I recently discovered the Room Portrait Club and have joined in with some of the challenges.

Room Portrait Club is a supportive, instagram community where artists complete a weekly portrait challenge using their chosen medium. A new image is posted each Saturday and artists from all over the world share their take on the room's portrait. 

What I love seeing is the variety of media! There is painting, of course, and sketching, but also collage, printmaking, assemblage and embroidery. It's really inspiring. Some portraits are realistic, whilst others are graphic and some artists choose to reinterpret or just depict a section of the photo.
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Here's my room portrait from a few weeks ago. A gorgeous little shepherd's hut interior, complete with William Morris wallpaper!

I've been working on improving my perspective sketching and this image certainly challenged me.
​The image for the following week didn't inspire me as much, but I loved seeing the work of the other artists.

I LOVE this week's image, because of the colours. I didn't manage to squeeze it in before the deadline, but you can see my version below.

Be sure to check out #roomportraitclub on instagram.

If you are interested in joining in but don't know where to start, check out my online class where we paint a living room portrait with gouache and watercolour for our project.

I wanted to share a valuable tip with you about using gouache. White is magic! 
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1. You can use white to add in highlights. If you come from a watercolour background, this will be new to you. It really helps to add that finishing touch to the painting.
2. But did you know that mixing just a little white with your colour will up the opacity without changing the colour? It's like magic. The chalk in the white paint helps to cover layers below much much better. Perfect when you've made a boo-boo or had a change of mind.
3. Not only that, but the addition of a little white, reflects light better, making your bright colours more luminous. Initially I found that using an opera or bengal pink (like that pictured above) just wouldn't look as nice and bright on the page. A little white does the trick!

When I started teaching my first class, I didn't know these tips, but wanted to share them with you. If you are keen to learn more about wonderful gouache and ways to combine it with watercolour, I hope you'll check out my class. 

Happy New Year!
Workshop dates for the first part of 2021 are now open for bookings.

With everything being so uncertain with Covid-19 and restrictions, my last class took place in March 2019.

I now have class dates schedules from February to March 2021 covering watercolour journalling, colour mixing, beach themes and boho florals. 
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​Check out the classes page for more details and dates.

​Hope to see you soon!

Hey everyone! Have you been daydreaming about holidays you can't go on? Has facebook been taunting you with pictures of overseas adventures you were living this time last year? 
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​I'm SO EXCITED to tell you my 4TH CLASS is now live! In Portfolio Builder: Flatlay Fun I break down the steps to create a flatlay illustration inspired by your fave ADVENTURE. It can be an adventure you plan to go on, once the borders are open and we can travel again, or a holiday you took last year. Drawing little icons is heaps on fun!

• You'll learn practical composition techniques to plan a SWEET looking illustration.
• You'll get FOUR cool ways to create an on-trend colourscheme; and
• You'll have heaps of fun fantasising about far off lands and making little icons of all the cool stuff you'd pack!

I take you through step by step, so it's a relaxing process. Grab your favourite art supplies and I'll see you in class!

I have just published my third Skillshare class: Bite-sized Botanicals - Heritage Carrots!
It's short, project based class. Watch it in under 30 minutes. Paint along, or complete the project in your lunch break or after dinner!!

​The perfect something to do during these times of isolation and endless at-home-ness.

Watch the preview here:

I hope you are getting a chance to do something creative and feed your mental health. x