THE MOST SENSIBLE WAY TO USE ART:
	As you can see from the design of this page I've recently been infected with the ART DECO virus :o)) ART DECO descends from ART NOUVEAU and the term ART DECO originates from the name of an art exhibition held in the roaring twenties in Paris: "Les Arts Decoratifs ". Art Deco to my point of view is bolder than Art Nouveau and has less details - but is more elegant. My favorite: woman's clothing! But art in general did always have a big influence on me. My taste diverges from Classical to Impressionism and from Naturalism to Contemporary. If you start browsing for art the best attitude for a person is to not shut out a certain style ... you never know what you might miss this way! I certainly bumped into a few surprises myself..... In the recent past there has been some disturbance concerning Napster (a downloadsite for free mp3 on the WWW). There has been a big haggle about copyrights ... where does it start ... where does it end. Napster finally lost its lawsuit and is not allowed  to distribute free mp3 which have copyrights on them. THE SAME THING APPLIES FOR ORGINAL ART AND MOST PATTERNS! But where does it start and where does it end? I've been browsing the WEB for information and this is what I understood to be the general rule: - the only way you can distribute art / patterns is if you have the authorisation of the artist him/herself to do so. So copying and then distributing art / patterns without the artists concent  is NOT allowed! But there are many artists who have deceased a long time ago and who have no copyrights. Besides that .... there are so many pictures on the WEB which have no protection what so ever! Books and magazines are being printed and distributed stuffed  with pictures and although most of the time they contain the sentence "Copyrights belonging to ... "  HOW can they prevent it that any of them are going to being used for personal creativity and fun? THE REALITY OF THE MATTER STILL IS THAT THERE IS NO WAY THEY CAN PREVENT THAT AT ALL ! My opinion on art is that it should be enjoyed by all human kind and not only by the few people who can afford to buy the original! MY ART & CROSS STITCH LINKS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE .....
	HOMEMADE CROSSSTITCH PATTERNS
	I've recently started to make my own patterns so for the moment ..... there are just a few :o)) But don't be shy ... and return frequently ... my collection will keep growing! I will be changing the patterns frequently, because I will not be able to put them all on my patterns page. (My partner keeps complaining he hasn't got enough space on his side of our site ). Pets and other animals, kids and sampler designs are my best projects ........... I'll try to keep it simple and put up something for starters & for more professional stitchers. There's a link to my tips & tricks page here as well .... Since half January 2003 a friend and I were appointed moderators at a crossstitch newsgroup. This newsgroup is specialised in the creation of cross stitch patterns where we make our own patterns from clip art or from art (with the written permission of the artist. In case you're interested in making your own patterns - by hand or with any brand of software (PMP, PC Stitch, Digistitch etc.) and you want to learn, share and have fun ...... hop over to our newsgroups at: news://news.annexcafe.com/annexcafe.cross-stitch.patterns PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF THE ANNEXCAFE WEBRING Hope to see you there !!!!	Are you making your own cross stitch designs too? THEN YOU'RE WELCOME TO JOIN OUR Annexcafe cross-stitch patterns Newsgroup anytime ! You don't know how newsgroups work or how to connect ? Just send me an e-mail and I'll show you how :OD CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR PATTERN MAKER PRO 4 VIEWER FROM HOBBYWARE (bottom of their page)!

	FREEBIES!	ON DESIGNING AND STITCHING	MY PRIVATE ORIGINAL DESIGNS

	BASICS ABOUT PIXELPAINTING !
	Since I started to master this technique working with Paint Shop Pro (version 7 & 8 ) an entire new world has opened up for me and I'm finding out there are virtually NO limits to this technique ...... It's amazing, creative and addictive - but most of all: it's soooooo much FUN !!! When I working with this technique I started making my own tutorials on pixelpainting - so I can share all there is to learn about it. So one page only won't be enough to tell you ALL about it - though I can try to explain the basics to you. I Hope this will get you interested and help you on your way to becoming a fellow pixel painting addict and artist .... *VBG*. For additional help and information you're always welcome to join our pixel.painting newsgroup which I moderate and where we share our knowledge about the subject concerned. There's also a link on my basic pixelpainting page with wich you will be able to send me an e-mail with questions concerning this new technique ... or HOW you can join our pixel.painting newsgroup at the Annexcafe..........   NEW SINCE APRIL 2ND 2004: A brand new newsgroup for pixel painting artists of the future was opened up at the Annexcafe server! NO need anymore to spend money for online tutorials: this one is for FREE !!!! Pixelpainted images make excellent basic images for cross stitch patterns by the way ;o) Our newsgroup is all about creating pixelpainted images from a basic image to a finished item - tutorials are included. So hop over ... create, learn, share, make friends and most of all have fun at: news://news.annexcafe.com/annexcafe.pixel.painting PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF THE ANNEXCAFE WEBRING Hope to see you there !!!!	GO TO MY NEW BASIC PIXELPAINTING PAGE

