Hand embroidered jewellery

Hi, I have had a very busy time lately. I have just completed a commission to paint a wedding bouquet in water colour and am now drawing the design for this years Christmas card for my local church. In the evenings I have stitched several embroideries to make into jewellery mainly brooches and necklaces. I have embroidered several Christmas themed designs and also two dogs. I have some more different styles yet to make so its back to the drawing board and out with needle and thread.

Society of Botanical Artists exhibition

Hi, it has been a while since I posted but it has been busy here. I am absolutely delighted to have a painting accepted for the Society of Botanical Artists exhibition in London. I was very proud to take my painting up to London for the handing in day although it was a bit of a job getting on the tube with a large painting. The painting accepted was of Parrot tulips as shown below. I love these flowers and have bought several more different varieties to grow. Lots of lovely painting next spring hopefully. I completed a painting of Honeysuckle some time ago but was not very pleased with the composition so I decided to change it. I think the alterations I have made to it are a great improvement.

Forgive the photo. It is difficult photographing paintings.

                                                               The Exhibition details are as follows:
                                                                        Annual Open Exhibition.
                                                                           Changing Seasons.
                                                               The Society of Botanical Artists.
                                            Friday 13th October to Saturday 21st October from 11am to 5pm every day.
                                                                          Central Hall Westminster,
                                                                                          London

SW1H 9NH.

The paper is a natural white but it is very difficult to get a good photo.

Painting an Iris in watercolour.

Hi, I have just finished painting an Iris (Chieftain) in watercolour. I tried using Arches watercolour paper for the first time and found that the paper responded better if I painted with a drier layered approach than laying down large wet in wet washes. This also helped portray the papery petals more easily and add layers of colour to the darker petals. The paper responded well. I thoroughly enjoyed painting this flower and would like to paint the flower with an even more close up composition. I used Sennelier artist quality paints.

Changing Sails Charlestown

Hi, I now have a place to paint all to myself which is lovely. The first painting completed in my studio was painted from a photograph and sketches I made a few years ago. We were visiting Charlestown in Cornwall. The harbour at Charlestown has been used many times as a film and TV location and often has sailing ships docked. This year the sails were being changed on one of the ships and I thought it would make an interesting painting. The time had come to have a go at the painting. I have just bought a set of Hazel Soan watercolour paints and this was the perfect project to get to know the paints. The paints were great to use and performed well. I had to simplify the rigging whilst retaining the impression. I painted on rough Saunders and Waterford paper which is a lovely paper to use and is very forgiving.

Changing Sails, Charlestown.

                                                   

Moonlight pastel painting

Hi, Just a short update on my painting. I have recently finished a pastel painting based around Charlestown in Cornwall. It is a great place to visit and usually there is a sailing ship in dock in the harbour. The harbour, dock and ships have been used as a location for a lot of films and TV series. Taboo and Poldark have both been filmed on Location at Charlestown. I wanted to paint a sailing ship in the harbour with moonlight reflected in the water. I used a number of photographs I had taken, both day and dusk, to produce a basis for the painting. I haven't painted using pastels very much but having just finished the pastel course with Jane Ward I wanted to have a go at my own composition. Overall I was pleased with the result particularly the sky and the moon light. It was very difficult to create the silhouette of the ship and harbour so that it showed enough against the clouds in the sky. It was great fun to try.

Painting of Bedruthan Steps Cornwall in Mixed media.

Hi, My latest painting is of one of my favourite places, Bedruthan steps in Cornwall. The coastal scenery is very dramatic and I thought it would be a good idea to paint the view from a higher perspective and I think it has worked well. I also decided to use both watercolour and pastel. I painted the painting to a reasonably finished stage and then used the pastels to add the final texture and drama to the sky.

Bedruthan Steps.

Pastel course

Hi I have just completed the online pastel course by Jane Ward. I enjoyed the course immensely and gained a lot from it. I would thoroughly recommend this course. The project included Lake District scenery which I love having spent several holidays in the area. Here are my last two projects. The final piece had an under wash of acrylic paint.

