Drawing empowers me with confidence. It is a reminder that I have the freedom to channel my creative side, whilst expressing my inner thoughts and feelings. It provides a sense of accomplishment every time I complete a new piece – for me, this is the moment when the thoughts in my mind fit together perfectly, like the pieces of a puzzle. Through my art, I can show people a different perspective of the world and know that I have contributed to a persons day, whether it be through a passing glance, a read of my post or a comment on my work.
What I love most is how impactful art can be for different people. Art speaks to anyone, at any level – it overcomes language barriers and can be interpreted by those who struggle to comprehend words. I would be lying to myself if I didn’t acknowledge that art is for the people. It’s the wonderful comments on my blog that motivate and inspire me to keep on creating content.
Happy New Year to everyone, thank you for your continued support on this blog and may 2021 provide some much needed light and happiness💫✨
I was thinking about what to draw next and took inspiration for this artwork whilst re-decorating my room. It all happened when I came across a dream catcher, which I felt the urge to add to my existing collection. (I’ve always been a fan of dream catchers and have often contemplated getting one tattooed on my skin).
Dream catchers typically comprise of a wooden circle, covered by thread, which is woven in an intricate pattern and finished with precious items, such as beads and feathers hanging from the bottom of the circle.
The Dream Catcher originated from native America and is thought to have been invented by a tribe, with the purpose of protecting it’s young from being harmed. The concept of the dream catcher became more prevalent, as tribes began to expand across the country and tribe leaders could no longer watch over the infants of the tribe. Consequently, in the absence of tribe warriors, dream catchers were woven by maternal figures, such as mothers and grandmothers and were hung above a cradle to protect infants from being harmed in their sleep.
Originally, to make the dream catcher, two spider webs were woven into the circle of the dream catcher. Spider webs were used, since their properties are such that they tend to trap and take hold of anything that comes in their path. Using this logic, it was thought that the spider webs in the dream catcher would trap any harmful elements in the air and provide a form of protection. This explains why the thread pattern in modern dream catchers happen to look similar to that of a spider’s web.
Also key to note, is the circular frame and how it represents the constant flow of life; through the way the sun and moon orbit the earth in a continuous loop. Similarly, the number of different points on the dream catcher are thought to symbolise different meanings. For example, a dream catcher with 5 points is thought to resemble a star, whereas a dream catcher with 13 points is thought to represent the 13 different phases of the moon.
In modern times, the dream catcher is said to have the purpose of catching good dreams and filtering them through the feathers to the person below. This is in addition to protecting that person from incurring bad dreams, through the motion of catching them in the ‘spiders web’. Now dream catchers can be seen across a variety of items including jewellery, phone cases, home decor etc. and are made from various different materials.
About the art: I decided to draw the classic dream catcher but with an added twist, through combining the semi-circle of the dream catcher with a floral pattern. I then added in some detail using lines and dotting (‘stippling’), to add shading and dimension.
I was glad to find an excuse to use my new sketch pad and drew this only using a pencil and some fine liner pens (0.3, 0.8 and 1.0 thickness). I am pleased with the result; in hindsight the only thing that I would have changed is that I would have used a circular object to draw around for the outer ring of the dream catcher, instead of chancing it freestyle, as I did above.
~
What would you like me to draw next? Comment below 🙂🕷
Wow…1,000+ followers!! This is truly an unexpected milestone and one which I am struggling to comprehend – I didn’t expect to receive 100 followers let alone 1,000. (In fact, I vividly remember my first post, which was some 3.5 months ago and had accumulated a total of 0 views), so thank you all so much for the continued love and support.
To me, growth is about more than obtaining followers, it’s about engaging with the community and gaining new ideas about the world from different posts. After all, knowledge is power and reading is healthy for the brain! It also just so happens that WordPress is a free library, which is home to a diverse range of subjects and perspectives 😜
My blogging story:
From my relatively short blogging journey, I feel that I have learned a lot. At the start of this journey, I had expected to meet a community of like-minded artists and soon realised that perhaps WordPress wasn’t the right platform for me. In essence, I should have stuck to the likes of Etsy, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and Deviant Art, to showcase my work and meet other inspiring/upcoming artists.
