Jessie Lilac Blog

~~Moving slowly through the day, searching for inspiration, I think it's almost arrived. Colour and pattern and Bob's my uncle, except he isn't, only metaphorically.~~

I've been playing in my sketchbook today. It's the sketchbook that I hated when I first bought it because the paper wouldn't take watercolour very well, but do you know? I actually like it now, no I love it. There. I don't however, love these cats with their ping-pong ball eyes. They look a bit crazed.

I knew I wanted some kind of creature on the stage and as I've been drawing penguins lately, penguins it had to be! Dragonflies can't act quite as well, take it from me.

I like to draw without any reference. It means I can take a sketchbook anywhere and come out with ideas from my own imagination. Yeah right! In an ideal world this is how I would draw forever, but now and again it's really important for me to study at how things really look rather than make up my own version. I'm doing a bit of copying at the moment and then hopefully I can start to 'fly' again just like a dragonfly!

Carenza turned 12 on sunday so it's been a weekend of back to back birthday celebrations. I'm very tired today so can only manage this little doodle. And no, I had nothing to drink if that's what you're thinking!

Yesterday I felt odd, a bit like this picture above. Those dratted hormones! A page of cat doodles in watercolour from yesterday. This morning I felt a bit more 'normal' so I took the plunge of going back to life drawing. There's a place a short bus ride away called the Folkhouse where they do all sorts of courses. The one I went to this morning was the 'Drop in and Draw' session, which is perfect for me as I can drop in without commiting to a whole term! This one had very tricky perspective but I really enjoyed the challenge. I had a lovely morning, I might even go back again next week :)

I've spent almost a week redecorating our bathroom. I even painted the floor which was too traumatic. Sanding floors - never again! I'm pleased with the results and relieved it's all done but when I tried to get back to drawing and painting, I felt stuck. This always happens to me when I've had a break from it. Some people say it's good to have a break but I'm not so sure today. I feel I've lost my momentum. I'm the queen of procrastination today which is weird because once I've started to draw or paint I lOve it! Having said all that, I've been doodling with some watercolour and produced these 2 little pictures. I think I need to do more of this, just playing and seeing what happens without worrying about it.

Continuing the penguin theme. I was going to colour the background but decided to leave it white. I think it gives it a fresher feel and gives the colours that are already here a chance!

It's been a funny old few days for my family what with my son being on Britain's Got Talent . Now he's going to be interviewed on ITV West later on today, so the excitement goes on! (6pm for those who live in the westcountry!) I got distracted there again for a minute! Now where was I? Oh yes, IllustrationFriday ... Well it's an impossibility for Penguins to fly!

Wish 16 x 20ins Green Light 19 x 20ins Acceptance 20 x 24ins Ok, so with the weekend's excitement still reeling in my head (!!), here are 3 of my paintings on canvas I've just put on Etsy ! They're all acrylic on canvas and ready to hang. Can you tell how much I love colour? Can you? ;)

I don't normally blog over the weekend very much but I'm so excited, I can't contain this until monday. My son Jem was on Britain's Got Talent last night! He didn't expect to get through (he didn't!) and was only really doing it for a laugh but we're all proud of how brave he was facing Simon Cowell!

Jared's Artwork for School exam (see above) I've just joined the DeviantART site. I'd come across it several times before and the other day my son announced he had some artwork on it I thought I'd better get on with it and join! The picture shown here I did some weeks ago for the Illustration friday prompt of 'climb'. I'd no idea where the image came from at the time but looking at it now I think it's probably me!

Please read this. I'm so angry at what Tescos has done to this artist I cannot begin to tell you. http://tinyurl.com/csfn2t

The gallery in Bristol that I've been with for a while has had to close down so I've brought my paintings home to see if I can sell them myself! Here are 2 of the canvases I've just listed on Ebay. They are 41 x 31cm, or 16 x 12ins and are ready to hang. I visit Devon a lot and these paintings are inspired by the colours of the sea and the landscape of the area. CLICK HERE to take you to their more detailed listing :)

Here's an interesting short film about the artist Naomi Frears in Cornwall talking about her passion for painting. I found it inspiring and so I thought I'd share it here :)

A fleeting picture for Illustration Friday .

These little characters started from little pools of watercolour I made, adding bits here and there to bring them to life. They evolved into birds and frogs and dancing bears, a crocodile and something else...could be a pink spotty mouse? Ok, that was the pools, now the pond... We went to visit the newly opened Greenway House which used to be the Holiday home of Agatha Christie. It's set in stunning surroundings and we had a chance to enjoy the garden while helping Carenza with an easter egg hunt. The tadpoles in the pond were bit of a distraction though. (click for to see the photos bigger) And I want to say a big thankyou to Joss for being kind enough to give me this lovely award! I feel honoured to be chosen - thankyou Joss, you're so sweet! I'm not sure what I need to do to accept it, but I'd like to pass it on to all my lovely blogs I follow :)

pen, ink and pencil crayons watercolour and gold gel pen (doesn't look shiny on the scan though!) This really will be the last post for a few days, some very quick sketches of Easter Chicks! Happy Chocolate Day! ....er I mean H a p p y E a s t e r !

I didn't think I'd have enough time what with everyone off school at the moment for the easter holidays but I couldn't resist entering this week's Illustration Friday, 'Talisman'

'Breezy' - in my Etsy shop now! It's the school easter holidays so I've not had a chance to write a new post here for a little while! I actually have a rare quiet day today so I've taken the opportunity to put some paintings in my Etsy shop - long overdue! I've put a few examples in the right hand sidebar if you'd like a quick look :) See you the other end of the school holiday!