January Joy in Fodder School

January in Fodder School has been glorious... and that's not an adjective I often apply to January!  The wonderful Megan Quinlan shared some classes which were definitely up my street, and I had a fabulous time shopping my stash for stencils and stamps which had been neglected for far too long, as well as current favourites.  Here's the inspirational deck that emerged on my craft table...

Amongst other things, Megan encouraged us to create a deck whose theme would have personal meaning for us.  

You won't be surprised to learn that I dived straight into nature.

These cards will be a reminder to me of how important it is to keep sacred the moments of stillness, solitude, and heart-opening beauty which nature offers. 

Time spent in nature is what allows my creativity to breathe and flow, despite the troubled times we are living through.

These were the backgrounds, created in the Make Fodder sessions, before adding the Use Fodder detailing which came later.

There are 32 cards in total in my deck, so here they are broken down into groups of eight so that you can see them more clearly...

You'll spot plenty of my own PaperArtsy quotes in action, as well as some of my botanical stamps, mostly from the Fodder Berry and Rosemary Editions.

There are other PaperArtsy stamp sets, as well as some by Seth Apter for Impression Obsession, and lots of Donna Downey stencils, as well as some of her stamp designs for Unity Stamp Co.  

The paints used are almost all PaperArtsy too - mostly from my Background Blues collection - with some added Daniel Smith Moonglow providing those haunting purple tones. 

If you want to see individual close-ups, I'm afraid you are going to have to visit me on Instagram for that.  It would be a massively photo-heavy blogpost!

It really has been an extraordinary month in terms of creativity - with phenomenal inspiration decks appearing from my fellow Fodder School teachers as well as the participants... so much beauty on Instagram and in the Fodder School FB group, which is a really supportive and informative environment (hate to say nice things about FB - but this is down to the people in there!).  I offered up a little bonus session to add to Megan's classes, as did several other teachers.

If all this tempts you to join in the fun (there's still so much more to come, including my own teaching month!!), then just follow this link to find out everything you need to know about joining up for Fodder School.

I hope January has brought you some joy too.  I know it can be a hard month, but I have found real solace in creating my deck, and I know it will continue to bring me a sense of calm and beauty throughout the years.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll see you again soon.

Feeling a little blue in January is normal.
Marilu Henner

January is the month for dreaming.
Jean Hersey

January, the first month of the year. A perfect time to start all over again, changing energies and deserting old moods, new beginnings, new attitudes.
Charmaine J. Ford

Watercolour Playtime in my Fodder Journal

Hello all!  Given it's already November, it's about time I filled you in on the second part of October's Fodder School 3 classes... 

Having shared with us how to make the Coptic-bound watercolour journal in the Make Fodder classes of the month, Di Venter shared some ideas for watercolour spreads to go inside as her Use Fodder section.

I'm no stranger to painting the odd watercolour page or two, so I used her inspiration to nudge me into action in a few new directions, and I pushed the boat out colour-wise a bit!

I was inspired by some of Di's fruity pages, by the repetition she often uses in her spreads, by some of her colour playtime, and by her colour block page with doodles inside - though I went my own way with what I doodled!

Take a look and see what I got up to:

And here are just a few close-up details so you can see the gorgeous texture of the handmade Khadi papers I used in my journal.  They took a little bit of getting used to as they are really very rough, but I soon found how that texture could actually help with the watercolour effects (the plum page was the first break-through for that).

I'm already fully immersed in November's classes with Tiffany Sharpe, so I'll try to be back before December to share some of that creativity with you.  

Don't forget, you can of course still sign up at any time for Fodder School 3... all the details and registration are here.

I hope you're all doing well - I've been very busy getting the garden ready for winter... just as well as our first hard frost hit last night.  Off to get the gardening gloves on again now to cut back the roses for over-wintering!  Have a great weekend once it gets here... we've got some snow forecast (but not much).  A good excuse to stay in the craft room!! 