Instead, I was discovered by a poet and writer, who followed me and was the first person to leave a nice review under one of my posts. I was humbled by her act of kindness and reciprocated the gesture, by supporting her work in the same way that she did mine. Soon, I came across a wonderful community of writers, poets and lifestyle bloggers. By that point I was sold to WordPress and now looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way! Thanks to each and every one of you that makes up the 1,000 follower count. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the amazing community of bloggers who have supported, uplifted and welcomed me with open arms.
Top tips for WordPress growth:
So here are my top tips for seeing growth on the platform, without having to pay for an upgrade:
Ensure that you have completed your website and have a website title. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than having ‘site title’ at the top of every blog post! I personally found that once I re-designed my website, people wanted to visit my website more often and took more time reading my posts.
Like/comment on people’s posts and engage with people. Bonus points for commenting. People are likely to reciprocate on your posts and other people who haven’t discovered you, will see your comment and ‘visit’ your blog, increasing website traffic.
If you see that someone liked your comment or post and they seem to be an interesting blog, give them a follow. They will likely follow back, as they are initiating an interest in your personality/content!
Use relevant hashtags on your posts. This will attract the right audiences to see your posts, even if they don’t follow you.
Don’t neglect your blog. If you don’t post regularly that’s fine, but make sure that you continue engaging with people, via their blog posts on a regular basis.
Monitor your website/blog performance using analytics. (See below).
Measuring website traffic using analytics:
One of the many benefits of using WordPress, is that anyone can receive web analytics to assist in measuring the performance of their website/blog. Best of all, this is completely FREE to access and requires no upgrade.
The analytics feature allows website owners to see how many views they are receiving across the different blog posts/pages on their website and make the necessary tweaks to improve performance. Below are my website analytics:
In totality, I’ve received 9,290 views and my website has attracted 3,212 visitors. Below is a breakdown to show the views on my latest post:
This is based on my latest post ‘I Spy with my Little Eye’. It’s been 18 days since I posted (I wrote this in advance of posting) and I have a total of 737 views, 383 likes and 422 comments. The breakdown includes the number of views per week. I posted on the 2nd September, hence the weeks 10th August – 30th August have 0 views. The first week after posting has seen the best views, as expected. Between the 7th – 13th September, I took a mini break from WordPress and the impact that my lack of engagement has had is apparent, with less views during this period. However, upon my return, the views have increased again, emphasising the importance of having a presence and interacting with blog posts.
Location analytics:
It’s also interesting to see where my viewers are coming from. According to the analytics, there appears to be a global spread, with viewers coming from different continents around the world. A deeper look into my blog analytics shows that most of my viewers come from India, followed by the U.K. and USA. However, this can change from one day to the next, as sometimes I’ve seen that the U.S. has taken the second spot and Canada has made an appearance.
What would make this even more interesting, is to be able to see what cities/states viewers are most concentrated in. This feature doesn’t appear to be available yet, but is useful, as it would enable the tailoring of posts to suit the interests of different audiences. For example, some states in the U.S. are quite religious, so I could look to incorporate religions references into my art.
Well, that’s all from me. Thank you for reading and happy blogging! 😊
A persons eyes, Blue, black and brown Draw me in… Are the key to reading deep into their soul, and reveal secrets never told. A persons eyes, twinkle with joy, when they dream fearlessly about a world of infinite possibility…
A persons eyes, roll in circular motions at an awful joke, when they are not impressed. In the same way that they avoid eye contact, when they are lying or depressed. A persons eyes, Blue, black and brown Draw me in, then slowly drift apart… Until next time. When I search for the right set of eyes, to feel whole again. *** Sketch #1: the ‘realistic’ eye
As my life begins to get busy again with increased work commitments, I find myself facing an internal battle against time to put together the artistic creations that make up this blog. Thus, instead of my usual style of A3 and A2 canvass prints, I thought that I would revert to a sketch book project. I have never had a sketchpad for my art and the thought of having a diary full of illustrations, where I can track my progress by turning pages, has me excited!
