Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame
”Whatever your goal is you will never succeed unless you let go of your fears and fly.”
– Richard Branson
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. The weather here is gorgeous, as I hope it is for you too wherever you may be. So nice to be able to have all the windows and doors open so that when I’m at my easel working on a painting it still feels like I’m sitting outside lol. Yep one of my many mind-games to keep me motivated lol.
I’m so pleased to say that I finally found the time to sit and edit a huge amount of video footage. There was around seven hours of it that I had to trawl my way through, needless to say one large mug of coffee didn’t suffice lol. This video when posted over onto my YouTube channel seemed very popular. It seems more and more people are beginning to use Derwent’s Inktense (water soluble ink products) but are just unsure of how to go about it. I now have several videos on my YouTube channel covering the use of this medium, and definitely want to create more moving forward. If there are any mediums, techniques or subjects you’d like me to cover just let me know and I’ll pop it onto my ‘to do’ list. Just in case you haven’t spotted it on my YouTube channel yet:
So that’s what I’ve been up to, but what am I doing now? Well I’m pleased to say that my latest commission is now on my easel. I can’t share this with you all just yet as the lovely lady who commissioned my receives and reads my newsletters lol.
A couple of weeks ago, 01/06/23 to be exact, out of the blue I received an email from my dear friend Simon over at Wildfoot Travel. He asked me if I was exhibiting at this year’s Global Birdfair and if not did I want to demonstrate on his stand instead 😃 Now I’m a great believer in things that are ‘meant to be’ – the Global Birdfair dates coincide with Patchings Art Festival (an event that I’ve demonstrated at for the past 12 years) so before agreeing to Simon I needed to find out first if I was still needed at Patchings this year. Guess what… due to unforeseen circumstances I’m free for the Birdfair instead!
And so it is with a grateful, and very excited, heart I can announce that I will indeed be demonstrating this year at the Global Birdfair for Wildfoot Travel in the Robin Marquee, Stand R11, 12.
Wildfoot Travel has commissioned me to create a painting for them which they will be donating it to the Global Birdfair auction, so it’s a win win for everyone concerned.
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
Wildfoot Travel offer ‘Wildlife Cruises and Expeditions to Antarctica, The Arctic and Other Wildlife Destinations Around The World’
So they’ll be more news on this venture coming soon.
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 |
| 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
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 I’m going to have to leave you now as I need to get to my easel and crack on with my latest commission, and don’t forget that if your out enjoying the sunshine remember your sun cream and stay hydrated 😉
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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