Eight hours non-stop...

That's how long I've been working on the Thames map today for Le Boat, and while I may have a headache, sleepy eyes and stiff neck, it's been a very satisfying day!

The whole painting process has taken a lot longer than I anticipated because of all the tiny details. Just painting the trees took about four and a half hours in total. I've painted them two different colours of green for a bit of variety.

I don't want to give away too much now because I'm so near finishing. I want to wait until I can show it all - there's nothing like a bit of suspense! Here are just a few little snippets to keep you guessing!

This little piggy and his friends at Odd's Farm Park are one of my favourite parts of the illustration.

I'm sorry about the blurry photos, I only realised when I got them onto the computer that they hadn't come out sharply.

I've spent the last couple of hours colouring in shadows with pencil. It's a tedious process but I really like the 3D effect it gives the painting.

These two attractions are Mercedes Benz World and the Brooklands Museum. In reality they don't have a car and concorde on top, but a little creative license never hurt anyone!

The Eden Walk shopping centre is probably one of the more 'boring' buildings on the map, but strangely it's one of my favourites! Something to do with the little windows and straight lines.

Finally, this is a section of the Thames just after Windsor. The little yellow boat is one of the Runnymede Hotel's 'HotTugs' which sounds like a lot of fun!

As well as painting the map, which is taking up every spare hour that I'm not at my 'real' job, I've had a really great week! A couple of girls from work and I went to volunteer at the Blue Cross in Tiverton where we painted the dogs' lounge and went out for a walk with a some of the dogs. These two are Penelope (top) and Brooke.

Our painting left much to be desired and needs another coat, but fortunately there's another group of volunteers going in this week to finish up!

Some of the animals there have had a really hard time of it, so it's lovely to know that they are now being well looked after and have chance to be rehomed and receive all the love they deserve. The staff and volunteers at the Blue Cross centre do an excellent job of assessing their behaviour, addressing any problems and generally making them healthy, happy animals. If you're looking for a dog or cat, then I'd really recommend you try them. 

As if that weren't enough excitement for one week, we had our work Christmas party on Friday which kicked off the festive celebrations in style!

Have a great week peeps! With a bit of luck I may have a finished map to show you next Sunday!

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Paint Party Friday and Blue Chair Diary Illustrations!

Cornwall, the Thames and mandalas

Right, I wrote this whole post out before remembering that tomorrow is the last day you can vote for my blog in the UK Blog Awards! For those of you who don't know, I've entered in the Arts and Crafts category. I have no idea what happens if you win and I don't expect to find out, but it would be lovely, if you enjoy reading my blog, if you could pop over and vote. Thanks peeps, now on with the post...

This week we're on our holidays in Cornwall, yippee! We're staying in a beautiful little cottage called Phillack in St Erth, close to Hayle on the West coast. It's welcoming and homely, and lovely and warm which is a real treat considering we spend most of our time at home layering jumpers to save on the heating bill!

It's part of a barn which has been newly converted into three cottages and is just the most peaceful and cosy little place. I ran around taking these photos when we'd just arrived, before we could make it untidy!

It was a beautifully sunny day yesterday, too hot for a coat, even, which is surely unheard of just a few days before December. First stop on Saturday morning was Gwithian to check out the waves - brace yourself for a very photo heavy post today!

Then we went into St Ives where I sat and painted overlooking the swathe of golden sand and turquoise water that is Porthmeor Beach while Sam went in for a surf.

If it wasn't for the long shadows, I think these photos look like they could have been taken in summer!

My painting still needs quite a bit of work and I'm not sure I'll ever get around to finishing it, but here's a peek.

When Sam finished surfing, there was just time to squeeze in a pasty stop before heading back for a cosy evening in the cottage.

This morning we got up early as Sam went off to check out the surf in Gwithian while I spent a couple of hours working on the Thames map. Yes, I did bring it along - there's no rest for the wicked! My workspace was a little different from normal!

