A New Floral Painting (And A Very, Very, New Option)

"Euphorbia River" Painting by Clare Walker
Available at Pixels.Com

Hello there

Hope all's well and happy for you.

Here, as you see, there's a lot that's new here. Firstly, the "Euphorbia River", above.

The story behind it

I have to give huge thanks to my friend and very-talented-photographer-in-her-own-right, Marilyn Doyle, that this painting ever even happened.

She shared tales of a happy afternoon. And I was so transfixed by her photograph:

Photo by Marilyn Doyle, used here
and as a reference with her permission.

that I immediately asked if I could use it as a reference...and found myself with a completed painting in an afternoon, pretty much, (if you come here often, you'll know how rare that is).

So, just enormous thanks to Marilyn for such an inspiring photo, and for the use of your photo here on the blog too. (I would link to her as well, but she doesn't have a website as far as I know).

I mention this all here because I really want Marilyn to get the credit she deserves. And because it's an unusual story behind the "Echinacea Euphorbia River" painting...And because I've already wondered whether these are echinacea (coneflower) or rudbeckia flowers...Or even something else...

Going on their cone shape, and the large prickly seedheads in the middle...I'm sticking with the Echinacea/Coneflowers. But the debate is on, if you want it to be...I'm about to start it on Instagram.

Update on Aug 9th: Have just remembered a great thing about the new shop for your browsing and buying pleasure ;-)...You can *comment* below images. Yay! If you have an idea about what these are, please comment here. Many thanks!

Update on August 10th 2025: Have just discovered that the original flowers may have been Euphorbias.
Really not sure what to do about this yet. Update on September 13th: The title of this painting is now..."Euphorbia River". You live and learn :-).

Hang on a minute. What about this new option thingy?

Ah yes, the new offerings via Pixels.Com/FineArtAmerica. Just in case you're thinking that I may have gone out of my mind to launch this idea on a Friday evening in August at the bottom of a post about something else... Well, yes, I might.

But this isn't false  modesty or anything. It's just the softest possible "launch" (those quotation marks are working particularly hard, there :-) ), so that I can keep everyone whose been such a support in the loop, whilst still being able to correct inevitable mistakes as we discover them.

There will be more on this, I promise. And with that, thanks as ever for reading this far, and for your support...and have a lovely weekend.

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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Guess Where We Found Cornflowers...

"Happy Blue Cornflowers," by Clare Walker

Hello there, and hope all is well for you.

And yes, as you'll most likely have guessed, this post is all ,about how the cornflower illustration above came to be.

The inspiration

They were inspired by these  beauties...

Photo of Cornflowers and Bee by Jim Fernbank

(And though The Computer Man's photo is wonderful as always (thanks Jim!) even this doesn't really do justice to how bright these flowers were (despite having been a little beaten around by the rain)).

So naturally, I set about giving them all that extra vibrancy in art-and-digital-land. After all, one of the reasons I paint and design is to highlight all that is brightest, happiest and best in the world at large, and nature especially.

The really surprising thing...

The really surprising thing though, is where we found both the large and happy clump of cornflowers, and the selection of (equally happy sounding) bumble bees...

 Next to a bucolic cornfield? No.

By a quiet country lane? Great guess, but, no again.

These flowers were right next to our local covered reservoir, intertwined with the very sturdy metal bars that keep people from tampering with said reservoir...As you can see from this photo (thanks again, Jim)...

Photo by Jim Fernbank

Yes, people do usually go up there for a view of the London skyline. But so mesmerised and surprised  was I by the cornflowers instead, that I've generated more art as a result than I can talk about in one blog post.

So the second instalment will be next week (though there is a  downloadable background here, and even a card design if you want to see what became of the illustration at the top of this post right this minute...)

Which just goes to show...

Which goes to show that if you keep an open mind, it really is possible to find inspiration literally anywhere.

And on that note, will leave you to your day, but will be back next week to show you more.

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

More soon.

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Free October Pumpkin Illustration, And Some News...

Click, tap or right-click here to download this illustration

Hello there

Yes, it's early in the week again, but thought you would appreciate having chance to see (and download, if you'd like), the free illustration for October.

About this image: The end of a series

The original image was a sketch in Inktense paint pans and pen, (finished with gold gel pen dots) which I then scanned into the computer, and boosted a little in Photoshop, so that it got back to its pre-scanning brightness.

