Author: Roo Waterhouse

The Story of Art Exhibition

17 February 2026
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Events

‘Charles I’s Travelling Library’ Roo Waterhouse 2026 30x60cm oil on canvas

My two latest Shelf Portrait paintings will be on display at ‘The Story of Art’ exhibition at Byard Art in Cambridge.

‘The Observer’s Books’ Roo Waterhouse 2026 30x60cm oil on canvas

The exhibition runs from March 19th to April 19th.

The Story of Art: New range!

17 February 2026
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog
What A Delight!
Ivy with her Shelf portrait
“The picture is truly wonderful, a unique work of art which Ivy is very proud to own, she was particularly taken with Rabbit featuring on it and the namesake wallpaper!” 

What a delight it was to paint these treasured childhood favourites of Ivy’s for her 10th birthday present from her grandmother!

Some of these take me back to bedtimes with my own children: favourites being The Ahlbergs; Dick King Smith and all the ‘My Naughty Little Sister’ books 🙂

Hetty Feather inspired us to visit the Foundlings Museum on a trip to London – an emotional experience, particularly seeing the half scraps of cloth and other tokens left by mothers to identify their child if they ever managed to be in a position to return…..

Others take me back to my own childhood: ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’; ‘Carrie’s War’ and ‘Now We Are Six’ (more A A Milne related exciting news in next months missive!)
The Story of Art: New print and card range
‘The Story of Art’ depicts a selection of books on art history and criticism that have influenced my artistic practice along the way. A celebration of the influence of art and artists through the ages.

This image is now released as a Limited Edition print; an A4 print and a Book Art card– something for every occasion!!
Shop the Story of Art Range
‘Charles I’s Travelling Library’
‘Charles The First’s Travelling Library’, a series of book spines without any text!

I saw these on display at The Bodleian Library’s ‘Treasures’ exhibition,and thought to myself… ’Now there’s a painting waiting to happen!’

The 17th Century king’s essential books were reprinted in miniature, bound in red goatskin and tooled in gold to accompany him on his travels. The contents apparently include classical texts by the poet Ovid and the philosopher Cicero as well as bibles and religious books.
One wonders how he knew which was which, or did he just take pot luck?
‘The Observer’s Books’
Charlie & The Observer’s are off down to Byard Art in Cambridge for their exhibition ‘The Story of Art’, which runs from March 19th to April 19th.

“This exhibition explores the power of narrative in contemporary art, bringing together artists who engage with text and books as literal materials, as well as those whose works unfold through strong storytelling and visual narratives. Collectively, the artworks reveal how stories, written, implied or imagined, shape meaning, memory, and human experience across artistic practices.”
Also coming up next month:
The lovely Will & Sophie of Bowlby Fine Art will, once again, be showing some of my work at the Battersea Spring Affordable Art Fair 4th-8th March.

I will be taking some of my work and merchandise up to the Edinburgh Premier Book Fair on the 20th & 21st March. If you are in the area, do pop in for some bookish browsing and chat 🙂

Best Wishes,
Roo

Currently Reading: A Kestrel For A Knave by Barry Hines

Happy New Year!

2 February 2026
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog

Happy New Year!!

I hope you all had an enjoyable festive season?

 Mine was quiet and cosy with sprinkles of family gatherings dotted about – just how I like it 🙂
My latest bespoke paintings were completed and most gratefully received in time for Christmas… one of them for a ten year old’s January birthday (no photos of this one yet!)
Happy David with his bespoke Shelf Portrait – a surprise gift from his wife 🙂
..and this one commissioned by Penny, for herself (the best kind of present!)
This week I have been putting the finishing touches to an Observer’s Books painting. I had it on my studio wall as a work-in-progress during winter Open Studios and so many people connected with the half dozen titles I had painted.
One visitor remembered their grandmother gifting them ‘The Observer’s Book of British Geology’ for their 8th birthday, and they grew up to become a geologist as a result!Which Observer’s books do you connect with?
Observer’s Books final details….
When I was quite young, I used to enjoy sitting cross-legged on the floor, pulling Observer’s books off the shelf one by one and looking at all the illustrations.
This was a somewhat hazardous pastime, as the bookshelf was behind the door and there were often three older brothers running around the house with a tendency to throw doors open with gusto – possibly in the knowledge that there might be the bonus of squashing a little sister behind it and extracting a loud squeak!!

