Festival time!

I'm excited to have a stand at this event: 

The Old Station Gallery is excited to be hosting it’s inaugural Arts Festival in 2015. The festival will showcase the work of over 30 of the regions Artists and Artisans. The event will also provide entertainment for visitors via music and dance. There will be an Arts & Crafts station for interactive arts & crafts workshops, children will also have an opportunity to have their face painted.Visitors may also have a henna tattoo. All of the entertainment and activities at the event are free.

In addition to drawings, cards and digital prints, I've been printing up some block prints, I've even made some doggy bags.

When: Spring Bank Holiday, 10 – 5pm, Sunday 24th & Monday 25th May 2015.

Where: Within the Peak Shopping Village, including the Old Station Gallery itself.

Cost: Entry to the event is free.

Address: The Old Station Gallery, Peak Shopping Village, Chatsworth Road, Rowsley, Derbyshire, DE4 2JE

Check out my new Facebook page

I've created a Facebook artist's page. There are more pictures to enjoy than you can shake a stick at. Liking and sharing will be much appreciated with the added bonus of news of my creativity and more pictures.

Rachel's Facebook page

Froggatt Show 2014

directions

We get home from NZ and I realise Froggatt Show is the next weekend. I thought we would have missed it. I quickly dash of an email to the organisers and arrange a stall. Yay - there's room. I love the idea of chatting about art, listening to brass bands and admiring locally grown vegetables all on the same day. 

We have our gazebo, no need for the usual paste table as sturdy tables are helpfully provided, we bundle art, child, dogs into the car and set up.

Setting up

We have a very pleasant afternoon chatting to neighbours, chatting to people interested in my art, chatting to people interested in the dogs, listening to the brass bands eating cake and ice cream and avoiding the showers (not too many of them fortunately).

I hope I can get a stall next year, and also get our acts together to enter some vegetables / crafts / cake competitions.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...again!

We were lucky enough to have spent the first week of half term in Cromer...I did a little bit of sketching, landscapes are not normally my thing. Fun though.

Taking the cows to market

Two craft stall opportunities in one week! The University of Sheffield had a week of the Art of Work and invited creative types to have a stall one evening. I shared my stall with two other library staff (what a creative lot we are) and had a great evening. It was lovely to see other University staff and their creative efforts, ranging from photography, jewellery and baking.

This weekend the local Guides were having a coffee morning and invited us to sell crafts to raise funds for daughter's Guide trip in summer 2015. A completely different demographic but equally fun to do. 

 The 'Totes Amaze Bags' sold really well at the Guide coffee morning.

Robot love and dogs

I've listed these paintings on Folksy...

Purple dog - acrylic on canvas 

We have a lovely old greyhound who is officially 'blue'. He's often the inspiration for drawings. I thought he would appreciate being represented as a purple hound!

Robot love - acrylic on canvas 

I was making some decorations for a friends little boy and drew this robot for him, I thought it would make a lovely illustrative painting for a robot enthusiast

Yellow dog - acrylic on canvas

This is inspired by a drawing of our little dog Molly. She is often sniffing for exciting smells - when she's not dashing around that is! She is pale cream in colour and the yellow exaggerates her natural colouring and tendency to stand out against the background.

Who let the dogs in?

I need to make a painting of a Jack Russell terrier for a friend… I do a kooky drawing, love this, I make a start on the painting...it's a little ruff (excuse the pun) but has promise. I appear to be stuck in a dog drawing phase - could be worse!

Greetings All

I've had a series of greetings cards printed. Available form my Folksy Store:

folksy.com/shops/rachelmcw

Very professionally printed by Redcliffe Imaging Ltd

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

We have had a couple of occasions recently to be beside the seaside, always a good time to have a sketchbook on hand. I love the whiteness and cleanness of seagulls, hopefully captured in my simple sketch. 

Our dog Molly, when at the seaside for the first time, ran around for about three hours tirelessly running running running. She's fairly sand coloured and blended well with her surroundings.

Gone to the dogs - the Satallite Pod is glowing

We thought limiting the colours, and having a theme of dogs would be fun. We chose red for its bold statement, and it’s paid off as the pod seems to emanate a red glow into the gallery space.