Encourage each other & a new project on my easel.

Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame

‘Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.’
– John D. Rockefeller

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. I hope that you’re all being creative, whether that’s drawing, painting, knitting or crafting etc. Being creative in all forms is so therapeutic and makes me feel whole. This past week has seen me posting regularly each day on social media, not because I thought to but because my friend David encouraged me to. Sometimes being accountable to ourselves just isn’t enough, life gets in the way of living and we can easily let things slide. I’m sure I’m not on my own on this one lol. So I encourage each of you to encourage someone else today, even if that means stepping out of your comfort zone 😉

So I invite you to post one piece of artwork (or crafting project) each day for 10 days, and each day encourage someone new to join the challenge. It’s a fun way to share with others and to be honest quite addictive lol. It’s so enjoyable seeing what others post and filling social media with a positive vibe.

Just copy and paste the following, altering the highlighted areas for each day:

🎨 I have been nominated by Kerry Newell to participate in the #artistschallenge. Day 1 of 10. The challenge is to post one piece of your art for ten days with no explanation and to nominate another artist to participate. The aim is to support artists everywhere. I nominate the very talented your friend’s name xXx

On My Easel

I’m currently working on a Derwent Inktense painting. Derwent Inktense is a water-soluble ink, available as Inktense Pencils, Inktense Blocks and Inktense Pans. I’ve completed quite a variety of works in this medium now, so this current project is being filmed for a review which will be sent to Derwent, the video will also be available to watch on my YouTube channel when completed. So far, so good, absolutely love this medium:

Derwent have also released Inktense Paper – I’ve received some from Derwent, but have yet to use & review this, more news on this and other Derwent products soon.

Wildlife Art Workshops for 2023

£60 per person

DateMediumSubject
January 21st 2023WatercolourPostponed
February 25th 2023PastelRed Panda
March 25th 2023WatercolourFox in Snow
April 22nd 2023PastelKingfisher
May 20th 2023WatercolourToucan
June 24th 2023PastelTBC
August 26th 2023WatercolourTBC
September 23rd 2023PastelTBC
October 21st 2023WatercolourTBC
November 25th 2023PastelTBC
December TBCWatercolourTBC
All dates have now been confirmed

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
My ArtDiscount & Amazon affiliate links – please feel free to click, browse and shop at no extra cost to you.
An excellent way to get started with Pan Pastels

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 Red Panda project will also be the subject for this month’s art workshop over at WWT Martin Mere. Nine new dates have now been confirmed for this year and all workshops will be suitable for complete beginners.

Diary Dates

Art Safari in Uganda Postponed
Patching’s Art Festival13th – 16th July 2023
Exhibition of Wildlife Art28th – 30th July 2023
North West Birdwatching Festival14th -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. Is there an easy way to transfer a sketch to watercolour paper?

A. There are many ways to get a drawing onto our watercolour paper. The easiest and probably the most common is just by using tracing paper. Another way would be to use a graphite ‘trace down’ paper. However, if you don’t have these to hand or are worried about extra graphite smudging on your paper surface (something that can occur when using the ‘trace down’ product) you may want to go down a different route using light. You can either tape your initial sketch to a window, place your watercolour paper over it and trace your outlines that way. Or invest in a light pad (as in the video below) and transfer your image that way. These light pads are relatively cheap (around £16) cheaper than continually purchasing tracing paper that is just thrown away once your project is complete etc.

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 that’s it for today folks, time to head for the kitchen and cook up something nice for dinner.

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

Free cappuccino coffee heart latte

Questions & Suggestions welcomed

© Kerry Newell ⭐ www.KerryNewell.com ⭐ All rights reserved