Dartmoor Adventures, Pinterest Addiction & Changes.

As I've mentioned recently, I've been stuck in a huge art block and nothing has really helped over the past few weeks, if anything it's actually gotten worse!

So when I was offered the chance to go out to one of my most favourite places I jumped at the chance!

I first went to Dartmoor when I was 14 and I was blown away by the utter beauty of the place. It was truly magical for me. From the stunning views, the grazing animals, vibrant wildlife to the myths and legends that surround the moor, every part of it had me hooked. I quite happily walk for miles across the moorland taking in the beauty and fresh air. 

So going on an adventure here for the day was like Christmas come early!

It was as always, beautiful, can I use beautiful any more than I have without sounding completely insane? :P 

And not forgetting the lambs that surrounded you at times whilst playing or trying to find the best bit of grass. I even got to see a pony I've known for 13 years which is always nice as I can see her still being cheeky and friendly, she even had a foal this year.

If it wasn't obvious, the little day out filled me with a lot of excitement and was inspiring. I got to clear my head with the fresh air and got inspired by the beauty of nature. The wild nature that thrives on the moorland. So I'm now itching to get the paints out and have some fun!

I've come to the conclusion this week that using Pinterest properly might not have been a great idea for me... I'm now completely addicted to it and understanding why so many people procrastinate so much on there! I should have pinned a lot of my own work by now but instead I find myself looking up pictures and making new boards for inspiration. Now I know that's not exactly a bad thing. Inspiration is the basis of my work but oh it's so distracting! I feel like I'm gonna have to give myself a cut off time whilst using it! But as I said, I am very addicted and I love it... It's also lots of fun to follow other artists and see their own boards of inspiration. Yes, excited again... ;)

I think I'm slowly getting the hang of social networking... slowly! I knew before starting out that a lot of my job would involve the internet and stuff so it doesn't surprise me. I like learning new things after all and this is turning in to something I'm really enjoying rather than dreading loads!

Gosh I sound so old!!

So art wise, I'm slowly getting out of the block, business wise I'm starting to take back control and am throwing everything I've got at it and personal wise... well gosh my little life is going through so many changes right now!

I'll admit that the last few weeks have been very stressful for me and I haven't really stopped thinking about what's happening and possibilities and worries and now that June has arrived... it's suddenly all become so very real. I'm both scared and terribly excited! I feel like this month is going to be a whole lot of non stop crazy!

But change is good, gosh I should know that with the amount of constant changes I've created for myself over the last few years and this time I'm not doing things on my own. This is actually a joint thing with my partner so there's always that.

But oh gosh! Everything's happening at once just like it always does! :P

Now I'm off to spend the afternoon surrounding myself with paint and researching some tasty veggie nacho recipes! Bring on the fun!

Have a great day!

Manic May!

Oh May, you really have been a manic and crazy month!

May was filled with me not knowing whether I was coming or going, feeling like I had no control over anything (seriously, from my work, personal life, future and even my own emotions/sanity!) and it was... difficult. The thing I like to remind myself of at these times is that I have actually survived this month!

But it hasn't all been bad, I spent time with my partner just laughing and trying to forget the world, we did our 12 mile walk that my feet and legs are still recovering from! But I could never regret such a wonderful day out in the sun. I have never appreciated ice lollies so much!

We also did a lot of baking this month, I'm sure my waistline won't like it but oh it was so good! And besides it was my mums birthday so we of course had to have cake... ;)

I officially registered as Silly Badger Designs this month which blew me away a little. My baby is growing before my eyes! Even though I have been suffering from horrible art block throughout this whole month.

But I did get my little wren and her finch friends designs completed and finally made those brooches I've been talking about for so long. It's always a good feeling when you finally do that thing you've kept putting off and then you're left wondering why you left it so long in the first place... ah the human mind is brilliant at times!

I also made better packaging for my jewellery items that feature my logo and leaf design. It's amazing how much happier I am with these than I was before.

I'm not trying to look too commercial but at the same time I like them looking clean and I guess at the same time I don't have to worry about them getting lost or damaged any more!

