Summer holidays are far too short. Hands up if you agree!
It's been more important to me this year to get outside and spend time in the sun and fresh air. Feeling those warm rays on my bare arms and face has been sheer bliss after such a crappy year.
At the end of spring, the long winter combined with lockdown had left me feeling pretty low and physically awful from spending far too much time indoors. I wondered what I could do that would put my health first and decided to spend July and August in the garden drawing and painting.
It's been wonderful to feel more connected to nature and spend time really looking. 
Every time I draw or paint feels like an experiment or a mini adventure into the unknown. It's fulfilling to me in a way that's hard to explain. It feels like the real 'me' in a way that's very different to when I design or sew. I suppose it's a much more direct activity...just me and a piece of charcoal and paper, or paints and board.
Best of all was getting the paints out and working on some small 5x7 inch wooden panels. The first one was done in gouache and charcoal but I used oil paints for the other two - that was great...t's been so long since I used oils but I much prefer the buttery consistency of the paints and that they stay true to colour when they dry. Acrylic paints dry much darker so I find it really hard to get the tone right with them.
I'll be adding these last three paintings to my shop soon but until I do, please feel free to contact me for more details if you're interested.
Making art has been interrupted for a couple of weeks, while my partner took a summer break from work. We enjoyed a few day trips, not going far but still enjoying the beautiful scenery that Scotland has to offer. And, then we brought home a couple of kittens from the local cat rescue shelter. So far they've been quite a handful but also completely delightful! They're also modelling for me in their spare time.
Marco, kitten 10 weeks old.
And Melba. I'm sure there'll be more sketches of these two soon!
August isn't over yet so now I've adjusted to the new kitten routine I'll be getting back into the garden...