I can now reveal that the client is Le Boat, a fantastic company which hire boats on the Thames and many other rivers across Europe. I have to say that working on this project has been very inspiring; there are so many lovely places to visit along the river. Before, I very naively thought of the Thames as just the section which runs through central London, but in reality it offers so much more, from peaceful countryside stretches to wonderful riverside attractions.

The part which I am illustrating is from Oxford right the way through to Teddington Locks, as this is the section navigable in the company's boats. I've finished outlining the whole map now, and am feeling excited about starting to paint, if a little nervous!

After a morning indoors, beavering away, it was nice to get out for a walk near Godrevy this afternoon. It was a little shorter than it could have been as dark grey clouds were threatening rain, so we thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

I always think 'people' photos are far more interesting than landscapes, so just to prove I was there, here are a few Sam took.

There are those clouds!

I'll end this post with a photo of a mandala I doodled last night. My Mum has been working on some gorgeous crochet mandalas in vibrant colours and I've seen quite a lot on Pinterest recently, so wanted to give drawing one a go.

Not as neat or precise as it could be, but I've started another one with some lines underneath as a guide, so hopefully I'll have that to share next week!

Have a lovely week everyone! Over and out...

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Paint Party Friday and Blue Chair Diary Illustrations!

The Blogland Tour

Today's post is a bit different from my normal style, but I'm excited to be taking part in my first Blogland Tour. I've been nominated by the lovely Julie from Sum of their Stories.

Julie is a true creative, her blog features everything from baking to crochet. She not only does a lot of different crafts but excels at them all and shares her wonderful creations and techniques.

I love her cute crochet items like this little owl brooch...

...and this gorgeous crochet blanket which she made for her cousin's baby.

Do stop by and visit her blog, you'll find yourself getting carried away browsing through! Julie's Blogland Tour post can be found here.

The Questions

It's not often that I actually talk about me on my blog, it's mostly focused on art and crafts so I suppose although some of you know a lot about what I do, you don't know a lot about me! So before I start answering the Blogland Tour questions, here's a little introduction.

I live and work in North Devon and art is something I do in my spare time. Although I haven't had any formal tuition, it has always been a favourite hobby and I can't imagine life without a project on the go. I studied French, Spanish and Russian at university, so drawing and painting kept me sane!

I live with my boyfriend Sam and our pet fish. Apart from art, I enjoy walking, picnics, cake, tea, travelling, eating out and life's simple pleasures. We've also just taken up sailing which is proving to be a great weekend activity!

Ok, on to the questions...

#1 - What am I working on?

As usual, I'm working on a lot of different projects, which, to my boyfriend's despair, results in a lot of different bits and pieces strewn around the living room. The thing is, whatever I'm working on, another idea always pops into my head, asking to be started! I often end up with lots of things on the go, many of which never get finished. Since I began writing this blog, however, I've been a lot more motivated to see things through to the end; there's nothing like the deadline of a blog post to inspire you to finish!

Here are a few bits I'm working on at the moment.

#2 - How does my work differ from others of my genre?

I'm not sure my work even fits into a genre! I get bored doing one thing all the time so like to dip in and out of different crafts - a bit of drawing here, a bit of paper cutting there.

I know a lot of artists find their niche, or a certain style which they like working in, but apart from loving anything ultra detailed I've never really stuck to one thing!

Here are some of the things I've created recently and over the years.

#3 - Why do I write/create what I do?

I started this blog in Malaysia when Sam and I were travelling as a way to record our adventures and the sketches and drawings I did along the way. I really enjoy blogging because of the feedback and comments I receive on each post and also on a personal level as a kind of diary to look back on what I've done. I don't have a huge following or a broad reach, but I've 'virtually' met some lovely people and continue to discover inspiring blogs of artists and craftspeople on an almost daily basis!

#4 - How does my writing/creative process work?

I think it's probably best to split this into two. My writing process is fairly simple. I sit down at my laptop each Sunday evening, have a little think about what I've done that week, take photos of my projects and explain what I've been up to!

