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Stormbreaker Triad
In the week that brought Storm Bram to the Isle of Man, it seems fitting that I review my recently purchased Stormbreaker Triad set of Daniel Smith paints. The set is designed to help artists ‘command the drama of the…
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Caput Mortuum
Caput mortuum (Latin for ‘dead head’) is a rich, muted violet-brown pigment with a long and somewhat macabre history. Its name comes from medieval alchemy, where it referred to the useless residue left behind in a retort after a substance…
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Desert Horizons Triad
Daniel Smith released several triad watercolour sets during the summer and I thought I’d take advantage of the November discounts to try some out. Although tempted by many, I settled on the ‘Stormbreaker’ and ‘Desert Horizons’ sets as they contained…
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Pumpkins at Hop tu Naa?
Hop tu Naa is celebrated on the 31st of October in the Isle of Man. It marks the end of summer, the start of winter and the eve of the Celtic New Year. Carved turnips or ‘moots’ have been made…
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Choosing from the New Derwent Drawing Range
Derwent has recently released much-awaited additional colours for its Drawing Drawing pencil range. If you haven’t already tried these pencils, they’re beautifully soft and wide-core coloured pencils that are an absolute joy to use. Although the original 24 set of…
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The Colours of Port e Vullen
I’ve become kind of obsessed with Port e Vullen since I first stumbled upon it earlier in the summer. Each time I visit this small beach, just outside of Ramsey, I’m amazed at the interesting geology and the variety of…
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More Artwork for the Map
The start of the new school year is my busiest time of year as all of the businesses I run involve working with schools in one way or another. It’s been a frantic fortnight of reconnecting with teachers and school…
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Sea Campion
Growing up in Cornwall, sea campion is one of those plants that’s like an old friend. I’m happy every time I see the white petals and puffy, delicately pink-veined calyx. I used to sit next to clumps of these as…
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New Artwork on the Map
July saw the start of an exciting new phase of the Isle of Man Nature Journal as the IOMNJ map was introduced to school children and used as a stimulus to discuss our differences and a prompt for them to…
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Matching Pencils to Watercolours
Back in my Swatching for Spring blog post, I swatched every colour from my watercolour paints. It gave me a clear idea of how my paints behave and a quick reference to the colours I own. It also set the…