January cosy time and the outdoors

Hello,

So the first week of January is in the bag, which is good news for me.  I'm always glad when we're at week two!  The first week feels a little unsettled.  Now back to normal, full of plans.  So, I've been planning, organising, thinking, getting the body back to it's regular state after the increased Christmas sugar intake!  I've also been feeling cosy and homely so I drew this...

There were a few different colour combos, but in the end I opted for this calm green and pink.  Looks nothing like my home by the way, purely imagined.  

I think I may have mentioned before I love walking out in nature, it really clears my head, so yesterday I went with some friends to visit Wimbledon Common, my first ever visit there.  It was a lovely sunny day and the sky was a perfect blue :).

It was great to have several hours stomping around, and the light is so pretty at this time of year.  Afterwards (of course), we went for food, always essential after a good walk.  Need to keep the belly happy :). 

That's all for now, I'm now thinking what to make for tea, something soupy and spicy I think, yum.  Have a good week and I'll be back soon.

Brrr....London Frost Fairs

Hello,

I hope you've had a good start to....September!  I can't believe we are here already, the year is speeding past.
Today I'm sharing something I've been working on during these sunny days but which is on a wintry theme.  A while back I came across an article about 'London Frost Fairs' which took place on the river Thames when it..gasp! froze over.  Hard to imagine I know, but in those days the river was wider, slower flowing, and of course winters were much colder.  The last recorded fair was in 1814 and the best records are from the early 17th century.  The frost fairs were like parties on the ice, lots of games, food, drinks, King Charles II came to join in the fun at one of them, and there was even an elephant walking the ice at the final fair so the ice did get pretty thick.  There must have been a great sense of excitement and also quite a lot of risk I would imagine, as it could all end very suddenly.  My frost fair is based in the 17th century, I hope you can tell from the clothing and it meant I got to imagine my own version of the Old London Bridge which I wish I could have seen with all the buildings along it.

I did a lot of sketching beforehand then took copies and began to figure out the arrangement.  I find this is the best way for me to do it ;).

Just because I took a nice sunny walk along the Thames last week, here's a pic of the river as it is today!  It was such a beautiful afternoon :).

I hope you have a lovely start to the week, I'm off to start work on a new project and I'll be back soon!

January

Hello,

So, January is almost at an end.  The month which I know many think is the worst of the year.  I've actually enjoyed mine, even the cold, (I think this week was the first real cold snap for me).  So, as (in the UK at least) it's a time to be warm and toasty I'm sharing a winter vegetable illustration.  I love root veggies, super easy to cook and very healthy too.  They also have these beautiful rich colours.

Whilst on a healthy theme it's also the time of year when a lot of people get to the gym and go on a bit of a health kick.  I wanted to draw more objects so I decided to draw my trainers (these ones are only a few weeks old so they still look decent).  I wanted to draw them simply using only ink and pen, just as a challenge for myself really. 

Last weekend I also took a trip to the William Morris Gallery it was a beautiful albeit cold day and as the sun was setting I took a quick walk around the gardens.  It's so nice and peaceful there and of course the gallery has a beautiful collection.  

I also visited the Royal Academy to see the Klimt/Schiele drawings.  I really wanted to see these drawings close up.  I think it closes this weekend so if you get the chance go.  

Ok that's it for now.  Have a wonderful weekend!  

Coastal walking

Hello,

So now the first week of January is well and truly over, Christmas and even New Year feel like a lifetime ago!  I've been getting back to work and life, (as has the body,) and so far I'm enjoying 2019, and I've been making lots of plans for the year ahead.
Today I am looking back though to my time post Christmas when I went for another very lovely walk at one of my favourite places, Wells-Next-the-Sea (it has the best name).  I have a lot of lovely childhood memories from there, and I love to visit.  I've drawn lots of illustrations inspired by Wells in the past and I'm sure I will continue to do so.  I especially loved drawing the bark and the seaweed.

I have taken so many photos of beach huts over the years, but it can't hurt to have a few more.  I love the pop of colour they bring no matter the weather.  

I hope you've been having a good start to 2019, and have a lovely cosy weekend :).

Happy New Year!

Hello and Happy New Year!

I hope you've had a good break if you've had one.  I had a lovely Christmas with my family and have come back feeling relaxed and refreshed.  It was lovely to spend some time in the countryside and go for some nice long walks.  I created the illustration below following a walk around Dunwich.  It's known for suffering badly with erosion over the years, so a lot of old buildings have ended up in the sea.  It is told that on stormy nights you can hear the bells of old churches ringing from the sea....

