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Indulge Your Imagination In Every Possible Flight!

13 September 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog, Events, Gift Ideas, Prints

”Indulge your imagination in every possible flight.”
– Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Most excellent advice!
Have you had a chance to relax and let your imagination take flight this summer?
My Jane Austen painting image is now available as a mounted print, ready to pop into an A4 frame and up on your wall to help your thoughts wander into the realms of fiction and fantasy as autumn approaches….
Shop Jane Austen
I nipped over to North Wales for a few days last week, where I relaxed and let my thoughts wander: resting up a tree above Dorothea Quarry; floating about in the beautiful
Llyn Nantlle (not for long- it wasn’t warm!!)

”To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.” – Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

This time in 2 weeks I will be setting up my stall at the fabulous Wigtown Book Festival. It will be so lovely to be back there again after two years of postponement 🙂
The festival runs from Friday 23rd September to Sunday 2nd October. There will be some fabulous author events including Anna Reid, Lauren Child, John Boyne and many, many others..
Also a performance from The Bookshop Band, a folk duo singing songs inspired by books 🙂

I will be on my stall in the Kist Marquee from Wednesday 28th to Sunday 2nd and look forward to seeing some of you there 🙂

 

Best Wishes,
Roo
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Architectural Heritage

16 August 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog, oil painting, Shelf-Portraits

I cleared the last of these architecture books, featured in my recent Shelf Portrait painting ‘Architectural Heritage’, off my father’s bookshelves while I was in London last week…

I spent the day thinking about my architectural heritage: the abundance of grand Victorian gothic revival buildings around the country, designed by my great-great-grandfather, Alfred Waterhouse.
My favourite must, of course, be the ‘cathedral to nature’ that is The Natural History Museum in South Kensington: I especially love all the little (and not so little) animal relief carvings all around the inside and outside of the building. 

From London I went to Oxford, where I spent a lovely sunny day wandering around with my nephew, who is studying Architecture, seeking out AW buildings. This is a view of the Brackenbury Buildings at Balliol College.
When he wasn’t busy being an eminent Victorian architect, Alfred liked to travel and paint with watercolours.
Here’s one he did in Bressago, Switzerland in 1882.
I’m feeling rather humbled as I return to my studio, but also inspired to stretch myself with creativity!

The Limited Edition print of  ‘Architectural Heritage’ can be found in my shop,

should you fancy one to adorn your walls 🙂
 

Classic Penguin inspiration in Hay on Wye

26 July 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog, oil painting, Shelf-Portraits

A trip to Hay-on-Wye last week, with it’s plethora of wonderful bookshops full of loved and tattered books, inspired me to start on a new Vintage Orange Penguins painting.

I love the early stages of a Shelf Portrait, where my brush feels free and more expressive. Sometimes I am tempted to leave them as they are….. But I tend to be even more tempted by the finer details!

Whilst in Hay-on-Wye I delivered a series of framed Limited Edition prints to Guy and Ellie at the lovely Bluestone Gallery . If you are in Hay, I recommend taking a look at their great selection of artists and makers, including my good friend and talented metalsmith Kate Rhodes Jewellery 🙂

There are now just a few of these Jane Austen Tote bags left in my shop – catch ’em while you can!

Best Wishes,
Roo

 
 

New Shelf portraits at Green and Stone Gallery, London next week :-)

14 June 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events, oil painting

I’m proud to be one of the artists exhibiting new work in next week’s
‘Come As You Are’
exhibition with Nicholas Bowlby Fine Art
at Green & Stone Gallery
Chelsea, London

You are hereby most cordially invited to attend the private view on
Tuesday 21st June 6.30 to 8.30pm
Please RSVP to thegallery@greenandstone.com

The exhibition runs from
Mon 20th June to Sat 25th June
open from 10am to 5pm
Green & Stone Gallery, 251 Fulham Road, London SW3 6HY
Here is my new painting ‘Every Grain of Rice’ in progress. The finished article will be on show at Green & Stone next week 🙂

What The Dickens……!

