From My Camera Roll (Patreon)

Hello everyone, it's lovely to be back with you. I hope you had a good break, we certainly did. Here are a few highlights.

Making new traditions

It's hard to imagine creating new traditions when you're a child but in adulthood I've really embraced the new with Christmas. In 2020 when we were forced into a quiet christmas we had a really special lunchtime adventure to walk on Dartmoor (via Marks and Spencers Food to pick up some of their Christmas picnic range). It's become a vital part of our Devon Christmas day and this year we were blessed with clear blue skies and icy cold bracing breezes. Here we are post-picnic and even Crumble got a few treats. In my opinion a new highlight from the M&S Christmas range was the spicy prawn cocktail crisps!

A Very Handmade Christmas

I don't know whether it was my attempts to avoid working on my new book that spurred me on to have one of the most handmade Christmases in recent memory, or if I felt particularly inspired this year. These ceramic baubles were among many handmade gifts and cards I enjoyed making this year. The house is for our new neighbours who are enjoying their first Christmas here.

Soprano Selfie

Every year since 2020 - another new tradition - I sing in my mum's Church Choir for their Christmas carol service (she is in the middle). We have to take a Soprano Selfie. Those smiles tell a story of great relief that we got through it in one piece!

Christmas tree pavlovas and meringue mushrooms

I tell many a tale of baking disasters in my watercolour hang outs so I thought you would be proud of my puddings this Christmas. The less said about what's hiding under the yule log ganache the better but the most important thing is it all tasted delicious! This pavlova Christmas tree is in its second year and the addition of candles worked perfectly. The little mushroom meringues look so realistic! They were part of the harrowing yule log recipe baking experience.

Christmas Treasure

The Heinz Ketchup Sachet (Anya Hindmarch leather bag charm) is my most prized Christmas present. It was the only thing on my Christmas list and to be honest I would probably carry a real sachet of ketchup, I love the condiment so much. It sums up everything I want in a Christmas present: totally impractical, full of joy and a bit of childish whimsy. Ant still doesn't entirely understand!

Reconnecting with my creativity

My personal theme for this year is Reconnecting with Creativity. That might sound odd considering that I paint for a living, what kind of creativity am I lacking? Well, the kind that is for me and not for work purposes. I am so lucky to teach tutorials, to have a community to paint with here and to create books and illustration commissions. But I've always wondered is there a corner of my brain that hasn't been woken up and what ideas are in there. Could I paint pictures for the pure sake of painting. Therefore, Ant and I spent yesterday assembling some new office furniture: a painting desk and paint trolley. You will hear more about this on social media this month!

Back to Work

Youtube sent us a little set of goodies over Christmas including this (legally not lego) set. Ant and I had a nice time putting it together the other day. As we did it, it sparked conversations about what we're going to teach on the channel this year. I'm heading back into the painting studio tomorrow and I'm really excited! On Youtube we're going to do a focus on my 2026 paint palette and go into detail on every colour for a few weeks: how to use the colours, how to mix them and why I chose them over other colours. On Patreon I have some lovely ideas for how to use negative space really effectively. It's going to be great!