About the art: I am quite an unconventional artist, in the sense that I tend not to draw lines and sketches. Instead, I simply get stuck in with a pencil and rub out where necessary; a bit like a trial and error process. Nevertheless, I always do my research beforehand. Google images, Instagram and Pinterest are great sources of inspiration for art. Facebook has some good art pages as well, with YouTube videos to demonstrate the process of drawing.
My top tips for drawing a realistic eye:
Ensure that you have an image of an eye in front of you, as this will assist in providing an idea as to how to structure the shape of the eye, determine the length of the lashes and gain perception on how the light touches it.
Use all (or as many as you can) of the different shading pencils. For this artwork I used 2B, 3B, 4B, 6B and 8B. This is essential for creating depth, contrast and shadows, through the use of light and dark tones. I used 8B, which is the darkest pencil in my collection, for the eye ball and lashes. 3-4B will do for the shading of the eyelid. 2B can be used for the initial sketch and outline of the eye. If in doubt, test the pencils on a separate piece of paper. For added depth of colour, I went over the darkest parts of this drawing using a black fine liner pen, which makes the eye stand out on the page.
Be sure to use a rubber/eraser! A rubber is the perfect tool for erasing the spots where you want the light to show – for me, those light spots were the centre of the eyeball, to show that the person is looking into a source of light, as well as the inner under eye (lacrimal papilla/waterline), which makes the eye look bigger, due to providing a contrast to the shading on the eyelids. Erasing parts of the eye provides such a wonderful and exquisite contrast to the deeper tones, and is a must-do to achieve the perfect eye look. A white gel pen or tipex pen would work well too. Alternatively, you can use white paint, but ensure that the paint brush that you use is incredibly fine for precision.
Use your fingers (or a small, dry sponge) to smudge around the eyelid and create a realistic shading effect for the outer skin around the eye. I also used this technique underneath the top lashes, to provide the illusion of a shadow created by the eye lashes.
The artistic process has also been demonstrated for you, by the photos below (my video wouldn’t upload). As you may have noticed, my sketch wasn’t perfect to begin with and I made alterations to the eye shape/added extra details throughout. This is an example of how you shouldn’t be afraid to have an attempt at art, as you can learn so much throughout the process.
I hope that this post has inspired you and uplifted your spirits. Please feel free to mention my blog in any eye-related artwork, if you choose to draw one of these yourself, and let me know if you found the tips helpful 🙂
**Please note that this will be my last awards related post. From this point onwards, I will continue to remain grateful for any nominations, however I will not reciprocate with a follow up post. This is to allow for focus on the artwork on my blog. Thank you for your understanding.** ~~~ A few days ago, I received a nomination from “Introverted thoughts” for The Outstanding Blogger Award, my first nomination in this category. This was shortly followed by my second and third nominations for the Liebster Award, from Parth and Dakshali Gupta. [Edit: Today I received another nomination from “Mae Flower” for the Sunshine Blogger Award]. I am humbled and greatly appreciative of their kind gestures. As always, I continue to remain grateful for the support of my fellow bloggers, whose wonderful words motivate and uplift me.
First and foremost, I would like to thank “Introverted Thoughts” for the nomination. Introverted thoughts has a beautiful blog, and her webpage is neatly organised with written work including thought-provoking articles that detail on a range of topics, from watches to nursery rhymes. If that wasn’t enough, there are also other categories on her page, consisting of exquisite pieces of poetry and some wonderful book reviews – if you are a fan of Harry Potter, her page is a must-see! Introverted Thoughts isn’t shy of a collaboration or two, so if you enjoy collaborating with other blogs, I would not hesitate to contact her. Introverted Thoughts is the most kindest soul, who writes with her heart and is very supportive of other people’s work too.