My creative process depends on what I'm making but broadly follows the same pattern each time. A little idea pops into my head, inspired by something I've seen on Pinterest, other artists' work or a suggestion from friends or family. I then sit down and make/draw/paint whatever the idea is, usually over many sittings because the nine 'til five job gets in the way! I take lots of photos to use on the blog, and hopefully, after hours of beavering away, I have something lovely to show for my efforts.

That's it from me, now it's time to nominate a couple of my favourite blogs to continue the Blogland tour next Monday.

Firstly there's my Mum, Alison of Fiddly Fingers. Mum is an inspiration for many reasons, not least because of her crafting skills. Her main love is crochet, but she's dabbled in embroidery, jewellery, dress-making, polymer clay and many different arts and crafts as my sister and I were growing up. One of her most 'famous' creations is Chester, a crochet cat which is very much larger than life...bigger than a fully grown man in fact!

Chester gets up to a lot of mischief, some of his escapades, like this trip out in Dad's car, have featured in Mum's blog.

Mum hasn't written a blog post for a while, but I think with a little encouragement from you lovely peeps it won't be long before Chester or his little friend Taffy make another appearance!

The next blog I'd like to nominate is Desserts and Decoupage, written by my friend Emma.

As the name suggests, Emma blogs about everything from cooking to crafts, interspersed with tips which cover every topic, from advice for first-time buyers to healthy lifestyles.

She's had a few problems with her blog design and settings recently, because of transferring to a new hosting, but do pop by and follow her blog and she'll hopefully have it all sorted and full of inspirational images and content very soon!

I know I'm meant to nominate three blogs, but due completely to myself leaving it to the last minute, I can't nominate anyone else without springing it on them and causing a mad panic! There are many many blogs which I love to read, so I thought instead of nominating some more in the Blogland Tour, I'll list a few of my favourites below.

Lottie Designs and Illustrations - Manon is a true inspiration, she makes art with varied media featuring her fantastic quirky characters, one of which, Lottie, is the blog's namesake. She is an extremely versatile artist and always surprises me with her amazing original designs.

Andrea Joseph - I'm always in awe of Andrea's art, particularly her biro drawings. She has a fun and interesting style

Quirky Artist - I love this artist's beautiful sketches and paintings.

Nina Johansson - I only recently discovered Nina's work and I'm so glad I did. She paints gorgeous pen and watercolour scenes.

That's it from me! Have fun on the rest of your journey through the Blogland Tour!

A stack of animals and a paper cutting tutorial

Hello everyone, happy Sunday!

Yesterday I joined a paper cutting group on Facebook run by Suzy from Folk Art Papercuts. A new paper cut theme will be set every few weeks for everyone to work on and we'll share our sketches, progress photos and final pieces with the group.

For the first challenge we were given the theme 'stacks of animals'. I sketched mine out yesterday and began cutting it today, here's how it looks so far.

There's quite a bit more cutting left to do around the edge, but I'm really happy with the animals in the middle. I'm used to cutting patterns rather than pictures, so it feels strange to cut such large sections.

The whole teetering stack is supported by a turtle and chicken.

This reminds me, I need to cut out some seeds for the chicken to peck! There's a little spider lurking in the undergrowth too...

This week I've also been busy working on a paper cutting tutorial for Hope and Chances Creativity's blog. It's the first guest post I've ever done so I was keen to get it right! If you'd like to have a go yourself, you can download my free paper cutting template here and pop over to Hope and Chances Creativity for instructions on how to use it. This is the what you'll end up with (fingers crossed)!

The other project I've managed to finish this week is a series of mini heart paper cuts which I started back in the middle of April. This one is to go on our wall so it's taken a back seat while I've been doing a couple of commissions. Here's what it looked like unframed.

And this is it finished.

The box frame was one we picked up at a car boot sale, full of dried plants!

I'll leave you with this photo taken today on our walk along the South West Coast Path through Bucks Woods, near Bucks Mills in North Devon. It was carpeted with bluebells - beautiful!

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs: Handmade Harbour, Be Different Act Normal, Sunny Simple Life and Tatertots and Jello.