announcement · art · bee in the city · exhibition

Bee in the City preview shots!

I’m participating in Bee in the City, a public art trail where over 100 giant painted bees will be scattered around Greater Manchester. The art trail runs from 23rd July to 23rd September. My bee is sponsored by the NHS for Henshaws, a charity dedicated to helping blind and partially sighted people. To create an accessible piece of artwork, I incorporated many different sensory elements including different textures and 3D features, shimmering pigments, and an audio box on the base describing the sculpture. I poured my heart and soul into this project and enjoyed every second.

acrylic · announcement · art · bee in the city · commissions

I’m painting a bee for Bee in the City, Manchester!

I’ve been buzzing with excitement over the last few weeks and now I can finally reveal why! I’m participating in Bee in the City, a public art trail where over 100 giant painted bees will be scattered around Greater Manchester. The art trail runs from 23rd July to 23rd September.   My sponsor, Henshaws, is… Continue reading I’m painting a bee for Bee in the City, Manchester!

acrylic · art · coloured pencil · flowers · painting · wildlife portrait

Greater Kudu Portrait in acrylics

Finally found a spare moment when it wasn’t raining to get a good photo of the finished painting!   I’m hooked on acrylic painting now. Working on this piece was very relaxing and at some points while painting it I was so in “the zone” that I kept forgetting to hit record on my camera… Continue reading Greater Kudu Portrait in acrylics

art · coloured pencil · Patreon · wildlife portrait

“Mythical Beast” finished coloured pencil drawing

Wow, it feels SO good to finally have this drawing down on paper rather than swirling around in my head for months on end (since October)! The drawing only took around 9 hours to complete! I used powder blender to blend. I was planning on using paint thinner for the okapi initially, but honestly I… Continue reading “Mythical Beast” finished coloured pencil drawing

art · art techniques · commissions · dog · pet portrait · tools I use · Uncategorized · walkthrough · wildlife portrait

“Troy” pet portrait, and amur leopard in soft pastels!

  This beautiful boy was one of my Christmas commissions. His endearing puppy-dog-eyes and sweet expression were so much fun to render  It was so refreshing to work with paint thinner again for my coloured pencil art too. I didn’t realise how much I missed it! This piece was drawn using Caran d’Ache Luminance, Caran… Continue reading “Troy” pet portrait, and amur leopard in soft pastels!

art · Cat · pet portrait · sketch · tools I use · Uncategorized · walkthrough · wildlife portrait · work in progress

Finished cheetah drawing and tutorial

Whew! It’s finished! Up till now the only things I had drawn using the powder blender were invertebrates, which are generally very shiny and easy to shade. I wanted to see how easy or difficult it would be to draw fur using the colored pencil painting kit, so I decided to draw this! I discovered… Continue reading Finished cheetah drawing and tutorial

art · art techniques · Cat · Uncategorized · video · wildlife portrait · work in progress

Meerkats in spaaaaace! (speed drawing, art tips video, and update on my Cheetah drawing)

  I’m still working on my cheetah drawing in coloured pencil so this week’s update is about a sketchbook doodle I did recently! What made me put a meerkat in space? I have no idea. Kind of works though! Reference used was my own from one of my trips to Chester Zoo 😉  I used Rotring… Continue reading Meerkats in spaaaaace! (speed drawing, art tips video, and update on my Cheetah drawing)

art techniques · tools I use · video · walkthrough · wildlife portrait · work in progress

How to use fixative sprays + new cheetah drawing!

In this week’s Art Tips video I show you how to spray your artwork with fixative spray the right way!   Last week I started a new coloured pencil drawing using powder blender! I’m using my own reference photo of a cheetah from Chester Zoo for this one. This time I’m using UArt 600-grain paper and… Continue reading How to use fixative sprays + new cheetah drawing!

art · Art Product Review · art techniques · discussion · tools I use · video · walkthrough

Powder Blender tutorial!

Phew! A lot of updates this week. 3 completed full-blown drawings and two videos within one week is probably my best ever rate of production, though I should probably sleep at some point! 😂 Earlier on in the week I recorded an in-depth video review of the full coloured pencil painting kit  in which I discuss my opinions… Continue reading Powder Blender tutorial!