Stephen Smith and Terry Halloran - fast becoming recognised throughout the world as the finest exponents of the art of ceramic decoration. Here at Art Pottery World, we're delighted to be one of a handful of retailers priveliged to supply their pieces.
Both Stephen and Terry have spent their working lives as ceramic artists, producing wonderfully detailed work for the likes of Royal Worcester and Moorcroft.
It's not easy to get across the detail achieved. They use a paint brush with just 2 or 3 hairs to pick out every detail of every twig, leaf or feather. This beautiful vase is painted throughout the inside too!
Pastures New - Kingfisher Family
For this piece Steve wanted to return to the subject of Kingfishers, but on an inside-outside piece. He particularly wanted to create a scenic painting that captures the typical habitat of this gorgeous and popular bird. This delightful pastoral scene works wonderfully - recently fledged youngsters perch on a branch gettng used to their new surroundings ("Pastures New"). Others might be content with a couple of birds with a little foliage for background, but Steve offers a full painting in miniature with a total of seven birds.
As the vase is rotated we see just how clever Steve has been with the design. From the left on the images above there is dad, then three youngsters, followed by mum. Note that the adults have orange feet and the youngsters grey feet. The female has orange on the lower bill. Inside the vase mum amd dad look out over their "patch". Creating the finishing touches we have three Fesian cows grazing in the meadow in the background.