Ryan In England

"Ryan In England"

Watercolours and acrylics on watercolour paper, 2010.

Artist's Comments-

This is a painting of a recent acquaintance. Ryan was travelling around Europe during the summer with an American friend of mine. When he was over at my house I showed him my art work. It had been a few months since I'd done any artwork and he was insisting that I get back into it before I lost the habit. After much pestering I agreed to do a painting and he agreed to be the subject. So I asked him for a photo of himself that he was happy with for me to work from. I feel quite happy with the end result. I'm starting to get braver with colour, especially with skin tones. It's such a shame that my photograph of this painting doesn't capture all the subtleties and details I put into it.

Horchata Sunrise Sketchbook - Page 3

"Horchata Sunrise Sketchbook - Page 3"

Watercolours on paper, 2010.

Artist's Comments-
When I turned 21 my friend Frances gave me a jar filled with small goodies. These included two origami paper rabbits. When I started sending pen pal letters out in early 2008 I decided to separate the rabbits. I kept one rabbit for myself, and sent one rabbit to the USA to my then good friend Jeremy (who I am now married to). It was meant to symbolise that they shared a connection that would never end. I have wanted to do a painting about these origami rabbits for a while now. So I was happy to do a painting of it. I also included the image of the stationery paper I used to send letters.

Horchata Sunrise Sketchbook - Page 2

"Horchata Sunrise Sketchbook - Page 2"

Watercolours on paper, 2010.

Artist's Comments-
This page is inspired by Frida Kahlo's 'What I Saw In The Water'. It's actually based on an older sketch from my black sketchbook from the previous year (below). I drew it whilst I was back in England, between trips to the USA. I spent a lot of time taking baths and thinking about returning there, counting down the days. I just wanted to get back on a plane and escape the English winter. The image of the bathwater serves as the Atlantic Ocean dividing the UK and USA whilst the bath steam serves as clouds. I'd already booked my flight with British Airways and I was due to land in LAX so I added those images into the piece.


"Black Sketchbook - Bathtub"

Pencils on paper, 2009.

Horchata Sunrise Sketchbook - Page 1

"Horchata Sunrise Sketchbook - Page 1"

Colour pencils on paper, 2010.

Artist's Comments-
This page of my sketchbook is based around Patrick Wolf's song 'Wind In The Wires' from the album of the same name. This particular song reminds me of some phone lines near my local train station which has sneakers hanging from it. So I chose that image for this piece, intermixed with the song's lyrics. The imagery does correspond with the lyrics in some places, but mostly this draws from my own imagination. I recommend the 'Wind In The Wires' album to anyone. It's great for train journeys through the countryside.

Horchata Sunrise Sketchbook - Cover

"Horchata Sunrise Sketchbook - Cover"

Acrylics on card, 2010.

Artist's Comments-
I wanted to start a new sketchbook for a while. Most of my recent sketchbooks have been done in graphite pencil. Which has meant they've all looked very greyscale. This latest sketchbook was created with the intent of using colour. I wanted it to be bold and bright. I spent a short while thinking about what I wanted to go on the cover. I settled on the title "HORCHATA SUNRISE". Which is now also the title of this blogspot page. I chose that name because it encompasses something bright and hopeful. The subtitle of this sketchbook is "I'll bring the horchata, you bring the sun."
P.S. If you've never had horchata before you really should.

Dorm Kiss

"Dorm Kiss"

Watercolours on acrylic paper, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
I had to do one painting based around me and my husband kissing. I chose to based it on a photograph taken in the dorms of Cal State San Bernardino. I enjoyed experimenting with the paint on this to create a somewhat realistic human skin.

Black Sketchbook - My Landscape

"Black Sketchbook - My Landscape"

Pencils on paper, 2010.

Artist's Comments-
I plan to create this in paint one day. Or at least something similar to it. I have a few ideas of images I'd like to add to it. This piece is a landscape made up of objects and memories from my life. The images include: paperchains and fairy lights (from my first Christmas away from home), a double heart (from my 'Frida Kahlo Tribute' painting), the front door from my old house in Coventry, a plane from my 'Bathtub' sketch, the San Bernardino mountains, a gingerbread man and a Lofthouse Soft Cookie (both of which I love), myself and Jeremy holding hands on our wedding day, our current house, our claddagh rings, an oragami rabbit, a quote book with a turtle on the front (a gift), seagulls from my 'Seagulls' drawing, Lake Arrowhead, a letter from my 'Par Avion' drawing, a Celtic necklace, two webcams, intertwined hands (from my 'Claddagh' painting), a cherry bakewell and a graduation sash.

