Buttermere - this one was made for Rob, who got engaged here and often returns. He is shortly due to celebrate his tenth wedding anniversary! The old bench in the picture has since been replaced, but I have reinvented it especially for this piece of artwork. A3 posters now available...
Original Art and Gifts inspired by the Lake District
***COVID-19 update. We are still trading - from home. Please note that we are no longer offering daily dispatch; instead shipping twice per week on a Tuesday and Friday. Thanks a lot for visiting and stay well***
Welcome to our website, formerly Stoney Broke Designs, featuring original art and gifts by local Cumbria Artist Jo Witherington.
Browse through our collection of Lake District posters, laminate postcards, all inspired by the most iconic and recognisable scenes in Cumbria. Perfect for gifts for friends and family, or perhaps a memento of your Lake District holiday.
About Jo
Jo Witherington was born in rural Cambridgeshire, eventually moving to the Lakes in 2012. She did not go to art school, but there is a strong artistic tradition in the family with Jo being related to a number of Royal Academicians including William F Witherington, who has paintings held in the Tate; and Henry William Pickersgill, the celebrated portrait painter who exhibited alongside J M W Turner and John Constable. She is the National Trust’s official art supplier in the Lake District.
Stoney Broke Designs was started by Jo in 2014, when she was, literally that - stoney broke. Working long hours on low wages after years overseas; she decided that there must be a more fulfilling way to make ends meet than cleaning toilets and pulling pints. It was a dismal winter’s day in the Lake District when Jo finally decided to do something about her situation. A trip to the local art supplier later, and ‘Stoney’ began in a junk-free corner of her tiny staff flat. A few years on, and art has become her business, as well as a way of life.
Jo's merchandise is available to purchase locally, in the Lake District, at the following shops and galleries:
G2 Gallery, Windermere
Glenridding Gallery, Ullswater
Framed, Whitehaven
Cherrydidi, Ambleside
Cherrydidi, Keswick
Hill Top National Trust Shop
Aira Force Visitor Centre
Hawkshead National Trust Shop
Grasmere National Trust Shop
Keswick National Trust Shop, Derwent Water
Steam Yacht Gondola, Coniston Water
Wasdale Head Campsite Retail
Great Langdale Campsite Retail
Low Wray Campsite Retail
Sticklebarn, Great Langdale
Eskdale Campsite Retail
Custom Giftware and Fine Art Commissions
Are you looking for something unique to sell? We work in collaboration with charities and small businesses to produce unique and eye-catching paper based giftware, specialising in niche tourist locations. Everything we sell is printed in the UK on FSC compliant papers. Our products are popular - to date, over 50 000 of Jo's images have been sold in different forms, shipping as far as Australia and the USA. If you would like more information on our custom giftware, please contact us for further details.
Fine art commissions are always considered. Please feel free to contact us with whatever you have in mind (costs will vary dependent on size, media and location. We ship internationally).
Latest Work
Golden Hour at the Cop Stone, Askham Fell. This was a lockdown project – I am lucky enough to be able to walk up here from home, and it is one of my favourite places in the Lakes. Askham Fell is rich in prehistoric monuments – the Cop Stone is a 1.7m high standing stone, sitting at the centre of a ring cairn on flat open fell. The subject of the painting is the view from the Cop Stone, looking west across Ullswater towards Blencathra. The palette used (acrylic) is - lemon yellow, yellow ochre, cad.yellow deep, cad.red medium, permament rose, cobalt blue, phthalo turquoise, burnt umber, chromium oxide green, titanium white, ivory black. I'd have added olive green, orange(red) and switched out ivory black for payne's grey had the shops been open!
Katrin Picking Cherry Blossom - this is my friend Katrin. Normally she likes to spend her time beasting me round 5-10km running routes in various parts of the Lakes. Posing for this portrait was payback! I started the painting (it's still not finished) for a 'meet the maker' session done at the NT Beatrix Potter gallery at Christmas.
Surprise View - this was made for Darren, who got engaged here on a fabulous evening last year. The little white people are based on the happy couple themselves! This design is also on general sale and available online in A3 and A6.
Castlerigg II - this is the new improved version. Though I think I still like the old one! It's interesting to compare the two. I would say to anyone learning to paint - keep at it because you do get better with practice :) ! This artwork is for the National Trust, who own the site. It is currently available in A6 online but will also soon be in print on A3.
Keswick, Moot Hall - this artwork was again made for the National Trust. I found it tricky! Getting the perspective took me back to Mr. Stonebridge's technical drawing sessions that I did in DT at about age 12. There was also something about the colour of the building that meddled with my brain... every time I looked at it, it seemed to be different! Can you spot the little dog? I think he was a terrier.
© 2018-20 Jo Witherington | Artist in Cumbria | Lake District Art | Lake District Posters | Lake District Postcards