 This is the acrylic under painting before the pastels were applied.

Completed painting.

Pastel course and rose brooch.

Hi, I have just completed the fourth project in the pastel course by Jane Ward. This course is a great way to get started with pastels and is available through Jane's Etsy shop. It was lovely working on a project so bright and cheerful. I have also completed an embroidered brooch. The rose embroidery was designed by me and was stitched on silk Haboutai. All brooches are available from my Brushes and Bodkins Etsy shop shown above.

Embroidered Purple Emperor Butterfly.

Hi, My last project has been a beautiful embroidery of the Purple Emperor butterfly, stitched to my own design. The design is stitched on linen using DMC and Anchor threads. The embroidered butterfly has been wired to give the effect of a Victorian butterfly collectors specimen and stands away from the background fabric. The body of the butterfly has been created by felting wool. Small beads add detail to the head. The butterfly measures 3"(7.5 cms) at the widest point of the wings. I have framed the embroidery in a white box frame

 7" x7" (18cms x 18 cms).

Applique.

Hi,
I have just framed an applique abstract textile art piece.The design has both simple and reverse applique techniques. A base fabric of peach fabric was covered with layers of organza in white, grey and blue. The edges were cut simply with pinking shears. A layer of black cotton was then laid over the organza and satin fabric. This was secured around the edge and cut away. Floral fabric was then appliques to the surface to reform some shapes. Strands of pearl beads and pearl beads were added to the textile. Silver cord edged the floral fabric. This textile piece is hand sewn.The beading adds a three dimensional effect to the piece.
                          I have also just framed a cross stitch piece which was based around a conical flask. I used metallic threads to stitch the design.

Embroidered butterfly brooch/pin

Hi,
I have just completed the embroidered butterfly brooch. The butterfly is a Peacock and was a delight to stitch with beautiful colours. I shall now stitch a few more butterfly brooches. The brooch is now for sale in my shop; www.etsy.com/shop/BrushesAndBodkins.

Embroidered brooch/pin.

Hi, I have been busy teaching my watercolour courses over last few weeks. I have had time to complete another stage of my pastel course I started last year and I was very pleased with the results. I have also embroidered some brooches/pins during the evenings. I have embroidered flowers for the brooches and am currently working on a butterfly design. Here are the embroidered brooches so far.

Embroidered flowers and butterfly

Hi I have just completed an embroidery I started before Christmas. The embroidery was hand sewn and inspired by the dramatic fabric. I loved stitching the butterfly incorporating a few different techniques. 

The embroidery is sewn on a black floral fabric. I stitched the flowers in long and short stitch (needle painting).The peacock butterfly is stitched on linen fabric using wires to support the embroidery so that it stands proud of the fabric giving a three dimensional effect. The body of the butterfly was made by needle felting and beads were added for detail. The flowers and butterfly were stitched using a combination of Anchor and DMC embroidery cottons. The leaves were stitched using Linblomman linen thread to give texture. 

The wood effect plastic flexi hoop works well as a frame and the work is backed with black felt. I had great fun designing and stitching the embroidery. The embroidery measures approximately 8.5" in diameter (approx 22 cms).

Drawn thread work pyramids

Hi,
I have just finished framing my drawn thread work pyramids. My design is stitched on Cashel 28 count linen dyed using silk fabric paints to create a hot desert feeling background for the drawn thread work pyramids. I used hand dyed pearl threads by Chameleon for the drawn thread work. Beads have been stitched into the pattern on the larger pyramid. I stitched a satin stitch camel to give the pyramids scale.The beading adds a three dimensional effect to the piece.

Long and short stitch embroidery.

Hi,
I have been embroidering some flowers in long and short stitch. The flowers were stitched using DMC and Anchor embroidery thread and the leaves with a linen thread. I think a butterfly would be a lovely addition to the piece and possible a ladybird. I have just begun the butterfly using 22 gauge wire. I want the butterfly to look as if its flying.