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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…
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Swatching for Spring
Spring is a perfect time to sort out and organise art supplies. The brighter days and spring flowers create colour that inspires creativity and makes me want to reacquaint myself with some of the art supplies that I’ve left languishing…
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Open Studio Prep
It’s the Spring Open Studios at Grenaby tomorrow and as the base of the Isle of Man Nature Journal and the workplace for me as an artist, you can imagine there’s a bit of tidying and organisation to do! I’m…
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Trying a New Technique
I’ve been drawing for a while, so it’s pretty instinctive to move my pen in different ways to create the illusion of texture. Drawing in the same way each time isn’t necessarily best for our development as artists, though. It’s…
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The Nunnery Estate
The Nunnery, just outside of Douglas, is a place I’ve often heard of and used as a landmark but never visited. Having recently attended a course there, I was impressed by the beautiful features of the building and the very…