‘Swallows’
2012Lampshade
10" diameter x 10" high
Sold
This pair of hand made Batik ‘Swallow’ lampshades are something I’m really proud of. I’ve always loved swallows and when a friend said how good they would look flying around a lampshade, I was off immediately to the studio to start drawing. I am really pleased with the result, so much so I didn’t want to sell them but I had to, as they were a commission. I have worked on both sides of the cloth to get the detail so when you look down into the shades the swallows are swooping all around both inside and out. I have used swirling brushwork and shading to create the movement as the swallows fly around the shade. The yellow and grey mottled and crackled background gives lively movement and in the soft yellow glow, it’s as if they are flying in the evening sun.
I have since repeated this lampshade design and it is a favourite of mine to do. I love the way the swallows swoop and dive over the canal outside my home. I could watch them for hours – it looks like they are having such a good time and if I could come back in another life as something else – I’d like to be a swallow..