Well, October came to a slightly chaotic end this week, as a missed delivery led to an unexpected string of events that resulted in me whisking three out of four of my naughty dogs to the vets! Would you believe it, I left the house for twenty minutes to pick up a parcel and, by the time I’d come back, another parcel containing chocolate had come through the door and my naughty, naughty dogs had gobbled up the lot! The problem was, I didn’t know which dog was the main culprit, so it was off to the vets with the lot of them! 

Luckily they’re all fine, just feeling slightly sorry for themselves now! Even more luckily, the rest of my month has gone much smoother (with the exception of my new puppy chewing through my WiFi cable and leaving me with no internet for an afternoon!).

One Day Workshop 

I ran a special coloured pencil workshop last weekend, where I taught a fabulous group of artists how to draw a really dramatic human eye. I always love running these workshops, they’re so much fun, but, I have to say, I think this one was my favourite one yet! The results are absolutely phenomenal! I was so blown away when I saw everyone’s drawings at the end of the day. I actually got quite emotional! 

It always amazes me how much you can get done in a relatively short space of time. It’s not always easy following someone’s instructions, especially when they’re giving them live and there’s no rewind button! But everyone did such a fantastic job! 

I’ll be announcing my next One Day Workshop in my Weekly Newsletter next week and on my social channels and, next time, we’re going to be drawing white fur on a white surface. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in learning, make sure you keep an eye out for my emails! 

The Jolly Robin Tutorial

This week, I’ve brought out a special new Christmas tutorial, which shows you how to easily draw a realistic robin in coloured pencil, as well as giving you all the information you need to turn your drawing into a card for the holidays!

It’s a really sweet little drawing and quite a quick one to do. As always, it’s suitable for artists of all skill sets, from complete beginners to more experienced artists, and I take you through every step of the drawing. 

Now, I know it may still seem a little early to be mentioning Christmas, but I wanted to make sure that everyone had plenty of time to get their drawing done, get their prints uploaded and start sending out their Christmas cards! So, if you want to spread a little magic over the holidays and send out a card that your friends and family will simply love, you can buy this special tutorial here.

I Won an Award! 

Now, this was nearly as big of a surprise to me as my dogs eating that chocolate! On a whim, I recently entered my drawing of a Great Dane into the International Guild of Realism 2022 Fall Salon Online Exhibition and would you believe it, I won the award in the Animal and Wildlife category! 

Usually, I don’t enter my work into competitions, so it’s a little out of the blue for me, but I’m pleased I did this time. It certainly is a feather in my cap and something to feel proud of! 

Also, I have to mention the fabulous Helen Carter, who I interviewed for a recent episode of my It’s A Bonny Old Life podcast. Helen won an award in the Floral category, so a very well done to her! 

My Book Turned One!  

This certainly has crept up on me! My book, Realistic Animals in Coloured Pencil, is now one year old! I’m very pleased to say it’s still selling well and helping people around the world learn how to draw. 

It’s mad to look back on and think about when I was working on this book. It all started in the middle of lockdown. What a strange time to bring a book out! I’ll admit, there were a few teething problems, but after the book went on to be reprinted, all of the creases were ironed out! 

If you’d like to find out more about the book, you can find it here.

A Month of New Beginnings

October certainly has been a month for new things! My new studio garden is just (fingers crossed) days away from being finished. It’s looking absolutely marvellous! You wouldn’t believe how quickly it went up. I’d be sitting in my kitchen looking out one minute and the builders were just finishing off the framework and, the next thing I knew, the roof was on and the windows were in! I can’t wait to see it once it’s all painted and I’ve got the furniture in. 

I’ve also had the exciting job of looking for a new assistant! Because the Academy is growing, I felt it was time to bring someone new onto the team, so Lucy and I spent a couple of weeks interviewing people, before finally finding someone that we think is going to be perfect for the job! Both of us are so looking forward to getting to work with her. We think she’s going to be a great addition to the team. Let’s just hope she can handle my naughty dogs! 

And, last but not least, I have a new puppy! My family welcomed the a-DORA-ble Dora into our house at the beginning of the month, and she’s been running circles around us ever since! She’s fitting in quite nicely so far. Slipper and Vinnie have taken a bit of winning over, but Nelly is absolutely besotted with her! 

She’s still busy learning the lay of the land, but she seems to be settling in well. She’s been joining me in my team meetings, which everyone seems thrilled about, and she’s sleeping through my live sessions, which is perfect! 

So, as busy months go, I think October’s been pretty busy! Honestly, time is just whizzing by. It’ll be 2023 before we know it!