Watercolour and Acrylic Ink on Daler Rowney Rough Aquarelle 140 lb.
This is my submission for Julia Crosslands ‘Being Creative Project’. With the theme of garden for the month of March, I liked the idea that a poppy seed head was full of promise, just like the approaching spring!
Inspired by this beautiful photograph.
Hannah is a designer/maker of lamps and shades and owner of Radiance, a lighting and craft boutique in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, U.K.
At the beginning of March, my lovely new blog-friend, Hannah Nunn, kindly featured my Frittilary on her blog. After Hannah came across my blog via Twitter, and commented on some of my posts, it was clear we both shared the same obsession. Flowers, flowers and flowers.
Hannah’s lamps are not something you would find just anywhere. Each one of them is an exquisite piece of artwork, cut intricately and perfectly from paper, inspired by the botanical world.
This Witch Hazel lamp below is my favourite. One day, I shall buy one…..one day….
You can read all about Hannah here. She’s definitely worth checking out.
I’ve just signed up to Julia Crossland’s ‘Being Creative’ Project and I’m very excited. It’s always nice to be part of something like this, part of someone else’s world for a little while but also something new to focus on, where you can express yourself and perhaps get a little bit better at what you do.
I learned about this project via Belinda Norrington of Wild Acre Designs who kindly commented on one of my posts about my Hellebore I painted last month. She joined up, and I’m sure she’ll produce something beautiful, judging from the work she produces. Thank you for the introduction, Belinda!
The Being Creative Project is:
‘….a monthly challenge to encourage people to be creative!
It’s a tool for people who feel creatively stuck, for people who don’t think they can create, or have been told that they can’t. It’s also for people who are actively creative who would enjoy taking part’
This month’s theme is Garden. I would go as far to say that’s right up my street, if you know what I mean. I started working on my first submission last night, a bunch of poppy seed heads. I’ll be sure to show you lovely people once its ready.
I’m excited already. Thanks Julia, for setting this project up!
My favourite time of year is Spring. Its full of the promise of longer days, long, warm evenings and an almost permanent smile on my face. Its also that time of year when those little multi-coloured buds burst open from their pods….of course I mean blooming flowers!
Some pages from my Moleskine sketchbook I’ve been working on the last few days.
I think my favourite is the Lotus flower, the last drawing.
(P.S We just booked our holiday for the Easter break. We’re going to Polruan near Fowey in Cornwall again. We’re very excited!)
Achillea Terracotta
Bleeding Heart
Aquilegia Vulgaris
Gossypillium Hirsutum
Salix Fragilis
Sanguisorba Officinalis Tanna
Willow Herb Seed Head
Thalictrum Delavayi
Cotinus Coggygria
In a spare half hour earlier this week, I decided I would spend those golden minutes at the library. I originally intended on sketching for that time, but instead I picked up a hefty wodge of books and got a bit lost in them. Actually, I think my little trip turned out quite well, as its provided me with a new wave of inspiration.
I’ve been lucky enough to have received some special books since Christmas. Here are a selection of the most recent, all gifts from some lovely people.
A Year In Japan by Kate T. Williamson – From my Mum
Pattern Sourcebook : Japanese Style by Shigeki Nakamura – From my Mum
1950′s Fashion Print by Marnie Fogg – From my cousin, Lucy, as a thank you gift
Retro Fonts by Gregor Stawinski - From my sister and her husband for Christmas
Angie Lewin : Plants and Places by Leslie Geddes Brown – From my Mum
Lotta Jansdotter Stencils by Lotta Jansdotter - From my Mum
Butterfly by Thomas Marent - From my husband
And I love every single one of them.
P.S This is my 100th post. I can’t quite believe I’ve had that much to say. Thank you to everyone who keeps coming back and supporting my work. I hope I can manage another 100. Salut!
A little bit of watercolour tomfoolery for this weeks Illustration Friday submission.
Watercolour and white acrylic ink.
