Whimsical Vintage Art by George Buckett

George Buckett was born in England in 1939. He studied Building Trades at East Cowles Technical College but did not finish instead he joined the British Merchant Navy. He travelled the world, then did odd jobs and in 1957 emmigrated to the United States where he took a job as an artist in an advertising agency for a few greeting card companies and eventually worked as a freelance artist.

I was unable to discover if he had any training as an artist or illustrator though he is apparently recorded as a children's book illustrator rather than as an artist. In my mind, the two are the same but I am not an expert.

Buckett illustrated Golden Books with the most known book perhaps being Never Talk to Strangers by Irma Joyce. He also created posters and the aforementioned greeting cards and is considered one of the ‘Big Eye’ artists. Finally, he is know for his whimsical 1960s animal pictures, which are shown here on this page. His illustrations were shown in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

Buckett's works are happy and they show much imagination and humor even though the internet tells us that he suffered with depression.

In any case, Buckett's illustrations are well known and there are many old prints of his work available. There are few originals, possibly because he was an illustrator rather than an artist, and this fact makes the mass produced prints popular. His prints are an affordable way to add a bit of vintage charm to your home. I have had them in my bathroom but they would also suit your baby nursery, children's rooms, etc.

You can find the three pictures shown on this page in my eBay store by clicking right here and you can see all of the George Buckett pieces available on eBay by clicking right here.

You never know
what I might have in store for you!
Brenda

Easter Bunny Now That's Art Jigsaw Puzzle (2020)

I love a good, Easter-themed jigsaw puzzle. This SunsOut jigsaw puzzle called, "Now That's Art" is a larger puzzle, having 1000 pieces and features a fun spring-themed image of a realistic rabbit posing as an artist and painting Easter eggs.

Unfortunately, this puzzle, is out of production. You can still look for it here on Amazon. However, you will have better lucky finding a jigsaw puzzle that was produced for this year by looking at all of SunsOut's Easter puzzles here on Amazon.

Jigsaw puzzles make wonderful gifts throughout the year, even at Easter time.

Happy Puzzling!
Brenda

Quick Links:

Buy this Easter puzzle on Amazon.
Check out the Easter and rabbit listings in my eBay store.

Canadian Artist Claude Le Sauteur (1926-2007)

This year I discovered or rather expanded on my interest in art. While I have always been generally interested and have had the opportunity to visit art galleries around the world, my focus spilled over into my eBay store when I had the opportunity to buy and resell a few interesting pieces of Canadian art. I subsequently took the opportunity to learn more about art in general by enrolling in a couple of art classes through Carleton University's Learning in Retirement program.

Most recently I found this limited edition signed print by Quebec artist Claude Le Sauteur (1926-2007). His work can be both figurative and abstract in style as I think is the case with this picture, which is called DONATE and I expect related to Le Sauteur's social consciousness. The image features both a male and female violinist portrayed in a definitely abstract way.

In the 1940s, Le Sauteur studied at L’École des beaux-arts de Québec and his lifetime's work included pieces oil on canvas, oil pastel, charcoal on paper and engravings.  He  received both the National Order of Quebec and the National Order of Canada and he was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.    According to The Order of Quebec website, his works appeared in 13 solo exhibits and more than 80 group exhibitions and today, his works are held in various museums and important collections.

As I write this post, a quick peek at eBay by following this link shows a couple of Claude Le Sauteur's paintings available on eBay. Because of the framed size, my limited edition print, shown above, will be posted locally here in Ottawa on a couple of resale sites. Hopefully, it will eventually find its way into the collection of someone who appreciates the work of Le Sauteur.

As in my previous art-themed post, I will add here that I am not an art expert. What I share here is from research that has been done online and I am always wanting and willing to learn more.

Until next time,
Brenda

Quick Links:

Claude Le Sauteur Paintings on eBay.
Art in my eBay store.

31 DAYS OF COFFEE MUGS: A Squirrel Mug

We regularly watch the antics of our neighbourhood squirrels out our kitchen bay window. They frequently make us smile although sometimes they make us frown. This week they have not found a way on to the bird feeder yet so we're still smiling at them.

The episode of the never-ending show outside our window this week involved a black squirrel carrying a bagel all over our yard. We were not sure what he was up to nor where he found the bagel so we presumed that there must be a squirrel coffee shop in the neighbourhood that we do not know about but that the squirrel does. Maybe it came from the same 'shop' from which he was given a muffin a few days ago.

Anyway, after much fussing, Mr. Squirrel finally stopped running about the yard and carefully placed the bagel in a crook of our smaller tree and left.  I was amazed that he would abandon such an obvious treasure. My husband figures that he could only eat so much at a time and that he had to put it down somewhere.  I thought it was more likely that he had forgotten the peanut butter and had gone back to the squirrel coffee shop to retrieve some...

Remarkably, the bagel sat there untouched by other squirrels and birds for hours.  Someone eventually removed it because when I looked again it was gone.  Hopefully, Mr. Squirrel returned with his peanut butter and finished it off.

Anyway, it was because of that squirrel that I went in search of a squirrel themed mug for this post, the seventh in my series, the 31 DAYS OF COFFEE MUGS.  I found a couple of mugs that I liked, including this lovely, realistic squirrel mug by Emma Bridgewater but I settled on the mug shown on this page because of the humorous slogan and handsome design.

The mug shown here is by Canadian artist Mia Lane and Wild Wings reads, "This place is a nut house."  Even if that is only sometimes the case in your home, you are bound to like this mug if you enjoy the antics of the squirrels in your yard.  I love the image, the quotation and the sculpted handle. You can find it on Amazon by clicking right here.  It turns out that Wild Wings has a large assortment of sculpted Canadian wildlife themed coffee mugs and even a couple of very interesting mug racks. You can see them all on Amazon by clicking here.

I know that the quotation on this mug was not intended to actually reflect the action in my backyard this past week but if the shoe fits...

Are squirrels a source of entertainment in your home?

Brenda 
Treasures By Brenda 
You Never Know What I 
Might Have in Store for You! 

P.S. If you'd like to see all of the mugs featured in my series 31 Days of Coffee Mugs, you can click on the tab at the top of this page.

Quick Links:

Order this mug from Amazon.