Author: Roo Waterhouse

Three New Paintings…

1 May 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Next weekend an exhibition opens at Byard Art in Cambridge: ‘The Story of Art’, exploring the power of narrative art.
The show runs from 5th May until 1st June,
and will include three new Shelf Portrait paintings of mine:-)‘Type Is Beautiful’ reflects back to my days studying Typographic Design at the London College of Printing and celebrates a love of, and fascination for, lettering.
‘Type Is Beautiful’ oil on canvas 40x40cm

‘Drama’ presents an array of much loved dramatists and their well known  plays, taken from the shelves of an actor friend.

When I was a teenager I was introduced to the likes of Bertolt Brecht and Stephen Berkoff, (both at once, with my first non-West End theatre experience being Berkoff’s adaptation of Brecht’s The Trial) and for a while  immersed in full on in-yer-face tiny theatres, where there were often not many more audience members than cast, and the actors were literally shouting in your face – I’m not sure If I’d be brave enough now!
‘Drama’ oil on canvas 30x60cm
‘Thinking To Some Purpose’ (something I’ve not yet quite got the hang of myself!) came out of a collaboration with a Pelican book collector, after a discussion about all the fascinating titles these friendly iconic paperbacks have…
‘Thinking To Some Purpose’ oil on canvas 40x60cm
Joining the new ‘Poetry Please’ Limited Edition print this week is the new ‘Poetry Please’ Book Art Card 🙂
A galaxy of poems old and new….
Poetry Please!
Last weekend I spent a lot of time enjoying the beautiful combination of bluebells and baby beech leaves. What a match made in heaven!
Best Wishes,
RooCurrently Reading (and thoroughly enjoying!): BUT – Life’s Not Like That, Is It? Stories of Disruption and Digression by Boff Whalley

Harrogate PBFA Book Fair

16 March 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Events
The sign of a good book fair
www.pbfa.org

We are delighted to invite you to the

HARROGATE BOOK FAIR – New venue

Friday 21st March, 12 noon – 6pm
& Saturday 22nd March, 10am – 4pm

The Old Swan Hotel, Swan Road, HG1 2SR

To see the exhibitors and highlights please click here.

Download your free entry ticket here

I will be there promoting my Bespoke Shelf Portraits Commissions,

along with some Bookshelf Art prints and cards 🙂

We look forward to welcoming you!

Affordable Art Fair Battersea

8 March 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Events

A selection of my latest paintings will be exhibited at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park from 12th-16th March

With a Private View on Wednesday 5-9pm

and opening

Thursday & Friday 11am-9pm

Saturday & Sunday 11am-6pm

You will find my work on display with Nicholas Bowlby Gallery at Stand A7

‘Southern Lights’ 30x40cm oil on canvas Roo Waterhouse 2025

You can get yourself a complimentary (that’s FREE!) ticket

for the Affordable Art Fair HERE!

‘Poetry Please’ 30x40cm oil on canvas Roo Waterhouse 2025

Southern Lights

8 March 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog
S is for Southern Lights
Hannah Lawson with ‘Southern Lights’

My latest painting was inspired by Hannah Lawson, a fabulous wildlife artist and an Antarctic expedition guide, whose shelves are full of the adventures of Ernest Shackleton, Captain Robert Scott and others in the ‘Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration‘, alongside books on Antarctic wildlife and geography. So fascinating to take a glimpse into this land of extremes and explorations…

Here is Hannah on a visit to my studio, holding the resulting painting ‘Southern Lights‘.

‘Southern Lights‘ and ‘Poetry Please‘ are off down to London to join ‘007‘, ‘Think Like A Tree‘, ‘Women In Blue‘ and ‘Every Grain of Rice‘ in Battersea Park for the Affordable Art Fair.
The Affordable Art Fair: Battersea Spring
takes place on:
Wednesday 12th March (Private View 5-9pm)
Thursday 13th & Friday 14th (11am-5pm & 5-9pm)
Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th 10am-6pm.
You’ll find my paintings at Stand A7

You can use the link below to get your exclusive complimentary tickets courtesy of Nicholas Bowlby Gallery !!
Free Tickets for AAF Battersea Here

It is 9am on this fine morning and the sun is just rising over the hill behind my house, a sure sign that Spring is most definitely starting to Spring!
Once the leaves are unfurling on the trees in the woods the sun will be once again hidden from view until late in the morning, so I do especially enjoy this in-between time of year.
The crocuses are looking so gorgeously gold in the sunshine 🙂

 

Best Wishes,
Roo

Currently Reading: Grace Paley: The Collected Stories

Waves lapping on the Shore…

27 February 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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W is for Waves gently lapping on the sand….
New A4 Art Print ‘Beside The Seaside’

Is February an appropriate time of year to start talking about the seaside?

That’s got to be a resounding YES from me after a weekend next to the beach on Anglesey!

