Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame
”If something is important enough, even if the odds are stacked against you, you should still do it.”
– Elon Musk
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 you’re all finding time to be creative. Lots happening here I’m happy to say. My latest commissioned painting is now complete and safely delivered to my client. Tears were shed when Sandra finally received the portrait of her beloved husband, Barry, who sadly passed away last year, and their delightful canine companion Gracie. Sandra has kindly given permission for me to share this portrait with you all:
I’m also pleased to say that my new studio is finally resembling a usable space after eight months of looking like a building site lol. For those of you new to my newsletters – in October last year I began renovating our garage into a new studio. The journey has been a huge learning curve to say the least. The plasterers have been and worked their magic and the electrics are in. Now it’s up to me again to get the walls painted. After which the electrician will return to finish off, including bringing the spot lights down through the ceiling etc. Then the flooring, skirting boards and window sill will go in. And then I’ll finally be able to begin moving my studio equipment and art materials in, exciting times ahead. So here is a before and where I’m up to at the moment:
And now to some equally exciting news, an update – only one week to go the the Global Birdfair! Wow how time flies when you get short noticed lol. For those of you who haven’t read my most previous newsletter – I’ve been invited by Wildfoot Travel to demonstrate for them at this year’s Global Birdfair 🙂 If you haven’t heard of or visited this event before then I truly urge you to check out the link for more information on this amazing annual event: Global Birdfair If you do visit then I’d love it if you could drop by and say hello 😉 Robin Marquee, Stand R11, 12. I take my coffee white (soya or almond milk) and no sugar lol. Only joking of course but it would be great to see you. Wildfoot Travel has commissioned me to create a painting for them which they will be donating to the Global Birdfair auction, so it’s a win win for everyone concerned.
Then in just three weeks time I’ll be exhibiting and demonstrating at the EWA (Exhibition of Wildlife Art) over on the Wirral. This really is an amazing event too, lots of exhibitors from across the UK, many of which are on hand demonstrating and chatting with the public. So blessed that they chose part of my Kingfisher painting as the logo for this year’s event.
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 was the subject for June 2023 art workshop over at WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre.
Diary Dates
| Art Safari in Uganda | Postponed |
| Global Bird Fair | 14th – 16th July 2023 |
| Exhibition of Wildlife Art | 28th – 30th July 2023 |
| North West Birdwatching Festival | 14th -15th October 2023 |
Global Birdfair – an international three day event – Join a community of nature lovers and birdwatchers from around the world as we gather to make a difference to Conserving Nature Worldwide. Lectures, demonstrations, art exhibitions, holiday destinations, authors, photographers, Global Birdfair auction, optics companies including Nikon, Viking Optical, Zeiss & Swarovski Optik – there really is something for everyone at this annual event that attracts thousands of people from across the globe. Global Birdfair will take place at Rutland Showground, Oakham, Rutland UK. LE15 7TW
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
Repeated from the last newsletter due to a faulty YouTube link xXx
Q. After reading your last newsletter I treated myself to a small set of Derwent Inktense pans. Do I have enough colours to complete a full painting?
A. Hi there, thank you for your question Emma. Now I’m assuming from your description that you’ve purchased one of the two Inktense travel pan sets. Either of them will give you the mixing capabilities to create numerous colours and therefore paint a painting of your choice. What I would do if I were you would begin by swatching your colours out so you can see clearly the vibrant colours in your set. Following this begin mixing a few colours from the colours you have. Once you have an idea of what colours can be achieved with your set you’ll find it easier to choose a reference that matches your supplies so to speak. Mixing cool colours together and mixing warm colours together is a simple way of avoiding mixing mud lol. I’ve just made a mental not that I need to create a video on just this (I’ve written it down to so I don’t forget lol)
The following video uses a very limited palette so you can see that a lot can be achieved with just a few colours.
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 that’s it for me for today, I do hope you all have a ‘feel good Friday’ tomorrow and a wonderful weekend thereafter.
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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