From My Camera Roll (Patreon)

Hi everyone, it's been a week home alone for me as Ant is in Finland, photographing wildlife (check out the photo gallery, he's in the hide that the bear is inspecting!) Crumble and I have been having a grand time - I've been to the cinema with friends to see Practical Magic 2, I've done plenty of baking with all the apples that are in season, Crumble and I have been venturing to some exciting places for our walks - much more interesting than the usual well trodden paths. It's not often that I'm on my own here - it's usually me who's always travelling - so I've made the most of a different pace of life. I wonder if any of you can relate to this: as much as you might miss your house mate, it can be nice to have a little space to do things exactly as you wish!

Calton Hill

I painted this Cityscape of Edinburgh for a wedding stationery commission. It was a really interesting exercise in how to create depth in the landscape by keeping distant shapes really simple in contrast to plenty of detail in the foreground.

Wonky Cats

Gosh, cats are tricky to draw and paint arent they?! Well, we had a great watercolour hang out where we tackled the topic head on and spent a fun hour and a half sketching all sorts of different poses and breeds. Sometimes it's really nice to try painting something difficult among friends, knowing that we're all struggling along together. These two were my last two of five that I painted and they were my least wonky. It just goes to show that the first painting is just a first step in the quest of highs and lows of improvement. This is why the watercolour hangouts are so useful for our creative development and confidence. You can watch the recording here.

Some Good news...

A little sneak peek ahead into the Tiny Autumn Treasures and here we have a lovely sleeping cat. But the good news is this one is much simpler to try. I hope you're enjoying the paintings I've released so far!

This week on Youtube

In a last gasp of Summer, I've got this late summer meadow painting for you all to try on Tuesday on Youtube. Great for water control, depth and perspective, and oh so pretty.

Loosening up

Following a detailed and precise bookshop, it's good to have a little change of style so we are having a go at loose watercolour birds on Wednesday in the watercolour challenges. It's a great way to play with loose watercolour, confidence of brushstrokes and being sparing with colour and detail. A really good way to ease you into a looser painting style.