Pear Wood Pyrography Art Keepsake 'Autumns Tale'

This small slice of Pear wood was the perfect shape for my vision of Autumn embodied in the guise of a beautiful maiden passing through the woods..with golden leaves falling softly to the ground all around her. The night is clear, with bright moon and myriad stars to light her way. Beneath her feet ( on the base of the Keepsake) a hedgehog sleeps..
   Of course, although my mind sees these images in colour..there is a limit to wood, and so I wrote my poem to accompany the Keepsake :
               
                  Shall I tell you of the Moon in a diamond studded sky..
                  Bestow upon you blessings of My Lady passing by..
                  Give you golden leaves falling softly to the ground
                  As the world keeps gently turning
                  In it's endless sacred Round..

'Moonkeepers' Pen and Ink design (with Gouache)

My latest design features a favourite creature - the Raven!
   I love Corvids, Ravens in particular..and never tire of drawing them, on wood or paper.
This design is primarily pen and ink on watercolour paper, with a few touches of gouache here and there. Measures a little less than A5.

Totem Animal Pyrography Keepsakes

It's been a while since I posted pictures of my pyrography work. I create items of jewellery using primarily Hazel and Birch wood virtually eveyrday, and post pictures on Instagram, Facebook and Etsy. My 'Keepsakes' are generally small stand alone decorative pieces which a lot of folk buy as gifts or to stand on shrines and alters. Most of my Keepsakes feature Totem animals, and are made from small slices of hardwoods such as Apple, Pear, Holly and Box.
   Here are just a few recent examples. You can see more on my Instagram page : House of the Green Lady...
    The pieces shown here are all between  five and eight centimetres only...

Influence of the Bay

In April of 2019 I made the move from Nottingham city centre to Morecambe Bay, on the North West coast of England. Cooler and wetter than the Midlands...it's saving grace is the ethereal beauty of the bay, as it curves round towards the Lake District..the ever-changing colours of sea and sky, and the array of bird-life.
   Even in the town of Morecambe itself, one does not need to walk far to enjoy spectacular views and see and hear the plaintive calls of the Curlew, which is fast becoming one of my favourite birds..
   So I'm sharing here a recent Curlew design, created in pen and ink on watercolour paper...along with some of my recent photographs of Morecambe Bay..

Curlew

My Pen and Ink Curlew design

More Pen and Ink..

Pen and Ink Miniatures

I've been enjoying a return to the simplicity of designing in black and white, using pen and ink.
   As much as I love colour, it is also very pleasing to design with a very limited palette. The use of just black and white presents a number of challenges in composing the picture, but at the same time offers great potential with the use of contrast and pattern..
   Pen and ink also allows me to indulge my passion for detail!
These miniatures measure just 7 cm.

Moths!

 Having always loved insects there was a time when I used to draw and paint them often, especially Butterflies. It's been a while...but recently I began some insect illustration just for my own pleasure.

 These are three of my favourite Moths - Six -spot Burnet, Deaths Head Hawkmoth and Tiger Moth.

Six spot Burnet, Deaths head Hawkmoth and Tiger Moth

I drew these using coloured pencils.

'Lumiere'

Once again I turn to watercolours, pen and ink and gouache - my favourite mediums to achieve the mix of detail and colour I require.

'Lumiere'

'Etherica' Pen and Ink Design

Here is another mixed media painting - similar to my previous 'Spirit Rising' it involves watercolours, pen and ink and gouache, and features many of the themes I habitually return to!

'Etherica'

Pen and Ink with Gouache Design 'Spirit Rising'

'Spirit Rising' is a small design on watercolour paper, incorporating many of the themes which particularly inspire my creativity. Hare in the foreground represents and expresses receptivity to all that lies beyond plain sight.. and the design expresses my belief that all things are inter-connected and that life is inspirational and sacred...

Pyrography on Holly 'The Peace of the Earth'

Holly is a lovely wood to work with, and this was a particularly smooth and slim slice, ideal for my double-sided design..

