Aimee- negative space In my sketchbook I have been enjoying reworking old and new life drawings into new compositions using collage and mixed media techniques. I used old paintings that I no longer liked or needed and cut them up to create new pieces in my sketchbook using them as backgrounds or parts of the …
Continue reading Life drawing mixed media sketchbook: playing with figures
In this Sketchbook Revival session Janine Vangool “explores the creative possibilities of turning your sketchbook into a “text” book, while spending time with your thoughts to create personal messages (and more) using tactile, pre-digital lettering methods.” During this session we watch Janine utilise a myriad of printing tools and techniques to add text and fonts …
Continue reading Publisher & designer of UPPERCASE, Janine Vangool’s sketchbook revival class
As part of Sketchbook Revival 2026 I participated in the class run by mixed media and collage artist Drew Steinbrecher. In this class we were encouraged to go out into our environment whether that be an urban environment or a natural one, and take notice of the shapes, textures, colours and contrasts that interested us. …
Continue reading Drew Steinbrecher sketchbook revival class: making work from your environment
A watercolour painting of beetles from a series of artworks capturing the artist’s recent trip to Florence
Thursday Art Club is holding an exhibition at Pendleton Village Hall on 2-3rd May 2026
“Portrait Gallery” by Rachel Crawshaw I was very pleased to hear that my submission for the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery Open 2026 was given “highly commended” at the opening on Saturday. I was unable to attend the opening but am looking forward to visiting the exhibition and witnessing in person all of the fantastic …
In a previous post I shared with you a vase of flowers I’d captured in my sketchbook using colour pencils. Tulips sketch by Rachel Crawshaw I have since translated that drawing into a painting in acrylics, and on to it I have added the symbol of a blackbird. Receive joy by Rachel Crawshaw In the …
I am very pleased to have a painting accepted for this years Bury Open 2025. The exhibition will run from 15 November 2025 to 21 February 2026 so there is plenty of opportunity to go and see all of the incredible works from local artists. In the last Bury Open they had over 400 high …
This year I decided to start 2025 with a few guiding aspirations. In the past years began with either no specific goals, or with huge goals. The huge goals seemed impossible to tackle after the first few days and so I gave up. Having no goals also left me floundering and not achieving as much …
https://youtu.be/VzthNRpG7SU A Post-Impressionist Journey Today I am exploring how the Post impressionists have inspired my three most recent paintings. These paintings have been inspired by the bold and expressive work of the Post-Impressionist masters—Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Suzanne Valadon. Each of these artists had a unique approach to color, form, and …
Continue reading Three paintings inspired by the Post impressionists
Mushroom Moon Designs 