Pet portraits were also listed on my Etsy shop, something I've been meaning to do for a long while now! I guess this month was filled with projects that have been waiting far too long.

That includes joining pinterest!! You can find me HERE although please remember I am very new to this... I'm worse than an old person when it comes to technology and social media... I have spent too much off my life off in day dreams or roaming outside to be too savvy with this.. oh that's so bad to say at my age! But I am trying ;)

As I mentioned earlier I did suffer from lots of art blocks this month. Now that might not seem too bad until you remember that art is how I make my living so having a block can end up being a spanner in the works. And of course because I can't draw I get flustered which just leads to me still not being able to draw... it's a vicious cycle unfortunately! I know it's partly down to me working too much. I will spend more hours than I should working each day (it's currently 5 minutes to midnight as I write this now!) and when I'm not working I'm usually thinking about it and what I can do next.

With the rest of my little world spinning round I seem to have grabbed my work as something I am completely in control of and I now can't let go.

I'm not sure if this is a common thing for people just starting up or whether it's just me but I know for the sake of my sanity and my work, I need to get a better work/life balance. You know, have fun and relax without someone having to physically force me to!

So throughout June I plan to actually have time to myself where I don't work! I also plan lots of work too! :P I'm hoping to get more in to pinterest over the next few weeks as well as actually updating my website! It's in need of an update as it's hiding back in last year, back before so much happened!

Etsy will also be getting a freshen up and hopefully some more items will be added! and most of all, I really want to sit down lots this month and just paint lots. I really miss painting and just sketching in general so it would be nice to just work on art and creating beautiful things! Let's hope for a Jolly June where everything goes well and I finally let go of this illusion of control!

I will admit though, I did fight through the block at one point and came up with a few designs this month. My partner has shown me so many pictures and gifs of raccoons (sorry, trash pandas!) lately that I've become a bit obsessed with them. I found myself drawing this little chap and I think I'm in love with him.

Those little paws just scream high five to me and hey, who wouldn't want a high five from a cute little trash panda! So here's a high five to everyone who got through May! We survived!

I hope you all had a wonderful month and if not, I hope June makes up for it!

Happy Bank Holiday!

This wonderful bank holiday weekend I am offering 10% off all orders through my etsy shop! Offer ends midnight on Monday 30th May!

Just use coupon code MAY16 at the checkout to receive your discount!!

To go to my shop and check it out click HERE

Have an awesome weekend!!

Okay So It's Been A While...

April has been a bit on the hectic side and I'll admit... I have slacked off a bit... oops! But that was mainly down to spending time with family and having fun!

It was my birthday though which I celebrated in typical nerdy badger style, lots of fun and laughs with close family and an animal day out with my fabulous OH. I was spoiled and full of love and I'm still buzzing from it all now!
I love everything and everyone I have in my life so very dearly, I wouldn't change it for the world!

I did however have a very art inspiring birthday. I haven't actually gone out for my birthday for a while now and this year I wanted to actually celebrate! I have this thing right now of celebrating everything and feeling every little emotion available. It's a weird moment I know but anyway! We went to Bristol Aquarium and saw the amazing underwater creatures they have on show.
Needless to say the animal nerd was very happy and very hyper! And it seems that I still am slightly! Top highlights had to include:-

The Stingray!

He was very cheeky and kept coming up to the glass as shown in the picture above. This was mainly because he was waiting for food but it was lots of fun to crouch in front and watch as he flashed his white underbelly at us repeatedly.

The Seahorses!

My poor OH, that's all I can say! I tend to get excited about seahorses... I'm not sure why, they're not the most fascinating sea creature out there and they are a bit on the dim side but when I see them I'm lost in fascination. At the aquarium they had a large tank with a large herd* of adults in it which was exciting as there seemed to be a lot of heavy males in there, yay for pregnant seahorses! They also had two smaller nursery tanks filled with... yep, you guessed it! dozens of tiny baby seahorses! I was practically buzzing back and forth between the tanks just watching them swim around happily or in the baby tanks case, cling on to each others tails or heads... they have a lot to learn!

