A thing for sheds

It probably comes as no surprise that I have a thing for sheds! My studio is a glorified shed, our allotment has two sheds and it seems that every home I've lived in has come with a shed, full of interesting oddities and vintage ephemera; old tins, plant labels, jars, rusty tools.  A happy weekend is one that takes me to a garden and a peelly painted shed to ogle at. After the summer holidays I had a file on my computer called 'Produce' that documented some of my peelly paint shed loving experiences around the UK! So it seemed fitting to take inspiration from garden sheds and the patina of, and objects there in, for a photo shoot for my range of vases. It has given me great pleasure to find a purpose for the old tins, postcards, boxes, and bits and bobs that fill up drawers and sit on shelves, and to create some product shots for my shop. There are nine vases in total. They sit together well in groups, along themes of Autumn or Spring....or those with birds....or those with cottages. I hope they make charming gifts...for yourself or loved ones.

A new collaboration

I'm very excited about a new collaboration with The Art Group who publish wall art and distribute internationally. I've just completed my first collection for them....not sure yet where they will end up but I'll let you know! Here's a sneak preview!

Glorious colour

I got a bit overwhelmed earlier in the year by the amount of work I had taken on which led to me cancelling a number of workshops. One that remained on the calendar was at Sock Gallery in Loughborough and last Sunday I worked with seven ladies, showing them how I create my own papers, mark making techniques and lead those into a mixed media collage. I really enjoyed the day, and hope they did too. There were some fabulous outcomes.

I'm hoping to run some more workshops in the new year. If you'd like to be added to my mailing list, please get in touch via my website.

Releasing with Autumn

I was so pleased to find these pictures on my camera of the Yoga & Creativity day I ran with Lindsey at Chandrayoga in Loughborough last weekend. Since then I have enjoyed the last of the late Summer's sun and today the rain has come. I'll be using these pictures to remind me of Autumn's glory. If you'd like to celebrate the Winter Solstice with us, we are running a "Stillness of Winter" retreat day on Saturday December 20th. To book, go to www.chandrayoga.co.uk

Through the Lens

I don't like to work from photos when creating my landscapes. They stunt the experience I had in the landscape and can never fully record the moment and the sensory experience I had. I prefer to capture the moment in my hearts eye and work from that, aided by colour notes and a sketch maybe. When using photos to work from its easy to get caught up in the details of the photo, and not the excitement of what drew you to stop and want to paint the scene. Photos capture too much, and not enough!

I do love photography though and so I've learnt to use photography as a record of things that appeal to me. Colour, shape, seasons and mood all get recorded and these become palettes and themes for my studio paintings. To draw all this visual information together, I am starting to develop mood boards that inspire my collaged paintings.

So here is the first that I've shared, and the piece that developed from it. Its been a dry summer, and I've noticed the bleached out, muted colours of the landscape that were the inspiration for this piece, Faded Summer. Its available as a print in my Etsy shop.