Jessie Lilac Blog

My youngest is currently away studying at uni in Oslo and we've just got back from spending a couple of days with her. I was a bit worried about how cold it would be there but we were very lucky to have blues skies the whole time we were there so although there was snow, the bright blue sky and sunshine made up for it. The Norwegians certainly know how to keep warm. Everywhere we went were snug blankets and heaters outside and inside the rooms were as cosy and warm as can be. I now know the real meaning of Hygge! We packed in quite a lot over the 3 days we were there. The Viking Ship Museum, the Norwegian Folk Museum, the City Hall with its beautiful murals, the Vigeland Sculpture Park, and the Royal Palace. Can you believe we walked to all these places and my toes that would normally be numb at even the slightest change in temperature stayed fine throughout! A memorable few days.  ♥ ...

Here's my entry for this week's Illustration Friday . The subject this week is 'Twins.' A couple of people in the past have said that all my girls look like the same person but let me tell you, I didn't find it easy to draw this piece looking like convincing twins! The twin in blue is slightly taller and I've made the personalities slightly different too. Even with identical twins as these are, you often find that one person is more confident or extrovert than the other don't you? Have a great week! Jess xx

Hello there! It's been a while hasn't it? Sorry about that, I've been spending most of my social media time on Instagram and getting particularly hooked on Instagram Stories. Have you discovered them yet? It's my new obsession! My username on Instagram is @jessiespainting if you'd like to pop over and say hello, I'd love to see you! So today I'd like to show you the latest page of my sketchbook. I've recently been using a limited palette and this one has just 4 colours, I think it works quite well. If I make myself stick to a limited number then it stops me from going overboard with all the colours of the rainbow which is something you'll already know if you've visited here before.  Of course there's nothing wrong with making a painting with lots of colour and I still do that too as you'll see in a moment. You might remember this 7 x 10 inch painting I did last year on canvas board. I was having a sort out last week and...

This week's word for Illustration Friday is 'wax'. This was a toughy! I've never drawn wax before as such and because the candle is actually quite small in this painting I decided to draw another kind of 'wax' in the picture. Can you see what I did? 😊 I'll be listing this one and perhaps last week's too in my Etsy shop very soon. Do come and see me on Instagram if you have an account. I'd love to see you there! Have a great week! xx

Ok so I'm back! I'd thought I'd like to have a go at Illustration Friday this week. The topic this week is 'women'. So here are some women! I've often been asked why all my girls in my usual artwork look the same, well I thought here's my chance to have a collection of all sorts, both young and older. It's probably one the one strangest illustrations I've ever done so I'm not sure yet whether to make this into prints for sale. What do you think? 😊 Hope you have a great week! Jess xx 

Thankyou you SO MUCH if you're reading this because it means you've popped over to see what I'm up to.xx I'm very sorry that I've not been here blogging as much as I'd like to, it seems that a lot of people are abandoning their blogs and spending more time on Instagram these days. I'm afraid I too am one of those 'guilty' of this! As a very visually oriented person I know the appeal of posting on Instagram. I believe it began as a photography site and for people like me who would rather look at pictures than text, it's the ideal place to catch up on what others are doing. So after a lot of thinking, I've decided to use Instagram as my main blog, so if you'd like to see what I'm up to then do please come over there and say hello. I'd be so happy to see you there! Social media is always changing and maybe I'll come back to Blogger again but for now I'm going to be at https://www.instagram.com/jessiespainting/ Hop...

We've had a lovely holiday in my favourite place, Cornwall. While we were staying there this time, I wanted to visit the Eden Project, I've never been before. The biodomes were far bigger than I imagined. Their natural forms fit beautifully into the landscape. This Peruvian wall painting intrigued me. It was inside the rain forest dome along with the words below. Make of that what you will. I liked the pattern inside this tree trunk, nature knows how to make the best shapes doesn't it? I loved the beautiful yellow prairie plants. What lovely shapes they make against the dark interior of the hut. ♥ ♥ ♥ Right across from the other side of the Eden Project landscape I could see a giant steel man sculpture. He represents 'Adam'. Apparently ' Eve ' was there too but I didn't notice her. I'll have to go again and see all the things I missed the first time! We stayed in St Ives which you'd never guess from looking...