Jessie Lilac Blog

I felt in the mood to use my coloured pencils for this one. It's been ages since I have used them and it was lovely to choose which colours to use and not have to mix paint. Don't get me wrong, I love to mix paint too but I enjoyed having a change of medium.  I need you to help me find a name for her. She'd like to have gone to Glastonbury Festival this weekend and is all dressed up with no-where to go. Ballgowns at Glastonbury you may ask? Of course! :)

I've finished my woolen cowl scarf just in time for the high winds we had last Saturday. Who'd have thought I'd be wearing it before next autumn! I enjoyed the test drive, it's lovely and soft and the colour very perfect for a purple obsessed person like myself don't you think? You can see more details on Ravelry here . Do you remember the knitting/washing disaster I had a few months ago? When this... turned into this... Too small for anyone to wear, far too tightly felted to stretch over even the smallest of arms! A washing disaster that made me sad at all the hours I'd put into knitting it. I wrote to the company that made the yarn and they gave me vouchers to buy more yarn.  Happy me! But what to do with the tiny cardigan now? The obvious solution! I sewed up the arms and along the bottom and hey presto, a new pegbag to replace my old one that was falling to pieces. :) So what next? I've started my ne

Here's my second face in this series. What do you think her name is? I love to read your suggestions, thanks so much for the lovely ideas!xx Please click here  to see Antonia! :)

I'm setting myself a little project to keep myself drawing regularly. I'd like you to join in if you'd like to :) Here's the deal: I draw a face on a regular basis, and post it here and you give the person a name.  You know how people suit their names? I know there might be the exception occasionally and let me tell you I used to hate my name when I was young. At that time no-one had heard of the name Jessica and I had to repeat it over and over again to people who would then give me a strange look and ask where it came from and was it made up. Well just for the record, my mum named me after a character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice  so not that new! Today there are loads of Jessicas throughout the world so I don't feel such a freakshow any more! ;) The painting above is my first person in this series. What do you think her name is? The name that I think fits her the best will become the name of the painting and I'll keep an album

Thankyou so much for sharing your favourite white pen links with me. I  shall  be able to buy a new one - hooray! :) In case you were wondering, the one I have at the moment is made by Pentel. My Amazon wishlist now has new additions, thankyou! It's very windy here today and no sooner is the sky blue and clear and safe to put the washing out, it clouds over and threatens rain! I wish you all a happy and sunny Solstice Weekend.xx

Here's my latest journal page.  ♥I love my white pen!♥ Recently I went back to the shop where I bought it in case the worst happened, (heaven forbid) and it runs out. They no longer stock it!!  At the moment it's still going strong but there will be a time when it says enough! and I'll need a new one. But where to find one?! I've Googled and Amazoned and Ebayed but according to the internet they don't exist but they do don't they?? If anyone knows where I might be able to buy white pens PLEASE tell me and I will love you forever.x

 Last Friday I paid a visit to my friend's exhibition in Gloucester Road, Bristol. Here's Peri with her beautiful coastal paintings inspired by the South Coast. You can visit Peri on her  Facebook page  and website . :) Also gorgeous ceramics by Liz. If you'd like to see more of Liz's work, you can visit her website . Guess what I chose to buy? I was tempted to buy this lovely ginger and garlic grater. With the pretty hearts I thought it made a perfect wedding present. :) Congratulations to the happy couple! You know who you are :) xx

Do you ever sit down and draw a face and then look at it afterwards and wonder who it is? When you draw a face without thinking about it and letting it happen on the page, it could be a reflection of yourself, your own feelings? It could be someone I've encountered recently and how she came across to me? I need a few days away from it to come back, look at it again and she'll reveal herself to me. What does she say to you?

 I've had lots of compliments on my garden recently. I'd like to take responsibility for the glorious colour and profusion of flowers but I have to say it was mother nature, not me!  I think they're called Granny's Bonnets but if anyone knows better please tell me. :) They seem to love it here and have multiplied themselves so much that the plants that I actually put there myself aren't getting much of a look in at the moment!  Nature often seems to know best doesn't it? The yellow poppies came here from the wind too. I love to see them growing through cracks in the path and cheekily nestling between the other plants, perhaps they hope no-one will notice! I'm beginning lots of little canvas boards, layering collage and with any luck, mother nature will come along and turn them into works of art. Then again, maybe this time I'll have to take a hand in it! ;)

I've finished my latest canvas painting and here it is. Do you remember it from an earlier post? I added some flower stems and some extra leaves and it was done! It measures 25 x 35cm (12 x 10inches) and I've listed it in my Etsy shop if you'd like to have a look, click here . :)  Here's the close up of the hen motif. I do love the shape of hens, don't you? The flowers were fun to paint, I wanted the pinks and reds to really stand out in a vibrant way. I was tempted to use the fluorescent pink acrylic that I have but on this occasion, just a teeny amount of it was needed mixed with a touch of white because I had to take the edge of the brightness. If I'd used it straight from the tube, the other reds would have looked dull in comparison! Speaking of bright, did you enjoy the sun at the weekend? We had the warmest weekend of the year after what seemed like the longest winter ever!  A view of Goodrington beach on Sunday.  This