Painting the rooftops

It's going to be an ultra speedy post this week as I'm right in the middle of painting trees on the Thames map!

Here's a little peek of how the colours are going on so far. The green was by far the hardest, because to get a smooth colour with watercolour you can't let it dry in the middle when you're painting a large section. I had to work steadily from one side of the map to the other, painting around each obstacle as I went.

It took a solid five hours to paint all the green! Tonight I've been working on the red rooftops of the houses.

Last week we were in Cornwall and in the evenings it was lovely to relax and doodle something which didn't require any thought. I created a mandala which I shared in my last post, and since then have drawn another one in biro.

This time I used a compass to draw the rings and sketched out spokes underneath to give it a more symmetrical structure. You can just about see them in this photo.

I like the biro as it's possible to achieve different tones, but I think I prefer solid ink lines, like the very first one I did below.

I did this one completely freehand, starting in the middle and working outwards by eye, hence why the spacing is a little dodgy in places!

Finally I'll leave you with these photos from Newquay Zoo which we visited on Friday on our way back up from Cornwall.

These capybaras are actually a lot bigger than they look in the photo!

The zoo was really quiet and most of the animals were snuggled up inside - who can blame them really! These mongooses (mongeese?) were very inquisitive though and came out of their little hut to observe us watching them!

I remember the red panda's at Paignton Zoo being very elusive one time we went, but this little guy just sat around while I took his photo.

Last but not least, these were my favourite little critters of the day; the otters. They were playing tug of war with their straw bedding in their little hut, tumbling and squeaking. Then they went outside for a swim!

Thank you to all of you who voted for my blog in the UK Blog Awards, voting is now closed and you will be the first to know when I hear anything!

Today I'm linking up at Handmade Harbour and Paint Party Friday.

It's all in the detail

I just want to start by saying thank you for your lovely comments. Normally I try to reply to them all, either on my blog or by email, but this week has run away with me a bit and I haven't had chance. I do really appreciate each and every one though, so thank you!

This weekend has been one of those lovely quiet ones. We had no plans so I've had lots of time to get on with my Thames map commission.

It finally feels like I'm getting somewhere, but before I show you the progress, I wanted to share this doodle which I started ages ago for an art swap with portrait artist Debbie from Portraits of Treasured Memories. Debbie's going to give it to her daughter, Kyrie, for Christmas.

I think it's finished, but that's the trouble with these doodles, it's really hard to know when to stop!

The little characters I've picked out in colour are Debbie's daughter's favourite toys.

The fairy isn't one of Kyrie's toys, but I felt it needed a splash of colour in the bottom left corner to balance it out.

I hope she likes it!

Now on to the serious business of the Thames map. This week I finished sketching out the second 'half' as it is so long I've had to do it in two separate. Yesterday and today I've been outlining the half which has already been checked by the client.

I was so nervous to start in pen at first - what if I went wrong? Once I got in the flow of it though, I enjoyed seeing it grow.

I'm not sure how many hours it took me in total over the two days, but I was very relieved to have finished this half without making a mistake (touch wood...)!

Here's a few little close ups, on the left is the Dorchester area, on the right is Pangbourne at the bottom, leading into Reading at the top. Mapledurham House is on the left hand side of the river.

I think when I've finished this project I'm going to have a pretty good knowledge of the Thames!

That's it for today, I also want to say thank you to all those who have voted for my blog in the UK Blogger Awards. If you haven't, it would really make my day if you could pop across to my page and vote - if you want to of course! Voting closes on Wednesday 3 December.

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour and Sunday Sketches (Blue Chair Diary Illustrations).

My first work in print!

This week has been very exciting for various reasons and I've been working on a few lovely commissions. Unfortunately, I can't share any of it with you just yet, so I thought I'd show you this piece which has been featured in Doodle Arts Magazine.

It's a Filipino publication, but you can view a free digital version of their teaser magazine Doodle Arts Collection online.

My doodle and a short bio was featured in the 'Spotted' section on page 44 so go and have a nosy if you want to find out a little more about me!

This piece is meant to look like a landscape, with the sea at the bottom, land in the middle and sky at the top.

As always, I had great fun drawing it! I love the way the white windmill stands out so much against the brown.

Here's the drawing in progress!

...and here it is in the magazine.

See you next week peeps!

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

Six second sketch

Sam had a brainwave recently and suggested I start doing a series of 'six second sketches' using the Vine mobile phone app which records six second videos.

Well, I tried numerous times to draw something (anything!) in six seconds and didn't get very far at all! So I decided that instead of doing the whole sketch in six seconds, I would make time lapse videos instead. I've set up a Twitter page @sixsecondsketch to share my videos and those of other artists/doodlers who'd like to get involved. Please do pop by and say hi if you're on Twitter! If you'd like me to share your little sketches and sketching videos too, just tag them with the hashtag #SixSecondSketch.

Here are the few which I've done this week.









The portraits of Daniel Radcliffe and Eddie Murphy were the last pencil sketches I did and I had in mind that I'd do one every day. I hadn't really thought about how long they would take though, so I think I'll just have to do them when I've got time.

