Art in Action 2015

I visited Art in Action yesterday. This is an annual arts event held at Waterperry gardens in Oxfordshire.

I have visited the show many times since it opened. As a painter I am a bit disappointed in the fact there seems to be less painting every year.  It is more arts than art these days!  There are plenty of craft displays and musical events, Even beekeeping and storytelling ! Plus you will never go hungry with a massive amount of the show now devoted to food stalls!! The most popular, with the longest queue was the vegetarian one...which is good from my point of view as a life long veggie!

I have taken a few photos of the Art I particularly liked at the show. This is mainly coloured pencils, painted pieces and art textiles.This is not representative of the whole show at all though. I really liked some of the ceramics and printmaking displays but have not photographed them. Some of the glass work was amazing too.

This is a beautifully detailed coloured pencil piece by Malcolm Cudmore  ( click here for a link to his website) which was on display at the stand for coloured pencils in the art materials and publications tent. There is some very intricate and well designed work on display, and for sale on this stand. 

A favourite of mine, by artist Este McLeod. Wonderful colours and composition.!!

Some clever, intricate mosaic work by Amy Harman.

There is a tent devoted to Textiles. I was very impressed by this art textiles painting. Lots of layers of different fabrics and stitching all tangled together to give a very pleasing garden effect.

Another textiles piece. This one attracted me by the impressive feeling of light the artist has captured.

This one is to be found in the Calligraphy and Illustration tent. Shelly Perkins was my favourite artist here with her incredibly detailed studies of animals and nature.

Two paintings I liked for their strength of colour.

A selection of paintings by Lucie Shelbourne. Once again I am attracted to the strong use of bright colours. Its not surprising as all my own paintings are big bright bold colours too!

I love all floral and wildlife art so my favourite part of the show is usually the Nature in Art section. I particularly like the demonstration side of this area with plenty of artists actively engaged in painting, and happy to talk about their work.

So its worth visiting the show. The weather was kind yesterday, I have visited before when heavy rain turned the entire site in to a slippery bog, I have also been when it was so hot that inside all the tents was like an unpleasant sauna !

I am considering applying to be a demonstrator here next year, with my floral art. 

Roz Edwards. Floral Art. Recent work and Exhibitions

I have painted quite a lot of floral paintings in the last few months. 

However, I have not posted here for awhile so thought I would add some photos of my recent paintings, all in one place!!    

I have put details about some of these on my other blog ...just click here!!  ... rozartz where you can see step by step how I did the paintings. Others will be added, in greater detail later on.

I will be exhibiting at the annual exhibition of the Society of Floral Painters in less than 2 months time.   The website is available by clicking  here

I will also be at the Floral fringe Fair on May 30 and 31.  The website is here

Windsor Contemporary Art Fair

I spent a few hours today visiting the Windsor Contemporary Art Fair. This is a fairly large and well attended event at  Windsor, in the events hall at the race course.
I cannot show all the talented artists here, but this is a selection of the work that attracted me the most. Where I can, I have put the artists name.

A nice idea by the Princes Trust. A lot of the artists did a miniature painting in their signature style, which was sold to raise money for charity.

Brightly coloured contemporary work with lots of detailing on the frames as well as the actual image.   Below a close up of my favourite one. Sorry I did not get the artists name.

Also showing was Anna Perlin with her strong bold landscapes, below.

I also loved the strong bold colours in the paintings by Sergei Ovcharuk.

Another artist whose work I admired was Jo Bunce. Most of her display was landscapes. However, I discovered some of her earlier work, hiding at the side of her display, of big bright contemporary florals and just loved the two paintings of irises shown below!   

I was impressed with the very individual and stylized paintings done by artist Alison Ingram. I had previously seen these in a magazine, so was thrilled to talk to her, and see more of her lovely work.  The way she mixes animals, big bold shapes and strong colours is stunning.

Also displaying work was Katharine Dove. She specializes in detailed mixed media paintings. There were several themes on show, but I especially liked her studies of buildings as shown below.

