Adventures in St. Ives

I spent a glorious few days in St. Ives last week. Amazing weather, fantastic scenery and delicious food. It is what all holidays should be made of!
Here are a few photos of the gorgeous Cornish coast and a few quick Plein air sketches and watercolour studies.

I read a really interesting book during the train journey and on the beach, 'The Salt Path' by Raynor Winn. It was recommended by Kate from the Foldline and it is set all around the South West coast which felt rather apt as I was passing through many on the train and wanted to absorb the sights and sounds of this coastline through somebody else's eyes too. I would highly recommend the book as a break from the usual rom-com light summer read!

I also visited fellow Yorkshire lass, Barbara Hepworth's sculpture garden and studio which is somewhere I have wanted to visit for sooooooo long! It did not disappoint and my tip to you, if you are visiting during the peak holiday season, is to go either as soon as it opens (10am) or in the last hour of the day (4-5pm). I did this both times and pretty much had the whole garden to myself (and my friend Charlotte) on both occasions.

I most certainly want to return to this charming and beautiful part of the world again!

Adventures in Rye

My friend Charlotte and I had the most glorious October escape away from London last weekend in East Sussex. Rye is a beautiful town with red tiled housing and cobbled streets. It is steeped with history at every corner and was a visual feast for the eyes.

The morning was spent walking around the town popping into charity and antique shops. I bought some vintage Sylko sewing threads for 50p each which was a little bargain. There was a fab craft fair at the Old Literary Society building where I spend a very reasonable £10 on some gorgeous hand-crafted pottery for Christmas presents.

Amazing views were seen from atop the Bell Tower at St. Mary's Parish church which is a highly recommended thing to do. We had lunch at a lovely cafe called The Fig which served gorgeous fresh salads and hand-made quiche and cakes. The afternoon was spent enjoying the sun and sea at Camber Sands. We took the local bus to the coast and had such a relaxing afternoon soaking up the sun and paddling in the sea. I couldn't believe that the sea actually felt warm considering it was October!

I hope you enjoy the photos I took during my weekend including some fast and fun 15-minute watercolour paintings of the coastline looking out towards the headland at Hastings.

Food Observational Studies

I have been editing my art portfolio and came across these observational pencil studies of pineapples that I thought you would like to see. The focus of these pencil drawings was to show texture through the depth of line.

This second collection are mixed media pieces based on Japanese food. I used tracing paper as a base and used acrylic paint and marker pens to create the sweets. The noodles are represented with strips of masking tape.

The next study is mixed media using a combination of collage, watercolour, acrylic and varnish. The packet on the left is Japanese Miso paste with a small red box of chewy sweets bottom right. Shitake mushrooms and birds eye chillies complete the composition.

 This final piece was based on Gluttony; one of the seven deadly sins. I used a combination of magazine collage, watercolour, designers gouache, inks and wax crayon resist techniques. All studies of food were from observation rather than from a secondary source.

Food is a subject matter that I come back to again and again. I especially like the juxtaposition of the textures and colours of natural food versus the graphic text and patterns of packaged food.

Have you got any 'go-to' things that you like to draw or paint?

Check out lots of other cool crafty blogs at #handmademonday organised by Julia of Sum of their Stories.

Hand-Painted Postcards

During this grey and drizzly weather and with the onset of Valentine's Day I had an idea to send some of my lovely friends a little card in the post to say 'hello'. I grabbed a couple of these great little watercolour postcard sketchbooks from Cass Art and got out my paints for a bit of fun. You could always use card or watercolour paper cut to A6 size if you can't get hold of the postcard books.

I focussed on using colours I loved and had a play with the paints. The main technique I used was dripping colours down the paper but I also painted washes of colours onto wet paper too. The tie-dye-esque looking postcards I created by wetting the paper first then painting circles of paint and dragging the paintbrush from the centre outwards.

Now, I just need to get my favourite pens out and start writing!!

This post is linked to #handmademonday organised by Julia of Sum of their Stories.

Summer Sketchbook

I have really been into painting and sketching recently and I decided to make a scrapbook to document my holiday this summer.

Sketching by the pool

I spent a week with my friend Mel in Mountain View, San Francisco which was awesome! Rather than just relying on holiday photographs I took time out every day for sketching, painting and collaging my holiday experiences.  Art equipment I packed for the trip were sketching pencils, Windsor and Newton watercolours, Chromacolour watercolour pencils, a few black pro-markers, scissors, a glue-stick, acrylic paint markers and a range of brushes.

Sketching on Mel's sofa

It was the most relaxing and enjoyable time and I pretty much sketched / painted everywhere starting out in the airport lounge and on the flight over to the USA.  The most indulgent was next to the pool, on the sofa at Mel's house and finally on a train ride to my next holiday destination in Wales last week.

Things I included in my journal were maps, leaflets, tickets and receipts of my adventures alongside traditional sketches and watercolour studies plein air of food, city scenes and landscapes.  I chose an A5 Seawhite concertina sketchbook which comes with a rather cool hardboard case. It is not quite finished yet but here are a few little snippets for you to enjoy.

Painting on the train to Wales last week

The many cool California signs found around Mountain View

Sushi and Santana Row a beautiful palm tree lined shopping street

Mushroom and leek omelette home cooking, film night on the sofa and the lovely Steven's Creek Trail walk

Ice lolly pool inflatable and the amazing graffiti of Clarion Alley in the Mission, San Francisco

Mel standing in front of a Frank Stella painting at the SF MoMA

Dusk at Pier 39 and Pier 23 neon sign from Fisherman's Wharf, San Fransisco

The concertina sketchbook laid out next to the pool before my return to the UK

I am enjoying putting the finishing touches to my journal and hope to finish it before my return to work in September. I also want to include my mini break to Wales in the remaining pages of the book.

What have you been doing this summer to relax and unwind?