Hello and happy Saturday!
Also, HAPPY MONTH OF MARCH!!!
I hope you’ve had a good week. What colours did you see? Did you see any blooms?
Here’s what I can remember from mine.
This Week’s Highlights
Having both my parents and Mike’s mum with us. It was lovely and a nice opportunity to go on walks, make lasagna and buy super yummy NY vanilla cheesecake
Blending all the inspiration from London into one main idea: blooms in a ancient jar
Watching our kids develop resilience and perseverance
Enjoying a couple sunny days this week which have woken me up from my semi-hibernation
Admiring the crocuses in their glory (more on that next week)
Taking the train to London on Monday (see pics below)
Inspiration from my trip to London
I took a sketchbook with me and some materials which I will soon share with the paying members of the club. But for now, here are the main highlights…
Hatchard’s bookshop on Piccadilly (had never been). This was a happy accident as I was dodging the rain and found Jo Thompson’s new book “the New Romantic”. It is splendid. Of course, I sketched some of her pages in my travel sketchbook on the train home.
Emily Powell’s Exhibition at the Portland Gallery
The reason I booked my train tickets in the first place. It was colourful, joyful and transformative (more on that another time). If anyone is in the area of London, I highly recommend paying a visit, you have until 7th March.
Shop for materials at Cornelissen’s with Emma
My friend Emma Carpendale who is also an illustrator, met me there. This was so fun! I will share a video of all the studio treats I got there in a club video soon (paid). This was my 5th time there and probably my favourite as I understand a little better what I need. Less overwhelm. Complete joy.
Lunch and cocktails with Emma
The Coral Room was literally opposite Cornelissen’s and was so lush! We loved the decor, the artwork by Luke Edward Hall and all the pink tones. The cocktail we (both) chose was called “The Last Drop” and was blissful, it had a cherry in it which was utterly delicious too. We had our sketchbooks out and I drew the pink table bloom with Neocolor II on a postcard.
Sketch meet-up at The British Museum
A Substack meet sketching old jars and capsules with Natasha Cross and Emma Carpendale - we loved the chat and banter and I definitely enjoyed getting as many little details down as possible. We agreed we’d like to do it again, probably in the summer.
Catch up with an old friend
This is Jane and we’ve been friends for 20 years. We met in Edinburgh when we were students. I was becoming a teacher and she was at Edinburgh Art College. She’s followed my art journey and has always been ultra encouraging. She’s a sweetheart. And I love her. She works and lives in London now and we catch up whenever we can. (For anyone who watched the Tiny Tinned Treasures (free for all), she’s the dear friend who gave me the tin with lots of treasures in it as a hen party gift. On Monday evening, we walked around the area of Kings Cross and had some dinner. I was inspired by the warm feeling of old friendships mingled with the beauty of golden lights shining against the horizon, as the sun was setting and London was getting dark.
This Week’s Journals
The artwork I made this morning was inspired by all these events, especially my day trip to London and for that I am so thankful! I love how it’s all merged into these sketchbook pages. From the blooms I saw in Jo Thompson’s book and at the Coral Room, to the artwork by Emily Powell and Luke Edward Hall, via the ancient pottery at the museum, there was so much to digest visually! And I wanted the whole bunch of blooms to be surrounded by dark blue or navy negative space, to help the blooms pop a bit more, like the lights on my walk around Kings Cross. At some point, I’d like to develop larger pieces with all this in mind.
How was your week? What did you notice?
Wishing you now a fabulous weekend and happy month of March.
Don’t forget to look out for the club GAZETTE which will be posted later today.
Until then,
Sending love from South Yorkshire, xxx
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