‘Fritillaria Meleagris’ using FW Artists Acrylic Ink in Olive Green on Windsor & Newton Cold Pressed 190gsm watercolour paper.
Our little boy has a lovely little toy car. In the flesh, its red, and this drawing doesn’t do it justice. But I’ve admired it often since Father Christmas bought it for him. So I thought I would draw it. This drawing reflects some of the experimenting I’ve been doing.
After watching BBC’s ‘Human Planet’ last night, I was overwhelmed to draw jungle leaves. A strange desire, I admit.
Image via We Love Typography
I’ve carved two more stamps. I think I may be a little obsessed. As far as obsessions go, its not the worst thing in the world.
This stamp is now available to buy from my Etsy shop.
(images via Matt Denton & From Our Hearts)
I love these little stems with their matching green berries so perfectly positioned. I see them all the time in the hedgerow. I thought they’d make a perfect carving. Also available to buy in my Etsy shop.
I also thought I’d draw them into my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project.
After carving my first stamp at Christmas, I thought I would make some more so I carved three new ones last night. I created them for my Sketchbook Project. ’Happy Thoughts’ is the subject I chose to illustrate. I’m always inspired by nature.
I used a variety of ink pads – a Hobbycraft pad (the apple), a Darice pad (the butterfly) and a Brilliance Ink Pad (Leaf) – my preference from this range is the Brilliance – its an archival ink, which means its colour remains bright alot longer than non-archival inks.
The apple stamp is now available to buy at my Etsy shop.
Have you ever heard of Pinterest? I hadn’t heard of it until a couple of weeks ago and I’m getting on with it quite nicely. I thought it might be another one of those sites where the novelty would wear off after a while, but it doesn’t seem so. Its a lovely site to collect visuals to, like pinning things up on a pin board at home, except its online, where I imagine like myself, alot of people also spend their time online, therefore being quite useful.
Its a pleasure to share with people. However, I’m finding its nicer to reflect back on what you’ve been collecting. I saw a pattern forming early on of the things which inspire me. Feel free to take a look at my Pinterest Board.
You could also visit my Pinterest board by clicking the link on the sidebar.
Opening up our new year with positivity, none other than the late, great, hardly sedate, Dr Seuss (or Theodor Geisel).
Happy New Year, friends. May you be full of health and the joys of spring.
Thank you for visiting, reading, stopping by, skippity hopping through this blog throughout 2010 – it wouldn’t exist if it were not for you – and for that, I am most grateful!
Jack Frost was super-busy last night. He gave our village a full-on dusting.
All these white-themed photos were taken this morning on our way back from walking to school.
I love that this cobweb is like lace.
I made this little decorative gift tag from air-drying clay at the weekend and thought it looked pretty hung in our Greengage tree.
The roof of our neighbours car was sparkling in the sunhine.
This photo doesn’t do this tree justice – it was even more immense than usual this morning.
This is our washing line – coated in frost.
And this is our trampoline net. I’d like to think it looks a little like Tiffany diamonds.
This plant looked so pretty, with the outline of frost on the jewel coloured leaves.
This Scots pine tree always leaves me standing and staring in awe.
Its magnificent.
Illustration Friday is a weekly creative outlet/participatory art exhibit for illustrators and artists of all skill levels. Here’s my first submission.
Freehand illustration using a white gel pen on A4 black textured card.
The farm we wanted to visit was closed on Tuesday. So instead, we ventured into the countryside for a little wander. Here are some of the autumn colours we experienced. Autumn in England. Perfect. Hope you enjoy. We did.
…these images are what you would find. A cross-section of my brain is Old America, I’m sure of it.
Peach Harvesting in West Colorado
A Montana ranch
An Idaho town
Jumping rope in a small town
Washington
A destitute mother in a migrant farm worker camp in California
I just stumbled across these photos via Blackbird Letterpress who found them on The Daily Kos. They represent America, through the lense of a Kodachrome camera, before Pearl Harbor. The photographs, for me, are bittersweet – So clear, so beautiful yet represent depressed America, about to head into an incomprehensible war.