Secondly, I’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to Parth. I am very glad to have had the opportunity to come across his blog, as I can confidently say that we quickly became very good friends, despite living in two different continents! Parth uses his blog as a means of communicating lovely and uplifting thoughts, in the form of poetry. If ever you are in need of a positive perspective on life, his blog will fulfil those requirements and take it a step further. Parth writes about a variety of topics including God, karma, finding your smile and ways to prevent anxiety and stress. Like myself, Parth has been around for a short period of time, so please check out his page and support his work:
Thirdly, I would like to thank Dakshali Gupta for her kind nomination. Dukshali is truly talented and puts her heart and soul into writing such beautiful poetry; I feel truly blessed to have come across her creations. Dukshali writes poetry in both Hindi and English, on numerous subjects including love, nature and flowers, life and inspiration. Her words are motivating, speak volumes and resonate well with the reader. Please give her blog some love and check out her page, I promise that you won’t be disappointed:
Finally, a big thanks to “Mae Flower” for my first Sunshine Blogger Award nomination. Mae Flower is genuinely a kind person who loves to write and hopes that her blog will inspire people to see the good in everything. Mae Flower loves the odd quote and isn’t afraid to post these onto her site. Her writing focusses on life and positivity and almost resembles a diary format, where she discusses her typical week, summer goals and much more.
This post will focus on the Outstanding Blogger Award, as I have done a previous post on the Liebster award.
1. Provide the link to the creator’s original award post. (Very important: see why in step 5). This award was created by Colton Beckwith. https://coltonbeckwithrpc.wordpress.com/2020/05/08/the-original-outstanding-blogger-award/ 2. Answer the questions provided. 3. Create 7 unique questions. 4. Nominate 10 bloggers. Ensure that they are aware of their nomination. Neither the award’s creator nor the blogger that nominated you can be nominated. 5. At the end of 2020, every blog that ping-backs the creator’s original post will be entered to win the 2020 Outstanding Blogger Award!
So, below are my answers to the questions…
INTROVERTED THOUGHTS QUESTIONS FOR HANNAH:-
1. What is the most useful lesson that someone has taught you/that you have learnt? – Good things in life do not come easy; one must put in the work to achieve what they want. The process of doing so, allows us to learn from our mistakes and better ourselves. Never give up on something if you really want it.
2. If you could eradicate any one evil forever, what would it be? – Selfishness/greed. The idea that people will put themselves over others, often for the sake of money or achieving social status. This can lead to lying, committing crimes, being unfaithful and ignorance towards other people’s feelings and needs. It has also bought about racism, sexism, wars and destruction of our planet and its creatures.
3. What is the funniest experience you have had? – I once mistook a stranger’s car for my dad’s car, opened the car door and actually sat on the passenger seat. Suddenly I saw that the driver was someone completely random, who looked very confused, so I apologised and got out of there!
4. How would you describe yourself in three words? – Friendly, passionate and hard-working.
5. What advice would you want to give to new and upcoming bloggers?– *Go for it, blogging has many benefits. For instance, it has helped to express my thoughts and articulate myself better, in addition to being able to connect with different people around the world. *Be original, people should like your content for what it is; don’t be afraid to write from the heart, even if your blogging style may seem “different” from others. *The people that I have met through this platform are genuinely some of the kindest people I know, so don’t be afraid to reach out and tell someone if you like their work or if you would like to do a collaborative piece.
PARTH’S QUESTIONS FOR HANNAH:-
1. What are your hobbies? – My hobbies include travelling, reading, watching documentaries, listening to music, art, playing the keyboard, exercise, yoga, cooking, fashion and interior décor – and now blogging as well! I love meeting new people and making friends.
2. Why did you start blogging? – I wanted to use my new-found time during the pandemic to learn different things and develop myself as a person. On my list of things to do was to produce some artwork and improve my IT skills, by creating a website from scratch. I also received a few positive comments on Instagram about my artwork and was given the suggestion to put my art on a website. Thus, I decided to join the WordPress community.
3. What life lessons have you learnt from your parents? – Nothing in life is free and we must work hard to earn the things we desire in life. To be kind and treat others how we would want to be treated. To be honest and truthful. To be content with little, appreciate family and value education. To be open to criticism and learning new things from others.
