#bookart

Three New Paintings…

1 May 2025
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events
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

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside :-)

30 March 2024
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog

Here’s a sneak peek at some details of  the new Shelf Portrait painting that I finished this week:
‘Beside The Seaside’

I especially enjoyed painting the shells and pebbles, as well as the detail of Hokusai’s ‘

The Great Wave off Kanagawa‘, possibly the world most famous woodblock print, on the cover of Iris Murdoch’s ‘

The Sea, The Sea

 

Once it’s dried and varnished it will be off down to London for the 

 on Hampstead Heath in May.
I’ll be going down with it, and I’m looking forward to venturing into the Hamptead ponds for a swim 🙂

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside!
I do like to be beside the sea!
Oh I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom!
Where the brass bands play, “Tiddely-om-pom-pom!”

I’m not sure there’s much of a chance of catching a brass band on the prom these days, but I don’t think that would stop me from heading to the seaside if I had half a chance!

Easter holidays is the classic time to head for the coast, I wonder where you might all be off to? I’m hoping for a day trip to Formby beach – a beautiful spot with pine forest, sand dunes, miles of sandy beach and even the chance of spotting a red squirrel 🙂

Above is a sketch I did there last Easter – I can’t believe it was so sunny!!

The lovely warm sunshine we had here on Sunday seems like such a distant memory! Pootling in my garden, I was happy to see a few fluffy bumble bees buzzing about 🙂
Why not spread some bee love this Spring with the warm, bumble-bee colours in my ‘ABC of Bees‘ range of prints and cards!

I also had a lovely stroll up through the woods to gather wild garlic, and made this delicious 

for my lunch 🙂

Wishing you all a relaxing Spring Break 🙂

Best Wishes,
Roo

New Book Art Notebook Range…

12 March 2024
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog, Events

Notebooks are back!
(Well, you kept asking, so what could I do!!)

With three new designs:
By The River; Vintage Penguins and Agatha Christie,
alongside the ever popular Jane Austen and Science Fiction.
Shop Notebooks Here
You can take a look at the notebooks in person if you happen to be in Harrogate this weekend.
I’ll be exhibiting at the PBFA Harrogate Premier Book Fair
on Friday 15th March 12noon to 6pm
and Saturday 16th from 10am to 4pm.
You can even download a free ticket for two here 🙂
…and there’s a new Agatha Christie mug too!! The perfect vessel for a cosy cuppa with your whodunnit reading 🙂

Best Mystery Wishes

Roo

Currently Reading: ‘Lights, Planets, People’ by Molly Naylor and Lizzy Stewart
Roo’s Shop Here 🙂

What The Dickens!

3 November 2023
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog

The leaves are turning here in the lovely Colden Valley. It is such a blessing to be able to start my day with a stroll through the beech, oak and Scots Pines 🙂
While browsing for a link to put with this photo, I came across a blog about the hidden gems of this lovely valley.                                                                                                                          Have a look here.                                                                                                            But don’t tell everyone how lovely it is!!

New Limited Edition Print:

What The Dickens!

Now available in an edition of 100 Fine Art Giclee Prints

I love the warm tones of the worn leather and the way the gilded text shines out of the spines on these Dickens books.
Prepare yourself for an atmospheric Dickensian Christmas this year!

(remember to use the code EARLYXMAS23 for 10% off!)

 

A date for your diaries:

Northlight Winter Fair

Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd December
10.30am – 5pm
with a dozen or more of your favourite Northlight Artists, along with refreshments, raffle and an art activity 🙂
Yes, there will be MULLED WINE!

The Winter Fair is just one of the arty things happening all around Hebden bridge as part of the
Hebden Bridge Open Studios Winter Weekend
Follow @northlight_studio @hbopenstudios and #hebdenmakeschristmas on instagram for more news from all those taking part…

Getting Christmas sorted early….

To encourage you to get Christmas sorted early, I am offering you an exclusive 10% off throughout my website shop from now until the 4th December 🙂

Simply add the code: EARLYXMAS23 to your basket…

With Best Wishes
Roo

Busy Busy Busy!

