Jessie Lilac Blog

 Most mornings when I have time I like to fill a page of my sketchbook with colour. It's become more of an art journal than a sketchbook because I'm making intuitive images, shapes and colours that come from somewhere that I'm not entirely conscious of when I'm in the process. For instance, if I feel like I need to see lime green and pink then I make a drawing using it. I sometime have an idea of making a random background and then layering on top to define areas, like with these leaves above. I then add some more detail to it with pens. Souffle pens are great for drawing over a dark area. The pigment turns out a lot lighter when it dries. And then some days I sit back and look at what I've drawn and I wonder, "Why fish?" Maybe it's the influence of the sea! I've made a short little video of some of my time in early May. I hope you enjoy.xx PLEASE CLICK HERE TO WATCH

Here's this week's painting for Illustration Friday .  The word is ' Pink .' I used my pink Poscas on top of a watercolour background. Have a great weekend! xx

Here's my submission for this week's Illustration Friday . The word prompt is 'Crown'. I did this with my Posca pens on an acrylic background. Lions aren't something I've drawn very often so this was a little bit out of my comfort zone to begin with but the flowers were fun. Have a great week Jess xx

I often find my art influenced by the sea which might not be surprising as I live near the coast in Devon but since I can remember I've always loved stories about mermaids and selkies. I saw the film Miranda  starring Glynis Johns when I was very tiny and the memory of it has always remained with me. When I'm near a rocky coastline I always imagine what it must be like to live nestled in a rock pool and to escape into the secret underwater world just like Glynis Johns! Does anyone remember Aqua Marina from the children's TV series  Stingray ? I have a very faded memory of her but I do remember that for me it was the best part of the show. I've just looked it up on Youtube and it's nothing like how I remember but something about it must have stayed with me even at that very young age. Anyway, years later I watched film 1984 film  Splash with Daryl Hannah as the mermaid. I loved how she had to learn about living in the human world and learnt how to...

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...