4. If you have two tickets for a World Tour, who would you choose to go with? –My sister, we are very close and I consider her to be my ultimate best friend. She’s hugely into music and won’t stop singing!
5. What type of food you like? – I am quite the foodie; I love a good buttermilk chicken burger, Thai curry, pasta, falafel, Nachos, quesadillas, grilled chicken beyti kebab and Nandos (British people will understand that one). Brunch is my favourite meal of the day, I like a good egg and avocado sourdough toast or waffle. Dessert-wise, I have a weakness for a chocolate fudge brownie served with chocolate ganache and vanilla ice cream.
DAKSHALI’S QUESTIONS FOR HANNAH:-
1. Are you an Introvert or Extrovert? -I am an extroverted introvert (or ambivert). When I was younger, I would have definitely said that I was an introvert without any further thought. However, with age, I have become more confident and while I enjoy my introverted musings, I definitely gain satisfaction and get more out of a conversation, when I can have a healthy contribution towards it. I still enjoy listening to others and getting to know them too; no conversation should be one-sided. These days’ people are surprised when I tell them that I am an introvert!
2. What is your favourite movie and why? –10 Things I Hate about You. It’s the ultimate combination of teenage/coming of age, comedy and romance. The best thing yet is that it was made in the 90s, so it has an incredible soundtrack. It also has references to Shakespeare and “The Feminist Mystique”.
3. Who are your favourite bloggers? – I love all of the bloggers that I have had the privilege of getting to know. Each style of writing and friendship is unique and I honestly would be torn if I had to choose between bloggers.
4. What’s special about the country you live in? – I live in England, U.K. We are known for having the Queen, Harry Potter, Shakespeare and many classic reads. As well as, its universities (Oxford and Cambridge), drinking plenty of cups of tea, pubs, fish and chips, the Big Ben, red buses, black cabs and the Beatles.
5. Favourite destination outside your country?– I love Italy, for the many beautiful cities of love with wonderful views, food and fabulous weather. I also really enjoyed seeing Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, I just remember being stunned at the views, as they are some of the best that I have seen.
MAE FLOWERS’ QUESTIONS FOR HANNAH:
1. What are your main goals in life? – To travel the world, find a life partner and eventually start a family, live a long, healthy and happy life, to have an impact on the world by contributing towards something that will bring about good change, and finally to feel accomplished in my career knowing that I am good at what I do and have achieved career progression.
2. Would you rather take a vacation on the beach or in the mountains? – That istruly a hard question for me. Although I do love the beautiful views that come with a mountain, I think that I’d opt for the beach, since this is a vacation related question and I do love my holiday strolls along the beach!
3. If your room was on fire and you had time to save one thing, what would it be? (Besides pets or family members, etc.) – My artwork. Sadly I can’t save my massive wardrobe of clothes 😦
4. What is something you would like to learn or wish you were better at? – Languages.
5. If you could travel anywhere in the world for free, where would you go? – I would love to take the time out to see Australia, New Zealand and Asia; specifically Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Bali, Sri Lanka and see more of India.
I NOMINATE:
I nominate the following bloggers, as these are some of the blogs that I have enjoyed visiting and reading. Apologies if you have already received a nomination for the Outstanding Blogger Award. The decision is entirely yours regarding if you wish to participate, and if it’s a yes, then I cannot wait to hear from you and read your answers! If I haven’t nominated you, then by all means feel free to nominate yourself. You are more than welcome to!
A few days ago, I received by first ever award nomination from Dulcy Singh for the Liebster Award; this was quickly followed by another nomination from Thobile Simelane for the Ideal Inspiration blogger award, so I took the decision to do a 2 in 1 post!
For those of you who are still getting to know me, my blogging journey started just over a month ago and I didn’t expect to receive any award at all, so I felt pleasantly surprised, humbled and deeply moved by their wonderful acts of kindness. I’d also like to say a massive thanks to everyone else who has supported me in my journey so far and has contributed towards my milestones (today I reached 400+ followers, thank you!).
