Despite the relentless bombardment of gaudy festivity advertised in every commercial avenue, winter still manages to be beautiful. Traditional foliage, frozen landscapes and platters of mince pies ...

Throughout the month of October, I've been creating a pencil drawing each day to encourage conversations about drawing and challenge myself to the discipline. 31 days later and I've had ample time ...

For this activity you will need:

One pound of creativity
2oz Autumnal appreciation
Several jars of homemade jam
Copious cups of tea
...and a good dollop of art supplie...

PART 1

I'm delighted to announce this one-month drawing challenge, celebrating the humble pencil and focusing on the roots of traditional drawing. When I discovered the #PriceofaPencil Ca...

Edit: As I was writing this blog post, I realised that I couldn't put a years worth of sketching and gardening into one month. There is so much that I'm inspired to draw and paint every season and ...

Something a little bit different this month: take a look through this sketchbook from winter 2021 and listen to me talk about all things sketchbookery! This little book is a mishmash of shopping li...

Artists are often lumped in to two categories: portrait artists and landscape artists, (although there are all manor of subjects to specialise in) and I am firmly settled in the portraits section. ...

Tips for the beginner.

Many artists say you should never throw your work away, and there is good reasoning behind this ideology, but I am a firm believer that this doesn't have to be a...

I am a bookish sort; an appreciation for beautiful illustrations and stories means that I almost absentmindedly gather books to my collection and borrow from friends, family and libraries to fill t...

Diaries can have all sorts of purposes and, with the growing popularity of bullet journals, sketchbooks and gratitude diaries, their positive effects on mindfulness and mental health are widely pro...

As a beginner in the world of watercolours, the various different papers, paints and brushes can be a bit daunting. I get asked a lot about the materials I use and what watercolours are good for st...

The art of correspondence.

My love affair with illustrated letters began as correspondence between myself and my grandmother, varying between humorous cartoons and colourful illustratio...

Why are we, Humans, drawn to represent ourselves in image?

David Robinson states in his article: Why humans need stories, 'that narrative is essential to society' and linked to evolutionary...

Autumn is here, full of conkers, Jam making and long nights drawing in. The hedgerows are full of their bounty; the trees turning gold to drop their leaves, but most of us no longer rely on the aut...

Hands are considered by many artists to be one of the most difficult things to draw, with various techniques employed to hide them. When mastered they can add another level of dynamism to a portrai...