A little update!

So a week off work has meant I've been able to get the creative juices flowing once again- busy painting and re-arranging, updates below! Pretty pleased with how the furniture came out- enjoying every bit of it! Furniture paint- Annie sloan, beeswax, distressing by myself. Wall paint all Laura Ashley, decorative detail Urban Outfitters and the artwork- all my own etchings! Enjoy!

The brand new fireplace and wood burner in all its glory! The best investment for our lovely little house!

Beautiful frames print and some hard work on the drinks cabinet to get it there! Pleased with the finished result!

 This table was originally my grandmothers- an absolute joy to restore and paint. The detail is just beautiful. 

 The table above in its new home. Some vintage french glassware and a beautiful hand made lamp base and organic shade. Worth every penny! Mirror is cast antique and from France!

The new TV cabinet painted, distressed and waxed ready for its lovely Anthropologie glass handles! Hooray!

Commission!

Ok so something a little different here- I was commissioned to create a "vintage inspired" headpiece for a wedding! I used broken jewellery sourced from antique shops, charity shops, car boot sales and some hand-me-downs to piece together the ensemble below. Very pleasing and therapeutic to put together. Having short hair- this really added something special to the bride's outfit; the mixture of gold, brass, silver, pearl and a little sparkle mixed traditional elements with a little fun and some feminine charm. It was an absolute joy in terms of a new challenging creative project for me!

home improvement!

Hi there! Apologies for the lack of action on the blog- busy with commissions and updating the house! Before and after of our little spare room! Thanks to Farrow and Ball and Laura Ashley for the gorgeous "hedgerow" paint and day bed! Accessories and cushions by Anthropologie. Furniture as per usual all painted by myself and floor hand scrubbed, painted distressed and waxed!

Something a little different

So today I tried life drawing in a slightly different way- this one was done (in reverse- challenging!) with a roller and ink straight onto a glass plate. Then running through a printing press with paper and voila! Not bad for a first attempt! Would love to explore this technique further!

I've been away for a while....

Hello Hello! I have been so busy beavering away creating work for my last and final modules of my degree and have finally handed everything in! (Phew!) I am working towards my final exhibition which is being held in London at the end of June, so i thought it was time to make an appearance and show you what i've been up to... or at least a sneaky peak! Enjoy!

These are a couple of my final prints, hand etched with hand mixed ink on handmade paper. VERY time consuming but worth it! Drawn freehand onto zinc plates.

I had so much fun drawing this beautiful Mandala design. I've been away from the blog for a while now, concentrating on commissions and working very hard! I've been experimenting a lot with Mandala and dot work pieces and have come to love the intricacy and technicality of creating them.
This is one of the first ones i have ever done which includes the dot work!

Trinkets

It was lovely to finally see some sunshine today! I spent most of the day sorting out work inside though :( but managed to sneak outside for a cup of tea and a quick painting! This is my very very old pencil case, grubby, broken and wrecked which I still refuse to get rid of! Watercolours and biro.

Very Exciting!!!

Now here is something a little different! I've been working on a series of hand made bespoke treasure boxes based on National Trust houses, personalities etc. My first one is based around the writer Thomas Hardy, the area in which he lived and wrote his masterpieces and the general feel of his life. Inside is a collection of original prints, glass bottles with old keys, buttons etc, vintage photographs of Thomas Hardy, my own paintings of his studio and portrait, pen drawings of his house and area, greenwood tree, etc, hand made organic cotton bags, hand printed with my etched feather design, full of bits and pieces picked up around his home when i went to visit! Miniature oil lamp (i'm sure i've missed some things!) All wrapped in original khadi handmade tissue paper and sealed with wax in a wooden box covered with thick gauge printed bird paper, with a handmade tag and vintage map paper covered inside!

Wow.... so now you can see why i've been away for a while!!!

Hope you like it!

5 minutes of freedom!

Have just taken a break (from more exhibition preparation) to do a quick pencil and watercolour sketch whilst having a cup of tea! done on the back of an envelope with my trusty Windsor and Newton very old watercolours! Work work work!

Sneaky sneak

I couldn't sleep last night! I tried and tried for hours, getting more and more frustrated as the birds started singing and the sky began to get lighter and lighter. I decided to do something productive and do a little drawing! I set myself the challenge of drawing the first thing I saw when I turned the light back on. This happened to be my converse shoe! I rarely draw shoes so it was a challenge but I'm quite pleased with the result. Drawn with black biro.