Winter Open Studios This Weekend :-)

3 December 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog
Life is starting to feel distinctly Christmassy this week!
Portrait by photographer Peter Defty

Just thought I’d show my face and show you this fabulous portrait of me by photographer Peter Defty, taken a few years ago. It’s not often I get on with a photo of myself, but I love this one!
When I turned up at his studio he had spent a happy  hour building the pile of vintage annuals for me to perch on top of… genius idea!
This photograph was included in a stunning exhibition of Peter’s portrait photography ‘The Outlaw Project’ at Dean Clough Galleries last summer.
I can’tpromise to be perched on a pile on annuals in my own studio this weekend, but do come and visit me anyway!!
Visit me in my studio this Saturday & Sunday
Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th December
11am to 5pm

Festive Open Studio!!
I’m looking forward to welcoming visitors into my studio Northlight as part of the Festive Open Studios Weekend in Hebden Bridge 🙂

Pop along to our wonderful Northlight Winter Fair, full of stalls and artists: including Rach Red; Katch Skinner: Annie Harrison; Rachel H; Pete & Carol Leonard and more! Plus mulled wine, tea, cake and a raffle!
Then head on up the central stairs to find my Open Studio. Also opening their studios will be Toby Cotterill and Jane Revitt 🙂

**Please Note: we are not open on Friday 5th**
(please email me if you are unable to visit on Saturday or Sunday and would like to make a private appointment for Friday)

Park & Ride!
If you are travelling by car, be aware that parking in Hebden Bridge can be tricky. I would advise you to take advantage of the Park & Ride at Mytholmroyd train station car park, running every 10-15 minutes on Saturday & Sunday.
New Square format Card designs 🙂

New in my online shop this week are these fresh square designs to replace the old long cards designs: ‘Odyssey‘; ‘Fairy Books‘ and ‘Scotland‘, along with a new rainbow design ‘Penguin Pride‘.
Don’t Forget!!
If you’re hoping to purchase some Bookshelf art for Christmas, you can browse my online shop and use the discount code:
 festive10 
anytime between now and 10th December for a special 10% discount throughout my shop.
Happy Shopping!!
Roo’s Shop

If I don’t see you over the Open Studios weekend, then I wish you all a Very Merry Festive Season 🙂
Roo

Northlight Winter Fair

2 December 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events

It’s almost time for Hebden Bridge Open Studios and the Northlight Winter Fair!

On Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December you can visit a selection of Northlight artists in our Winter Fair and also a few studios will be open.

At the Winter Fair you will find Don Myers, Katch Skinner, Rachel Red, Annie Harrison, Rachel Heny, Kate Boyce and Izzie Boyce.

Plus tea, cake, mulled wine, an activity, a raffle and some Christmas tunes on a piano!

You will also be able to visit Toby Cotterill and Roo Waterhouse in their studios upstairs and Jane Revitt downstairs.

Inside the fair, Katch is having a studio clearance of cups, egg cups and allsorts and has no card reader so bring cash.

Don Myers will be selling his new ‘Square Circle’ watercolours, 2026 calendars, diaries, notebooks, fine art prints, cards and original paintings.

Annie Harrison will be selling gift bags made from vintage newspaper, alternative Christmas wreaths and decorations made from natural materials, and ceramic bits and bobs.

Ceramicist Rachel Heny will have her hand thrown bowls and cups, jewellery, Christmas decorations and pearl lined porcelain hanging shells.

Rachel Red will have original lino prints, screen prints, cards, calendars for 2026, wooden decorations and festive mini prints.

And Izzie Boyce will have her traditional prints, cards and illustrations.

Come and visit Roo Waterhouse upstairs at Northlight Studios to have a chat and a browse through Shelf Portrait oil paintings alongside a fabulous range of Bookshelf Art prints and cards – perfect gifts for the bookworms in your life 🙂

And last but not least, come to the studio of Toby Cotterill to see a range of work from everyday earrings and gifts to one-of-a-kind pieces of sculptural jewellery and silverware. You can see new work including Beetle Beakers, inspired by recent Arts Council funding, which are hand forged from a single piece of silver with over 50,000 hammer blows! These are made using traditional silversmithing techniques, raising, chasing and repousse, which have been used for millenia, including to create the Mask of Tutankhamun.

So it’s all going on, as you can see!

All Northlight happenings are just on the Saturday on Sunday.

Hope to see you then!

