Exciting News!

Hello all!

Well the last few weeks have been both frantic and exciting! Firstly I went to deliver a trial workshop to a group called StraightCurves in Chesterfield with the hope that they would hire me to start delivering some art workshops. I did a two hour introduction to art journaling and I am happy to say that they loved it! I start work there very soon!
I am really excited about this opportunity. It is lovely to see a group enjoying themselves and trying out the new ideas that I teach and I love to watch how everyone progresses over time. I feel this is a really good step for me to start seriously doing this as a career which is so exciting!

To top this off I got through to an audition for 'The Big Painting Challenge' on the BBC which takes place this Sunday. I am both giddy and terrified in equal measures. I doubt I will get on the actual programme but it is a huge compliment to get this far. If I do get through I will have the opportunity to learn so much and work with some fantastic artists which will be amazing!

All this means that I have been frantically painting and planning and journaling in preparation! here is a little of what I have been getting up to....

The above is a selection of some recent journal pages that I have been creating either as samples for the Chesterfield studio or as ideas for workshops using a variety of mediums and techniques.

These last three are experiments, practicing painting things that I normally don't paint and to a time limit. The first is a watercolour, I usually avoid buildings like the plague! The second is a selection of plants from my garden which I have attempted to do in my usual mixed media style. The third is a timed 2 hour still life challenge. These three came out well but there were several that didn't! Painting in a time limit is hard cause I don't have my usual time to stand back and reflect on it for a few days and work on it bit by bit. I have been well out of my comfort zone but its been worth doing I think.

Fingers crossed it goes well on Sunday!

Bye for now xxx

Experiments

Hello!

Well I realise it's been a while so first let me apologise for that. It has been a busy few weeks! I have been feeling very inspired lately to experiment and play with new things and go back and try my hand again at old things that I haven't done for years!

One reason for this is that recently I applied to go on 'The Big Painting Challenge' on the TV (this is a series that has a different challenge every week and one artist gets knocked out each week) Don't get too excited, it doesn't look like I have got through but by just applying got me experimenting with different types of paintings and with different mediums that I haven't reached for in ages.

Here are a few of the experiments!

This is my cat Biscuit! This was done on watercolour paper with brushos. I use brushos all the time, love them for adding colour to my paintings and mixed media projects but I have never tried to paint an image with them alone. I was really pleased with how this came out!

This one I did in only 10 minutes and with pen and brushos again. I wanted to it to be a bit freer and more expressive. It's simple but effective I think.

This one (again on watercolour paper) is done with brushos, pen and watercolours. I love how this one came out, it is definitely my favorite of the three. I really enjoyed using watercolours, they are not usually my 'go to' paint but this has led me into a bit of a watercolour phase at the mo. I am doing loads of experiments with them. I have never been taught to use them and never had the inclination to try until now. I will keep you posted with my progress!

I have many other projects on the go at the mo, including a new mixed media canvas and an art journaling workshop that I am running this week with a new group, which fingers crossed will lead to lots of workshops in the future! 

I will try and post again this week to show you more recent work. Until then bye for now! xxx