Bracing wind, sunshine, very brief paddles in the icy water and plenty of seabirds: Redshank; Turnstone; Shag; Oystercatcher; Curlew and various Seagulls – all identified with the help of my trusty Ladybird Book of Sea and Estuary Birds

And so now seems the perfect time to release the A4 art print of ‘Beside The Seaside’, which you will now find in my online shop. Gather yourself some inspiration for your summer holiday plans 🙂 
Seaside A4 Print

You can find out a bit more about Anglesey by clicking on my holiday snaps. For my holiday reading I took ‘To The Lighthouse’ by Virginia Woolf. I never made it to the lighthouse at South Stack though, as I couldn’t quite face the climb back up, so I just enjoyed the view from a distance…
C is for Clearance Sale!

Spending time by the sea gave me pause for some reflection, both personal and business.

I have been heading towards focusing more time on my painting and less time on all the merchandise management, and with this in mind I have taken the decision to discontinue my Book Art Mugs. Apologies, but to make up for it I am having as Super almost-Spring Mug Clearance Sale!!

All remaining mugs are 20% off at just £12 each

Snap one up before they are all gone…
20% off Book Art Mugs

Happy New Year!

20 January 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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H is for Happy New Year!!
…and what about all this proper winter weather!
Beautiful, as long as you don’t need to get anywhere!!
Thank you to all you lovely readers out there for all your support and appreciation over 2024 🙂

I hope that you all had a cosy Christmastime? Mine was restful, peaceful and heart-warming – just what I needed!
Did you receive lots of books for Christmas? Best-sellers, deeply thought-provoking or old favourites?
These two Bespoke Shelf Portrait clients were certainly very happy with their Christmas presents from their partners 🙂
M is for Mutual Aid

I gave my son a copy of Petr Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution and was happy to discover that he already had a copy, so he gifted it back to me 🙂

I am finding it a fascinating read…

“Practicing mutual aid is the surest means for giving each other and to all the greatest safety, the best guarantee of existence and progress, bodily, intellectual and moral.”I can’t help but think that our world would be a better, kinder, brighter place if there was more cooperation than competition…
T is for Thank You Letters…
One of my resolutions for 2025 is to write more letters, starting with those Thank you letters that I haven’t quite got around to yet!! Have you?
How about writing them in these Bookshelf Art greeting cards?
You can get a Mix & Match set of four for just £10 (just state which cards you would like in the Order Notes on the checkout page).
Mix & Match cards

Wishing you all the best for a cooperative 2025!
Roo

Currently Reading: ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini
and ‘Mutual Aid: A Factor Of Evolution’ by Petr Kropotkin
Roo’s Shop Here 🙂
Bespoke Shelf portraits

Northlight Winter Fair :-)

13 November 2024
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events

Northlight Winter Fair

It’s our annual Winter Fair event!


Our fabulous studio holders* will be hosting stalls to showcase their artistic goodies and gifts 🙂


You all get to come and visit, eat mince pies, buy locally made Christmas presents direct from the makers, win a raffle prize perhaps, drink some mulled wine, make a crafty something and enjoy a little festive feeling!


Saturday 7th December 11am-5pm
& Sunday 8th December 11am-5pm

stallholders including:

Roo Waterhouse Art (that’s me!)

Rach Red Designs

Red Mouse Design

Katch Skinner Ceramics

Jane Revitt Mapworks

Don Myers Painting

Toby Cotterill Jewellery

Annie Harrison ceramics & textiles

and more….
Yay!!

#hebdenmakeschristmas Open Studios!

11 November 2024
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Events

 

On Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December I will be joining other artists all around Hebden Bridge and my fellow artists here at Northlight Studios by taking part in the #hebdenmakeschristmas Open Studios weekend 🙂

I’m looking forward to chatting all things bookish and artish with anyone who cares to pop in to my studio 🙂

I’ll be there from 10.30 until 4pm on the Saturday and Sunday

Roo’s Bookshelf Art Calendar 2025 is Here!!

5 November 2024
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog
Roo’s Bookshelf Art Calendar 2025 has Arrived!!

Hooray!
My Bookshelf Art Calendar for 2025 has arrived – and I’m so pleased with it 🙂

Twelve colourful Bookshelf Art prints spread over the twelve months of 2025.
 It’s going to be a great bookish year!

There are a limited number of calendars available, so get your order in early to avoid disappointment 🙂
Order your Bookshelf Art Calendar Here

Ooooops!
You may have noticed, if you clicked on the Derby Book Fair link in the last two newsletters, that I got the date wrong !!
You will find me at the Book Fair in The The Museum of Making
on Saturday 23rd November!

 

I will have some calendars with me 🙂

and also at….
#hebdenmakeschristmas  Open Studios Weekend:
Sat 30th Nov & Sun 1st Dec in my studio

Northlight Winter Fair:
Sat 7th & Sun 8th Dec downstairs at Northlight Art Space

Best Wishes for a blazing Bonfire Night!
Roo

Currently Reading: ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ by Hanif Kureishi 
Roo’s Shop Here 🙂