Penguin Parade

Illustration Friday's topic this week is 'Parade'

Inspired by 'March of the Penguins'
If you're a penguin person this movie is a real treat, and if you're not a penguin fan you will be after watching it:)

Skinny dipping

Illustration Friday's topic is 'Leap'.

Suzy leaps out of her clothes and with a joyful holler leaps into the big blue.

Happy Valentine's Day

She was amazed and thrilled,
She never thought he would choose her to be his valentine.
Illustration Friday's topic this week is Choose.

Decided to try it again, work in progress!

Remarkable Birds

Takahe, an endangered flightless bird found only in New Zealand.


Kagu, Flightless bird with an extraordinary voice, can sound like a cross between a rooster and a puppy!


Black-winged Stilt, have the longest legs relative to their body-length of all the worlds birds.
So there, I wasn't exaggerating!

Just a few sketches I did in ink and watercolour from a beautiful bird book,
Collins Remarkable Birds by Stephen Moss, that a friend gave me.
Thank you J. xxxx

Angel wings

It's the little things...
sunlight catching angel wings
moonstone sparkling on my skin...
but what would really make me sing..
just a little thing
like a nice big lottery win;)

Illustration Fridays topic this week is Little Things.
I'm using up my artistic licence here posting these ceramic Angel wings I've made but they are what I'm working on at the moment.


Angel Wings with Song of Solomon on parchment.


Fallen Angel on leather with silver wire and abalone

Superstitions

Superstition is the topic for Illustration Friday this week.
Some people are superstitious about black cats, it's either lucky or unlucky if they cross your path, I'm not sure which.
Well something must have crossed this little fellows path and spooked him badly.
I love cats myself but I can understand how if you're not a cat person they could freak you out, with their steady stares and slinkiness.

Illustration Friday 'The Blues'

I don't know what his problem is, but he looks mighty blue to me.
Watercolour of some dude in a magazine.

Saunder's Water Ford scrumptious Watercolour Paper.

A few posts ago I was waffling on about expensive watercolour paper.
Well it turns out I was totally ripped off, I found the same paper for 7.95 euros a sheet, that's 5 euros cheaper!
No wonder I was shocked at the price.
So naturally I snapped up, what now seemed like a bargain, all the scrumptious paper they had in the shop and spent a small fortune!!
But you know the mind is a funny thing, well mine is anyway!
Having plenty of paper has given me a great sense of freedom, I'm not feeling so precious about the paper.
In fact the watercolour above is twice the size of my previous one and is done on the scrumptious paper, Saunder's Water Ford series, rough surface, 300lb.

Salted Anemones

I liked the composition of these anemones when I did them in pastel, so I went on to do them in watercolour.
The background has a lovely mottled effect, that gives it a nice depth.
This was a tip I picked up over the weekend browsing through the art books in town.
You simply sprinkle salt over the watercolour as it dries, just before it looses it's shine.
The salt absorbs the colour, leaving tiny crystalline shapes,like miniature snowflakes.
It's not hugely obvious in my painting 'cause I put another layer of colour over the salted one.
One thing I'd say is if you sprinkle the salt too soon it takes ages to dry out and if you get impatient, the wet salt can smudge as you try to remove it.
I learned the hard way!!