A Watercolour Sketch: Glowing Autumn Berries

Hello there, and I hope all's well in your corner of the world.

Here, the very first kiss of autumn's oranges and gold have appeared. Amongst the still-very-green eaves, as if from nowhere... Berries are suddenly...everywhere...

And so, even though, I confess, have been spending a lot of time this week visiting places and just soaking them up, rather than drawing, there was chance to capture those first glowing berries, inspired by some I saw on our visit to Camley St Natural Park:

Glowing Autumn Berries: An Initial Sketch

Watch this space to see what they'll become. (Update on September 12th 2024: See them in action in this post)

And, as have deliberately gathered inspiration this year to keep things bright during the winter, expect some ongoing flowers this year, as well.

More soon.

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New Hot Pink Daisies: Bring Your Inner Maximalist Out to Play...

Hot Pink Daisy Floral Modern Maximalist Pattern Fabric
by BoundingSquirrel

Hello there

Hope you're thriving in your corner of the world. And even if not, then in today's post might just contain something that helps...in the form of this ultra-bright daisy design.

And yes,  it was digital colouring and brightening in the ever-trusty Krita digital painting app, that brought out a properly bright, vibrant and...yes, I'm going to declare it a "maximalist" :-) pattern design. Yes, the pink is veeeery bright. But it's fun, isn't it?

It turns out that things look even more fun on a yummy assortment of Redbubble items, from bags to pouches and clocks to notebooks:

Some items from the "Hot Pink Daisy" Collection
 by Clare Walker,
on Redbubble.

And, if you're a papercrafter or cardmaker, you can also find this as a digital download background paper in this design in my Craftsuprint shop.

Finally, at the time of writing this (updated 23rd August 2024) it looks like all the shops have sales, with various discounts available for different lengths of time. So if you fancy a peek at some gorgeously bright items whilst you bag a bargain, this might be a great time to buy.

Hope this all helps one way or another.

Thanks so much for being here, and for reading down this far.

More soon.

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New Digital Painting And Its Story: Mint With a Honey Bee

"Mint With A Honey Bee," by Clare Walker BoundingSquirrel.com

Hello there

This week's offering is a digital painting (in Krita, completed stroke by stroke) of the kind which I realise have not actually posted here in a while.

There's a story behind it, too. After the best part of three years trying to get wildflowers to bloom in one of our window boxes, we have achieved this feat: with mint. Yay! Not only that, but it turns out that honey bees seem absolutely to adore spending time on the recently-flowering mint blossoms (double yay!). Watching them as they bury themselves deeply in the tiny, fluffy, florets of the mint flowers is also *the* most calming way to spend...much more time than I'd realised...

Plus there have been plenty of minty summer drinks and soups to be had :-). So, it's been an absolute win all round.

A Low Key Beginning...

Stage One of "Mint With a Honey Bee,"

This painting had a very low key beginning, as you can see from its first stage (above). the more I looked, the more it felt a bit...bleh...and as if something major was missing, but just out of reach.

So I began experimenting with the many different ways to filter, alter and add more colour in Krita. And after some hours of (frankly) "happy play," with the app/program, I realised I'd ended up with the much more dramatic version of this painting that you see at the top of the blog....And which I'm calling finished (for now...;-) ).

What Next?

 "Mint With a Honey Bee," isn't on sale, or playing any role in anything anywhere (yet). This week, it was just a lovely way to celebrate a small success...and happy bees.

But I loved how it felt to be this daring...as if a whole new dimension of something new just might be peeping through. Watch this space.

And whatever happens next with artwork here, it's already a definite success for our, "wild," window box project. In the case of mint and bees at least, it seems that I *can* say, "Plant it, and they *will* come..." :-)

As ever, thank you *so* much for being here, and for reading down this far. May all be humming in your world, too.

More soon.

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Is This An Orange Floral Daisy, Marigold or Calendula Design?

Orange Floral Daisies, Marigolds or Calendula Flower Border

Hello there.

And yes, this week's art is all there in the title. This design is based upon bright orange (and sometimes white) flowers I remember my Mum growing at home when I was little.

Watercolouring and sketching them was calming, peaceful, and instantly brought back all the warmth and possibility of being a small child in a garden.

I remembered most of these flowers, at least, as having been marigolds.

But "No", said the internet. "They're probably calendula," "Or maybe just orange daisies..."

Whatever they are, the feeling remains the same.

And if you fancy doing something else with them other than asking this question, you can find your very own blank orange floral border, at full A4 size, in my Craftsuprint shop.

Hope all's well with you, and thank you so much, as ever, for being here.

More soon.

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A Surprisingly Bold Penguin Pattern...

Penguins in a Huddle Striped Pattern
Tall Mug, available on Redbubble.

Hello again. 

And if you're sweltering in the heat at the moment, maybe these penguins can help you to cool down a little. Yup, they're back, but this time in a more sophisticated pattern, that forms stripes of its own as you wear or use your penguiny items...

If it's as hot with you as here, I'll leave you to browse as penguin-patterned goodness much as you want.

But, thank you *so much* for being here.

More soon.

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