This summer I spent a wonderful few days with my grown up children in a beautiful wooden yurt at Henbant Farm in Caernarfon. Plenty of wandering about the land, watching the birds and the bees, and browsing all the inspiring planet-friendly books on the shelves of the common room outbuilding.
Our time there inspired these two Shelf Portrait paintings: ‘Down to Earth’ and ‘ABC of Bees’, which are now heading down to London to be on show with Nicholas Bowlby Gallery at The Autumn Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, October 21st-24th
I’ve used the beautiful nature-inspired wallpaper patterns of Hannah Nunn for the backgrounds, which help set the mood perfectly 🙂
Look out for Limited Edition Prints coming soon!! Hopefully in time for ‘Calm and Collected’, my solo exhibition of recent paintings at Northlight Artspace in Hebden Bridge…..
There is a definite change in the light and the colours up on the moors this week.
Things are starting to feel more autumnal as October marches on, towards…….
A solo exhibition in Hebden Bridge 🙂
Things are hotting up in my studio as I focus on getting a series of new paintings ready for my solo exhibition Calm and Collected at Northlight Artspace at the end of this month.
My Shelf Portrait paintings of collected possessions (not just books!) hold a reassuring stillness and calm. Conjuring up memories, they give us a chance to reflect upon what is important to us in our daily lives and histories.
In my bookshelf paintings I celebrate a love of books – their power, their magic, the joy and the heartbreak they can give us.
There will be plenty of new bookshelves to browse and a series of new domestic shelves (sneak peek below!).
There will be a preview evening on Thursday 28th October from 6pm to 8pm to which you are all invited.
The exhibition is then open on Friday 29th, Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st from 11am to 5pm.
A big thank you to all the lovely, chatty people who visited, and a big WELCOME to all the new subscribers to Roo’s Mailing List!
It was so fabulous to have such friendly faces and enthusiastic book-related chats in my studio. The whole of Hebden Bridge was buzzing with visitors from near and far, and for once the weather was perfect too 🙂
AND… we get to do it all again in October!! The second Hebden Bridge Open Studios weekend of 2021 will run from October 1st-3rd with artists all over Hebden Bridge and the surrounding area opening their doors and welcoming visitors.
I also had a successful weekend at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea (not in person though, as it was the same weekend as Open Studios!) where Nicholas Bowlby Fine Art showed my newest paintings.
‘Architectural Heritage’ and ‘About Florence’ (above) have gone to their new homes…
My creative energies have been boosted by all this lovely enthusiasm and I am ploughing it in to lots of new work. Here I am painting in a background using Hannah Nunn‘s gorgeous Daisy Meadow wallpaper for inspiration 🙂
I am now busy working on series of paintings for ‘Calm and Collected’, my next solo exhibition at Northlight Studios at the end of October. Details to follow!…..
There is a new greeting card in my shop for anyone who enjoys a dose of 1960’s/70’s nostalgia 🙂
Take yourself back to memories of these classic childhood comic and TV show annuals! I used to spend hours and hours poring over these annuals as a child. We had one shelf full, and I must have read them all a hundred times! Whizzer and Chips, The Beano and the Blue Peter Annual were my favourites. Which were yours?
My youngest and I have just had a relaxing couple of days in West Wales, where we spent one happy half hour watching this little stunner go about it’s business…
We also saw an abundance of large bumble bees enjoying the flowers around our cosy little wooden shed near the banks of the River Teifi. The most beautiful location for a break, with a perfect balance of castles, ancient monuments, beaches and river swims 🙂
I hope you have all had a chance to be outside enjoying the sunshine and the bees.
This recently finished Shelf Portrait ‘Insect Ways On Summer Days’ was such fun to paint! All the beetles and bees made me smile, but I think the damsel-fly has to be my favourite. Big thanks go to Toby Cotterill a fellow studio holder at Northlight Art Studios for the inspiration of his book collection. Toby makes unique articulated jewellery inspired by the natural world and by arthropods in particular..
The original painting has already been snapped up, but ‘Insect Ways On Summer Days’ is newly available to order as a Limited Edition Print – just follow the button below to find out more….
I will be joining a fabulous range of local artists and makers in opening my studio (within current guidelines). We are so looking forward to welcoming visitors into our studios once more 🙂
I will keep you informed of our Covid Policy nearer the time, but I imagine we will have a limit to a single-group in each studio at one time. There will be outdoor seating (and some refreshments!) in the yard to hang out in if you need to wait your turn !!
I am very happy to tell you that this summer I will be taking part in Hebden Bridge Open Studios 🙂
There are two separate events in the planning stages, so if one has to be virtual then the other will be a real live visit!!
Watch this space for more information as it develops… and I would love it if you joined my list to receive news from Roo Waterhouse Art direct to you inbox, with first glances at new work and special offers 🙂
‘Big Sky’ – a bespoke Shelf Portrait painting for a well known publishing house. No prizes for guessing which of their authors it was commissioned for!!
I felt very honoured to get to paint for one of my favourite authors 🙂
A lovely write up in Helena Whitbread’s Blog about how the ‘I Know My Own Heart’ bespoke Shelf Portrait painting came about….
A detail from the painting is available as a ‘Gentleman Jack’ A4 prints, notebooks, greeting cards and mugs, all available from my Etsy Shop: RooWaterhouseArt
A most welcome addition to my Etsy shop is this detail Art-print of my latest Shelf Portrait oil painting ‘The Sisters Bronte’, picturing each of the novels of the Bronte Sisters. The editions pictured are from the shelves of the library at the Bronte Parsonage, and the wallpaper is from one of the Parsonage bedrooms.