Painting on China

Yes I´ve been absent for some days but here I am again, and to begin with I would like to thank to all my new Followers, it´s nice to have you near by.

At this moment I spend my spare time trying to organize my self with my work, but this  is not very easy because I have too many passions, one of them is painting on China. Years ago,  more than 20 I involved my self  repairing old china after a Course I took in London, then followed by several  classes to learn the technique of painting on china over the glaze. The following pieces were painted in the years 80.

Days ago and after so many years I opened a  big box with lots of white porcelain and decided to paint a few pieces, I started with  porcelain boxes, which I´m going to show you but please note that this boxes need two more fires on the kiln, I usualy paint in three steps. Among theses boxes you may see some miniatures, but as the are so tiny I have to make some experience first, I hope they don´t brake inside the kiln, but this is my next target to paint porcelain on scale 1/12.

 

Fist fire at 750º near you may see the proper brushes, a spatula to mix the pigments, a pen to do the pen work and a little box with purple one of the most expensive pigments.

A round plate painted free hand, in two firing 25cm dia.

A plate inspired on a tea porcelain caddy - 1750 Cie. des Indes - Décor Occidental,

I loved to capture the real character of the people involved in this decoration, it is not easy 

   

A detail (I used to sigh all my works only with my initials AM)

Dish with a Japanese woman (it was painted with a chinese ink pen)

Dish with fruits, and insects

 A cake dish inspired by Meissen décor

 Decoration - a Coat of Arms 



Detail

Another porcelain Box - with a fine work in gold over relief (four firing at the kiln)

Detail

A jar painted freehand, which means no previous drawing

Romantic decoration on a plate (also freehand) 22x14

Art Nouveau findings

Today I would like to show you my latest Art Nouveau findings, but before that I would like to thank to all my new followers, I´m glad to have you following my Blog.

Days ago I found these pretty ornaments in a desplay at an antique shop, I realized that they had very good quality so I couldn´t resist, here they are together with two items I had already belonging to this decorative style.

The Art Nouveau jardinière - Leda and the Swan -  is inspired on the Greek Mythology in wich Zeus came to Leda in the form of a swan.

Grandfather clock with pendulum, made of pewter and gold painted, the clock-face is behind glass, date around 1910 - height 13cm. It needs  and deserves some repair work, I hope to do it one day because it´s very lovely. 

Detail of the one above - A Japanese Fan

6cmx2,5cm

(The ornaments in background are from a Art Nouveau book).

I hope you get inspired by this decorative style. In wich concerns my work I hope to apply my   Art Nouveau ornaments  in a decoration one day, if not I will simply look at them fascinated for this decorative style.

And to finish I took a photo from a book, also fascinated by the Art Nouveau Decorative Glasses, these begong to  Daum Frères - 1904, as I can´t afford them in scale 1/1 I imagine to have them made in scale l/12..........



A break for a tea

First of all I would like to wellcome my  new Followers, thank you very much for visiting my Blog.

I´ve no news in which concerns my work, I´ve been operated a second time to remove the "support material" of my broken foot, and I hope to get well in a near future, and hope also to return to my studio as soon as possible.

Now I profit to invite all my Followers to join me at another cup of tea, and a slice of marble cake.

Tea cup from Limoges and marble cake

Porcelaine "Tête-à-Tête" tray, with a simple but lovely hand painted landscape

I "bought" this tea set more or less 20 years ago from an antique dealer to whom I restored some porcelain pieces, instead of receiving money from my work I preferred  to buy this antique tea set from Limoges. The lids have a few damages but I never had time to repair them....

The mark at the bottom of the tea cup

And of course a miniature tea set near one of my cakes.  As I can´t find any supplier of  good white porcelain one of the experiences I would like to try some day is to enrich some of the miniature porcelain I have, i.e. I intend to profit the decoration  made with decals of these serial pieces,  and paint some more detail and a border using porcelain pigments, there´s one thing I don´t know, if these tiny pieces will stand high temperatures of 780º., as always I´ve so many ideas on my mind and so little time to accomplish them.....

I would like very much to find good quality white miniature porcelain to paint, do you know any supplier?



An unexpected gift

I began the New Year receiving an unexpected  and amazing gift, just take a look

I looks real, in scale 1/1 doesn´t it? Pay attention to all the detail...

BUT.......

It is a lovely work made by Maria Armanda in scale 1/12 , she has such a talent!

Enjoy the detail: the perfume bottles, the mirrors, the lip stick, the nail varnish, the comb, the necklace, it´s incredible, everything is in place for a great evening, I can imagine the "owner" of this cozy corner spending some hours preparing herself for the party.

Note the evening dress which  is embroidered

The shoes are lovely

I will treasure it, thank you so much Maria Armanda for this lovely gift, an I wish you a Happy New Year with great projects. 

Something finished

At least I finished something for my country house, I´m thinking to add a few more details using Bindels ornaments to decorate it, but here it is:



The bed was lacquered, and "dressed" with Tilda tissues and antique laces, everything is stiched by hand because years ago I gave the Singer Stich machine that belonged to my Mother, nowadays I regret it very much

 Detail

On the ground you can see some metal strips covered with paper which I used inside the eider-down to give shape and  so adhere to the mattress. Mine is not a real eider-down...., because  the real ones  are made of the soft feathers of the female eider - ducks from the nothern hemisphere. 

The bed before being lacquered

Decorations for the room 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

I would like to wish a Happy Christmas to all the Followers and Visitors of my Blog

Bottle Gardens

In real life bottle gardens are variant of the terrarium, and as long as the plants we put inside have the right soil, sufficient light and moisture content they will long last. In 1829 Nathaniel Ward a London physician discovered accidentally that some variety of plants were able to grown on a closed glass. Water evaporated from the leaves during transpiration condensed inside the glass being  then absorbed by the roots. This concept was adopted by Victorian gardeners and had lots of enthusiasts.

At home I have always a bottle garden, the plants I put inside lasts around three years, after that I have to change them. So I was glad when I found these miniature Bottle gardens at the Madrid Fair, now I have to decorate them - the final destiny is my future greenhouse, and here they are:

The two garden bottles together with a few containers for miniature gardens

A detail of my future greenhouse, everything is in preparation

Another detail, I think I need a bigger greenhouse because I have lots of nice things related......

Everything is out of place awaiting for the structure to be painted; one more project to add to the list of the unfinished ones.....

A few acquisitions and a warm welcome to my new Followers

First of all I would like to welcome my new Followers, thank you very much for following my Blog. 

And finally today I found some time to make a few photos of the miniatures I bought at the Madrid Fair, as soon as possible I will take some more pictures of my acquisitions.

The Fair had so much attractions, and it was difficult to choose, here I´ll show you some of my options.

Lovely miniatures from http://www.twinheart.com/

I´m fond of these fishes with their big eyes and elegant tales, I found them very real and the aquariums are made of glass

The photo was made against a  painting on silk from Thailand inspired on those fishes

Three miniature orchids photographed against real flowers

More flowers from http://www.twinheart.com/ they are very well done. At the backgrounf I put a photo of a lovely Edwardian Conservatory, just for my inspiration

I bought them thinking of my future green house

A miniature structure of a fan nearby a real French fan, I hope to decorate it some day...

A book for my greenhouse with engravins of birds, I found it lovely

A cute little doll

The same doll photographed  together an antique doll, it is real tiny.