Yours,

All at Northlight Art Studios

Open Studios :-)

1 December 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Events
Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th December
11am to 5pm

Festive Open Studio!!
I’m looking forward to welcoming visitors into my studio Northlight as part of the Festive Open Studios Weekend in Hebden Bridge 🙂

Pop along to our wonderful Northlight Winter Fair, full of stalls and artists: including Rach Red; Katch Skinner: Annie Harrison; Rachel H; Pete & Carol Leonard and more! Plus mulled wine, tea, cake and a raffle!
Then head on up the central stairs to find my Open Studio. Also opening their studios will be Toby Cotterill and Jane Revitt 🙂

Northlight Winter Fair

1 December 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Events
Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th December
11am to 5pm

Pop along to our wonderful Northlight Winter Fair, full of stalls and artists: including Rach Red; Katch Skinner: Annie Harrison; Rachel H; Pete & Carol Leonard and more! Plus mulled wine, tea, cake and a raffle!
Then head on up the central stairs to find my Open Studio. Also opening their studios will be Toby Cotterill and Jane Revitt 🙂

The Story of Art

1 December 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog

The Story of Art
‘The Story of Art’ oil on canvas 30x40cm

A brand new shelf portrait painting ‘The Story of Art’ has just arrived back from our wonderful local framers. It was a joy to bring together and celebrate some of the history, criticism and reflections on art throughout the ages that have informed my art practice over the years. Two of my particular favourites are ‘Matisse On Art’, which follows the development of Matisse’s ideas on art through a selection of his writings; and ‘Dear Theo’, Vincent Van Gogh’s prolific letters to his brother, Theo, which cronicle his rough, tough path to art and beyond.

The Story of Art will be winging it’s way down to Cambridge to join ‘Southern Lights’ and ‘Drama’ at the Byard Art Christmas Cracker Exhibition. The exhibition runs from 15th November until 24th December.
Adventures In Wonderland
Limited Edition Print ‘Adventures In Wonderland’

A few years ago I painted a second Childhood themed Shelf Portrait ‘Adventures In Wonderland’, which ended up going missing somewhere along the line – rather a mystery! I came across an image of it while browsing through my archive and thought it would be lovely to add it to my range of Limited Edition prints. It would make a great pairing with ‘When We Were Very Young’, my other childhood themed print – especially for a pair of children!
Shop for Adventures 🙂
Events:
Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th December
11am to 5pm

Festive Open Studio!!
I’m looking forward to welcoming visitors into my studio Northlight as part of the Festive Open Studios Weekend in Hebden Bridge 🙂

Pop along to our wonderful Northlight Winter Fair, full of stalls and artists: including Rach Red; Katch Skinner: Annie Harrison; Rachel H; Pete & Carol Leonard and more! Plus mulled wine, tea, cake and a raffle!
Then head on up the central stairs to find my Open Studio. Also opening their studios will be Toby Cotterill and Jane Revitt 🙂

Apologies…
**Please note that I will no longer be at the Northern Illustrated Book Fair in Harrogate this weekend (as I am currently in Copenhagen for my step-daughter’s marraige!).
Roo’s Shop
If you’re hoping to purchase some Bookshelf art for Christmas, you can browse my online shop and use the discount code:
festive10
anytime between now and 10th December for a special 10% discount throughout my shop.
Happy Shopping!!

Best Autumnal Wishes,
Roo

Currently Reading (and highly recommending!):
Cloud Cuckoo land by Anthony Doerr

Children’s, Illustrated & Detective Fiction Book Fair – 8th November

26 September 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events

I’m very happy to be taking part in this year’s Northern Children’s Illustraed and Detective Fiction Book Fair in Harrogate on Saturday 8th November.

We hope you can join us as this book fair is the only one of its kind.  It provides an opportunity for serious collectors as well as general collectors in all three areas.

A great day out for all the family.  With it being held just before Christmas it is a great opportunity to search for a gift, be that a book or some Bookshelf Art!!

https://www.pbfa.org/fairs/northern-illustrated-childrens-detective-fiction-november-2025

8th November 2025, 10:00 – 16:00

Pavilions of Harrogate, Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG2 8NZ

Oxford PBFA Book Fair – 18th October

26 September 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events

This is a one-day book fair in Oxford, and, alongside me and my Bookshelf Art, there will be around 75 dealers offering rare, collectable and second-hand books, maps, manuscripts and ephemera.

https://www.pbfa.org/fairs/oxford-book-fair-october-2025

Open Saturday 18th October 10 am – 4 pm

Café on site 🙂

Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane, Oxford, OX3 0BP