Just before Christmas I also visited Blickling Hall.  For Christmas they light up the gardens and house and I've wanted to go for a while now.  This year I finally made it.  It was very cold but worth the wait, it was so pretty, (luckily I had some mulled wine and a gingerbread tree to help warm me up, of course! yum) 

It felt really Christmassy.  It all feels like a long time ago now though.  I'm really excited for the year ahead though, I've come back full of new ideas and I'm excited to be back to the table drawing!
I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your break if you had one, and that Santa bought you all you hoped for!  I'll be back soon with more new work :).

The Cold

Hello,

So, you may have heard that it has been very cold here, (compared to normal for us at least) in the uk. By day two of the snow I was feeling pretty impressed that I'd got the hang of the layering business and was feeling pretty toasty as I trudged out in the snow, but by that point I'd also caught a cold.  I don't tend to pay much attention to these things and assume if I don't pay too much attention it will just go away, but this one has decided to stay for a bit.  Today that has meant a lot of admin tasks have been completed as I haven't really had the concentration for much else.  There is a lot of nose blowing, sore skin and pathetic coughing going on.  I had managed to avoid all colds over winter until this point, whilst people spluttered around me, so I was pretty happy that I had somehow managed to escape all that, but eventually one came.  On a positive note it has meant a lot of sofa sitting with my feet up and plenty of hot drinks :).  Tomorrow I'm hoping I can be in for a day of painting as I think a good nights rest is in order with a good supply of olbas oil to hand!
On another note a couple of weekends ago the weather was still cold but gloriously sunny and I spent a Saturday out in London.  I had guests visiting and one of the places we visited was the Foundling Museum where we saw The Lost Words which was full of glorious illustrations of uk wildlife.

We also popped into the British Museum always worth a visit, (we spent a while looking for Lindow man!) 

I love the colours and shapes in this Grayson Perry vase.

Finally, just incase we forgot in amongst all this snow it is now officially spring in this part of the world! hooray! So here's a few springy flowers from the garden which will be back shortly!  It's always immensely exciting to see these pop up :).

I hope you have a lovely warm (or snowjoyable) weekend, wherever you are :).

Inspired by nature

Hello,

I hope you're all doing well.  I'm feeling really settled into 2018, the end of year break seems well behind me.  So far January has been pretty good for me.  I've been busy creating new work and organising myself for the months ahead.
As I said in my previous blog, my little Christmas trip back to the countryside has inspired some new work.  I'm determined to try and travel a bit more this year, (I think I say this every year though!) it's so good for me, it always gives me new ideas and just clears my head.  The illustration below was inspired by a country walk and also a book I started reading, there was mention of a hare and I knew immediately I wanted to bring one into my work, sometimes that's all it takes.  I wanted this illustration to have a decorative aspect also.  I love to take plants and make some sort of pattern with them and it was really enjoyable to just sit and build up the pattern using a mix of media, I was in my element!  I also love challenging myself with restricting my colour palette, colour is hard!  I'm really pleased with how this turned out though.  I worked on an A3 paper size for this, I've been working at A4 or smaller just recently so this made a nice change.

I hope you've had a good week.  I'm sketching for some new work this evening and tomorrow will be (hopefully) a painting day :).  Bye for now 

New Year, home and away

Hello,

Happy New Year!  I hope 2018 will be a great one for all of us, personally I'm pretty excited to see what it will bring.  I hope if you had a break over Christmas and New Year it was a lovely one and you're all feeling well fed and happy! (I was sent back with a food parcel and I still have some left!)

I had a lovely break, I went to see my family and it was good to have a few days off, I think I needed to wind down a bit.  I got back before New Year and have been working hard since then.  When I do have a break, I find I always come back full of energy and ready to get on.  I also find a change of scene really helps my work and gives me inspiration for some new creations.  I was particularly looking forward to walking out in the countryside and by the coast.  Living in London I really appreciate being able to do this whenever I go home.  I often visit places I went to when I was a child so they feel very familiar.  This time I went walking near Cromer and then went onto the beach (I am sea obsessed, I always need to get close to it).  When I got back here I created some work inspired by the famous Cromer crab.

Here's a couple of photos from the beach, it's quite rocky but the colours of the stones are so pretty and there was some beautifully coloured seaweed.  Nature has such amazing colours.  It was pretty cold by the way, but I am a weed in the cold!

I hope you had a lovely start to the year and here's hoping 2018 will be a great one for us all! :)