March 2022

It’s been a while since I’ve painted much. You have to be in the right emotional space to create like that. And not too busy with other things! But in recent weeks the Spring flowers have been calling me and I’ve pushed myself over the line and wet my brush.

1/3 of 100 days

I am a third of the way through my #100daysproject of painting 100 things growing in my garden.

Any sustained effort on a project has highs and lows; I have had days of lag and disinterest, days where time is just too short and I fall behind and days of joy and peace found painting in quiet spots.

Mostly it’s been a good discipline. A bit too time consuming on some days.

But I’m loving having a little book recording my garden growing.

And above all it’s forced me to identify and name all the plants I’m recording which has been very enlightening and informative.

On with the next!

Picking & painting

The garden still has some treasures to be found worth painting – I have left flowers to go to seed so that there are interesting seed heads, the ornamental quince has fruited and the Marigolds soldier on regardless and all of these make lovely things to paint on this sunny day.

Amsterdam sketchbook

It’s been ages since I filled a sketchbook like this!

60 odd pages full of textiley work inspired by our Dutch holiday earlier in the year.

Want to have a little lookie?

I’ve been experimenting and making examples of all sorts of things –

lots of different types of print methods, stitch and applique.

Pinterest was a good source to fire my imagination with.

I haven’t done a project like this probably since art collage and it’s been fun to blow the cobwebs away and do some new things.

My sketchbook

I have just finished up filling my current sketchbook and wondered if you’d like a peep?

There is a trend for sketch booking at the moment, particularly doing something in it everyday.

I think sketchbooks can be a place to experiment, log thoughts and images and experiment without a necessary end. I don’t work in it consistently but have phases.

I feel like mine are an extension of my brain; a place to gather and record thoughts that I know will disappear in the busyness and constant flood of visual inspiration.

 I will often look back through one and pick up again on the way something was painted or a collage technique that I liked.

I’m a great magazine snipper too and can end up overwhelmed by bits of this and that lying around waiting to inspire me. Sometimes I’ll have a few hours really looking at them and asking myself what it is about the image that captures my interest and then trying to work that out in the sketchbook.

Often enough this kind of playing will result in a motif for a pattern too.

I began this book in September 2103 so it may be another two years before I can post like this again!

Cheer-up Tuesday

Had a good, long Bank Holiday weekend? I had an unexciting but satisfying time of purging the kitchen cupboards of clutter! Let me know if you can beat that 😉

I’m sat here now with the rain and wind lashing at the window pane so I thought some Marrakesh colour would be a welcome thing!

I did a little watercolour painting in my sketchbook and was transported back to the hot souks of Marrakesh – the perfect antidote to a little Spring storm.

Nature diary/sketchbook

Back in September of last year I had an idea to complete a page-a-month nature diary type sketchbook,

Thinking back I think I was inspired by my new surroundings having moved to a new home and garden and being really close to the woods.

But I’ve got to say that one year later I’m really glad that it’s done and dusted.

I stopped posting the pages up each month (which is why I’m catching up now) because I’d lost the love. I think I discovered that I’m not a sketchbook kinda girl, especially to a timetable.

If you want to see all twelve they are here.