A Tale of Two Watercolours

Hello there

And...breathe...

Don't know how it feels to you, but things are a tad intense out there right now.

Which led me, this week, to breathe as deeply as I could, and go back to basics. If it feels right, this is your invitation to do so too, as I show and tell you, the tale of two watercolours... 

Watercolour One: Stripey Purple Crocuses

Whenever life feels like it is spinning too fast, I'm learning just to breathe, and return, to  inspiration in the strangest of places...Revelling in the simple joy of putting pen to paper (or, in the case of the crocus below, digital pen to tablet).

Purple Stripey Crocuses Digital Painting in Krita

I'd like to say that I felt inspired to create these crocus (or is it crocuses?) by a major event. I'd like to, but I can't.

 No, strangely, even in a week in which I received the most magnificent bunch of flowers from the dearest of friends (I mean, how lovely are these, and how lucky was I?)...

Photo credit: Jim Fernbank
 

the flowers which caught my eye with that indescribable whisper of, "Paint us now, please," were some brave little crocuses, pushing their way through the mud, in weak rays of "almost spring," sunshine.

Photo credit: Jim Fernbank

And they led, in double quick time, to the purple crocus picture you've already see. Which is already making its way into several places, to which I'll link when done. (Update on March 15th 2025: for starters,  they're here on wrapping paper).

Watercolour Two: Daffodils and Narcissi

As for the daffodils, they were gorgeous. And The Computer Man and I both enjoyed looking at them *so* much in our house for a full week. And yet, in three attempts, (one digital and two with pens and brushes) I'm only just now getting even close to capturing something about them that feels resonant, and has that "aha," or, "yes" moment (as you can see in this scan  from my sketchbook, below).

Daffodils and narcissi in my sketchbook

Finally...

This tale doesn't have answers. I have no idea as to why one item should be easier to draw in any given week than another. (I've drawn both flowers in the past, in various amounts of complexity. Eg here, and here.)

But the lesson I'm taking from this tale is that following small joys, however strange or illogical it seems to be, strangely. yields the easiest path forward, at least for me, at the moment. 

And if that (and/or just the chance to sit down, breathe, and stare at some flowers) has in any way made everything seem a little less full-on for you too, then this post will have done its job.

Enough from here. As ever, thank you so much for being here, and for reading down this far. 

Enjoy your week-more soon.

___________________________

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Announcing New, Easy Hang Wall Art (That Even Helps Nature)

Hello again, and am hoping this post finds you well and thriving.

Let's get down to it...I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that lots of my most popular floral art, like these summer poppies, has been accepted by Displate.Com to be part of their new easy-hang wall-art range.

The concept behind these affordable metal poster size prints is amazing: they hang with magnets, and can be put up in minutes, without damaging your walls. No need for framing or waiting around.

And because they're made of metal, the rich colours of digital art get shown off to great effect.

Best of all, 10 trees are planted for every Displate purchased.

So if you're looking for flowers or floral art to hang easily on your wall, and would love to help nature too, please do head over to my Displate page now.

(And of course, this design is still available for you as an ever-popular printable download, here...)

Two New Digital Paintings, And A Confession...

 So, the first thing I need to do, is show you these two digital watercolours...The first is a "Magnolia", based on the beautiful pink magnolia this spring in Waterlow Park, Highgate.

The second, "Wisteria", (below) is something I've been trying to draw and paint for several years...but this the first time have even come close enough to want to show anyone. Wisteria, it turns out is a complex plant, spiralling round in ever decreasing threefold patterns...

And the confession? Well, that's just that all the plans I'd been wanting to unveil for you by this point, have one-by-one, and for various reasons (mostly) outside my control, evaporated.

In the meantime, if you're liking what you see on this page, please do feel free to share them on social media.

And if love them and want more, they're also available as giftable goodies here and here, and as printables for craft projects here and here.

More soon. (Just got to pop out in the spring sunshine and revel in some more inspiring flowers first!).

New Digital Painting: Evolution of a Digital Watercolour

I'm loving playing with Artrage 4 again, especially its watercolour settings. (I'm not an Artrage affiliate, by the way, I just love its ease of use). Here are the several stages of a watercolour featuring the purpley-blue flowers from our window box, given lots of artistic licence.

I think they're "pincushion flowers", or have the less-than-lovely name of "Scabious", but they have their own determined beauty, and the bees love them.

Anyway, first of all, I started with the flowers, using Artrage. I chose a watercolour paper setting, and increased the grain slightly, using low-blend and a small brush size for the stems, and the "just a spot" watercolout brush for the petals.

I might yet pop these into a pattern, but as they are, I felt they needed some fixing into the ground.

So Stage Two involved "just a spot" brush leaves...

Again, they might yet have a purpose all their own. But it still felt like they needed fixing into some earth.

So it was onto some flecks, again with the "just a spot" brush....

 Very definitely, this design on the right would make a card.

But then, using a combination of "low blend" watercolour paint blobs in new Artrage layer, and the spreading around of those blobs with the "Just Water" setting, the final version of this digital painting (for now!) turned into the picture you see below.

Would you have left this here, or earlier? Or would you have added more? Please do leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thanks!