Jewellery making. Did I tell you that I love the 1800s?

I have decided to learn about jewellery making, or rather, assembling and designing jewellery. Painting seems to have fallen by the wayside lately and I find myself immersed in the wonderful world of beads, gems and beautiful whatnots. I've always had a thing about jewellery right from when I was a tot, as my mother loved jewellery and beautiful craftsmanship. I have scores of books on the subject, so I suppose that jewellery making has been a long time coming! The paints, brushes, and thoughts of India have been put aside for a while and my studio is filled with chains and beads and charms ...all shining and waiting to become a piece of jewellery Art. I don't really know what I'm doing but there is a lot of reading going on and my imagination is in overdrive! I don't know if this will all lead anywhere but I sure am having a good time! Yesterday, I sat and watched Jane Austen's Persuasion (2007, the one with Rupert Penry Jones and Sally Hawkins) for the 3rd time and sketched every single piece of (Georgian) jewellery that appears in the film, noting what kind of jewellery was worn by different sorts of people, and at what time of day, and situation - I have to say, it was a very interesting exercise! Actually, I'm in a bit of a Jane Austen phase right now, I have just finished reading Persuasion and I'm learning Frank Churchill Arrives (by Rachel Portman, from the film Emma) on the piano a few hours each day ...so I'm on a bit of a Jane Austen/Georgian cloud at the moment. It's a very nice place to be! :)

Rupert Penry Jones - Who Do You Think You Are?

The first time I saw Rupert Penry Jones was on an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? last year. I was not familiar with his work at that time - but have sinced realised he stars in Spooks, though the character Captain Frederick Wentworth in Jane Austen's Persuasion 2007 is my current favourite (some people didn't like him in the role but I thought he was fab!). So, I approached this WDYTYA episode with an open mind. To my surprise (and his!), this tall, fair haired and fair skinned man turned out to have a strong connection with India, perhaps an even stronger connection with India for the last 200 years than with his home of England. His ancestry, like mine, is strongly connected with the British military and the East India Company during the 1800s. His search led him through Cannanore, Lucknow, Nagpore, following the movements of his army ancestors, and eventually to Trichinopoly, where he found records for his ancestor Elizabeth, a native woman born in 1816. My own search has been similar, so I could relate - I have found many records for Anglo Indian (Indo British) ancestors (the sons of military men tended to marry the daughters of their military friends) but, like Rupert, I have only found records for one person that is fully Indian and she was also from Trichy. I think perhaps I got a larger share of brown skin genes!!! ;-) I have to say, I really enjoyed this episode and urge anyone interested in Anglo Indian family history to watch it. There is a part in the show when he discovers that his ancestor was present at the events surrounding the Cawnpore Massacre...I thought Rupert handled that really well, with sensitivity and intelligence. I think he was exceedingly lucky to have had WDYTYA help him with the search, as I have been on my Indian ancestry search for YEARS! and have not uncovered even one quarter as many (or as wonderful) documents as the ones he found! Military records are one thing but letters! photographs! very lucky indeed! It just goes to show what kind of documents are out there. Quite inspiring. And I particularly liked Rupert's reflections on how he felt about his Indian ancestry. An enjoyable and memorable show :)

No 22 He Gave Her a Rose + No 23 The Perfume Maker

Two paintings, No 22 He Gave Her a Rose and No 23 The Perfume Maker.

I decided to do something a little bit different this time and create a pair of paintings.

No 22 - In the picture at the top, we see a lady in her home who has received a rose, whilst through the gate we see a man driving away in a little white car.

No 23 - In the second picture, we see a man in his rose garden tending the flowers. Inside his house we see baskets of rose petals and perfume bottles on the shelf, whilst through the gate we see through the garden archway, the front of a little white car. He is the man who gave the lady the rose.

I've used quite a bit more gouache than usual, hence the brighter colours. I used to use gouache exclusively for the first 20 years that I painted before I switched to watercolour but these days I find myself using more and more gouache. I suppose it's a sort of old friend. Some of the gouache is laid down quite thickly in these two paintings, making the surface a bit rough and textured. The gouache has mainly been used on the sections depicting building walls.

The two paintings have been created as a pair. Both paintings have the same dimensions with a figure on the right, an architectural feature on the left and a garden in the middle. Both paintings feature roses and cats.

These two paintings have been designed for something special but I shall tell you about all that in a few months when things are further down the track! Super secret shhhh! :)