not taking part, but there is plenty of gorgeous stuff to discover.
International Women’s Day
Read moreToday is International Women’s Day, a day when women all over the world celebrate their achievements. And I’m not just talking about women becoming prime ministers or astronauts. No, I mean the really big stuff like the 67-year-old-woman from Yorkshire who, after years of abuse, says ‘no’ to her husband. Or the girl in Cornwall, just come out of social
The death of Captain James Cook – 14 February 1779
Read more“Do just once what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again.” Whatever you may think about British colonial expansion, its impact and subsequent noxious effects, you have to admire the bravery, spirit and ambition of farm labourer’s son Captain James Cook. When he sailed away from Blighty in the 18th century it
Guns ‘n’ roses: the murder of Joan Root – 13 January 2006
Read moreOn this day in 2006, 69-year-old Joan Root lay alone bleeding to death from gunshot wounds at her home on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Whodunnit? Who cut down this Kenyan-born English rose? And why? As a young woman, Joan was shy and quiet, but spirited, fearless and utterly enchanted by Africa. In 1961 she married Alan Root
Map of Vincent van Gogh – a painting of the places Vincent lived and worked
Read moreOn this hand-painted map of Vincent, discover where van Gogh lived and worked, and where some of his paintings were created.
Shipping Forecast – great gifts or just treat yourself!
Read moreThe words “And now the Shipping Forecast, issued by the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency…” mean something magical to so many of us. And sometimes having art on your walls just isn’t enough… so Jane just had to make it the centrepiece of her new venture into offering beautiful and useful items for the home.
How to make paper mache birds
Read moreThe paper mache birds I’ve been making this year are more ‘folk art’ than ‘fine art’. People have asked me how I make them. There’s no precise recipe, I’m afraid, but this is roughly how I do it.
The suicide of Vincent van Gogh – 29 July 1890
Read moreOn 27 July 1890, Vincent van Gogh, an unkempt, unknown 37-year-old Dutchman, walked out of his lodgings in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise, just north of Paris, where he had been living and working since May. That day instead of his usual easel and paints, he carried a handgun he had perhaps borrowed from a farmer ‘to scare away the crows’.
Europeans discover Easter Island – 5 April 1722
Read moreThe rise and fall of Easter Island is a parable for our times; a warning from history of what happens when humans doesn’t pay close attention to every detail of Planet Three’s precious natural resources. On Easter Sunday 1722 Dutch sailor Jacob Roggeveen landed on a speck of volcanic land 12 miles long and 6 miles wide in the vast expanse
The death of Carl Linnaeus – 10 January 1778
Read moreThe Bible, Genesis 2:20, states: “And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field”. But actually it wasn’t Adam. It was a Swedish botanist: Carl Linnaeus. My dad was also a botanist, so since I was knee high to an orthoptera, I was aware that everything had a
In praise of iguanas!
Read moreGreen iguanas, Galapagos land iguanas and marine iguanas all have their own exquisite beauty, evolved over millions of years if you stop to take a closer look.
Galapagos: all the fun of the fish market
Read moreThere is so much fun to be had watching wildlife at the fish market in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galapagos: pelicans, sea lions, frigatebirds.
Painting British Rock Music
Read moreMy British Rock Music painting is pure Pop Art! My life has always been accompanied by music, much of it British, much of it rock. So what could be more natural to a British music-loving artist who has been having fun painting maps than a British Rock Music painting? This year, 2017, marks the 50th anniversary of the release of
Robert FitzRoy: Captain Fantastic
Read moreEveryone knows what a weather forecast is, most people have heard of Charles Darwin’s Voyage of HMS Beagle, and most British people have heard of the shipping forecast. So it’s very sad to think that more people don’t know about Robert FitzRoy who made all these things possible.
How I made my painting of the shipping forecast
Read moreDiscover how I made my painting of the UK shipping forecast, ‘Attention All Shipping’ in this blog which includes lots of photos of the work in progress.
Shipping forecast wins award!
Read moreTo my utter surprise and delight, my shipping forecast painting, ‘Attention All Shipping’ has won a British Cartographic Society award!