Today, I gave myself a simple challenge in order to 1) practice observing reality (seeing what is there opposed to what I think is there) and 2) get to know my oil paints. I decided to paint simple objects – fruit I had in my fridge – and to only allow myself to use primary […]
I recently bought some lovely hand-crafted mineral watercolour paints. The colours are all lovely earthy tones, and they worked quite nicely for this portrait!
There’s nothing more beautiful than a watercolour painting – light, airy, loose, subtle and whimsical. As a beginner in this medium, I’m still experimenting and finding it very challenging, not just because it is quite unforgiving, but because it requires letting go – the less I “try”, the looser and nicer the image.
I am obsessed with portraits. One of my favourite shows is Portrait Artist of the Year, I’ve binge-watched this show year after year and always feel so inspired and depressed in equal measure. Gouache is fun you can throw the paint around, thick or thin, layer, go wild, it’s like being a kid again.
This could be called “Navigating 2020”, because way I’ve been feeling for the last 12 months.
After a numerous challenging attempts at carving, slipping, sweating profusely and slipping again, I decided to splurge and buy myself some quality carving tools for my lino-carving. Although I had my critical voice telling me “a bad workman blames his tools”, I also think that “you get what you pay for” and that spending money […]
I’ve always been in awe of printmaking but never had the guts to throw myself into it. So, in order to ease myself into this medium, I’ve started experimenting with Linocut. After one workshop to get the basics (with the lovely and ever patient Silvain Monney), and a few attempts at home with simple black […]
I recently tried my hand at painting mandalas with watercolors. It was a lot harder than I expected! The Inspiration A couple of years ago, during a visit to the epic Cambodian temples of Angkor Wat, I had the fortune of meeting Hay Chhoem, a talented local artist. I met Hay at the Small Art […]
I love to draw living creatures – it’s all in the eyes. I see myself peering through each of these animals, showing the different qualities that have meaning to me.
I recently came across a wonderful little book called “Birds of Europe” by John Gould. He was an ornithologist in the 1800’s and his wife Elizabeth, an artist. Together, they documented and illustrated hundreds of birds and other fauna, some referenced in Darwin’s famous “On the Origin of Species”. The hand coloured lithographs in my little […]
I had the chance to visit the beautiful country of Myanmar (previously known as Burma) in 2019. Highlights included the hundreds of golden buddhist pagodas scattered within the landscape, bells tinkling in the wind, the floating gardens on the serene Lake Inle, and the ancient temples of Bagan. More about Myanmar Myanmar Travel Guide, National […]
I call these my little shadow creatures – they’ve all emerged from my left hand – that is my non-dominant hand. I’ve grown to love these little friends, visiting me from the dark unknown. Whether tapping into my subconscious, or accessing more primal areas of my brain, these creatures always surprise me. My inner critic, […]
I want to share a simple but fun creative activity that reminded me of being a kid. I wrote down a bunch of words in answer to the question “How do I want to feel?” and then I represented them visually. Here is the list of words I chose and the visual I created with […]
My calendar dedicated to wander lust and finding natural places of beauty.