*I haven't gone mad, a group of seahorses really is called a herd!

The Leopard Shark!

Okay, so I love sharks. I have a lot of respect for them and probably wouldn't swim with them but I absolutely love them. 

Quick fact! The spots on a leopard shark are so varied between individuals that they are used to identify particular sharks, just like human finger prints! Cool huh!

At the aquarium the leopard shark was in a large tank that had a walk through tunnel beneath it. I'm not sure what it is but watching these amazing fish swim over you so casually is fantastic. We hung around this tank for a while and I found myself twisting and turning in to unnatural positions just so I might get to see the shark from below over and over again. At one point it did swim passed close to the tank glass so that you could see the texture of its skin, I was completely fascinated! :P

The Unicorn Fish!

I myself had never come across one of these before and got slightly out nerded by my OH! Although it was fairly amusing as I had been chatting to a friend who shares the same birthday as me and being the goof I am, I started sending her lots of unicorns calling them birthday unicorns... little did I know that later that day I would see a birthday unicorn ;) They were quite elegant as they swam around their tank eyeing us up as they went.

I find that fish in aquariums do a lot of people watching!

Other highlights I couldn't get pictures of included a ray spitting water at us like a fountain, an interesting big nosed blue fish, some very bulldog looking piranha and a badger fish! Yes there is a badger fish and I didn't know about it! It's most commonly known as the foxface rabbitfish but yeah ;) I can find badgers everywhere, even in an aqurium.

So as you can see it was a very amazing birthday and I now want to get my watercolours out and paint many fish!

I also had the joy of something else happening last week.

Vinny, my venus fly trap had its first flower open and is producing heads again! I have become so attached to this plant and have been researching them like there's no tomorrow (you'd be amazed at the clashing info you can find out there!) but I'm just so amazed that I've kept it alive this long!

My goal is to propagate this plant and create a little group of hydras... I'm not sure how that will go or if it will all end in tears but it will be an adventure either way... It's also quite exciting to grow seeds or from leaves.

But more on to work stuff, I do have lots going on right now even though tonight I hit a huge confidence low in what I'm doing. I hate it when my mind does that because I know it's just me having a low moment but I'm still left thinking what am I doing!? and Oh hell this is hopeless!

I am however designing a proper logo for my etsy shop as right now I have a badger doodle that says nothing about me... apart from badger. So the silly badger is being created. 

I also have my shrink plastic out and am trying to work out sizes for some finch badges. The worst part of using shrink plastic for me other than the annoying curling is the sizing. I always tend to make them too small even when I feel like I spent forever working out the math. There's a reason I changed my mind on becoming a vet! Math is definitely not my strongest point.

My etsy shop will also be getting a bit of attention, I will be making and updating the packaging for jewellery items, adding some new items and there may also be a chance of a discount offer! So keep an eye out if you're interested.

And then there's the other thing. I recently made the ratty zines and loved every moment of it. I really enjoyed the whole process but at the same time felt that I should give zines a break as it took a fair amount of time to create.

Well. I now have more zine ideas and they've all gone to paper tonight. One, the favourite one is a spoof on pet care leaflets. In this case instead of a how to care for your hamster I am working on how to care for your velociraptor. What can I say, it's all about the theropods for me right now! It's also based lightly on something I was creating around this time last year so I'm hoping to get that project back up and running!

Like I said, there's lots going on and April has been crazy and wonderful. 

Keep an eye out for updates this week!

Have a great week!

The end to a very busy first week of 2016! Gosh that one went fast didn't it!
Well this week has mostly been full of organising, budgeting and paperwork so that's been lots of fun as you can imagine. But I have managed to squeeze in art work and got my first work of the year done!

I decided to play with new coloured pencils I got for Christmas from my awesome mr... I was ever so slightly spoiled with my first experience of Faber Castell pencils.
Now I do a very good go at playing the starving artist. I don't really have that much spare cash and when I do have it... I tend to spend it on silly fun things or takeaway (typical 20 something artist I believe!) so I've never splashed out on this brand because they tend to be a bit more costly than what I'm comfortable with. So getting gifted these was a wow moment, I want to say I was completely gobsmacked when I saw them and the feeling continued when I started to use them.
I can't believe how soft and blendable these beauties are! I think I definitely converted whilst colouring this highland cow!