If you who haven’t had the chance to check out these bloggers, I’d recommend their pages:
Dulcy Singh – dulcyblogs – Dulcy loves to tell stories on her platform about a range of topics. She isn’t afraid to put in the occasional quote and her writing is truly inspiring and thought-provoking. Dulcy is very friendly and has made me feel welcomed on this new platform, often supporting my work with wonderful and uplifting praise.
Thobile Simelane – therealityoflife140189985 – Thobile is relatively new to the platform, like myself. She blogs about how to grow as a person and teaches readers to do what is morally right. She is an avid supporter of God and religion. Thobile is a kind and humble person, who supports other people in their work. She was quick to recognise me as a blogger and supported me, an act of kindness which never goes unnoticed in my eyes.
THE RULES:-
Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Answer their questions.
Nominate 11 bloggers (Liebster award) or upto 9 bloggers (Ideal inspiration award). In this case, I will nominate 20 bloggers, who can choose which award they would like to accept or they can accept both if they wish.
Ask your nominees 11 questions (Liebster award) or 5 questions (Ideal inspiration award). I’m going to give my nominees 10 questions to answer.
Notify the nominees about the nomination.
List the rules and display the award logo.
DULCY’S QUESTIONS FOR HANNAH:-
Do you like stories? Yes, I spent most of my childhood with my head stuck in a book and found that from a young age I had advanced quickly to reading adult books. I continue to enjoy reading, using this as a means of escapism from everyday life. I am currently re-reading The Alchemist, one of my favourites.
Which country do you belong to? I was born and raised in London, so I am a British citizen but I have origins from India.
When is your birthday? 4th February.
Suggest a story theme. Fear, romance and emotional scars.
What inspired you to write a blog? I wanted to use my time during the pandemic to learn new things and develop myself as a person. On my list of things to do was to produce artwork and improve my IT skills, by creating a website from scratch. I also received a few positive comments on Instagram about my artwork and was given the suggestion to put my art on a website. Thus, I decided to join the WordPress community. Although I never thought about Blogging, I see this as an added bonus; I have thoroughly enjoyed blogging and find it to be very therapeutic. I used to write my own stories and poetry, so writing a blog felt natural to me.
If you could have a wish then what would it be? To end world poverty and make every person smile.
Describe yourself. People would describe me asfriendly and out-going, fashionable, hard-working, honest, thoughtful, competitive, a perfectionist, intelligent, creative and analytical. I take pride in making others happy and I want to make a difference to the world. I work as an Account Executive within the publishing industry. My hobbies include travelling, reading, watching documentaries, listening to music, art, playing the keyboard, exercise, yoga, cooking, fashion and interior décor – and now blogging as well! I have had my fair share of hardships in life, but I feel like they have shaped me into a stronger and more resilient, head-strong individual. I believe strongly in equality for all.
What is your favourite place that you want to visit again? Does Disney world count? I found this to be a hard question, as I enjoy travelling and have had the novelty of seeing many places around the world. I would say that Vegas and the Grand Canyon really captivated me, Italy has always been one of my favourite places to see and Niagara Falls was incredibly beautiful as well.
One weakness you want to overcome. I would say that because I am a perfectionist, sometimes I have to accept that I can’t control everything that happens in life and I would benefit from taking a back seat and having more trust more in others. I have been working on this by considering the feedback that I receive and coming up with new ways of doing things.
What are your learnings during this corona pandemic? Don’t take life for granted! I have learned to appreciate everything that I have and to have a more positive outlook on life, in spite of the obstacles it throws in your way. I have used this time to invest into the people who really care about me and matter the most.
Your favourite quote(s). “Life is a fashion show and the world is our runway” – Marc Jacobs “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” – Aesop “Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have” – Unknown “We build too many walls and not enough bridges” – Isaac Newton
THOBILE’S QUESTIONS FOR HANNAH:-
How do you view other people? I feel like this can be subjective, depending on who the person is. A person can be seen as funny, honest, loving, happy, maternal, wise, intelligent, kind, benevolent, humanitarian, fashionable, sporty, girly, masculine, extroverted, introverted, powerful, lucky, successful, moody, panicky, stressed, gullible, naïve, mean, scary, narrow-minded, untrustworthy, fake, stubborn, short-tempered, conceited and traumatised.
