Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame
‘You are your only limit’ – unknown
Hey there my friends I hope the start of the new year has been a positive one for you all. Last week was spent with family for me, so it’s been a slow relaxing introduction to 2022 instead of the ‘hit the ground running’ experience I was expecting (no complaints there though lol).
I’ve a few commissions pencilled in to my diary now, but none with immediate deadlines to meet. So I’ve given myself a couple more weeks of tidying up loose ends from last year and preparation time for my new series of workshops due to begin in two weeks time over at Martin Mere Wetland Centre.
Update on Ugandan Art-based Safari – this morning I spent a couple of hours sending over details for a small biography and sample images of my artwork. These were requested and will be used for marketing procedures.
I keep reading through the full itinerary that I now have and so can’t wait to share it with you all. A Ugandan safari has always been a dream of mine. To see in person the beautiful and majestic species that call Uganda their home will be an amazing experience I’m sure. And to be able to share this experience whilst teaching there is just… yep I’m lost for words – not great when I’m trying to write a newsletter lol. But I’m sure you know what I mean.
I’ll soon be able to share the full itinerary and price for this amazing safari due to take place in Uganda 15th – 30th September 2022
Watch this space…
With just two weeks to go I’m getting excited. You know when you just want to get started on something but have to wait…. Yep that’s me right now. A new year and a new adventure, new people to meet and new subjects to paint, doesn’t get better than that eh.
Want to start a new hobby or refresh an old one? Then come and join us, beginners welcomed!.
Just in case this is your first newsletter – All of my courses are beginner friendly and 50% of all proceeds go straight back into conservation via the WWT (Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust). I’m starting off the workshops with a watercolour one, after that I’ll tailor workshops to whatever participants want, different mediums and different flora & fauna subjects.
Interested? For more Information on these Workshops
Yeah! We finally had some snow! Not a lot, just a little flurry but hey that’s better than nothing. Those loose ends I mentioned earlier – well this snow leopard painting is definitely one of them. I made quite a few changes whilst progressing through the painting (one of the joys of working with acrylics). And now the end is coming into sight. Prints will be made available once it’s finished, and here’s a link if you’d like to take a look at the acrylic supplies I use: Acrylic painting supplies
Subscriber Question – what brushes would you recommend to use with watercolour and gouache?
A. There are many brushes on the market that make the claim, when advertised, that they can be used for all mediums. These ‘all medium’ brushes are something that I wouldn’t recommend. Instead I’d encourage students to purchase golden taklon bristle brushes. These synthetic bristle brushes are soft enough to carry and apply watercolour paint, but not too delicate that they’d be damaged by the heavier consistency of gouache.
When choosing paint I like to stick with well known brands whose lightfast ratings I can trust. But when it comes to brushes I just use what gets the job done. Sometimes it’s a well known brand, other times generic brushes do the job just as well. For more information on some of the brushes I use for these mediums please follow this link: Watercolour & Gouache
I may not always have a video on my YouTube channel to go alongside a subscriber’s question, but when I do I’ll be sure to add it. Here’s a link for the Gecko in Gouache if you’d like to take a look.
Now not everything in life runs smoothly. We all have our ups and downs. Sometimes the downs can bring priceless lessons – one of which I learnt this week. If you’ll remember, I mentioned recently that most of my original paintings and have now been scanned/photographed ready for the production of prints. All of which were saved safely onto an external hard drive and an SD card for safekeeping… yep I think you can guess where this one’s going. My external hard drive decided to crash and unbeknown to me, I’d accidentally formatted my SD card. All seemed lost and nightmarish thoughts of having to get everything scanned and photographed again formed in my head. But hurrah that wasn’t to be, and all thanks to a nifty little programme called Disk Drill. Admittedly I had to pay for this piece of software, but a small amount in comparison to the amount I would have had to have paid had this not been available to me. So lesson learned – always double check before formatting an SD card and always have work saved to two or more separate external hard drives. And there you were, thinking I was going to leave you on a cliff hanger lol.
Okay with that said, it’s time for me to get back to my easel as I’ve a rocky outcrop to paint lol.
Until next time, stay safe and stay creative, Kerry xXx
Questions & Suggestions welcomed
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