Here to Ignite, Encourage and Inspire your Creative Flame
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
– Maya Angelou
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 and warm. Just three sleeps to go until Christmas and I’ve still lots to do before I can take a well-earned break. Remembering what a busy time of year this can be for all of us, I’ll keep this post short and begin wishing you all a:
I hope you’re happy to hear that I’ve two new videos for you, both now live on my YouTube channel.
I hope you all have as much fun watching these as I had creating them 🎨 😊
At the moment I’m unable to share what’s on my easel as I’m currently doing some work for Derwent, all for a brand new product release in the Spring of next year! So watch this space….
For those of you interested in knowing more about next year’s proposed Arctic Expedition I’m pleased to say that the initial building blocks of my new website page are now in place. Wildfoot Travel are busy working on their new webpage for this venture, so hopefully it wont be too long until both pages and the widget below (for my homepage) will be going live. More news on this coming soon.
Passengers will be able to experience the majestic landscapes and unique flora & fauna of an Arctic expedition as I did in August, plus if they wish, they can draw, paint or sketch along with me during the more relaxed times of their voyage. The dates are now set as above and I’ll keep you informed of any change, plus I’ll be sure to let you know when both mine and Wildfoot Travel’s new pages go live.
Wildlife Art Workshops for 2024
£60 per person (materials not included)
All workshops are held at Martin Mere Wetland Centre and 50% of all proceeds go straight back into conservation.
| Date | Medium | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| January 27th 2024 | Watercolour | Reindeer |
| March 23rd 2024 | Pastel | TBC |
| May 18th 2024 | Watercolour | TBC |
| September 21st 2024 | Pastel | TBC |
| November 23rd 2024 | 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 * Bring along some white gouache too if you have some – great for adding highlights etc. |
Workshops 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 for 2024 coming soon!
| Global Bird Fair | |
| Exhibition of Wildlife Art | |
| Arctic Expedition | 17th – 24th June 2024 |
| North West Birdwatching Festival |
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.’
Arctic Expedition – ‘Take a cruise around Spitsbergen and explore the icy waters of the North Atlantic. This special expedition offers you the chance to catch site of whales, reindeer, Arctic foxes, walruses, seals, and the star attraction, the polar bear.’
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.
Subscriber Question
Q. Should I spray my pastels with something to keep them in place?
A. Hi there Sophie, thank you for your question. An easy way to make a background recede in a painting is to make it look out of focus, then apply finer detail to anything you want to draw the viewers eye to be drawn to, such as the little hedgehog in the video below. Also you could try adding cooler colours to the background and warmer colours to the foreground/subject, this also creates a sense of distance between the two elements. I hope this helps xXx
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. 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 a truly magical Christmas, until next time, as always, stay safe and stay creative, Kerry xXx
Questions & Suggestions welcomed
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