Month: November 2025

These collectibles sellout fast – check em out here

Check out Blue Moon for cross stitch charts and a whole bunch of planner stickers!

It’s suddenly got cold here in the UK, with many areas getting their first snowfall. I find nature is a great way to keep my body and soul together. A good walk under the cotton wool sky is a tonic.

I am beginning to think about Christmas cards….I know post is expensive and we all send fewer cards, but it is a joy to receive a card from an old friend and hear their news. I have some very special cards available, do check them out ….

Then to think back to a bright cold day last December when the sun was shining  I try to walk everyday , get my heart beating and enjoy whatever the seasons have to offer. 

 

The best way I know to unwind is to paint, even though I paint almost every day it still has a power to relax me, take me away from the moment and transport me into new worlds.

 

Today I thought I would share a little painting of holly , fun to do, perhaps to give as a gift or a homemade card .

Firstly find out some photos of holly, or better still pick some from the hedgerow or garden.

 

 

and draw your holly, only include the leaves you like, and where they are, remember you are in charge, paint what looks good, and do as much or as little as you like.

 

 

For this painting I will also need my spray bottle, this holly is going to be a loose interpretation.

 

 

Now look at the holly and see what colours you can see in the leaves. I start with lemon yellow, and make sure you leave some white of the paper for the highlights.

 

Next I add some cerulean blue.

 

 

And gradually build up the colours in the leaves. I add a touch or red to green to knock it back a bit, and make it look more natural. I think you all recognise paintings where the green looks unnatural, a touch of red really helps, but only a touch. Too much and you’ll end up with a sludgy brown on your hands

 

 

You see how I am working from light to dark, classic watercolour technique, also adding wet in wet so it blends, but not too wet.

 

 

Then I sprayed it slightly with my spray bottle so the watercolour bleeds over the paper. ( you don’t have to do this) but I like the way watercolour reacts and I just love those properties.

Have a go , let yourself go and go with the results. While that dries you can start working in the same way on the other leaves,

 

 

Then as they dry you can reinstate some colour and add to the darks by adding blues to your greens.

 

 

Now for the pop of colour that is the berries. I start with lemon yellow again, and make sure you leave the little highlight of white ( the paper) 

Then add an orangy red,

 

 

 

Then a darker red

 

build around the berries, adding some shadows too, the more depth of colour you add the more of a 3D effect you will achieve.

 

 

I added a bit more detail, and a final mist over the berries, I like the looseness of it all. But if you didn’t spray it it would still work perfectly 

Have a go , it’s a break from the ‘real’ world, for a few hours at least x

 

Winter has arrived, and so has our new set of beautiful new wintery, Yule-y cards! Scroll down for badgers, foxes, a glorious feast and a glittering tree! Order now!

“Play Time” – Angie Livingstone

“Upon the Next Full Moon” – Hannah Willow

“Feast” – Chris Dunn

“Silent Night” – Wendy Andrew

SEE MORE YULE / CHRISTMAS CARDS

 

If you’ve visited our website recently, you may have seen these two new box sets, Fox Landscape and Cat and Robins, from Jane Crowther. Available in packs of 4 and 8. 

ORDER NOW!

I think we can all agree that the past 12 months have been anything but calm . Perhaps that is why I seem to have wanted to paint dark stormy seas this year, who knows ? But I do love the sea, in all it’s guises , on a lovely calm summer’s day or during a wild, windy November storm, it is fascinating and never ever the same. 

. 

 I can go a daily walk near to home and be surrounded by views like this

and this 

 

But today is a rotten day, wind and rain, and not much to do outside, so why not batten down the hatches , pick up a paint brush and lose yourself for a few hours in an imaginary watercolour world

I have begun tp find a way, that works for me, to paint waves. I have been trying for years and years, so all those people who despair, please don’t, just keep trying. You’ll get there.

I began this piece with an old sketch of Exmouth, this entire painting comes from my imagination, great, as there is no looking at views or photos just freedom.

I washed some of it off under the tap, but it was my basis for the storm clouds to gather, and the moon to rise.

First I added my moon.

I began by wetting an area of sky where I wanted the moon to go.

Then I added masking fluid onto the damp paper ( I didn’t know you could do this , until someone showed me) , you see we are all always learning. This softens the edges and makes the shape look more organic. Try it.

I used a silicone tool to add the masking fluid.

Then leave it to dry completely 

You can tell it’s completely dry when no masking fluid comes onto your finger when you touch it.

Oh no look at my fat painty finger!

Now onto the sky, I use yellow ochre first 

You can see the outline of the moon more clearly now, this is all wet in wet and I want to fdrop in darker clouds.

Clouds get smaller and thinner towards the horizon. I used Indigo, and a mixture of cobalt blue and cad red. I also let some yellow shine through ,to show  where the light is.

Now onto the waves

I paint over everything that was there but leave some white highlights, you don’t need to do this over an old sea painting, but it works for me, I feel like I am adding depth to the original, The sea in all it’s forms is contained in my piece. ( Get me getting all arty) I use Indigo, and yellow ochre to reflect the light in the sky.

Now I protect my sky with some paper and let rip with some white acrylic for the crest of the waves and the foam. These are roughly in horizontal lines, wave shapes.

Now to darken under the waves, and manipulate the acrylic with my finger ( which is getting more and more painty as I go). Remember to use anything that will make the mark you want don’t restrict yourself to brushes.

And my stormy sea is done. 

I am on a journey of discovery with my painting , every time I have felt stuck, something or someone has come along and pushed me through the barrier. I hope I can do that for some of you.

My painting is a form of escapism, it has kept me relatively sane this year, I do hope you have a form of escape too, even if it’s reading my blog every week, doing the garden, baking a cake, putting up shelves, doing a jigsaw, whatever it is…here’s to the small light in the  darkness in the coming months.

Shhhh… we’re saying it very quietly, but ’tis the beginning of winter, which means Yule and Christmas are on their way!

Yule has been on Tina M Walker‘s mind too; she’s come up with this very merry Yuletide Gnomes design. Buy as a card, or on a mug or tin for a giggle-inducing gift!

 

We’ve also added these two beautiful designs by Sam Cannon, one for Yule, and one which is a little sad (and suitable as a sympathy or condolence card) but very lovely.