Orangutan

Some more drawing practice.

Ben and I have been watching the new Planet of the Apes films and I've fallen in love with Maurice the orangutan.

Black bear

Some drawing practice from the weekend.

I like bears.

watercolour

Here's a shoal of watercolour fish I painted the other day.

I've decided I need to make a determined effort to make some more time for drawing and image-making, and as a start I have signed up to the 'Birds of Prey' wildlife drawing session in Brighton next month.

I'm pretty excited about meeting some falcons and hawks.

Watercolour dots. A mini series.

I painted some watercolour postcards this week. I wanted to put some bright colours down on paper and didn't really have an idea of what I wanted it to look like.

I love the way watercolours change as they dry. The bold edges and the colour blending within the shapes leave me with a feeling of great satisfaction.



Does anyone want me to send them a postcard?

making on a small scale

I'm not sure what's changed but I've been having trouble finding time to make and draw recently.

Luckily, at the weekend I had a few hours to spare so I made some beaded necklaces, and had a play with the watercolours.

I must do this more often.

aviary birds

I keep getting distracted from what I'm meant to be doing at the moment, and instead end up painting colourful birds.

Maybe it's a coping mechanism for getting through the cold, dark months.

Galah

To chase away the January blues I have booked myself a flight to Australia to stay with my brother. I leave in 5 weeks. AMAZING.

If anyone has any suggestions of nice things to do/see/visit in Melbourne and the surrounding area then please do send recommendations my way. I think we're going to hire a camper van and drive the Great Ocean Road....

Just the ticket!

sketchbook

I've been remembering to carry my sketchbook around with me more often at the moment.

shopping

I'm going to try and post more frequently on my shopping list blog from now on... I've got a bit of a pile-up of lists in my room.

wildflowers don't care where they grow...

 This is a pretty time of year.

oxalis triangularis

On Saturday I'm flying out to Japan for two weeks to see my good friend Yumi.
I can't wait!

low tide

This evening I cycled home from work in the sea mist, and then made my way along the sand and paddled in the sea while the sun went down.

Days like this make me feel very happy that I live and work by the coast.

watercolour challenge

We sat by the seal colony and played watercolour challenge on Inis Mór.

orchard

Today I'm going camping in an orchard.
There will be blankets & barbecues & bluebells.
Wonderful!

detail

crayons. watercolour. camera.

swans a-swimming

Today I did some cycling training (finally) and rode along the coast to Worthing. Now I have 24 miles under my belt, a slightly broken bicycle and sunburnt hands.

It was a nice trip though - I walked along the pier in Worthing and saw four swans making their way around it in the sea.

underwater

southern comfort

This week I'm experimenting with watercolour.