More importantly though, image is a landmark in that it's also the end of a series. Over the last year or so, I have created at least one free illustration for each of the months (sometimes more than one) and also for other events,  most recently, the Equinox.

With this October drawing, this "seasonal," set of illustrations feels complete, at least for now. The free seasonal illustrations will all stay here as long as the blog does. I have no plans to move them, and you're absolutely welcome to use them (as set out in my angel policy) for as long as I can foresee when writing this.

What's next?

Moving forward, am feeling a real pull to take this blog back to its roots. I used to post simply whenever there was something I really wanted to share with you (which often meant that I posted more than I do now, rather than less). I really want to go back to posting in this way, rather than on a schedule, that can end up feeling a bit forced for all of us.

I also used to post art (like the pic below) related to my participating in online challenges, and I may do that again too.

"Yay!" One of my "Art Every Day Month"
images from November 2019

Honestly, it isn't all worked out yet...I just know I need to go back to the simplicity and joy of sharing work I enjoyed, along with the story of how it came be, and where it has ended up (be that a commercial design, or someone else simply enjoying it in their hands, or showing of what they've made based upon my design).

One of my first pieces of digital art,
from exactly 10 years ago-along with its story, here.

Honestly, there may also be more "how to", posts, because if I can learn to do this, really *anyone* who feels they really want to, can do it too, and I'd love more people to be able to experience the kind of joy that the last 10 years or so of art have brought me, for themselves.

There are also likely to be more (fun!) experiments as I love to share and try new things, and it keeps the energy high. Am thinking of things like this quiz, for instance...

Click here for the quiz...

What will the blog be like now?

Blogs at their best always feel to me like a cosy place in which stories like this can be shared, much more easily  than they can on other social media. (Which, I have to be honest, am using less and less. Please sign up here so that you always get to hear about my blog posts, if you currently follow me mostly on other social media).

So it feels as if  what's coming is that this can be a space of joy for all of us, rather than posting-or-reading-just-because-it's-Friday.

Will there still be freebies?

One thing you can be pretty confident about is that there will still be freebies. I've offered them whenever I can for the entire ten-years-plus of this blog, and I can't see that changing.

Most of all though...

Thank you *so much* for being here, for reading down this far, and for sticking around. It means a lot.

Watch out for new beginnings...soon...

___________________________

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(Day 60/100) "Where the Pieces Fall," Digi-Art Journaling in Krita

 And now, as they say, time for something completely different. 

Day 60/100 was a Sunday chillout  way for me to remember something I'm always learning and re-learning. But if it resonates with you too, feel free it. 

Ironically, for something that was meant to be, and felt, chilled the whole way through, it actually took longer than the average cartoon to produce. (Maybe because I do many fewer projects that evolve, rather than "starting with the end in view,". Perhaps it's time to practice those "evolving" projects more).

For those of you that like to know, I created this digitally in Krita, using a graphics pen stroke by stroke, with the exception of the lettering. That uses the free and royalty-free font Amatic, stretched changed and shadowed in various way.

And in any event, hope you're having  good weekend.

More tomorrow.

Free "Please Wait", Rainbow Spatter Gif (Day 57/100)

Created this because I needed it, but figured that plenty of other people might too. So if it would be useful for your site, please right-click (or click, or tap, depending on your device) to save it, and then link back to https://www.boundingsquirrel.com , when you use it. Many thanks!

NB. If you're a regular visitor, I also created this literally because there's a big project to unveil that needs just a weeny bit more time. Hopefully tomorrow...

More tomorrow...

Free Candle Animated Gif (Day 31)

 Today's sketch is a candle animated gifs (again in Krita, which makes animating digital art easier than I could have imagined).

If you know anyone who could do with a candle, hope, or similar, please pass this on.

More tomorrow.

"Bee Happy" Animated Gif-Day 29's Sketch

 

This "Bee Happy" animated gif (in Krita) does what it says on the tin. If I weren't doing a daily challenge, would probably play around with this rather more before posting. As it is-enjoy!

More tomorrow...

Day 12: A Squirrel Sketch

 

Day 12 is just this little squirrel, destined for my "about page. You can see him in action here.

More tomorrow!

New Inspiring Quote Painting: Be the Change...

This elephant (and the message underneath, which is part of the Gandhi quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world.") took a while to come into being.

I could see a "rainbow elephant," in my mind and thought this quote, or part of it, might work underneath. But couldn't quite make it work, so left the (originally orange and muddy) elephant be for a couple of weeks.