Pyrography on Yew

A lovely smooth and beautifully shaped slice of English Yew, with a rich golden colouring was the inspiration for my Fox and Hare design 'Rivers of Light. This design speaks of joyful abandonment and inspiration, rather than captor and prey.
    My verse 'Rivers of Light' on the reverse was written whilst living in a remote cottage in Scotland, where I used to regularly see the hares in the meadows..

'Dreams of Albion' Pen and Ink with Gouache

I have here a design of pen and ink with gouache, incorporating many of my favourite elements, together with a small related verse. The verse is designed to be read from right to left and bottom to top as follows..'Let the Stones sing..Let the Stones ring..Let the Stones speak their truth..Let the Stones hold their mystery..'

Pyracantha Wood Decorative Keepsake

I've been using Pyracantha Wood for my Pyrography Art for a number of years now, and have produced keepsakes featuring all sorts of creatures. Pyracantha is my favourite wood for many reasons - it enables fine detail, has a wonderful colour and polishes to a nice sheen. But it is difficult to come by reasonable sized pieces, as this a shrub, rather than a tree. Many of my keepsakes are small, measuring perhaps 4-6 cm. Occasionally a larger piece come along, such as that shown here with my latest design 'Enchantment of Albion'.
  As far as I know I seem to be the only person using Pyracantha Wood for Pyrography!

'Stork and the Tree of Souls'

This recently completed design was created on stiff watercolour paper measuring 10 x 15 cms. I used an ink and watercolour wash to begin with, then outlined using pen and ink. Finally filling in with gouache.
   I am intrigued by birds and the role they play in folklore and imagination..often fulfilling a spiritual role as messengers. The Stork and Crane feature in many myths and legends - the Stork being well known for 'bringing babies'...so I adapted this to the idea of the Stork travelling to the place where the Tree of Souls is growing. Perhaps he will carry a new Soul into the world...

'Stork and the Tree of Souls'

Pyrography Art Keepsakes

'Sanctuary'

Here are two of my recent double- sided Wood Art pieces, created using my pyrography stylus. The wood slices, both Hazel, were carefully sanded in advance, in

'Sanctuary'

order to provide the smoothest surface possible, which allows me to draw in high detail. After roughly sketching my design with pencil I take up my pyrography stylus and outline the design. Next I burn the entire background, leaving the main elements to stand out in relief. Finally I add shading and fine detail..

Reverse side 'Breath of the Great Bear'

  The Keepsakes measure less than ten centimetres..

'Breath of the Great Bear'

Pen and Ink with Gouache 'Hope'

Inspired by seeing a tree in blossom locally - a very hopeful sign that spring may be around the corner! For this design I used watered down ink for the background and sky and mainly gouache for the tree.

Pen and Ink Design 'Moonsong'

This pen and ink design follows the same format as the previous picture 'In Days of Boar', a simple but pleasing symmetrical, mandala-like layout. This time my centrepiece is the Wolf..and I have plans for similar designs with different animals to come..

'Moonsong'

Pen and Ink Design 'In Days of Boar'

Inspired by short, dark winter days and the promise of the returning warmth and light of the sun, this pen and ink drawing celebrates the Boar, native, and once common to our land.
  I used an ink and watercolour wash for the background of the central disc, and a mixture of watercolour and pen and ink work for the rest of the design.

Pyrography Art Keepsakes

Double sided design - reverse below

Double sided design - picture below shows the reverse

Winged Hare on Hazel

Barn Owl on Hazel

'Messenger' on Boxwood

Here are some of my recent Art Pieces, created over the last few months using a variety of types of wood. Most of these pieces are very small and highly detailed, intended as talismans and small decorative pieces. They feature some of my favourite themes -trees, birds and animals..and mant of them are decorated front and back or around the edges. Some include short verses I've written.

Lady of the Forest on Hazel slice