Art Journal Flowers + Bonus Card

If you follow me on Instragram, you will have seen the inspiration behind this page and a sneaky peek of it finished. I received a beautiful bouquet of roses for my birthday and the colours just screamed at me to be captured on a page! I splashed some watercolour paint down and when it was dry I quickly sketched the lines of the flowers on top. It came out so well!

I was feeling inspired, so I scanned the image in and was able to quickly make up some notelets to send to family. I added some pearl paint to the yellow roses just to add some interest. I really enjoyed this project - I must remember to experiment more with painting flowers like this, and also to play around with making notelets - there is so much potential!

Spring Flowers Cross Stitch

Last year, I was lucky enough to win Pretty Stitches by Jayne Schofield. The inside is just awash with colours, flowers, and everything pretty. It didn't take me long to decide I would need to test a chart out for myself! I began with a piece of plain white aida, and went to town with my acrylic paint adding colour and patterns to it, and also splashed some sparkly gold ink across it.

Rather than buying the specific threads recommended in the book, I picked out appropriate colours from my stash, mixing things up where it seemed appropriate. I added some sparkly thread to areas, and used some Anchor Perle cotton thread to bring out the centre of the butterflies. I also added just a few sparkly gold mini gems to catch the light.

I mounted my finished cross stitch in an embroidery hoop that I had lightly painted in an off-white pearl paint, and attached some sparkly ribbon to hang from. I also wrapped some more Anchor Perle Cotton Thread (colour 1335) around a section of the embroidery hoop - I love adding details like this! I stitched a circle of felt to the back of my work just to finish it off neatly. This project took a bit longer than I had anticipated, but I love how colourful and spring-like it is now it is finished, and I would definitely recommend the book if you like your cross stitch pretty and colourful!

Cockatiels Watercolour II

I did a watercolour painting of our cockatiels, Georgie and Patch, a couple of years ago - you can see it here. Sadly, in 2016, Georgie passed away, and we subsequently welcomed a new cockatiel to our little family, JayJay. This, of course, meant we needed another painting! This painting is more informal than the last one - I wanted to give the impression of feathers rather than using precise brush strokes, and I wanted some splatter going on! Despite this, it really captures the two of them nicely.

Pet Portraits || Maltese Watercolour

We have a wall in our house dedicated to our family, a collection of drawings and paintings including treasured teddy bears, our two rabbits and two cockatiels. My husband recently mentioned that he'd like his late dogs added to it, and I agreed it would be a lovely addition.

December ended up slipping away from me (maybe I made too many tree decorations?!), but on 23rd December I managed to find an hour to do this watercolour painting in time for Christmas. I love my brushes that have handles filled with water, they make quick watercolour paintings that bit easier.

White fur is always a challenge, but I looked for the tones of the shadows in my reference photo and tried to pick them out in the painting. My technique has certainly improved from an earlier attempt, and I'm pleased and relieved that my husband can tell which dog is which, and even get a sense of their character from the images. I recently watched a video about how an artist, in this case a cartoonist, emphasised the importance of embodying a character as you draw them, and pulling the facial expression you are attempting to capture - I think this is marvelous advice, even when painting animals!

Winnie the Pooh Comic

If you spend far too much time on the internet, you may have seen this wonderful Winnie the Pooh clip as a series of screenshots. Well, it makes my husband and I laugh out loud every time we see it, so I decided we needed a version in our house!

I began with a pencil sketch, before adding layers of watercolour, and finishing with a black marker. I then added the text using some letter stamps I recently picked up, and a black ink pad. It is currently waiting to be framed!

Mixed Media || Dandelion Clocks

Yeh, so I basically winged this piece of art, but I love it!! It is so very unique... If you follow me over on Facebook, you will have seen this come together, I hope you enjoy seeing bits of the process :)

This idea started out when I was creating some abstract paintings, and I wondered how it would look if I applied paint in the same way to aida fabric - turns out, it looks great! I also painted an embroidery hoop, and wrapped some appropriate threads around a section of it, secured with double sided sticky tape - just to add some extra interest and texture.

After securing the aida to the embroidery hoop, I started working into it, freestyle, with a needle and thread. I started with some half cross stitches, using scraps of thread I had left over from other projects. I stitched some zigzags over the top - it's a technique I've used in a kit before, and I really like the effect. I also stitched some dandelion clocks on with some feature beads, before applying felt to the back for support, and tying the top with a ribbon. I think the combination of colours and textures is unique and exciting, I really love it!

