Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame
”Whatever you are, be a good one.”
– Abraham Lincoln
Please note: some items are repeated for the benefit of new subscribers. Thank you 😊
Hey there my friends I hope you’re all keeping well. Today was going to be a day doing some photography and sketching at Chester Zoo, but unfortunately the weather had different ideas. So never one to waste an opportunity I decided that I’d grab a drink and catch up with you all while I have a spare few minutes.
Not sure if I’ve mentioned this in a previous newsletter, if I have please forgive me lol. Around four weeks ago I received a surprise gift from Derwent. It came completely out of the blue, I videoed the ‘unboxing’ so I could share the moment with you all.
I was simply blown away by the ongoing generosity of Derwent, a fabulous company to be an ambassador for. Upon opening the my gift I was pleased to find the new release – 100 Inktense Pencil set containing their brand new 28 colours. I decided that I’d separate these new colours and create a little project just using them. I hope you like my little tree frog. I think I’m going to print some off smaller than life size and have them as book marks 😊
I videoed the process so that you could see the new pencil colours in action:
I’ve many smaller projects on the go at the moment, as well as a new commission waiting to be started, but I’ll share these with you as they take their place on my easel or work table.
Wildlife Art Workshops for 2023
£60 per person
All workshops are held at Martin Mere Wetland Centre and 50% of all proceeds go straight back into conservation.
| Date | Medium | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| January 21st 2023 | Watercolour | Postponed |
| February 25th 2023 | Pastel | Red Panda |
| March 25th 2023 | Watercolour | Fox in Snow |
| April 22nd 2023 | Pastel | Postponed |
| May 20th 2023 | Watercolour | Toucan |
| June 24th 2023 | Pastel | Kingfisher |
| August 26th 2023 | Watercolour | TBC |
| September 23rd 2023 | Pastel | TBC |
| October 21st 2023 | Watercolour | TBC |
| November 25th 2023 | Pastel | TBC |
| December TBC | Watercolour | TBC |
My preferred materials for the the pastel & watercolour workshops:
| Preferred Pastel materials: | * Clairefontaine Pastelmat Paper (I rarely use anything else now) * larger sheets are available and can be easily cut to size (this is what I do) * Carbothello Pastel Pencils are a must have in my studio, available individually or in different set sizes * Derwent Pastel Pencils are soft with a wide range of colours, available individually or in different set sizes, ideal for covering larger areas with their thicker pigment core * Mungyo Soft Pastels – an affordable way to cover larger areas of a painting, and for adding base coats for your pencils to go on top of * Pan Pastels – my ‘go to’ soft pastel choice, available individually or in sets, 92 colours in total |
| Preferred Watercolour materials: | * 140lb (or heavier) Hotpress or Coldpress watercolour paper * 9″ x 12″ minimum size (buying larger sheets is preferable as they can then be cut down to size) * Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolours are a great paint to get started with (I still use them for sketches etc) * A variety of brushes, sizes & shapes, made from golden taklon which is a synthetic material. Here’s a link to the affordable W&N Cotman set. * A white mixing palette or a white plate will do |
Nine new dates for 2023 have been confirmed by Martin Mere Wetland Centre One running each month, with the exception of January, July and December. Workshops will alternate between Watercolour and Pastel, but feel free to bring along any art medium you wish if the subject is something you would like to create from. All workshops are suitable for beginners. More information can be found over on our exclusive Art Workshop page on the Martin Mere website as well as on the Workshop page of my website. If participants would like further mediums or subjects added then extra dates can be slotted in to suit. So if your passion is coloured pencil or you love acrylic or oil painting then just let me know.
This Kingfisher project will be the subject for June 2023 art workshop over at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre.
Diary Dates
| Art Safari in Uganda | Postponed |
| Patching’s Art Festival | 13th – 16th July 2023 |
| Exhibition of Wildlife Art | 28th – 30th July 2023 |
| North West Birdwatching Festival | 14th -15th October 2023 |
Patching’s Art Festival – an international four day art event celebrating the best in art & craft. Open to all there’s something for everyone, the chance to meet over 250 artists, a lot of which will be demonstrating (including me demonstrating for Caran d’Ache). Plus ‘hands-on’ workshops and art material offers all set in 60 acres of beautiful Nottinghamshire countryside.
Exhibition of Wildlife Art – ‘an exciting three day show featuring the work of some of the world’s most talented wildlife artists. The biggest and most successful, open selling, exhibition of Wildlife Art outside of London. All exhibited work is for sale and many artist demonstrate whilst there.’ I’ll be demonstrating whilst exhibiting there this year and would love for you to drop by and say hello.
North West Birdwatching Festival – Open at 8am, start your day by watching the spectacle of thousands of wild geese leave the roost before heading for breakfast in the Martin Mere restaurant. Over the two day there will be an array of guest speakers and exhibitors, artists and photographers including photography workshops, guided reserve walks, and more. I’ll be exhibiting and demonstrating throughout the weekend and would love you to drop by and say hello.
Art Safari in Uganda – a two week tour taking in some of Uganda’s best national parks, optional gorilla and chimpanzee tracking, visiting a rhino sanctuary and so much more. With a maximum of 6 participants this art based safari ensures you’ll have all the natural world of Uganda has to offer, plus plenty of 1 to 1 guidance from me when you need it to enable you to capture all that you want on paper or canvas.
Subscriber Question
Q. I purchased some ‘jelly gouache’ paints after watching one of your videos. But when I wanted to use them they’d dried out. Please help as I can’t afford to throw them away.
A. Oh stop right there, there’s no need to throw them away, they’ll be perfectly fine. The same thing happened to me, so I made a little video showing you how to fix them by rehydrating them. Follow the tips in my video and you’ll be painting again in no time. Plus I explain how to stop them drying out in the future.
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.
Okay folks I’d love to sit here and chat with you all a while longer but I’ve plenty of things to be getting on with, including some DIY in my soon to be new studio. It’s getting there slowly but surely.
Thank you once again, as always my friends, for spending some time with me today, and please feel free to leave a question or suggestion in the contact form below.
Wishing you all the best, until next time, as always, stay safe and stay creative, Kerry xXx
Questions & Suggestions welcomed
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