Amaryllis...

The amaryllis I was given for Christmas is in bloom and quite magnificent.  I thought I'd have a go at painting it and try and rouse myself out of the awful artist's block I'm going through at the moment.  It was quite fun but had to be quick as the second bud is visibly opening and the first one moving as I painted.

I used some of the Japanese gold watercolour I got a year ago for the background - I likeit!  I can't decide which is better though, the whole painting or cropping off the dribbly bits.  What do you think?

Sparrow...

Over the last few weeks I have been experiencing a serious lack of inspiration & motivation with regard to painting.  Perhaps because I was so busy in the run up to Christmas, perhaps because of other work commitments, I don't know, I just know it was making me unhappy.  So in order to overcome this, I decided to start with a little painting of one of my favourite subjects, the humble sparrow.

I used walnut ink for this - I like the way the brown can be either light and diluted or rich and dark, and also I like being able to paint with it rather than draw.  However, as the painting went along, I realised I could not achieve the black markings on the bird with walnut ink alone, so used a black ink pen to fill those in.  I also wanted to bring a little warmth to the feathers on the head and shoulders of the bird, so gave them a light wash of orange watercolour over the walnut ink.

It's a small painting but I am happy with how it turned out.  I feel better for having done it but am still lacking inspiration - help!

Paintig currently for sale in my Etsy shop.

Daisy Bear

 A while back I made a tiny felt bear and dressed it in a floral frock with a crochet hat.  This bear sold just before Christmas and the customer was so pleased with it she ordered another one.  This is the other one!

 The bear is about 4 inches tall, with thread jointed legs and arms. I have made her dress from a sweet cotton print and trimmed it with green ribbon.  She also has a broderie Anglaise petticoat.

I crocheted the hat, trimmed it with ribbon and a rose made from satin ribbon.  I forgot how much fun making these tiny mascots is - I must do more of it!

Sloth...

I was given a kit at Christmas to make a life-size paper sloth. Hmmm.... 
So over the past couple of weeks, whenever I've had a half hour to spare, I have wrestled with the double sided tape, the folding and the sticking and finally finished him yesterday.  It was actually a lot of fun once I had got my head around the instructions.  I'd like to try another model some time - but not for a while!

Now, where to put him...

Kit is made by a company called Agent Paper.

Golden Boy...

 Amongst the other work I have been doing that I can't show just yet, I had this sweet commission before Christmas to make a felt golden saluki.  As you might know, salukis are my favourite dogs - we've had two and they were both gorgeous boys - so this was an absolute delight to take on.

 I have designed this mascot entirely and am very pleased with the end result. 

 He has thread jointed legs, so is completely poseable.  Instead of labouring over the ears and tail using felt, I had a brainwave and knitted them using long eyelash yarn.  After brushing the threads out, I then trimmed them to shape carefully.

 I made the collar out of leather, enbroidered it with gold thread and attached a tassel & beads.  As the mascot only stands 6 inches tall, the collar was probably the most labour intensive part due to it's small size.

I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy making felt animals - I've been working on so much other stuff, they have fallen by the wayside a bit.  However, I do have a miniature felt teddy bear to make next, so that is something to look forward to!

On the knitting needles...you wouldn't believe me if I told you!

Feedback...

Before Christmas I sold a couple of paintings of bears.  Today I received a lovely little email from the buyer showing me what they look like framed.

I love it when people take the time to do that - I also love to see what my work looks like framed.  These two look terrific - someone has done a very good job!

Christmas Crochet...

 I was given a book called Spirit Animals for Christmas, containing some great crochet patterns for creatures such as a lion, tiger, eagle, and of course a bear.

This was my first attempt - he came out pretty well although next time I think I'd use a thicker yarn to get a larger & more imposing bear.  The making up instructions were a tiny bit vague too, so now having done it once I think a second attempt would be better.  I still like him though!

Christmas Catch Up...

So that is Christmas and the New Year over - I can't say I am sorry, it seemed like an awfully long break.  I did get a little time to paint over the holiday - had to, otherwise I'd have gone mad! The above is a relatively quick watercolour done in small bursts whenever I had a spare half hour or more.

This is a last minute commission I had to do before Christmas - I finished it with about a week to spare.  Merlin, watercolour on paper.

And now it's back to normality and a lot of work ahead of me, mainly knitting/sewing.  I guess playing with the Christmas presents will have to wait...