Exploring self-expression in art and creating meaningful drawings…

​​The objective of this particular drawing lesson is to understand that art is expressive and personal…

…and NOT an exercise in technical drawing.

So that you will feel confident that, actually, you ARE an artist.

Exploring drawing and painting on fabric - inspired by the beautiful blendings of colours that watercolour artists create, I decided to explore the effects of ink on wet fabric....
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A small handful have become artworks in their own right, whereas others become part of a pattern, or composite artwork, combined with my drawings, and many are just a very faint background, you would hardly notice.

​This is actually a technique I use in very many of my digital artworks to create an interesting, colourful and textured background for my artwork...

Beautiful Celtic Tree of Life art prints and arty products by Lotti Brown (2 different tree of life designs)...
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And a look at tree of life meaning, symbolism and history...

I've been having fun with some tree of life designs and now have not one but two gorgeous Celtic art tree of life pieces to inspire you to feel connected with the natural world...

The tree of life is a popular and instantly recognisable Celtic symbol – but its origins go back hundreds or thousands of years and tell us something about our origins as a society and how we thought about our place in the world.

The tree of life is something that unites humanity. There is the concept of a tree of life in many cultures, mythologies and religions, especially Indo-European, Siberian and Native American religions.
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How to plan your artistic practice to fit into your daily life…
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Create the right mood and mindset for your drawing by making time and having the right space for creativity. 

In this blog post we're going to look at how to plan and prepare for your artistic time.

This is so that you are creating in a productive, mindful, and calming mindset for an enjoyable session. We want to make sure that you’ve got everything you need to make your creative times relaxing and enjoyable.

Looking to send a gift to someone you can't be with this Easter?

After a difficult Mothers Day here in the UK when so many of us couldn't be with our mothers due to coronavirus, I've been thinking about Easter.

When I saw Easter eggs in the shops, I didn't want to think about celebrating Easter at this time of fear and loss - but I delivered a food box to my elderly parents who are self-isolating on Saturday. I dropped it off outside the door and backed off to a goodly distance so that my mum could retrieve it and we could share a few emotional words across those vital two metres of safe space.

I'd popped in my mum's gift that we'd planned to give her at our family meal, plus some treats like her favourite chocolates and a little hyacinth plant...

And later, on the phone, my mum's gratitude was expansive and heartfelt that we'd thought to add those little non-essential extras that meant we'd thought and cared about them and how they'd be feeling while we're all struggling through these days and weeks and that we'd wanted to still bring a little sunshine and joy.

That's why I think it's important, if we can, that we try to bring a little happiness and meaning to those we care about while they're apart from us, perhaps feeling fearful for themselves - and if they're a mum, they're probably still worried about you too, even as you're worrying about them!

This year, we very likely won't be exchanging Easter eggs and Easter gifts in person, but we can still send a little love and happiness to those we love best...

​I work with print-on-demand companies to put my artwork onto all sorts of lovely products, including clothing, accessories and products for home (or the home office!). 

• You can order online and send a gift straight to someone special.
• You can order from (and to) anywhere in the world.
• Your order will be sent from your closest manufacturing site - Redbubble has sites in the UK, USA, Europe, Canada & Australia. Contrado manufactures in London. Spoonflower prints in USA & Germany.
• If you're worried about customs duties, buy from my Redbubble store as Redbubble will refund any customs duties you're inadvertently charged.
• Experts currently believe that the risk of catching coronavirus from a package is low - but you should of course wash your hands and practice careful hygiene in the home after taking in your package from your local carrier or postie.

​Here are some thoughtful Easter gift ideas you could send, themed around this springtime season...
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Say it with flowers...

​All the colour and joy of spring in one delectable springtime bouquet that lasts well beyond the week!

I wanted to share with you some of my new and recent Celtic knotwork learning for my own art practice…

This year, I’ve decided to spend more time concentrating on drawing Celtic knotwork and including it in my artwork – as well as learning Calligraphy.

 
​These are both art forms that I explored in my childhood and loved!

My mum trained as an art teacher in the 1960s and did her dissertation on Celtic art in Ireland – specifically the Book of Kells. So I was lucky enough to be allowed to play with her dissertation, and she gave me the postcards she’d collected of the Book of Kells to play with and to inspire me.

My mum also taught me how to draw simple Celtic spirals – so that’s what I doodled as a child…

The absolute basics! My recommended top drawing materials supplies to get you started drawing with no unnecessary fuss or massive expenditure…

This post is all about choosing the right drawing tools for you!

It’s something that’s very personal, so there’s no right or wrong thing to choose.

There’s only the thing that’s right or wrong for you – and it’s absolutely okay for that to change, either gradually over time or all of a sudden.

It’s important that you’re happy and comfortable with how you do your art…

And that it feels like an extension of who you are and what you’re about so that you get the most enjoyment out of it.

I’m also not about fancy equipment or expensive equipment…

I’ve been broke… and art paper, pens, and pencils were an expensive luxury!

But guess what? For drawing your own way you don’t need them!

Let me repeat that…

You don’t need anything fancy to get the benefits of creative and expressive drawing.

All you need is something to draw with and something to draw on. Got that? Then you’re sorted.
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Having said that, your experience of drawing is always going to be far more pleasurable if you actually enjoy using your tools. So this lesson is about helping you choose what to start drawing with and what to start drawing on...
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Make mum smile this year with great Mother's Day gift ideas to bring delight and happiness to this special family day...

Mother's Day is in March in the UK and Ireland, while in USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand it falls in June.

I've got some lovely gift ideas to please mum, whether you're making a special trip to see her, enjoying family time together, or simply posting a thoughtful gift with your love...
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These beautiful silky scarves are lovely and large with gorgeously soft, lightweight fabric that drapes and flows like real silk - incredibly stylish and beautiful!

The colours are vivid with a slightly transparent effect so that the colours are visible both sides of the scarf.

Easy artist colour theory for you to understand how to use colour practically in your art.

​Colour is one of those things that attracts us to creating art – it’s exciting and emotional and it gives our drawings life and personality.

It looks so easy… so why is it sometimes so damn hard?!

Let’s start by looking at some easy ways to add colour to our art –

• some ways to create realistic looking colour
• easy artist colour palette ideas
• using colour to enhance your drawing
• adding colour with markers – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…
• adding colour with markers – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…
• adding colour with coloured pencils or watercolour pencils – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…
• adding colour with pastels – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…
• adding colour with oil pastels – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…

In this blog post, we’ll learn techniques for using colour to add form, depth, light, shade, and shape to your drawing – as well as the excitement of colour!

This is important, because as well as being an expressive tool to give emotion, feeling, and excitement to your artwork, colour is also a tool that you can use to give your artwork shape, depth, and form.

In the earliest parts of our drawing, we spend time looking at our subject matter and not our page so that we can draw the outline correctly…

We’ve done lots of hard work with our basic line drawing and may even have added texture and shade (mark making) with pen, pencil, or charcoal. So now we have that already in place, it’s the time to really immerse ourselves in the colour on the page or canvas.

You can apply the following ideas to any medium that you choose to use to apply colour to your artwork.
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And you can adapt the ideas to suit your own style – and I would encourage you to do so.