Watercolour Orchids...

Now I'm not much of a flower person, but I have to admit, I do have a soft spot for orchids. They just have this exquisite elegant quality and just seem to be the most sophisticated plant in existence. So today, I spotted this beauty in IKEA and couldn't resist picking it up to take home and look after it.

Then in true Georgia O'Keeffe style I decided to draw/paint these wonderful flowers in close up. 

I did a few sketches with coloured pencils but wanted to try out a material that would give more impact so I opted for watercolour paints (my pallet is a bit of a mess...oops)

I wanted to get a faded effect and this is how I did it: 

Step1: I loaded my paintbrush with watercolour paint and made the initial outline.

Step 2: I then dipped my brush in water and dragged the brush outwards from the initial line.

Step 3: Finally I cleaned my brush of all paint and wet it, and dragged the pigment outwards until it nearly dissapeared.

And using the above technique here is the finished product. I feel that watercolour paint does justice to the delicate flowing quality of the orchid. Just shows how important the perfect material is.

Finally I'd like to apoligise for not posting very often recently-y'know exam season and all. However, summer is approaching which means tons more free time so I'm going to try and make one post a week. Thanks for having a nosy at my artwork.

Until next time...

Emma x

The Chapel in the Woods...

Oh how I hate artist's block! Let's admit it, it happens to all of us. Along with studying for my exams, it is the reason why I haven't posted in over a month (ouch!). But fear not my dear friends. I have a lot of very exciting things to show you!

All it took was an afternoon stroll in the beautiful Jesmond Dene to fill me with wonder and inspiration. Now for the eagle eyed among you, you'll realise that this post does not contain any of my own artwork (sorry about that) however, these pictures are jam packed with inspiration- something we all need more of from time to time.

Finally, I apoligise in advance for the quality of the pictures but as our walk was rather unexpected I wasn't carrying my camera. Instead, I went for te next best thing and used my mobile phone.

Let's get started...

Deep in the woods we uncovered this absolute gem! An old derelict chapel with gorgeous shrines tucked away in every nook and cranny; each one collections of perfect little statuettes and fascinating objects...

There is something very sacred and special about these pockets of remembrance on Easter weekend...

 You may also notice that I've put a film grain effect on these photos. I felt that they needed it in order to capture the incredible atmosphere of the chapel. It really is such a special place...

 So as I said this post contains none of my own artwork- actually I guess you could consider the photography artwork...anyway I just thought it would be nice to do a post solely based on inspiration. I just wanted to make a collection of interesting things to look at and get your creative cogs turning. Hope you enjoyed my photographs 

Until next time...

Emma x

Hair!

Hi everyone! 

So I've had this beautiful new set of fine-liner pens sitting on my shelf for some time now and I've been absolutely itching to use them. I decided to Google 'fine-liner art' for some inspiration and found these gorgeous hair pictures made up of separate spaced out lines. I had to have go...

In true Emma style, I felt like a had to take some photos of my own before putting pen to paper. I plaited my sister's hair and took a snap or two.

This is the initial line drawing before I added felt tip pen lines and pencil

For this next one I wanted to draw the back of a full head of hair

These last two were just little doodles

So there you go! Sorry it's not a very long post; i just wanted to do a little bit of drawing with my wonderful fine-liner set (in my opinion, one of the essential tools for any avid doodler).

Until next time...

Emma x

5 Reasons to Love Oil Pastels...

Sorry I haven't put up a post recently; I've been very busy. I haven't had my sketchbook out in a while so it was nice just to have a little play. My chosen material this time was of course (drum roll) Oil Pastel!

This very bright array of pastels are Farrel and Gold and I bought them really cheaply from the best place to buy art supplies: The Works.

So without further ado, here are the 5 reasons why I LOVE oil pastels.

1. Improving existing artwork

I did these pen drawings of faces a while ago and felt like they needed a bit of pizzazz. So, I went in with oil pastels and transformed them. It just shows that any failed artwork can be saved with a bit of imagination. 

2. Colour intensity

..need I say any more?

3.Blending colours

I love using different colours and shades and just mixing them together to create rich thick tones. I've used at least 5 different pastels in the picture on the right.

4. With watercolour

How fab does this effect look? The paint just runs off the pastel marks and creates this amazing blending effect. That's the beauty of wax resist.

5. Ease of use

It took me about 20 minutes to cover 2 pages in my sketchbook with a colour explosion. As a finishing touch, I cut these flowers out of a magazine and stuck them on top (as you've probably noticed, a favourite technique of mine). 

So, I hope this post has inspired you to have a play with oil pastels or maybe spice up some of your artwork.

Until next time...

Emma x

Flower Girl Illustration...

Hey everyone! So recently I've been looking at a lot of fashion illustration as it is (in my opinion) a really beautiful form of art. I've been inspired to have a go myself so I've got back into practicing faces.
Also, it seems that I have a slight obsession with flowers at the moment too. All of the clothes that I've purchased recently have been covered floral print. I guess I'm just subconsciously wishing for spring to arrive...

Anyway, bearing all that in mind, I stuck a flower headband on my sister and took some photos for a spot of illustration. These have been edited using Picasa. I based my final illustration on the photo on the right.

 Then I started sketching...

I wanted to experiment with a few different materials in this piece: drawing pencil, coloured pencil, watercolour and fine liner pen. The flower head band didn't turn out as I wanted initially so I came up with a different plan...

I took these photos a couple of summers ago in my Grandma's garden. my cunning plan was to print a few off and do a bit of collage-ing.

 Generally my rule in any sketchbook or on any piece of work is: If you do something you don't like, there will be a way to cover it up. Just a little bit of creativity and imagination can save any piece of artwork.

Here's the finished piece! I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. I love how the different materials add contrast and the flower collage really stands out. A big thanks goes to my lovely little sister. 

Until next time...

Emma x