art tuition Archives - Kerry Newell

Posted on 24/12/2021 by Kerry Newell

Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame

‘I make art to show my soul I’m listening’ – Pat Wiederspan

Seasons Greetings my friends! I trust you’re all keeping well and getting ready to relax and recharge your creative batteries during the festive break. For those of you, whom like myself, celebrate Christmas, I hope you’ll have some arty goodies to unwrap tomorrow. Something you’ve put on your Christmas list or maybe something you’ve treated yourself to? No doubt I’ll be browsing art materials online tomorrow and seeing if anything sparks my interest. If it doesn’t then not to worry as I’ve plenty to keep me entertained for now. Have enjoyed flexing my digital art muscles for a change whilst creating this little Christmassy Frogs picture, I hope you like him.

Well as much as I’ve wished for snow, the cold weather hasn’t arrived yet. Actually it’s quite mild at the moment, so my dreams of a white Christmas are looking less likely by the hour. No worries, I’ve still made myself a warm drink so that at least I’ll feel cosy on the inside whilst catching up with you all.

I’m pleased to say that last week’s addition of ‘subscriber question’ and ‘contact form’ sections have been successful, so they’ll be staying put. No new addition suggestions as yet, but keep your ideas coming and who knows what the New Year will hold. Okay, now things of an arty nature:

Update on Ugandan Art-based Safari – I’ve now received the full itinerary and dates!

I haven’t been given the go-ahead to share everything with you yet, as flight details are, at the moment, being confirmed. What I can say is that this is going to be an amazing 15 day safari in Uganda, 15th – 30th September 2022, the trip of a lifetime.

Reading through the itinerary alone gave me goose bumps, not to mention the butterflies the size of Monarchs in my stomach from excitement lol. But I do keep reminding myself that it’s still early days. So watch this space and hopefully come January all will be revealed.

With just four weeks to go until my new and exclusive workshops begin at WWF Martin Mere Wetland Centre, I’m getting pretty excited about this too. Teaching is always a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and share an interest or two, an opportunity that I never take for granted. I love to see individuals taking ‘the next step’ on their artistic journey, whether it be their first initial steps or leaps and bounds later on, the fact that we’re on this never ending journey of discovery together is what makes sharing it even more special.

All of my courses are beginner friendly, with each participant encouraged to work at their own pace however steady or speedy that my be. Each workshop has a set (limited) number of places so that everyone can get the extra help and words of encouragement should they need it. Plus 50% of all proceeds go straight back into conservation via the WWT (Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust).

We’re starting off the workshops with a watercolour one. Beginner friendly of course, and not too heavy on the wallet material wise. After that I’ll tailor workshops to whatever participants want, different mediums and different flora & fauna subjects. Interested? For more Information on these Workshops

Subscriber Question – what water based medium can I use to compliment my watercolours but that has more vibrancy?

A. Achieving vibrancy in watercolour can be achieved but it isn’t always easy, especially if you’re new to the medium. Gouache (opaque watercolour) can be used. But if you want colour with a visual kick then I’d recommend giving Derwent’s Inktense a try. It’s a water-soluble ink that is permanent and mat when dry. It can be used on paper, canvas and even fabric and works wonderfully well alongside watercolours in mixed media projects.

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 Iguana in Inktense if you’d like to take a look.

Thank you once again for taking a few minutes out of your day to join me, I promised myself that I’d keep my rambling short this time as I’m sure you’ve plenty to do, so with that said I’ll say farewell for now by wishing you all a huge MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Stay safe and stay creative, Kerry xXx

Questions & Suggestions welcomed

Posted on 18/12/2021 by Kerry Newell

Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame

“Inhale possibility, exhale creativity.” – Laura Jaworski

Hey there my friends I hope everyone is keeping well and looking forward to the festive celebrations, or just a break from work. The weather here is getting slightly cooler but still no sign of snow, just seven sleeps until Christmas so there’s still the chance though – yep that’s me wishful thinking again. Okay I have a mug of coffee at hand, I hope you have a warm drink too. Time to catch up. Oh before I forget – my newsletters, although mobile friendly, are best viewed on a tablet, laptop or PC.

Thank you to everyone who’s contacted me this past week, brilliant comments and questions too. A big thank you to Pat King who asked if I could include a contact form at the bottom of my newsletters, and to Kieran Taylor who asked if I could add a ‘subscriber question’ section to each newsletter too. Both great ideas, so these additions will begin today.

Update on Uganda – after sharing last week’s exciting news with you all regarding Uganda (and sharing on social media too) I was so grateful with how many of you took the time to congratulate me on this new adventure in the making. I keep having to remind myself that it’s still early days yet, and I don’t want to take anything for granted. Having said that, my second meeting, via Zoom, went swimmingly well last Sunday. Everything seems to be going as planned and the final details are now being added into the 15/16 day itinerary. I’m now waiting again to hear from the Ugandan team but will keep you all updated as new developments arise.