I have been told that this is a slightly amoosing (get it!) self portrait with the fluffy hair and crooked smile... It wasn't meant to but my loving mother decided to claim it was... I guess I do share similarities with these awesome cows :P

 

Next on the list has been a new little project I started. Before Christmas I did a small watercolour painting of British garden birds that I really enjoyed working on. The style is a lot more fun than my others and it was something I really wanted to explore more so I found a small square sketch book that I've had lying around for too long and dedicated it to being filled with British bird illustrations. This will probably turn in to birds of the world at some point but for now I'm focusing on the British variety or at least the species that spend time in this country.

First of was my chirpy little wren. I drew a draft of this cheeky chappy back in December and have been meaning to expand on the idea so it only seemed right to draw him first. It turned out much  better than I'd originally planned!

I used watercolour and coloured pencil here and the outcome was exactly what I wanted.

I liked it so much I decided to get started on the draft sketches for three other bird species. This time the Kingfisher, bullfinch and fieldfare. I just need to get painting them next week! So four down so far! Next will probably include the iconic winter robin and maybe a blue tit.

In other news! I've joined the Etsy Resolution programme! (Anyone else in the UK who is considering Etsy but lacking the confidence/wants to learn as much as possible I can highly recommend joining!) This is a four week programme with mentors and help with setting up a shop, a nice little boost for those just starting out like myself.

I'll admit at first I felt quite nervous and skeptical but you only move forward by taking steps so this is my step. Maybe this time life won't get in the way of opening my shop!

I'm also coming very close to hitting 100 sales on Redbubble which is actually quite exciting! Thanks to the lovely people out there who've already made orders with my designs this year! That was a lovely start to the year for me! Hope you enjoy your goodies!

I now have a busy few weeks getting products created for my Etsy shop! I will keep this updated with that little adventure along with my other adventure... I'm going to be making my own fun little bird book filled with illustrations similar to the above! This is obviously going to take a lot of plotting and planning but it's going to be worth it in the end! 

So much going on right now it's becoming difficult to fit it all in to my organiser! Nice having my life becoming a fabulous whirlwind! Unlike last year I'm in control and loving every moment of this!

Keep your head up, this too shall pass... and you are wonderful!

100!!

Wow, this will be my 100th post on here! What a great way to start 2016 off! I have taken to calling this year the Big Bang year as I plan to create lots of fireworks!

I'm not quite back to work just yet, insomnia/rough night mixed with a very stressful thing to do today has left me feeling like I should actually keep things nice, steady and chill today so instead of throwing myself in to things... I'm spending the morning plotting what's going to happen this year! Or more to the point this month and this week.
I'm actually feeling fairly excited about it... Even the self employment paperwork :P

The big thing this month is finally getting my etsy shop up and running. I've been trying to get this to happen for so long now that it's become one of those annoying challenges. It feels like I keep hitting a mental block with it all but now it's all or nothing.
The worst/best thing right now is how many ideas I have buzzing around my mind, designs, products, projects you name it!
I have one idea that's quite huge, it was extremely intimidating and I was unsure whether I should put so much in to what I guess could be classed as a gamble but after talking to my OH about it he motivated me to just go for it. Hearing someone say you should do it can make all the difference to how you feel so now I really do have a huge project happening.
I have absolutely no idea how long it's going to take me either! But I will be keeping quiet until it actually starts happening or I'll burn out all of my motivation talking about it.

I'm also hoping to attend some art fairs this year if I'm lucky. It seems fairly tough to get in to some places and you have to impress before being accepted so that could be interesting.

There's also the joint project with my OH featuring our fur babies... It will now be a kind of tribute as our ratty people have sadly now passed on but we will never forget our mischiefs and so the mischief book/zine will be born! Basically a fun little book about pet rats and the mischief they cause!