Because watercolour actually moves on the paper, it is the most active of all mediums, almost a performance art.

Nita Engle

Water colours are wet colours in water.

David Hockney

Swatched florals

Hello all, and happy Spring to you.  After three months working in the UK, I'm just in time for the (later) spring here in the Czech Republic, so it's all go in the garden, getting things pruned, cleared, planted and generally ready for the sunshine.  

I just thought I'd pop in and quickly share some watercolour florals with you - these are usually done in quick 20-minute bursts in the morning when I get up, adding layers day by day, and both pages have more space to fill yet.  But I hope you'll enjoy them.  

And here's one with a colour palette that you don't often see from me...

Here are just a couple of close-ups and process photos.  The initial pencil sketch for the first one was done in the almost-dark, as an exercise in trying to keep it loose.  I'm really happy with it - in fact, it might be my favourite stage of the painting!

Making a note of the colours I've used is a good discipline for me.  I'm still learning so much as I go.

There are so many exciting things going on behind the scenes at the moment, but I'm not allowed to share any of them with you yet!  It's shaping up to be a big year.  I know I've not been a very good blogger lately, but I hope you'll be able to come along for the ride with some of what's coming up.  

Thanks so much, as always, for your company on this creative journey.  Happy crafting, all!

Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom.

Matshona Dhliwayo

Blossom by blossom, the spring begins.

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Belated Inktober Page

Hello all!  Long time no blogging again... sorry.  I'm trying to shake off a horrid sore throat and chesty cough (tests say not Covid), and writing a blogpost is about all I'm up to at the moment, so here I am!  I've finally got an Inktober update for you, another page of botanical sketches done from life.

I didn't manage anywhere near the full 31 days... in fact, reverse those two digits and you'll have the actual total.  And the last of those was actually done yesterday morning - I needed it to fill the gap in this second page before I could share it. 

Anyway, here are a few photos (click for a larger view) to show you some of the leafy life models and the pen sketches which are the start of the process for these.  It was Inktober, after all, so I made myself start with pen rather than pencil.  I've been using a Staedtler Pigment Liner 0.3, Daniel Smith watercolours, and Silver Black Velvet brushes in a Moleskine A4 watercolour journal.

Sometimes there's a part way stage that seems worth sharing too, and sometimes not.  I was particularly pleased with how the shadows made these rosehip stems "lift off" the page...

As always, there were good days and bad days.  The trouble with doing them all on one page is that the risks feel greater... what if today's painting is so bad that it messes up the whole page?!

The Czechs are great fungi foragers - it's a national pastime - so there had to be at least one mushroom in the autumnal gatherings.

 

Another acorn (or two) made it on to the page... they are a real challenge to get the shaping right.  I'm still working on it!

The Echinacea or Coneflower has been a gorgeous addition to the garden this year (not sure whether it's going to make it through the winter, but we'll see).  Even in its decayed state it has such beauty...

       

And finally the little brown oak leaf from yesterday - and it definitely wasn't my finest hour.  As the annotations say: lesson learned... don't try to paint when you're not feeling well!

  

 

As well as garden gatherings (which was what was on the first page a few weeks ago), this second page has some things gathered on one of my walks.  Here's a glimpse of the treasures I came home with, and which I was planning to make the subject of other Inktober paintings.  Sadly, most of them didn't get painted in the end.

I think the first trio of leaves and the ragged rosehip stems are probably my favourites - how about you?

I'll leave you with both pages... 13 out of 31 - not brilliant, but not nothing either.  I'm pleased with the results of challenging myself to paint from life.

I'm aiming to continue the watercolour practice throughout the year rather than waiting for July (World Watercolour Month) and October (Inktober) again this time, so I may be back with more botanicals some time soon.  Hope you're all doing well, and I wish you all a wonderful December.

As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours enough to paint the beautiful things I see.

Vincent van Gogh