If every individual in your life treated you exactly how you treat other people, how would you feel? I would feel good knowing that those people would have my back through thick or thin and are trustworthy. I have often pondered as to why certain people behave the way they do – that is to say, why certain people feel the need to belittle others and treat them with little regard.
If your answer to the above was that you felt bad, then why do you continue to treat people that way? I very rarely treat someone in a bad way, or hold those intentions. If I see that I have, then I will stop and try to put it right.
If your answer to the above was that you felt good, then how can you influence change? By using my platform to educate people, continue to read and educate myself more and generally being proactive and participating in events and actions that influence change.
Do you think that there is a difference between living and existing? Yes, I feel that existing is merely surviving and fulfilling our sole purpose/biological function on earth. Whereas living is when we are proactive, do go the extra mile and do something that actually makes a difference.
I NOMINATE: I nominate the following bloggers, apologies if you have already received a nomination in any of these categories. I believe that everyone nominated exhibits the traits and qualities worthy of both of these awards, however you can pick whichever one you like, or do both if you prefer to. If I haven’t nominated you, then by all means feel free to nominate yourself. You are more than welcome to!
Which mood have you been sporting throughout the pandemic? The oh-so-cool chilled out vibe, the scared/stressed out look, the simply unhappy one, or a combination of them all?
Like many, I have experienced a combination of these moods…in fact, I experienced my own emotional journey whilst completing this artwork! Drawing faces has never been a strength of mine, but I persevered with this project, because I wanted to set myself a personal challenge and learn some new skills, as a part of my on-going art journey. It is safe to say that after numerous attempts, countless pencil sharpenings and a significantly reduced eraser, I am finally happy with the end result. Hallelujah!
About the artwork: Pop Art has always been a style of art that I have enjoyed – it’s bold, fun and punchy.
Pop Art was invented in the USA in the 1950s and became a more prominent movement in the 1960s. It was part of the beginning of changing attitudes and moving away from more traditional forms of art. Unsurprisingly, this form of art paved the way for modern contemporary art styles such as feminist art, abstract art, minimalism and an increased use of facial expressions.
In the US, Pop Art came about as a response from many young artists who felt that art should capture what they experienced in their everyday lives – for these people, the sources of inspiration came from pop music, advertising and of course, comic books.
Pop Art was also widely used in wartime Britain, to increase morale and encourage people to sign up to the army and take on bigger roles elsewhere. Pop Art was further used for academic purposes, often serving a role in conveying messages of irony and parody.
Top tips: Feedback from the comments in previous posts has shown that the top tips feature in my blog has been found to be helpful, so I have included my tips for this particular art style for you below: –
*Pop Art is known for being bright and bold. Do incorporate colours that are bright or provide a statement, such as yellow or red and do not blend colours together, to achieve a “bold” look. Feel free to use a combination of pencils, as well as coloured pens and paints for strength in colour. *Add definition to your art piece, by going over all lines using fine liner pens and use a slightly thicker fine liner pen for outlining shapes. *Pop Art incorporates stippling (use of dots), particularly within faces to add colour. The background of an image will usually contain dots and stripes; stripes can be used as a tool to support facial expressions and emotions – see the lady on the bottom of my artwork for reference. *Pop Art faces will usually have big lips and eyes and less detailing on the nose. *For text, use block letters and surround the text with a cloud or banner of colour. *Fill up those blank spaces as much as you can!
Where to place this artwork: Place in the bedroom, living room or a small, empty room to add style, attitude and plenty of personality to any setting!
Who doesn’t love a cute elephant or two? Drawn onto a canvass in a fun, mandala style – yes please!