"Love" - Mixed Media Artwork

Without this turning into an essay, I began this canvas a couple of years ago when I was very ill. It allowed me to go into my art room for just a few minutes at a time, throw some paint around, and feel like I was creating.

Some days it was paint. Some days it was a scalpel. Some days a permanent marker, or silicone filler. Textured filler, or tissue paper. It has layers of hurt and layers of beauty. Paint added in so many different ways, words and colours that meant something to me over the months and years it took to make. 

I think it's finished now.

Star Wars Revan Birthday Cake

When I asked my husband what he would like his Birthday cake to be, he immediately said "Revan!" I was hardly surprised since our world seems to be revolving around Revan at the moment, with my husband having just started writing his first Star Wars novel, Revan's Rebirth!

I winged this cake more than I want to admit, but I am thrilled with how it came out! I used this marble cake recipe, but the vanilla batter is coloured bright red! I used Renshaw's grey and poppy red icings to cover the cake, and then added shading using gel food colouring - liquorice black and dark brown - and a paint brush, and finished it off with a layer of antique silver shimmer dust! I think it really captures the worn metallic look.

Cockatiels Watercolour

Rather than giving my husband cards, I try to give him paintings and drawings which can adorn our walls all year round! The only members of our animal family missing from our walls were our beautiful birds, Georgie (left) and Patch (right).

I really enjoyed picking up my watercolours again, and approached them with a gentler technique for me, really building up colour slowly. I think it works really well with the feathers. I also really enjoyed using my water brushes for this project, I felt so much more control over tone.

Georgie is a very shy bird, so not only did she make it very difficult for me to take reference photos, I thought it was apt for her to be hiding behind Patch, as that is how we normally see her anyway!

Grandmother's Buttons

If you follow me on Facebook, you may recognise the colour inspiration for this canvas, which I shared last month!

When going through my Nan's button collection recently, I came across these beautiful magenta, lavender and turquoise buttons tied together by a piece of yellow cotton. I love the combination - the button colours coordinate well, and I like the jarring sensation of the tiny amount of yellow!

You can see here I included a tiny amount of yellow, and I think it worked :)

There is also a sparkly shimmer made with pearl dust going across areas of the canvas - one just has to catch it in the right light!

As always, the print is available here, and do contact me if you are interested in owning the original painting, or for more information.

Art: Freedom

 The latest in my abstract painting series! 

I added some gold ink to this one, which gives it a beautiful shimmer :)

Again, prints are available on deviantArt, and this original is also up for sale, so contact me if you are interested :)

Art: The Second

I really adore painting like this. It is freeing, it is therapeutic, and it helps me cope with life.

Again, prints are available on deviantArt, and this original is also up for sale, so contact me if you are interested :)

Art: Barren

 

Following on from all my recent sketchbook art, I really wanted to take some of the techniques I have discovered and apply them to canvas. This is one of the first canvasses I have painted in a while (canvas board to be precise) and it has been such an enjoyable expression of emotions. This piece is mainly painted in acrylic, but there is also some colour applied directly from an ink pad.

Prints are available on deviantArt, and this original is also up for sale, so contact me if you are interested :)

A Peek Inside My Sketchbook VII

Printing with cranberries!

Click here to see previous sketchbook posts, and like me on Facebook for sneak peeks as they happen!

A Peek Inside My Sketchbook VI

Can you believe I've nearly finished this sketchbook?! I'm amazed haha. It's my Birthday this week though, and I'm very excited to be getting new sketchbooks to fill with lovely colourfulness :)

Campervan stamp available here.

Texture experiments using acrylic paint (some applied straight from the tube), a ridged tool, and string wrapped around a cardboard tube.

More textural and shape experiments, using cardboard tubes, straws and sticks. I also made a stencil using a circular punch and applied texture medium over it.

Printing using homemade cardboard shapes as stamps.

Click here to see previous sketchbook posts, and like me on Facebook for sneak peeks as they happen!

Star Wars: Defend and Protect Painting

With my health this last year, large paintings have simply not been possible for me. However, with recent small improvements and a huge kick of motivation, I decided I wanted my husband to have this piece of artwork for Christmas! I began in October, and had it finished at the beginning of December, which felt amazing! I'm afraid most of the progress pictures were taken on my phone, but I thought you'd like to see the stages nonetheless.

I did not design this, I based it on this wonderful poster by Mike Kungl. I knew how much my husband would love seeing a hand painted version of this poster on his wall every day, and couldn't resist making that dream a reality. I take no credit for the design!