nature as art, simplicity.

Last Green Leaves of Autumn, Berkshire

Every season comes around and makes itself your new favourite. The last flush of green and skeletal branches against the sky... heaven.

Autumn Leaves, Oxfordshire

They cast so many magical shapes. With so much space, intricate details stand out starkly. They seem to imprint onto your soul.

Wood Detail, West Green Garden, Hampshire

And wintry air is so reviving after languishing inside. Or at least it's felt that way as I recover from some recent surgery.

Happily I'm well on the mend and feeling better than I have in years. Am looking forward to a new year with renewed vigour! To come out of the fog and spend more time on my art and writing projects on a more daily basis - that will be heaven indeed!

autumn walks.

Life has been quietly busy, as such things go.

I've been plotting an escape from mundane things, however - 2016 shall be a year of cultural adventure! It's almost criminal to live so close to London and not partake in its rich delights, so it's time to rectify things.

And I've lately tracked down the cause of a health issue, and now looking forward to it finally being sorted soon. *dances, albeit crookedly at present* This means a clean bill of health at the turn of year as well, and with any luck I'll finally finish off a number of projects that have been languishing.

At the moment, work ticks on in the background. I'm breaking in some new health habits, greatly aided by many an autumnal walk along the riverbank amongst the fading golden trees.

The above was inspired by a Hans Christian Andersen drawing (#16152), which can be seen here.

nature as art, the next.

Bare branches of winter, Sheffield England

A few more natural delights from another time. The odd brisk, sharp wind that has been late arriving reminds me that the world is turning towards darker days.

Going to seed, Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh Scotland

Every bloom and leaf is returning to earth. The world dances toward rebirth - it's hard not to skip down the street in amongst the cascade of falling leaves.

Autumnal meadow, Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh Scotland

A few last blooms remain in the post on my balcony, but skeleton trees make their presence known across the skyline. Looking forward to watching the squirrels race amongst their bare branches once more.

digital days.

A few new(ish) toys that I've been spending more time with lately - Adobe iPad app and a pressure sensitive stylus. I've been thinking about getting back into making greetings cards & other such-like things, and making art digitally is an option I've been considering. I do like the contemporary twist it gives to pieces.

                               

This accidentally became quite Disney-like... I have quite a few art books scattered around the house featuring collections from some of the great Disney artists and animators, I can sense an afternoon perusing them will soon be on the cards.

Rather liking the florals on a dark background... I sense a collection of my own may materialise before long.

a pencil at work.

Pencil-work preparation on postcard size paper, to be brought to life with watercolours. These will be part of my Frameable Fairytales series... they're still waiting to be anointed with their own particular story, however. I daresay they'll become clear as the colours begin to bloom upon them.

The above was inspired by some of the artwork within The Adventures of Alice Laselles: A Children's Story written by Queen Victoria, a truly magical book.

nature as art, the beginning.

    Bare branches in the Boboli Gardens, Florence Italy

What a world out there... so many different shapes, textures, colours. And they change every day, even moment to moment while you gaze upon a different leaf, flower, unfurling cloud. 

I'm a nature borrower. I take a shadow, or thread, or run of colour and incorporate them into my own little world of drawings and paint strokes. Here are a few moments I've captured on film, toyed with and coloured into new memories of adventurous days out. Maybe they'll crop up in future works.

And yet they can stand alone, as photographic squares of artistic endeavour in their own right... indeed, the chrysalis or flower are art before they were even captured, pondered, and incorporated into human handiwork.

Nature unfolds time and time again in so many beauitful forms.

       

    Hatching butterflies in The Living Rainforest, Berkshire England

       

    Meadow flowers near Haddon Hall, Yorkshire England

       

    Dried flowers at the Jane Austen House Museum, Hampshire England

moving through the lines.

Very quick sketches that found themselves living in random notebooks. I love the feeling of movement in these, that's something I'd like to capture more often - a snapshot of energy, a scene quickly unfolding.

The dress above will make a comeback somewhere, somehow... I think she's falling into the depths of the sea, I wonder how she got there?

The rain cascades, the leaves unfurl themselves from the trees. A mixture of simple line and more concentrated flurries, could a mixture of depth and lightness be the way to go? Simple shapes standing amidst a furious background. Something to ponder.

simplicity.

Using simpler lines, and wondering what sort of tales she could tell.

Spring is definitely on her way, time to clear out the superfluous and live a little lighter.

Is there anything more delightful than the blossom on the trees?

playing with pencils.

I was exploring my old sketchbook, starting to plot and plan for future endeavours and looking for inspiration. I rather like the look of the lady above, a project of soft and strange portraits is very appealing, let's see what the spring brings.

I love intricate borders, this feels like it should be at the end of some sort of story, must get my thinking cap on... I feel a little fairytale art booklet is calling me....

Feel like I'm making progress with drawing - simple clear lines make all the difference. I usually have a tendency to over embellish.

new blooms, from a pale spring.

A new spring has sprung. A thousand furs is a world of fairy tales - a multitude of feelings and faces reveal themselves as you move through the shadows. A thousand reflections - shimmering nature, she wears a thousand crowns, a thousand mantles, so many different skins.

Here begins a detailed account of my artworks (printing, watercolours, sketches), textile art and all manner of things I make. My writing can be found over at The Last Pearl.