At the beginning of 2025 I set myself a few challenges that I've called my 25 in 2025 challenges. These challenges ranged from "read 25 books" to "write 25 blog posts". One of the challenges I set out for myself was to complete 25 finished, individual paintings in 2025. I'm pleased to say that I …
Rachel Crawshaw : The Farne Islands at sunset In this painting I used a photograph from a recent trip to Northumberland and the Farne Islands as inspiration. We went on a sunset cruise around the Farne Islands to see the local wildlife particularly seals, puffins, arctic terns, shags, gannets and other sea-birds. We managed to …
BRIGHT BOTANICALS 2 BY RACHEL CRAWSHAW BRIGHT BOTANICALS 1 BY RACHEL CRAWSHAW Recently I have had fun experimenting with combining negative space, mixed media and semi-abstract botanicals. I created these botanical pieces by firstly starting with a collaged base. I glued the collage elements in place with matte medium. I then added bright layers of …
Last week I took part in the annual Paint Garstang plein air painting competition. This year I decided to use the post impressionist painter Cezanne as inspiration for my piece. In particular I have been interested in how Cezanne paints trees and the landscape. I used The following paintings Montagne Sainte-Victoire 1885-1887 Cezanne, Landscape with …
Recently I have been drawn to the symbolism surrounding Vessels and have been experimenting with the motif of various types of vessels in my sketchbook and art journals. I have been playing with mono printing techniques, negative space painting, making my own stamps and stencils and with collage in my sketchbook to further explore and …
These drawings were from my last in person session at Life Drawing Blackburn, so it was a fun session but tinged with sadness. Stewart modelled for us and as an extra treat he also played us some songs on his guitar and sang to us while we drew. This made the drawing a fun technical …
My botanical themed art work- Rachel Crawshaw Recently at TAC (Thursday art club) the artists made a group still life display with the theme of "Botanicals". I love it when we do these collaborative displays as you get a real mix of interesting and unusual items and everyone approaches the theme differently. For this theme …
I was very sad to hear that my regular life drawing class- Life Drawing Blackburn- is closing down. It is hopefully being re-started in September as an online class, and I plan to start attending the in person Hush life drawing group in Clitheroe more regularly as an alternative when it re-opens in september. Here …
I often find that the summer months from June through to the beginning of September become a slower period in my creative process. I stop creating as much finished and polished art works and tend to focus my time and energy on refilling my cup. One of my favourite ways of doing this is reconnecting …
Continue reading Slow summer- refilling my cup by reconnecting with nature
Collage—the art of assembling different materials like paper, photographs, fabric, and found objects into a composition—is a powerful medium for self-expression. Its layered nature mirrors the complexity of identity, memory, and emotion. By combining disparate elements, collage allows artists to tell stories, evoke feelings, and explore inner landscapes in ways that are intuitive, symbolic, and …
Continue reading 100 days of Collage: Days 59 & 60 “Exploring Culture and Identity”
Mushroom Moon Designs 