Art
At heart I’m a realist when it comes to art, so I appreciate and admire an artist like this who pays attention to the surface as well as the heart of a subject, and watercolour is my favourite medium. I collect children’s books, and own two of hers, including Snow Leopard. Not only are the paintings breathtaking, but they match the story she tells in intensity and emotion, charged with the magic of mystery and transformation.
There are many illustrators whose work I pored over as I grew up reading comics, but Asterix topped the list. It was only later I realized the level of historical research that went into the creation of these stories. From settings, to characters, to artefacts, the details were accurate, even if the plots wandered a little off the path from time to time. For the record: I’ve never heard of Alésia, and yes, the Romans are crazy!
I learned to make jewellery from this talented lady, a wonderful artist, seamstress, and designer, creating individual and original pieces, which she displays and sells at art shows and conferences. She encouraged my love of natural materials, and taught me by example to explore design, pattern, theme, and function when making wearable art. Contact her through her website if you're interested in commissioning and/or purchasing her work.
My husband is a graphic and web designer, with a gift for photography. He has taught me a great deal about the rules of design, balance, accessibility, and the beauty of simplicity. He has a critical eye in the best sense, and enough patience to deal with me, his most demanding client. To date we have designed three websites together, and there are more on the way. None of it would exist without him, my favourite creative collaborator.
George Bain (pdf)
This man is credited with the renaissance of Celtic art. He travelled across Scotland in the middle of the last century collecting examples of ancient Celtic and Pictish forms, making them widely accessible in his book, Celtic Art: The Methods of Reconstruction. This reference has become indispensible to modern generations of artists, preserving designs that may otherwise have been lost forever. His son, Iain, published two further volumes.
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