A Pint At The Black Swan

"A Pint At The Black Swan"

Watercolours on acrylic paper, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
During summer 2009 my then-fiance, Jeremy and I took a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon in England. It was a beautiful day and we had an amazing time. There are two pubs there with similar names; the White Swan and the Black Swan (aka The Dirty Duck). We went to the Black Swan and had a few drinks in the beer garden before having a great meal indoors. This painting is based on a photograph of Jeremy drinking in the beer garden. Of all my paintings so far I think this one best captures the likeness of a person. I'm learning a few tricks now. Below is a close-up of Jeremy's face.

The Pacific

"The Pacific"

Watercolours on acrylic paper, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
This is based on a photograph taken on a beach in Los Angeles in early 2009. My own likeness in this piece is more kinder than in my previous painting "Cal State". Although Jeremy's likeness was better in that painting. This is our default pose when taking photographs together. I've recreated this trip to the Pacific in art pieces now. It's a testament to how much of an emotional event it was.

Cal State

"Cal State"

Watercolours on acrylic paper, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
This painting is based on a photograph taken during winter 2008. It was taken on the campus of California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB). I had just arrived in the States and was feeling jet-lagged and had a cold. So I looked quite bleary eyed, tired and pale. I tried to follow the photograph as much as possible, but my own likeness is a little off. I used elements of the same photograph for a much earlier drawing in my black sketchbook. The drawing includes the images of the San Bernardino mountains, a graduation sash and two origami paper rabbits (below).

"Black Sketchbook - Mountains"

Pencils on paper, 2009.

I <3 California

"I Heart California"

Watercolours on acrylic board, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
I painted this during the autumn of 2009. My then-fiance had to return to the USA to complete his final quarter of university. I was really missing him and really wished I could have gone with him back to California. I was alone in England for over 3 months and entered into a really arty period. After losing interest in acrylic paints and began experimenting with watercolour pencils and watercolour paints. And this was one of the first things I painted. The background is based on a photograph I took of the ghost town Calico, whilst the image of myself is taken from a mix of several photographs. The image on the t-shirt is the California flag.

Jeremy's Eye

"Jeremy's Eye"

Acrylics on acrylic board, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
This was the last acrylic painting I've completed. Since then I've moved on to other media. I find acrylic very restricting, however I am quite happy with this piece. This image is based on a photograph of my husband's eye in light and shadow.

Black Sketchbook Extracts

"Black Sketchbook - Air Mail"

Pencils on paper, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
In early 2008 I became quite interested in letter writing and sending parcels. I began sending letters to old friends and new. E-mail is convenient, but there really is no feeling like getting a personalised letter that someone has worked hard on. I sent and received postcards, cards, sweets, books, clothing, doodles, drawings etc... Par Avion means air mail. One of the destinations I had to send to by air mail was the USA, which was where my then-friend and current husband was living. I wanted to create a piece based around this hobby which was bringing me pleasure. The image of the envelope with wings seemed an obvious one for air mail. Originally I created the image in paint washes and wax resist, which I won't be uploading here. Over a year later I drew the same design again in my black sketchbook, which I was happier with.


"Black Sketchbook - Seagulls"

Pencils on paper, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
This sketch is based on a photograph of my husband's mother chasing seagulls along a beach in Los Angeles. I chose to draw this because it was a beautiful, but sad day for me. It was also the first time I ever saw the Pacific Ocean.


"Black Sketchbook - Pacific Coast"

Pencils on paper, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
This sketch is based on a photograph taken on the same day as the one which "Seagulls" is based on. This was one of the last photographs taken of me and my then-fiance before I had to board a plane for England alone.

Frida Kahlo Tribute

"Frida Kahlo Tribute"

Acrylics on acrylic board, 2009.

Artist's Comments-
I've always been a big fan of Frida Kahlo's art work (Who isn't?). So I did this piece as a tribute to her art work. I've always been afraid to use bright colours, so it was fun to employ her bright solid colours. Hearts and veins are recurring images in Frida's art so using them was obvious. This piece shows myself and my then-fiance connected via a double heart. The image of the double heart is one I've been using for several years since I discovered it as an illustration in a magazine. I actually started painting this whilst still living at one house before finishing it after moving to another house. For a long while this painting existed as a sketch in my my black sketchbook (below).

"Black Sketchbook - Frida Kahlo Tribute"

Pencils on paper, 2009.

Claddagh

"Claddagh"

Acrylics on acrylic board, 2008.

Artist's Comments-
This piece is based around a claddagh ring, a traditional Irish ring given as a token of love or worn as a wedding ring. The heart represents love, the hands respresents friendship and the crown represents loyalty. I painted this around the same time me and my then-boyfriend were discussing getting married. I also did a sketch before this painting and also another sketching done after this painting to reflect the actual design of my own claddagh ring (below).

"Claddagh (Sketch)"

Pencils on paper, 2008.

"Black Sketchbook - Claddagh"

Pencils on paper, 2009.