Yes you can make a clock in 20 minutes, personalised to suit your home.
I used a kit from Dannells and teamed it with my flamingo print paper and a fabulous design (Leah Duncan’s Brooklyn Bridge Flare) from Art Gallery Fabrics.
Because the kits have all the bits you simply cut the fabric or paper to fit the sticky backed template, fix it to the hoop and attached the clock mechanism – easy.
Leaves are my go-to shape for doodling and have been a constant subject for my drawing over the years. The variety, the curves, the veins, the lush texture all provide a rich resource for artists and illustrators.
I recently visited the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge. Among the various planting schemes and a lovely gaggle of ducks (I know that’s the collective noun for geese but you didn’t see these guys), the gardens also boasts an impressive glasshouse where plants from around the world are nurtured and displayed. The rainforest area is fabulous and I was struck by its enormous leaves that cover such large areas.
The nearest things we get to this is our household plants. So I thought I’d get busy with some watercolour illustrations and black and white sketches of Monstera, Aralia, Alocacia and Cycad.
One of the best places to go for visual inspiration is the near-by Beth Chatto gardens. The succulent collection is a particular pull for me, especially as I go about my artistic work. Research is essential to my work and you’ll often find me with my phone or camera in hand, capturing images that interest and inspire me.
The gardens have is a wide variety of succulents. The way the gardeners display the plants all together is really impressive. The visual impact of these packed-in plants in such a range of naturally attractive colours look like a patten design in themselves.
Check out my succulent print at > my Folksy shop
Find out more about Beth Chatto Gardens > here
My drawing of the week, a blue jay bird, is inspired by nature and by a song. We have regular jays in our local woods and I’m always trying to spot them on my walks.
Anyway one revealed himself to me last week, where, weirdly I had the Beatles song Blue Jay Way in my head for the rest of the day. So I fancied doing a watercolour and ink illustration of the regular jay’s North American cousin.
In old African American folklore of the southern United States, the blue jay was held to be a servant of the Devil. I think my one is harbinger of joy.
The blue jay’s colouration is not derived from pigments but is the result of light interference due to the internal structure of the feathers; if a blue feather is crushed, the colour disappears, this is known as structural colouration.
I’m very excited about the up-coming trend for moody botanicals. The contrast of soft peach, pink, white and cream tones on shades of navy, purple and grey is so effective. The overall look feels so romantic and dreamy. While it celebrates beautiful botanics, the style also gives more than a little nod to art history, evoking Rococo and Dutch flower painting themes. This trend will be everywhere later in the year and in 2017. It’s certainly inspired me to take a trip to the Wallace Collection for a little bit of research. I’ve already started to create some pieces with this theme in mind, with varying degrees of success, once I’ve nailed it I’ll let you know.
As an avid pinner I’ve been struck by just how many images I’ve seen this past year featuring photography, illustration and fashion pieces showcasing a range of blush pink shades.
The hues look great on their own and teamed with light colours. It also works incredibly well when contrasted with darker green or grey shades as well as more vibrant rosy pigments.
It’s been hugely inspiring for me in creating new stationery collections and prints. By replacing my usual white backdrop with soft, gentle blushes it has really warmed up some of my pink flamingo pinks and patterns (I’ll be showing you them soon). I’ve also used it as a background for my more dramatic drawings such as my raven couple piece that you can see on my moodboard.
I’m looking forward to playing with these shades a bit more, not only with my artistic work but also exploring options for adding depth to accent walls as well as seeing how I can incorporate a bit of blush with my home accessories.
I’m currently working on a birds from brazil illustration series to coincide with this years Olympics. While researching this topic I kept coming across images of the green-headed tanager.
This small, colourful bird can be found in the Atlantic forest in south-eastern Brazil and far eastern Paraguay.
The creature measures an average of 13.5cm. Its preferred habitat is humid forests but there have been sightings in orchards and parks; apparently its flashy blue-green coloration camouflages well among the foliage.
As this bird is so colourful and full of character it was tremendous fun to draw. It was great to break out the brighter colours in my watercolour box. Plus, I couldn’t resist creating lots of sketches to capture the quirky, playful nature of this vibrant little critter.
An opulent bloom, the Hibiscus is a very hardy, versatile plant and thrives in tropical conditions. It is a member of the Malvaceae family and the name is Latin for marshmallow.
The flower is very showy and gregarious and as such it attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.
This is actually the last plant of the fortnight post. After a year working on the blog I’ve given it a review and have decided on a few changes. Instead of bird/plant of the fortnight, I’ll be doing one ‘Drawing of the week’ post every Tuesday. So you’ll still get your illustration fix.
In keeping with my tropical mood next week I will be showcasing several drawings of the Green-headed Tanager – a beautiful bird native to Brazil.
As tropical themes proliferate the summer collections this year I thought I’d concentrate on hibiscus flowers for my plant of the fortnight.
According to legend, the hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Tahitian and Hawaiian girls and is symbolic of relationship status. Apparently if the flower is worn behind the left ear, the woman is married or in a relationship. If the flower is worn on the right, she is single or openly available for love.
These flowers look so robust and full of allure with their strong trumpet shape and long stigma. That makes them such fun to draw. Check out my watercolour and ink illustrations on Friday.
I told you I’d go for colour and perhaps on reflection I could have been more subtle in my finished illustration. Ah well next time (I intend to draw these birds a LOT).
Bee-eaters do actually eat bees. They remove the stinging part by repeatedly hitting and rubbing the insect on a hard surface, the subsequent pressure to the insect extracts most of the venom.
These birds are mainly native to Africa and Asia but you can see some in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. And I spotted on Twitter the other day that someone had seen and taken pictures of a pair of European bee-eaters in Norfolk (I would LOVE to see them for myself).
The birds form colonies by nesting in burrows tunnelled into the side of sandy banks, such as those that have collapsed on the edges of rivers. Most of the species in the family are monogamous and both parents care for the young, sometimes with the assistance of other birds in the colony, isn’t that lovely? The more I learn about these birds the more I like them.
