Jan Harbon, Artist and Illustrator

originals
limited edition prints
greetings cards

November, and back to work...

Thursday, November 24, 2011, 06:29 PM

It hasn't been entirely without lifting a paint brush during October, but maybe not quite so fraught as usual. Finished the last workshop of the year at Gilbert White's House, and it has felt a bit 'holidayish' in the last few weeks. We are trying to work out the new card designs for 2012, so a lot of thought has been going on if not much else! (That's my story and I'm sticking to it - thinking is hard work!). And of course, daughter Kate had lovely baby Harry in October, and I couldn't get my head around much else...
Here is a design on it's way - called the "Cherry Picker" - one of several bird and flower cards that will be available for next season. Having spent so much time reading and being around Gilbert White's House, it seemed appropriate to include a few feathered friends.

The calendars are selling well this year, both in retail and direct, keeping us and the Post Office busy. Perhaps next year I will do the Christmas cards I keep humming and haa-ing and maybeing about. Meanwhile of course, NAFAS have produced the "Winter Flowers" as a card for general sale. (It was the President's card last year). So that's 2011 sorted. And I still see an occasional Christmas design pop up in Smith's on some card or another. Licence to use an image may only be a few years, but publishers get some mileage out of them!

I circulated info. on a workshop next March - and I do apologise to anybody that would have liked another date in Spring. The overspill from the first advertised workshop then filled another two. This leaves me with no more time for more before Chelsea. BUT! I do know that Gilbert White's House still has space on 17th March, and I will be doing more in July (think sweet peas hopefully). If you would like to know if anyone drops out from the Spring workshops (see events for dates), send me an email. If you didn't get an email in the first place, we got an awful lot of undelivered mail returned from the server!! Wrong dot or changed address? Let me know if you've slipped through the "web" net.

So exciting to have been picked for the floral range of 2011 by Greetings Today magazine. It was a lovely surprise. Also concentrates the mind on 2012 designs! See.....I am thinking....
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Wisley over, Exhibition under way

Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 11:41 AM

Does anyone recognise the venue for this workshop? Thought not (unless you were there of course). It's the lovely Clore Learning Centre at Wisley Gardens. We were allowed in there, and I hope that we will be able to use it again in the future. So bright and airy. Really enjoyed the Workshop which was at it's maximum, and as it took place during the Flower Show Week, Pheasant Acre Nursery let us have some magnificent gladioli and dahlias from their stand. Thanks to Rob and Helen for that. And Geoff won loads of brownie points for manfully manning OUR stand for the whole of Friday assisted by sidekicks Terry and Sally on the busiest day of the show. SO lucky with the weather too. It didn't rain with meaning until breakdown Sunday evening.

By the time we set up for Wisley of course, the Exhibition at Selborne was underway. Lovely Preview evening, beautiful weather for that too, lucky, lucky, and thankyou so much to everyone who came. I had a lot of camera wobble for some reason, so only have a few presentable images of an empty room! Nevermind, here's two walls to be getting on with! GW 2011 fabric

The photos left and right are of some textile work and a "Gilberts Garden" necklace I made. Just because I love doing it. The fabric is available from www.spoonflower.com in the USA. It's a brilliant company that prints your designs and also sells them on to the rest of the community if you want. I was really pleased with the results, and I'm amazed that I've actually sold some.

Now it's back to fulfilling orders, more and MORE calendars going out - does that mean that Christmas is coming??

I'll be at Gilbert's tomorrow morning and Friday, and we have a workshop on Saturday at the Field Centre. Plans for next year's workshops are underway. Those here at the Studio haven't been given a date yet, but those at Gilbert White's and Wisley are now decided. I've put them on the Events Page, more info. from the venues.

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Gilbert White's Exhibition preparation

Monday, August 29, 2011, 10:26 AM

Nearly finished preparations for the exhibition....some things just never got there, but on the whole I think I've covered what I wanted to. Invitations to the Preview have gone out by email - so if you would like to come on Friday evening, and haven't yet received an invitation, please let me know. I don't have e-addresses for everyone I should have, and even when we do send out to our mailing list, sometimes a dot is in the wrong place and it bounces back again. Some just disappear into the ether completely.........So, if you'd like to keep in touch, just let me know.

On the right is a new design from the next range of cards - this is the whole card, back and front - I'm having a bit of a 'bird' session at the moment, very enjoyable. I expect it's Gilbert's influence at work.

Speaking of which, I felt that I should do something that would have been familiar during Gilbert's time, so I acquired some pieces of vellum to work on, and this is my first venture on the left. A bit different in way of technique, no big washes, using a very dry brush. Interesting experience, I'd like to do some more. Vellum is still being used by somne botanical artists as a matter of course. In particular I like the way Kate Nessler uses it.
I have to now decide which picture is going where. You'd think, maybe, get it there and then decide, but no. Experience tells me that it's best to have a PLAN of sorts, otherwise it can take forever....stressy too. I don't actually keep to the plan of course, but the illusion helps. AND labels, and LISTS for the gallery/museum. Painting soon begins to feel the easy bit. Thank goodness for the framer living so close to home and being obliging! (Yes, I expect you know it's the long suffering husband, what a hero I say.)
I'd better go and get his lunch and a nice cup of tea...........
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Bignor Weed & Wild Flower Festival

Monday, June 27, 2011, 04:43 PM

I hope the coming weekend is going to be good and sunny - there's such a lot planned for this event other than the absolutely astounding scene inside the church (not been before? You won't believe it...). I've added the link here for more info.www.bignorweed.org
I would love to show you more of how it looked in 2009 - other than this very boring tent, but I'll let you download the brochue yourself, and look for some much better photos than mine on google.
Be there if you can!
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