A town planner by day, it would be fair to say I quite like buildings. In the process of decorating our house over the last couple of years (it needed a lot of decoration), I have stumbled upon three fantastic artists which now adorn my walls and cupboards, perhaps slightly more than my husband would like. Anyhow, I wanted to take this opportunity to recommend them to you all.
A lovely Sheffield based artist who’s artwork I first saw hanging on the wall in one the city’s best secondhand bookshops – the excellently named ‘Rare and Racy‘. The image in question was of the iconic Sheffield Cooling Towers by the Tinsley Viaduct which are sadly no more. But as a Sheffield girl (you may have guessed this part by now) I couldn’t resist and the print is now happily gracing the wall of my study, alongside one of the Russell Club in Manchester where Joy Division played some of their first shows (concession to hubby).
The artist in question, Jonathan Wilkinson, has also recently released a new print of the Trellick Tower in west London. As this part of the capital is now my home, I was very quick to add this to my collection – it is just waiting for a frame!
Last summer, I also commissioned Jonathan to produce an original print to celebrate a friend’s wedding. They were getting married in one of Sheffield’s more modern landmarks – the Millennium Galleries – and I thought one of Jonathan’s prints would be a fantastic momento. The result was amazing and greatly appreciated – it now hangs proudly in their living room.
People Will Always Need Plates
And don’t they just, especially if they look as good as these! I think I first stumbled on this fantastic company through the Clothkits website where you can buy a couple of their designs as a sew your own Skirt Kit. Again, I love their focus on modernist architecture which I know doesn’t appeal to all, but I think the way in which they represent the buildings together with their use of colour is amazing. I recently purchased the two plates below of Kensal House and the Trellick Tower which are going to take pride of place in our dresser just as soon as the new kitchen has been installed (3 weeks to go). I love the vibrant colours which pick up on a 1950s vibe.
Snowden Flood is the final artist I wanted to highlight. She is a London-based artist who specialises in urban and rural landscapes. In our house she is affectionately known as the ‘Bridge Lady’. Two of her fabulous plates from the ‘River Series’ are proudly hanging in our bathroom! I came across this as an idea in the Guardian Weekend magazine a couple of years ago when I was looking for inspiration of how to decorate the vast walls in our bathroom with something that wouldn’t be damaged by all the condensation. The somewhat retro answer presented to me was hanging plates on the wall. The blue/ green tones of the River Series work wonderfully in a bathroom setting and the river theme seems more than appropriate. Snowden Flood also produces a range of other designs and homewares which I would thoroughly recommend.