21 May 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog
Click on the image above to view a little film of me painting along to a Dickensian theme tune 🙂

Full steam ahead….

I’m currently nose to the grindstone getting new paintings ready for an exhibition with Nicholas Bowlby Fine Art at Green and Stone in Chelsea. The exhibition runs from 20th to the 27th June, so do pop in to see my latest work alongside some other inspiring artists’ work 🙂

It has been a revelation for me to listen to  Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities on my headphones as I paint  ‘What the Dickens!’ (pictured in progress above) – so much more interesting than one badly recited sentence at a time in school lessons!!
I am excited to have this Jane Austen mini notebook up in my website shop now, and I will soon be announcing the addition of Jane Austen Limited Edition prints – so watch this space!
Shop Austen Notebooks

Stage Two:

Here’s a view of what my paintings look like before I get to the typography stage….

Beatification: work in progress

I’m enjoying researching the best of the Beat generation for this painting. I’m currently listening to On The Road by Jack Kerouac as I paint….

And now back to the grindstone…….!!
Best Wishes,
Roo

May Day at UPCO !!

26 April 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events, oil painting, Shelf-Portraits

Come and join me at UPCO in Otley this Sunday.
It’ll be the final day of my exhibition, as well as being May Day!!

There will be refreshments and merriment 🙂

These lovely little notebooks are new in my shop this week!
I’ll be bringing some to Otley on Sunday too 🙂
Choose from Jane Austen, Science Fiction. the ABC of Bees and Gentleman Jack…
Shop Notebooks 🙂

Book Stairs!
The Bookery, a fabulous independent bookshop in Crediton, sent me this great photo of their innovative stair decoration using some of my Book Shelf greeting cards.
Isn’t it fab!!

I hope you all have a super bank holiday weekend.
I look forward to seeing some of you in Otley on Sunday 🙂

Best Wishes,
Roo
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Happy Birthday Charlotte Bronte!

21 April 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog, Gift Ideas

Celebrate the birthday of Charlotte Bronte with some book shelf art!


This shelf portrait oil painting image, depicting editions of the Bronte Sisters’ novels from the library of the @bronteparsonagemuseum

is available as a Limited Edition print, as well as smaller prints, notebooks, cards and a gift set 🙂
You will also find the prints and cards in the gift shop at the Parsonage Museum in Howarth 💚


#charlottebronte
#brontebookpainting #howarth #bronteparsonagemuseum #bronteart #brontegift #brontesisters #brontes #brontebooks

Learning to be Curious….

23 March 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Bespoke Painting, Blog

This happy chappy was very pleased with his mum’s Bespoke Shelf Portrait, ‘This Charming Man’ which I delivered last weekend 🙂

How Do Nothing

I have always had a tendency to see reading as an escape from my own life into someone else’s, and thus to bury myself in fiction.
This year I am learning to be curious and to find out more about the world and the lives lived in it…
‘How To Do Nothing‘ by Jenny Odell sounded from the title like it might be a whimsical self-help manual. In fact, it is an engaging, inspiring, intelligent collection of essays looking at the attention economy of the 21st Century and how to resist it.It is helping me on my journey to pay more attention to the reality of things and our relationships with the people and planet around us.

I recommend you give it a read 🙂

Best Wishes 🙂

Roo

Spring is in the Air :-)

1 March 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events

My thoughts are turning towards the garden this morning, now that I can feel a bit of spring in the air, and in the ground, with bulbs all starting to peep up 🙂

I was a bit late with my winter manure cover (February😮) but I’m sure it will be a while before sowing temperatures are reached up here in Yorkshire!

This ‘Down to Earth’ greeting card reminds me to take care of the soil and start planning my crops for the season ahead…
Shop Down to Earth

My son and I had a busy and successful day yesterday setting up my exhibition at UpCo Arts in Otley. It’s looking great (if I may say so myself!)
I’m very much looking forward to the open day this Saturday, and hope to see a few of you there 🙂

Here is my son, Rory, using a drop-knee climbing move to do some extreme hanging over the stairwell!

Best Wishes 🙂

Roo