Hi Friends,
What a week!! How have you been? What was your week like? Did you have any highlights? If you could name 3, what would they be?
We had a fantastic bank holiday weekend in the Lake District with some of our dearest friends and church family. The weather was blissful and the hills were glorious. I got to visit the Derwent Pencil Museum in Keswick, draw in my travel sketchbook (recorded some snippets of this for the monthly club video on this theme) and paint the landscapes on canvas.
Then I’ve had a crazy week of canvas painting back in the studio in prep for a local group show this weekend. This will be the first time for me to show and sell canvas work only (previously I’ve sold a variety of cards, prints and some originals on paper) so this feels like a huge step. I feel increasingly ready, though quite nervous, to launch original canvas work online sales too. A date has been decided for the Still Life collection launch: Saturday 24th May so if you had your eye on something, consider keeping that date in your diary.
Melissa Lakey was a guest in our club drawing call this week which was so fun and so lovely. She showed us some of her travel sketchbooks and we talked about design and layout and colour choice. And we drew landscapes and animals from Joshua Tree (her everyday landscape). I was genuinely gutted when the call ended, it was that sweet. The call is now in the archives (HERE) if you fancy learning about travel sketchbooks, this would be a fantastic introduction. I love our club and what we get to do together always spurs me on so much!
Highlights of the week include:
sitting on a bench at the top of a hill, drawing the hills of Lake District
chatting with sheep (literally there with me) while doing said drawing
picking up 2 mint tins on special offer in a traditional sweetie shop which I’ll soon fill up with art materials
purchasing some cute old postcards for the club Founding Members’ paper bundle later this year in a 2nd hand book shop in Keswick
watching the way the light shifts on the hills and trying to capture that in my sketchbook and canvas work
taking a solo trip to the Derwent Pencil Museum and treating myself to new Inktense pencils
spotting a super cute pink house (see video below)
painting hills and still life all week in the studio while listening to Jane Eyre on Audible (I finished it yesterday and cried - now missing it)
chatting with Melissa Lakey and drawing Joshua Tree with the club
How cute is this house?? If you’re ever in Keswick, it’s on Penrith Road.
When you read this I’ll be on my way to the group exhibition in Tickhill, so exciting!!
Date Announcement
Launch of my Still Life Collection: Saturday 24th May 2025
Thanks for reading! Hope you have a lovely weekend xx
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