The first month of 2024 has been and gone and it’s been such a fantastic month from welcoming new Ignite members to a new tutorial and there has been lots of planning for the next Great British Art Party that’s making me incredibly excited! So let me catch you up…

Great British Art Party

The next Great British Art Party is only 6 weeks away and I am so beyond excited! My team and I have had so many meetings to get everything ready including sorting out the goodie bags, trying to pick an image for us to draw, and looking at florists. I have listened to the feedback from last time, so I’ve increased the drawing time to 4 hours, followed by afternoon tea and a Q&A like last time, which is going to be fantastic! The hotel is up in Edinburgh and it’s so beautiful. Lucy and I are going up to visit at the beginning of February to take lots of photos for the audio visual guys to ensure we can get the best set up of screens and speakers and things and then of course try out the afternoon tea! I know it’s a hard job but someone has to do it!

I’m so excited to be in a room full of such amazing like minded people again and be able to give huge hugs to everyone, do lots of chatting, laughing, and drink so many cups of tea!

New Ignite Members

At the beginning of January I opened the doors to the Ignite Membership and we welcomed so many wonderful new members! I always love getting to meet new people and see more people starting their creative journey. Creativity can have such a positive impact on your life, it completely changed mine, and I’m so happy for all the people who have taken the steps to start being more creative and are learning to draw with coloured pencils. I’m so proud of the Ignite community, it really is just the most wonderful and supportive community and it’s been so lovely to see all the members welcoming everyone with open arms, answering questions and offering guidance.

Drawings

I have created a new tutorial this month and I can’t wait to start seeing some of the finished pieces from my members. I went for something a little different to our usual fur with a nice and vibrant rooster and I have to say I loved drawing him! I have also completed my first commission of the year which was a lovely tabby cat and finally finished off a drawing of my crazy Maine Coon, Mirium which you can find photos of on my Instagram.

What’s Coming Up

I’ve got a new freebie that’s going to be available at the beginning of next month, which I’m very excited to share. It’s going to be a really useful PDF for so many people. We also have the next Ignite Members’ Exhibition in February that Amy has been working hard on this month and I have to say, I’ve had a sneaky look and the artwork displayed in there is just incredible, so definitely keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks for that!

January has been such an amazing start to the year and if you can’t tell I’m very excited about this year and all the things we have planned. If you want to be kept up to date, make sure you’re signed up to my newsletter, and if you’re interested in joining the Ignite Membership when it next opens its doors, make sure you’re on the waitlist.