Am liking this result this result though (even though it took work in three separate digital painting programs to make it happen) and hope you do, too.

If this elephant floats your boat, you can find him on many items, including cards, in my Redbubble shop.

Hope he's given you some colour and inspiration. More soon!

A Completely Different Picture...

Am loathe to post this...It's so completely different, a little weird, and very "messy" unfinished and abstract compared to everything that's gone before. (It's still digital, but a digital acrylic painting, rather than digital pastels).

But the colours of a "Rainbow Autumn", feel jolly, it's useful in order to illustrate another blog (and anyway, I've promised to post every stage in the process here, whether it feels like "progress" or not).

Happy weekend, whatever you're up to.

PS. Update: I ended up calling this "Rainbow Autumn", and it's found its home on colourful gifts like this one:

"Rainbow Autumn" Phone & Tablet Cases Cover For The iPad Mini by BoundingSquirrel
Browse Rainbow Cases online at Zazzle.com

What I Learnt From a Revamp...And a Great Book

If you've followed BoundingSquirrel for a while, and today's image post seems familiar, you'd be right. The first version of this image appeared in a previous post.

Trouble was, the original never felt quite "right", somehow. But I couldn't identify what was wrong. How could a simple picture and some text still not feel "right"?

Or at least, I couldn't identify what was wrong until I read the rather wonderful Digital Art Wonderland, by Angi  Sullins and Silas Toball. In case you're wondering, the answer to my problem was that I needed better, "authentication of text"...A.k.a playing around in much more detail with the composition and blending options of text within Photoshop. (Ever keen to put learning into action, I also applied these principles in the images in this post and this one.)

But whether you have this or any other digital art problem...or no problem at all, but you'd still like to drool at lovely images, this is a fabulous book.

Yes it's already been out for a year or so. (I think I heard about it before, but didn't feel ready for it as an absolute beginner).  But if you already know at least some of your way around Photoshop, I couldn't say enough good things about it. In any event, many of the techniques described seem reasonably, "evergreen," no matter how much Photoshop gets updated around them. And the encouragement in the text would inspire anyone with even an ounce of desire to create digital art, whatever the year happens to be.

A point to bear in mind

BTW, I bought the Kindle edition, but only because I can read it on a colour tablet. This book is crammed with colourful images, so if your e-reader is black and white, a hard copy really will be a good investment.

Finally, yes, the link to the book below  *is* an affiliate link, and if you decide to buy it that way, I will get a (tiny) percentage of the cover price. But if you enjoy creating digital art, get hold of this (in whatever way works for you). It's a lovely, and inspiring, read.

Feel-Good Idea: Be the Gift...

I'm posting this gingerly as digital painting's still pretty new for me...and only something I ever thought I could attempt thanks to a course run by the wonderful Jane Davenport.

What would the world be like if we all concentrated on being the gift this Christmas, as well as, or even instead of, giving them?

Romeo and Juliet, Anyone?

 Romeo and Juliet Digital Art

(A much more formal theme than I'd intended!)

Terrified, I've decided to post a piece of digital art "proper" here. The kind of thing I've never shown to anyone. And even more terrifyingly, the file size turned out so huge, I've had to put it on Redbubble (ie technically up for sale), so that it can display well and still get stored. Aaargh.

BTW, I didn't set out to do a high-flown theme. This piece is pure photomanipulation of four photos I took on four totally separate occasions...They just merged into this somehow.

Whatever you think is fine. (The Computer Man just said, "Well I hate all art...don't ask me...:-)". So really-anything goes...



Update in 2020: It turns out lots of people like it. And the Computer Man has changed his views on art *a lot* in the last few years ;-). These days, you can buy this design as a greeting card on Zazzle.

Romeo & Juliet Holiday Card
by BoundingSquirrel

 

Stolen time in the sunshine and a new digital art experiment

The Computer Man's latest excitement this Bank Holiday is a new accounting program. However, I'm not complaining. It's given me chance to finish a new digital art experiment.

And this pic was inspired anyway by a stolen midweek afternoon visit to Kenwood House in Hampstead, complete with spring sunshine. We ambled through the magnolias. And I got to wondering, "What were the original owners like?..."

(For comparison, the actual gatepost, these days , looks like this:

As this took longer than I thought, it looks like all my creative time will only yield about one completed project per week. But hey, it's a start. And, like London buses, there'll be another one along soon.