Next is the work of an amazingly talented wildlife artist, South African, Darryn Eggleton. His large and detailed studies of wild animals are fantastic. There is so much detail and character in the animal's faces. His work has to be seen! To be honest, I don't think my photos do it justice. In reality there is so much more to enjoy.

Below is the work of Amanda Stratford. She has a diverse , but interesting range of subject matter. 

Also viewed was  these superb figure studies, below. I love the light and shadows. Sorry, but I did not get the artists name here.

I have always admired the work of artist John Connolly. Like me, he is a former Art teacher! He has had work in a gallery I  have exhibited in, but this is the first time I actually met him. His work is all about dramatic, rugged landscapes and seascapes. It is often very textural, using sand and collage materials in the paint. It needs to be seen, in the exhibition, to fully appreciate the textures. My photo does not show them too well!

I also was very impressed with the brightly coloured wildlife paintings by Kim Thompson. Wow!! So much impact, plus fantastic well observed paintings. I also loved her baobab tree, shown below.

Next is Bridget Skanski, who does some lovely contemporary work both in paint and as textile art.
The textile one, at the bottom, really needs to be seen, to appreciate the hard work that has gone in to building up the layers of detail.

So this has been quite a long blog post today!!!   I have many other photos that I took, that I haven't included. I have focused on my favourites. I am planning on exhibiting at this event myself next year, so today was as much about checking out the event as it was checking out the art !!  I met some very friendly and interesting artists. I would highly recommend a visit to this exhibition if you have any spare time tomorrow. It is just open for this weekend.

I shall now have a look at the websites and Facebook pages of these artists. If anyone I have featured on here today wants me to put any links or extra information please contact me via my Facebook page Roz-Artz.

Thanks for looking. Comments always appreciated ! 

Textile Art. A visit to Material World at Hillier Gardens.

I visited a small, but very interesting exhibition of Textile Art at the weekend. This is called Material World and is being held at the Hillier Gardens near Romsey in Hampshire.

Here is a selection of the work on show. 

Some flower studies with layers of bonded fabric, applique and embroidery.

Also in the show these clever sculpted detailed textile bowls. 

The following 3 works show a range of styles and clever use of materials.

The lovely handcrafted dogs below are made from wool. They all have wonderful expressions on their faces. They are not toys, but decorative items for the home.

These are lovingly made by a very talented lady called Judi McGetrick.   These fantastic dogs can be made to commission , so if you would like one made of your own dog, or that of a friend or relative ( as a perfect and original gift )  why not contact Judi on  j.mcgetrick16@btinternet.com  who would be delighted to hear from you. 

Also some collage style work in mixed media.

These landscapes are great studies in colour as well as the  texture from the overlaying fabrics.

Another example of a textile landscape

I have not got the names of the talented people who exhibited at this show. If your work is shown here and you want a mention, or a link to your blog or website, please send me a message, via this blog, Facebook or Twitter.

Autumn Art Fair, Landmark, Teddington, London

I visited an Art fair today, at the Landmark Arts Centre in Teddington, West London.

I hope to exhibit here myself next year, so went for a look around to see what sort of Art was on display. There were over 80 artists showing fine Art, Photography, Printmaking  and Ceramics.

Here are some photos of some of my favourite bits from the show. I apologize to any artists whose work I show here that I did not get the information about your name etc. This applies to the first 4 photos. great stuff, really colourful and eye catching work.

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The following work is byan artist called Jim Munnion. I was drawn to the fantastic use of colour, repetition of pattern and a great sense of design from everyday scenes.

The lovely architectural studies, below, are by an artist called Liz Bernard. 

Some amazing floral art by Susie Lidstone.  Such strong and vibrant paintings.

Stephanie Gay creates these amazing pictures, below,  using silk painting techniques.

You can't help but be impressed by the technical skill and observation of artist Timothy Sutton, in his pet portraits.

I really loved the paintings by N.R. Hills who focuses on the beauty of decay. He has studied a good selection of weathered and worn objects, painted with a great sense of colour usage and composition.

Finally some clever, intricate patterned watercolour work by Vince Bridgeman.  The small detailing, accuracy and subtle use of colour really has to be seen close up to appreaciate it.