Speaking of small works of art, I've just come across the fantastic miniature watercolour paintings of Lorraine Loot, a South African artist. She's working on a project called Postcards for Ants, a sequel to her 2013 series Paintings for Ants, both of which consist of a tiny painting for every day of the year. Do go and have a look, I guarantee you'll be in awe of her amazing talent!

As well as this new Six Second Sketch venture, I've also been working on some festive paper cut templates (I daren't mention the c-word yet!). Once I've cut them all out and taken photos, they'll be available in my Etsy Shop, so keep your eyes peeled if you're interested.

Apart from that, this doodle is still bumbling along slowly!

Thank you to those of you who commented on my Blogland Tour post, it was lovely to read your comments and I'm really happy to have discovered some new blogs!

Finally, I'd just like to urge you all to go and visit Manon at Lottie Designs & Illustrations. She's made this wonderful doll version of me after I sent her a photo! I can't wait to buy my own copy to download and assemble! I even come complete with a craft knife ready for paper cutting!

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations and Tatertots and Jello.

Cycling, doodles and paper cuts!

Just a quick one today because I really haven't done a lot this week!

We've been staying down in South Devon this weekend to see friends and family. I've got a new (second-hand) bike so we went out for a bike ride yesterday from Topsham to Exmouth, stopping for a drink on the seafront before heading back. It's a beautiful route to cycle along the river and quite flat which suited me perfectly! The photo below was taken on my first outing on the Tarka Trail in North Devon.

On Saturday evening we went to our friends' housewarming party, making the most of the weather with a barbecue.

Today we headed home via a visit to a couple of the studios taking part in Devon Open Studios. Heather Jansch's fantastic driftwood sculptures were set out in some beautiful grounds and included the large horse which has been exhibited at the Eden Project. The second stop was in a little village called Luton, where we enjoyed a slice of coffee and walnut cake in the sunshine before browsing the artwork of Angie Carter-Woodwark and ceramic artist Janet Street.

If you live nearby, Devon Open Studios will continue until 21 September and it's definitely worth getting out to visit some local artists.

In response to some people mentioning that they would like to colour the doodle below, I've listed a PDF version in my Etsy shop which you can download and print for £1.50. If you do, I would love to see what you do with it!

I've started another doodle, but haven't got very far, as you can see!

Finally, I've designed a paper cutting template to sell in my Etsy shop, which I've been cutting out this week. It features the Earth surrounded by various modes of transport and is split into a day half and a night half.

It's based on a previous paper cut which I blogged about here. It should hopefully be available to download and print later this week, so watch this space!

Just a little nudge for those who are new to my blog, if you've enjoyed what you've seen and would like to see more, there are several ways you can keep up to date with my artistic endeavours!

'Like' my Facebook page.
Follow me on Twitter @ClareWillcocks.
Follow my blog on Bloglovin.
Or use one of the options on the right.

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

A couple of beginnings and no ends

Just a quick one today as we've had a busy day today with a barbecue and are off to a wedding tomorrow - love bank holidays!

I haven't got a lot to show this week and certainly nothing finished! To be honest, I've been a bit lazy after finishing a couple of commissions and it's been nice to work on a few projects of my own.

I've started a new doodle, drawn everything out and am working on the fun bit of filling in all the details.

You can still see the pencil lines I've used as a guide.

In this photo I was in the process of going over the outlines of the individual elements to make the lines bolder.

I've also been working on a realistic drawing of an interesting old tap this week. I've actually made more progress than this but haven't got around to taking photos yet.

I'm not going to reveal exactly what I've got planned for the rest of this piece, just in case it doesn't turn out quite right!

I had a bit of fun in the early stages by posting the following picture on my Facebook page and asking people to guess what they thought it was. Guesses ranged from duck-billed platypus to the underside of a big coat hanger!

That's all for today! Back next week :)

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

3D paper cut kirigami cityscape

I've just noticed that this is my 101st post! Good excuse for celebrating with a nice cup of tea I think, especially after a busy weekend of camping in Cornwall and going to the Boardmasters festival!

I finished this paper cut cityscape this week. It's made using a technique called 'kirigami', a japanese word describing the art of cutting and paper folding to make 3D sculptures. I had a go at it before, but my measurements were a bit off on my last attempt and it turned out wonky!

To my relief, this one came out fine! There's a yellow piece of paper behind, held up to the window to let the light through.

If I did it again, I would break the skyscraper down into sections, rather than long panels as it is now because they bow and bend too easily.

The forward facing steps (above) were really hard to fold! I did it by gently pressing along the edge of the knife from the back.

I quite like how it looks backed with white paper too.

But my favourite view of it is with a strong light shining directly behind, casting shadows from all the doorways and windows. It would make a great feature light!

Because it's paper, it can't really support itself and it was really tricky to hold it in the right place while taking a photo with the other hand!

This is how it started life. I measured out the buildings and cut out all the windows with a craft knife. Then came the fiddly business of folding!

Not sure I'll be attempting one of these again in a hurry!

Those of you who've popped over from my Facebook page will probably know that I've also been working on a doodle this week. I can now reveal that it is lined up to feature in Doodle Arts Magazine, which I am SO excited about!

 And that's all for today!

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Manon Popje's Illustrations, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.