Three “Thank You’s”

I have had three very nice things happen just recently and I just want to say thanks!

Thank you Bees in Art!

Firstly to Andrew at “Bees in Art” who kindly invited me to join them. My bees now have a page there! I am so very pleased and honoured to be added to such a brilliant group of artists and even on the same line as Arthur Rackham. At the moment only the prints are available there but as I have more time I hope to be able to add some originals… so “Thank you!” Bees in Art.

Thank you SAA Bursary Award!

On Saturday I spent the day in London and attended the SAA, the Society for All Artists exhibition “It’s All About Art” which was full of aspiring artists watching and participating in demos from some very accomplished artists. I particularly like the SAA because of their all inclusive and non precious attitude to art. They exist to “inform, encourage and inspire” artists of all ages and all abilities. It was great to see so many people trying different styles media and approaches. I was there to receive a small but very welcome bursary to go towards art materials for my fledgling “Bee Inspired” art/ nature workshops… which I will be offering soon, more of that to come. Thank you all at SAA for your support for the project.

Thank you “Pitahayas in Art”

And finally an unexpected and non bee thank you to Adolfo Rodríguez Canto
from the Universidad Autonoma Chapingo in Mexico. Adolfo is putting together a very specialist book on the strange and beautiful Dragon Fruit or Pitahaya, or more accurately the Pitahaya in Art! “Las Pitahayas en Las Artes Plasticas”. He had asked to include my dragon fruit sketches, from those wonderful early days of my Pencil and Leaf Blog when I was discovering so much of the world of tropical and subtropical flora in Orlando. I couldn’t be more delighted. They will be amongst ceramics and paintings drawing and sculptures all celebrating this “maravillosa planta mesoamericana!”

Otra vez Adolfo, Me siento honrado de tener las pinturas incluido en su libro! Mil gracias!’ Y otra vez las pitahayas…

Half a pitahaya…

and this glorious, magenta and green fruit in a colour sketch..

See the Dragon Fruit Posts here http://pencilandleaf.blogspot.com/search/label/dragonfruit from back in 2008, where I explored my newly rediscovered fruit…something I first ate in a hostel in Nicaragua, not then knowing what on earth it was! Frida Kahlo’s painting is beautiful.