Notes and Updates from the Studio

Hello lovely people,

I’ve been in a bit of a painting frenzy this month!

I realised that I had become more and more inhibited, and had stopped actually making art, so I reread the book Art and Fear* by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

If you haven’t read it, I recommend giving it a go.

This is a quote from the book:

“Talent is rarely distinguishable, over the long run, from perseverance and lots of hard work”

And another quote:

“What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears, continue; those who don’t, quit”

There is a lot of encouragement in the book to stop worrying about whether your art is ‘good’, and to keep making art no matter what.

I realised after reading this book that I was afraid of drawing! I knew that I had been afraid of drawing in the past (after a very measurements-focused life drawing class that put me off for years), but I thought I’d got over my fear by embracing blind contour drawing.

But, I realised that I still had some fear around attempting to draw and paint representationally. So, feeling buoyed by the book, I took out some bird identification books and had a go.

Long Eared Owl

Rose Finch

It was such a good feeling to overcome something that I had been avoiding.

I realised that I’d also been afraid of getting my paints out recently. What is so scary? It’s only paint! I decided to get my paints out and just play, enjoying the feeling of pushing paint around.

I realised how much I missed it. I absolutely love painting! It’s such a joyful process and I’m glad I have been reminded of why I became an artist in the first place.

I’m really enjoying this book; Artic Sketchbooks by Barbara Rae*

I love the very loose watercolour sketches and Barbara’s stunning use of colour.

I decided to do a study based on one of the images from the book.

I used watercolour, and it was fun trying to colour-match the original image. I absolutely love this colour palette.

I have been trying not to buy new art materials recently, and use what I already have. When my grandmother passed away, her studio had paint tubes that were all dried up, which made me so sad. I hate the idea of hoarding art materials and being too precious about them and them going to waste over time. I decided to challenge myself to use up all my art materials!

I realised that I have a lot of materials that I haven’t used much, or haven’t used for a while. So I decided to get to know all my materials better by swatching them.

It’s been a good way to become better acquainted with my materials and remind myself of what I have in my stash. I’m also trying to fill up all my sketchbooks that I have started but not finished!

I’ve also been enjoying the Flower Colour Guide by Phaidon*

I love that the photos look like scientific illustrations, they have a white background which makes it very easy to see the shapes. It’s great for doing studies from:

I did these in watercolour with coloured pencil over the top.

In other news, I have been hosting livestreams on my YouTube channel where I work in my sketchbook live, and chat to people who log in. You can watch them on catchup, or if you subscribe to my channel you will see when I announce the next live date:

These are the other latest YouTube videos you may have missed:

Well that’s a lot of news for one email so I’ll sign off now.

I hope you are doing well!

Rose x

* I am part of the Amazon Affiliate programme and may earn a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of my links, at no extra cost to you.