In many cultures, the elephant is considered to be a symbol of strength, wisdom and tranquillity. Being of Indian heritage, it is safe to say that the elephant makes up a large part of the décor in a typical Asian house, so my mum couldn’t wait to get her hands on this one. And yes, I was after another excuse to get out the Micron fine liner pens (don’t judge me!).
For this piece, I started off with a pencil sketch on a canvass; for an additional element of cuteness, I included a baby elephant, tied to the mother’s tail for a mother-baby bond. I then proceeded to add the outline and detailing in fine liner pen.
Important to a mandala piece is the use of geometric shapes, such as circles, triangles, rectangles, as well as the inclusion of lines, which can be straight or curvy.
My personal recommendations: * Start with a pencil and outline with a pen, if you are not feeling confident. *Go small and start with a centre point for the mandala – in this case I used a number of floral patterns with starting points being from the feet going upwards and on the face, going down to the trunk. * The more detail used, the more intricate your mandala piece will look. For added detail, use dotting (also called stippling), slightly thicker lines and shading.
I felt that the elephants were best left in black and white to suit this particular mandala style pattern work. However, since I wanted to incorporate colour, I added this into the floral pattern work on the borders. This was achieved using colouring pencils for a softer colour effect and coloured fine liners to provide the depth and tones that make this piece more visually appealing.
Where to place this: The elephant mandala is best placed in a hallway, living room or in a workspace, if you have one, to bring positivity into the home or to provide personal growth to your career.
This artwork is inspired by my travels; of which included a weekend trip to Prague. From its medieval cobbled streets to its cathedrals, galleries and museums, art is everywhere in this cultured and unique city! I was inspired by the intricacy of the special architecture, which showcases a prevalent gothic theme, alongside statues of fallen angels. Let’s not forget the pretty pastel coloured houses, which instantly uplifts spirits and can brighten anyone’s day. Accompanied by trams and lakes, Prague is a definite show-stopper and its beauty has been captured by many artists around the world.
Fun Fact: Prague houses its largest art gallery in the Czech Republic, which is so vast and expansive that it is spread across six different buildings.
About the art: This artwork began as a pencil sketch, which was outlined in fine liner pens to accentuate the details of the buildings. It was then coloured in using a combination of colouring pencils and oil-pastels, for the buildings, trams and streets. Finally, the sky was finished using paints (water colour paints achieve the best effect here, but as I didn’t have any, I used acrylics and applied some water in appropriate quantities for the desired effect).
My personal top tips: *Always have a source of light, to add texture and dimension to any drawing – this can be seen in some of the blacked out windows, where I used a white oil pastel to contrast. *Take your time and add plenty of detail using lines for shading. *When painting the canvass, use the paint brush to wet the canvass a little; this provides a more pliable texture and prevents the paints from drying out. Always trial the colours on a separate piece of paper, to ensure that it is the desired shade before applying to the artwork. *Do not be rigid and do blend several colours together to achieve the desired tones; in particular this piece is inspired by bright pastels, so these colours can be difficult to achieve alone. Oil pastels are a personal favourite of mine…I like the effect that they provide when you smudge them, allowing the easy blending of different colours. *Yellows, oranges and whites are perfect for brightening, whereas blues, browns and blacks are great for achieving a deeper tone.
Due to the blue sky, this piece is best placed in a bright spot in the house, where it will catch light. Place in the living room to fill a blank wall space with a cultured and travelled vibe!
For my second art post, I wanted this to be a scenic piece, capturing a “dreamy” intergalactic theme. Most importantly, I envisioned it to incorporate my love for the starry night sky and planets in outer Space.
The art explained: The butterfly represents the “lens” to seeing another planet (in this case, I went with the appearance of Mars; sandy dunes and clouds of sand-dust with the moon providing brightness in the dark, star-lit sky). I felt that by leaving the final piece in black and white only, this best captured the detailing and illusion of a night sky, in addition to providing an excellent contrast.
This is a canvass piece sketched in HB pencil and bought to life by detailing and outlining using fine-liner pens. Intricacy is paramount in this piece!
This is perfectly placed in a bedroom, hanging above the bed for the ultimate night time visions.
Illustrated by Hannah 