I will also still be taking pet commissions! I'm hoping to expand on this over the course of this year as I really enjoyed working on the commissions I got during 2015. It's always fun drawing people's pets and I love working with the ink and watercolour medium I use.

I must also get organised this year, one of the biggest lessons I learnt in 2015 was how unorganised I am and how much stress that can cause when it comes to work. Commissions were always fine and any work for other people was done on time but when it came to the festive season I left it too late and ended up spending a lot of November and December stressed beyond belief.
So 2016 will also be the year where I don't leave things until the last mintute... Maybe ;)

So it's going to be a big year! Also expect my Redbubble to be updated more often this year, another outlet I need to keep organised. It's slightly daunting to see everything I've plotted but at the same time it's wonderfully invigorating. It's always good to have things planned out so perfectly that you know exactly what needs to be done and when. Being self employed/freelance can make that side of things difficult as you never really know what's coming next so actually having this is like having stable ground to walk on for the first time in months.

So hello 2016! The year of big things and sparkles! Adventures and fun! Of taking chances and being spontaneous! I tend to think way too much about things and plan them out perfectly and sure that does work but sometimes it can also be a disaster when it doesn't go how you plan and you have to wing it. I don't want to over think things this year. It's going to be a very big adventure indeed!

I wish you all a fantastic 2016 and hope the first Monday of the year isn't too horrific.

Goodbye 2015

Well what can I say, I'm both sad to see the end of this year but also excited to shed the old 2015 skin and get a nice fresh start.

At the beginning of this year I was in a completely different place to where I am now. The year has been filled with so many extreme ups and downs. It's been an extremely emotional year!
And I am feeling so blessed and thankful for everything I have.

I have the most wonderful and supportive family surrounding me. My parents and my partner have never let me give up and they're always giving me the emotional support to keep going no matter what gets thrown at me. Without them I wouldn't be where I am now.
Without the constant stubborness of my boyfriend I wouldn't be doing what I love and I most definitely wouldn't be taking on some huge projects in 2016.

It's going to be a big one, I can tell you that much!

This year has been the baby steps forward, one at a time, building up my confidence in a world that originally terrified me. Sure I could have done much more but I don't think I would feel as comfortable and confident as I do now.
But now I'm ready to take that leap of faith.

2016 is going to be filled with fantastic and wonderful new adventures.

So I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last twelve months.
My partner who keeps things real and keeps me me.
The wonderful artists I've met who've proven that people on the internet aren't all scary! The other creatives who've liked and commented on my work. It's nice supporting each other and I love the little artist community I share my world with.
The wonderful people who like my work, share my work and who buy my designs. I definitely wouldn't be here without you guys!
I still can never explain how amazing it is when I see someone buy my work. And I also love how my work is now spread all over the world! It's a very surreal feeling for me.
The amazing people who read my ramblings on here! I know I tend to ramble on and talk nonsense at times so it's always so nice to see that my posts get read!
And to the people who have commissioned me, thank you for letting me work with you! It's so much fun to see your pets and hear about their characters and mischief. I'm an animal lover at heart so it combines two of my loves and I love to talk to fellow animal lovers who adore their pets!
Just a big thank you to anybody who has helped me to get where I am, even if it's the most simple thing of liking an image on instagram. You'd be amazed how smiley I get over that!
And also to the people who have tried to hurt me this year, the trolls. You made me realise that I am stronger than I originally believed and... you mean nothing to me.

Two years ago I was scared to post work online, I had one outlet that was twitter and that was it. If you'd told me back then where I'd be now I doubt I would have believed it.
I want to make a point that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it and believe in yourself.
So going by this, I'm extremely excited for 2016 and to see what I can make happen.

This year I got my redbubble account which has been amazing! I mainly focussed on that and networking... 2016 is going to include Etsy, art fairs, sparkles, a bit of book making and lots of adventures!
I can't wait!

So again, thank you! Thank you for a wonderful 2015 :)

And here's to a fantastic 2016, I wish each and every one of you so much happiness and luck in this new year.

You're wonderful!