With my ‘Christmas due’ commissions now completed and delivered, I’ve been able to spend some time making plans for the coming year, updates for my website and YouTube channel being amongst them. I now have notepads brimming with ideas as well as scribblings on how best to manage the time I have available, whilst not letting anything else fall by the wayside. For more Information of Commissions

I’ve also completed my last personal tuition booking for this year, which was a wonderful day spent in Wales with three ambitious artistic people. For more Information on Private Tuition

A few weeks ago I began the task of adding small contact forms to my Gallery Shop pages, enabling visitors to contact me directly should they be interested in knowing when a particular painting is available for purchase in print form. The feedback was almost immediate, and therefore I’m pleased to say that a majority of the paintings have now been scanned/professionally photographed and all being well prints can begin to be made available in January 2022.

Just five weeks to go until my Wildlife Art Workshops begin at Martin Mere Wetland Centre (mentioned in my previous two newsletters). If you’re interested in knowing more but haven’t had the time to take a look here’s a little link for you: Watercolour Workshop at Martin Mere

While on the subject of watercolour, I’ve a lovely little video over on my YouTube channel that’s suitable for beginners and enthusiasts alike. This Red Squirrel takes you through the process of working with watercolour pencils, but you could also apply the techniques to normal pan or tube watercolours, gouache or even acrylics should you wish. Red Squirrel Video

Okay tying in nicely whilst on a watercolour theme is the first of our two new newsletter additions:

Subscriber Question – what is the difference between watercolour and gouache, and do I need both?

A. Okay this one is quite simple to explain – watercolour, as the name suggests, is a water based paint which is translucent when dry. Whereas gouache, whilst also being water based, is opaque when dry. Pigments in either medium can be staining or non-staining and both mediums dry to a mat finish. Gouache has a tendency to dry with a slightly rough texture (ideal if wanting to apply coloured pencil on top for a mixed media project). I personally love having both mediums at hand, but no you don’t need both as each medium works perfectly well on it’s own as intended.

So there we have it, another newsletter in the bag lol. I hope you’ve enjoyed your time here with me today, thank you for keeping me company. As promised I’ll pop the aforementioned contact form at the end of the newsletter, so please feel free to use it to send YouTube, website or newsletter suggestions and general art questions too.

Signing off for now and wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Stay safe and stay creative, Kerry xXx

Questions & Suggestions welcomed

Posted on 11/12/2021 by Kerry Newell

Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame

‘Creativity takes courage’ – Henri Matisse

Hey there my friends, I hope you’re all keeping well and warm. Wow has it really been two weeks already since my last letter? Time flies or so the saying goes. I’ve a large mug of coffee and a couple of those fancy biscuits (Lotus Biscoff) so I’m all comfy and cosy for our catch up.

Firstly I’d like to say thank you for the feedback now I have my email newsletters rolling out again, it’s great to hear from you all and I hope you’ve all found my replies satisfactory 😊 Last night I added a couple more items to my website ‘sidebar widget area’, I’ll see if you can spot them… okay a couple of clues – ‘he flaunts the front of many Christmas cards’ and ‘you already have, but it may prompt more to do likewise’. If anyone has further suggestions for additions to my
website please let me know.

New and exciting news – I’m currently in talks with a Ugandan-based company who would like me to run an art-based safari over there. We’ve had one informal meeting, over the phone of course, and we’re scheduled to have our next meeting this coming Sunday via Zoom. Initial itinerary plans have been put together which I’ve now received via email. It’s very exciting, even though development is in the early stages at the moment. As the plans for this adventure unfold I’ll be sure to share them all with you.

The past couple of weeks have been busy, as you’d expect in the lead up to Christmas. Anyone working with commissions at this time of the year knows the pressure of deadlines, and no matter how far in advance we try to plan, time has a way of creeping up on us. I’m not complaining though as I seem to work more efficiently with deadlines in place, an impending target date putting an abrupt end to my procrastination tendencies 😉

The hard work has payed off yet again and two more commissions have been delivered with time to spare. Another commission has been scheduled for the new year and I’ve already taken a large amount of reference images for this, so let’s just say I’m ahead of schedule in the commission area of my life right now. For more Information on Commissions

I don’t know about you but it always feels weird when I begin filling dates in my calendar for the following year. I’m looking forward to new and exciting journeys, one of them being Wildlife Art Workshops at WWF Martin Mere Wetland Centre as mentioned in my last newsletter.

Places are filling up nicely apparently, which is great for me and the centre alike. But if you would like to give it a go don’t leave it too late to book, I’ve restricted the amount of places so that all attendees get plenty of attention should the require it on the day. One thing I meant to mention is that 50% of all proceeds go straight back into conservation via the WWT (Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust).

I’m pleased to say I’ve now over 2k subscribers on my YouTube channel. I haven’t posted for a while as I’ve been fulfilling commissioned works, but over the Christmas period I’ll be able to get back on track. Its looking like the ‘Black Fur in Pastel’ has been a favourite with viewers so far.
Here’s a link if you’d like to take a look 👀 Black Fur in Pastel video

Okay I’ve rambled enough for one afternoon and my easel’s calling me lol. Don’t forget if there’s anything you’d like me to cover in these newsletters or things you’d like to see added to my website let me know.

I’ll sign off for now but thank you for spending some time with me.

Stay safe and stay creative, Kerry xXx