29 March 2023
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Bespoke Painting, Blog

The primroses are out in my garden, and I am back to having my barefoot evening stroll in the woods, listening to the birds singing their evening songs….

This Spring I’ll be busy in my studio with Bespoke paintings, as I’m now booked up until April 2024!!

Obviously no sneak peaks of works in progress, but here is a little gallery of some recent commissions…
‘Hug’ for Theo 2023; ‘Moondust’ for Karen 2023; ‘Amore a Prima Vista’ for John and Dawn 2022 and ‘D&K’ for Duncan 2022
You can take a closer look at these, and find out more about how to commission your own Bespoke painting here.

New for April 2023!

‘By The River’ Limited Edition Print

Drift away with the flow and imagine yourself paddling, swimming, strolling, or simply lazing by the river….

This image of my original Shelf Portrait oil painting ‘By The River’ is available as a special Limited Edition Print.

Limited Edition archival print on 280g Fine Art paper

Numbered out of an edition of 100
Signed and numbered under the image by the artist
with a certificate of authentication on the back

The printed image measures 12 x 16 inches.
Buy ‘By The River’ here

Best Wishes,
Roo
Roo’s Shop

Rainbows on the Horizon….

9 November 2022
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog
‘Every Grain of Rice’ 2022 Roo Waterhouse, oil on canvas 30x60cm
Are you a fan of arranging books by colour?
I wouldn’t usually approve (apart from when it comes to Penguin Paperbacks, of course!), but I think it works fabulously on this shelf of cookbooks in my friend Cath’s kitchen!
This new Shelf Portrait painting ‘Every Grain Of Rice’ is now on show and on sale at Wychwood Gallery in Oxfordshire 🙂
CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA No.2
My most popular design, ‘Rainbow Penguins’, is now available as a Tote Bag 🙂
A lovely 100% cotton bag with plenty of room and long handles for carrying on your shoulder…
Shop Rainbow Tote

(Reasonably) Calm and Collected!

26 October 2021
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Art Events, Blog, Events, oil painting

 Hello 🙂

Phew! It’s been a busy old week…

Preparations for my Calm and Collected Exhibition this weekend are well underway and I’ve been buzzing about collecting paintings, framing prints, writing blurbs, and generally trying to pull everything together! As well as still working on a painting I would like to show (there will be a Wet Paint warning!!)

I had a great afternoon browsing around the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea while collecting some paintings. Such a variety of art on display. The highlight for me was the wonderful seaside light and atmosphere reflected in the colours of the buildings in the paintings of Camille Dowse

I managed to find time for family and nature too with a Thames-side walk in the morning sun, admiring the autumn colours in the park in the afternoon and a family feast in the evening 🙂
In celebration of my own architectural heritage (my great-great grandfather being the prolific, much admired Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse) I have now published a series of 100 Limited Edition Mounted Prints of the original shelf portrait painting ‘Architectural Heritage’ and they are available to buy in my shop 🙂
Shop Architectural Heritage Print Here

There will be a preview evening of Calm and Collected
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.

I look forward to seeing you 🙂

Belated New Year Greetings!

29 January 2020
Roo Waterhouse
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Categories: Blog, oil painting, Shelf-Portraits

Just about got this newsletter out before the end of January!!

‘Sarah’s Room’ ©RooWaterhouseArt2019 12×16″ oil on canvas

2019 was a very busy year for Roo Waterhouse Art, with bespoke Shelf-Portrait paintings for clients in London, Derby, and around Yorkshire, including a couple of extra special ones commissioned through publishers at Penguin Random House (but I can’t yet tell you who for!). For more information about Bespoke Shelf Portrait take a look here. Great Shelf Portrait painting sales at the Affordable Art Fairs in Battersea and Hampstead last spring and summer, many thanks to Nicholas Bowlby Fine Art, also at Frivoli Gallery, Chiswick and The Yorkshire Gallery, Halifax. Very pleased to have some large scale ‘Belongings’ painting sales too, including one to the USA. 

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