woyww - blooms and bush

Participated in my first Zoom online workshop with Alina Koo and painted a pretty rose.  Trying to loosen up and let the watercolour flow.

Currently working on a commission and have been asked to paint a Golden Wattle.  

Taking my time and will post a photo once completed.

Last week had me wandering the countryside and social distancing was very easy.

Seriously thinking of signing up for a watercolour landscape workshop once the restrictions lift.

Another photo of the township of Bunyan, NSW, sadly they are still in drought.

Final photo

of the slipper orchid which blooms without fail and makes me smile every year.  

Have a creative WOYWW week.

woyww - nature battle

Participating in nature journaling week allowed me to document my battle with the cabbage moth/butterfly.  Keen gardeners would know that it happily lays eggs on the whole Brassica genus and then little caterpillars devour the lot.  Novice gardeners like me start out admiring the white butterfly in the garden to now staging a full on battle.  

In quieter moments I have been painting another sea urchin,

which is starting to look like a yummy donut from this perspective.

Finally, 

a sunset photo taken by my son while camping at Mungo Brush (North Coast, NSW)  over the weekend.

woyww - nature journaling and distractions

The intention was to join in on a week of nature journaling starting on the 1st of June.  

Completed a dandelion as I cannot get enough of these little fuzz balls and they are all over the garden.

Then I was distracted by making a small journal (or 2) for my w/c painting.  In the blink of an eye it's the 3rd of June and Wednesday's are for WOYWW and I completely forgot all

about nature journaling.

With restrictions easing daily I plan to venture out tomorrow and play catch up with 

the nature journaling.  

Have a safe and creative week.  

woyww - foraging along the coast line

A walk along the coastline after a storm can reveal some lovely remains from the sea.  Sea urchins can be a pest and quite nasty if you tread on them when they have quills. 

But, once they are washed up on the beach there is a bright side.  The quills can be crushed

 to produce a pink or purple pigment.

So I couldn't wait to crush the quills and mull the pigment  powder with binder.  

The result was a dusty pink. 

Then of course I had to paint a sea urchin.   I also added small amounts 

of a normal violet watercolour to give the image some depth.   

Quite pleased with how this little painting turned out.

Now of course I am searching the internet to see if I can find different quills

 in the hope of adding purple to my handmade watercolour palette.

Hope your week has been safe, interesting and most of all creative.

woyww -7 UFO's sighted on the 20th 2020

Far too many UFO's sighted in this makers drawers, cupboards and seven made it to my desk.  In keeping with the woyww anniversary spirit I will walk you around the desk.  Top LH corner has the usual cup of tea and bottle of water next to the packet of Gum arabic.  It was a must have purchase and is still  unopened and unprocessed into a binder for mulling watercolours.  The little rocks are from rubble dumped on a pathway.  I think they may be crushed clay water pipes.  Hopefully I will get around to crushing them further to reveal a pale apricot ochre.

Then we have an Australian hand cream (original fig scent).  COVID 19 has taught me to support local producers that don't rely on international shipping.  Baby wipes have always been part of my desk arrangement and they are sitting on the repurposed w/c journal which is the second UFO.  The original mixed media journal was made in 2012 and I have spent years trying to make the pages fit my style.  Thanks to the nudge  from WOYWW I tore the pages out and made my own journal using quality w/c paper.  Third UFO is a pile of books I started reading and have stopped mid way. 4 hardcopies and about 4 on the kindle.

  Note to self - do not purchase further books until these are read LOL.

Moving to the bottom RH corner you will find a cross stitch started sometime in the 90's and possibly put on hold due to having children, working full time and a good dose of "couldn't be bothered".  But the anniversary has encouraged me to sort out the threads which is a start.    

No idea why the w/c swatches are sitting on the cross stitch..... I think they need a new home and so get dumped around the desk. Finally 2 LO's completed for the dear children's albums.  DD's graduation 3 years ago and DS first day at preschool approximately 22 years ago.  Now I would never of remembered that I still had to complete these pages if I was not rummaging around the cupboard.  Also sorted out years of photos and have a small pile somewhere on the desk to be scrapbooked.  

Finally,

I did also manage to paint a bunny for DD's friend due to have a baby shortly.  Ideas straight from pinterest/instagram etc. as I struggle to come up with anything original when it is needed in 48 hours.   I did freestyle the flowers so hopefully won't be sued.  

Last photo (I promise) of a lovely spider web catching the morning dew with our camellia bush in the background.  The spider has lived in this spot for years and when I last saw her I thought she had put on weight so we have a lot in common.

Happy anniversary to all the lovely woyww's who have participated in 11 years of internet chat.

  Thank you Julia for keeping us all

connected, inspired and encouraging UFO's to emerge during lockdown.

Keep safe everyone and happy 11th WOYWW.

woyww - leaves and a seed pod

A display of leaves, Banksia flower head and seed pod from my morning walk.

On the desk a photo of the completed eucalyptus leaves taken in the fading light.  

Final photo is an amazingly bright yellow fungi that has come up through the bark chips. It screams look but don't touch. 

Hope your Wednesday has been creative as we stay home and stay safe. 

woyww - painting again

Painting silver dollar eucalyptus leaves after a little break.  

Maybe it was the Covid-19 overload that led to a complete lack of motivation to embark on anything that required time or concentration?  

Making a few cards with 

little pressure seems to have pushed me on. 

Quick and easy in watercolour. 

A little bit of rain and cooler weather has brought out the 

fungi and mushrooms in the park.  

Kitty would not participate in any mockups this week as she was clocking up serious nap time.

But, it reminds me of a painting by William Gresham Collingwood, and I did take the photo 

from my study.

Wishing all of woyww a safe week full of craft and art.`