	LINKS TO FRIENDS & FELLOW CROSS STITCH DESIGNERS
	A short while ago I joined a YAHOO newsgroup for chrossstitch designers where I've met with new friends and fellow crossstitch designers. Below there's some links to them: all small independant craftspeople and designers. Please help keep crafts alive by supporting the people who create, rather than those who just manufacture ... so browse and enjoy !
	MY KIND OF ART:
	Art Expression WEBSITE with search .... lots of Art!   Artfinders WEBSITE with search ... more Art!   Art Mecca with search ... even more Art!   Artophile: a website filled with Grand Masters, Contemporary art, Art Deco (lots of em!) & Pochoir ... and Antiques! The Artophile also suggests that art should be enjoyed by all of us (my kind of lady)!   The Paul Brent Gallery (Contemporary Art) of Tropical, Nautical, Garden & Landscape and Childrens designs ......   Erte WEBSITE - ERTE stands for the French pronounciation of the artists initials ... his real name was: Romain de Tirtoff - a Russian born painter. His works are the most well known works of the Art Deco period.   Marlies Merk Nayaka Watercolours concerning flora & fauna. Patrick Nagel - an artist from the USA who has left this world much to soon and who has left us fantastic Graphical Art!   * Keiki Sachi / Watercolours Gallery - Hawai Every tropical thing you would expect ... and more! * Penny Parker's website with great nostalgic art  filed in loads of catagories ... and worthwhile a visit :O)) * Josephine Wall makes really colourfull fantasy art with fairies, goddesses and other mythical creatures ... * These artist have given the Annexcafe's cross stitch patterns newsgroup their kind permission to use their art for NON commercial cross stitch patterns convertion - ofcourse with their terms of use to it !!!   ***CROSSSTITCH WEBSITES: *** Art for the Needle with artists like T. Kinkade, M. Baxter St. Clair and more .... *** The Crossstitch Pattern Gallery - John's Gallery contains 98 Artists! WOWWIEEEEEEE !!! Whished I had his guts and capacities ...... GO John! *** Ellen Mauhrer Stroh Gallery .... works with PM PRO (like I do) & has lots of FREE CHARTS for download! Loads of subjects in her gallery ...   SOME MORE ARTISTS SEARCH HINTS:  *** Karl Bang - made fantastic artworks with females from all around the globe (love his "balinese dancer " and "the eyes of innocence "!) *** Royce B. McClure - great Graphic Art! ** Thierry Chatelain - nice flowers! ***ART DECO: A.E. Marty C. Martin E. Benito F.J. Gosse G. Barbier G. Lepape P. Brissaud U. Brunnelleschi E.M. Thayaht Journal du Dames (ladies journal) Le Bon Ton ( ladies clothing) PAGE UPDATED: AUGUST 8TH 2005	ARTEXPRESSION   ARTFINDERS   ARTMECCA   ARTOPHILE CANADA   PAUL BRENT GALLERY     ERTE   MARLIES MERK NAYAKA     PATRICK NAGEL   SACHI HOMEPAGE   PENNY PARKER'S GRAPHICS HOMEPAGE   JOSEPHINE WALL       ART FOR THE NEEDLE   CROSSSTITCH PATTERN GALLERY   EMS GALLERY

	MY THANKS TO THE ALLCRAFTS & DE BORDUUR SITE FOR LINKING THIS PAGE TO THEIR GREAT WEBSITE .... GO OVER THERE FOR A VISIT ... THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER NICE LINKS WORTH EXPLORING :O))