This Week's Visual Journal

week 28 of 2026

Jul 10, 2026

Hello! I hope this finds you well.

It got hot here again and so I moved my studio to my back garden where I could sit in the morning shade. Much better for my mental health than being inside with a fan on. I typed this up in my studio later on in the evening, when the air was cooler and I could handle sitting at my desk for a few minutes!

In the end, I’m very glad I did this. I sketched our garden chair and our vine and lavender which leans against our garage. And in the process enjoyed watching butterflies, birds and bees, plus the occasional breeze.

I’m sharing some of the process below with 3 short videos.

How’s your week been?

In the Studio This Week

It’s been very busy with Zoom calls, video editing and packaging original pieces. Over the past few months, we’ve sourced large cardboard boxes from bicycle shops and any friends who have recently purchased a tv!! Last year for the Ode To Charlotte Collection I wasn’t this prepared and had to actually purchase cardboard boxes which felt completely wrong.

Some of the artwork from the Bright Hope Collection has already arrived at their new homes and I’ve received photos!!! This is so very special to me.

If you missed them, the videos I released this week are:

And don’t forget to check the gazette:

Summer Gazette which has lots of fun links, club news, as well as special treats: a gifted wordsearch and a summer bingo sheet to print at home.

Today’s Visual Journals

📷 Visiting Lincoln 📷

This was our first time in Lincoln, we’ve been meaning to go for a very long time. We first walked around the centre. Highlights there were pastries, fudge and sausage rolls. The cathedral was very beautiful and much larger than we’d expected. We had a picnic on the lawn, inside the castle walls and then had a guided tour round the castle. We were all in awe of the Magna Carta (1215) and Charter of the Forest (1217). To think that the ink lasted this long! You can read more about the Lincoln castle here: we also visited the Victorian prison and walked the medieval walls.

picking strawberries at our local fruit farm
making strawberry milkshake with (some of) said strawberries
spotting 3 types of butterflies in our garden over lunch
discovering Lincoln with my visiting parents
watching Wimbledon on TV, like this match which I only got a glimpse of
meeting some of the Italy retreat participants on a one-to-one Zoom chat, more to come next week
drawing my visual journals outside in the shade
trying every type of ice cream available at our local co-op which led me to wonder…. what is your current favourite ice-cream? we’re hoping to make strawberry ice cream tomorrow

Strawberry Farm PYO

On Friday after school, we all went strawberry picking, got really hot and came back home for a very cooling strawberry milkshake. We’ve got quite a lot in the freezer now and hope to make a batch of strawberry ice cream tomorrow. Will report back.

💌 I N V I T A T I O N 💌

Drawing Live on Bastille Day

If you’re free to celebrate with us, don’t miss my Bastille Day Drawing Live conversation with Stacie Martinez on Tuesday. We’ll draw some of our favourite French things and will post a few reference images prior to it in the club chat if you’d also like to have a go! You can also pop in the comments to say ‘bonjour!!’ from wherever you are!

Wishing you a happy weekend!

Talk soon xx