Postcard Art Exhibit Art for a Cause 2026 shop now open!
There is a fantastic selection of original postcards, created by artists all over the world in support of this year’s charity supporting people with Alzheimer’s, including this watercolour of mine.
Click on this link to find out more or purchase a piece of original art for a good cause!
Card Motifs : cake and candles / cacti flower / arrow ! heart / vases and leaf
These handy packs of four handmade greeting cards feature art collages made from paper I’ve hand-printed with a silver or gold coloured abstract effect. I’ve mounted them onto an ivory 225gsm card stock, sustainably made in the Lake District and I’ve signed each card on the back, making each card perfect to pop in a picture frame after use for a bit of instant art. Inside each card is a loose blank inner sheet for your personal messages.
Each Pack supplied with matching envelopes.
Card size: 5 inches x 7 inches.
You can find them in my Etsy shop here.
Card Motifs: bottles and glass / aquarium / butterflies / cake and candles.
This little postcard-sized watercolour I’ve painted, ‘Tree Bathing’ will be on exhibtion and sale for this year’s PAE art for a cause in The Hague, Netherlands. To find out more click here.
I’ve deliberatley used strong tree shadows to give a sense of bright light pouring through the pine trees.
I’ve also recently been working on some watercolour commissions. This one, featuring balloons over the Bristol Suspension Bridge, also has strong reflections and shadows in the river water to give depth to the river gorge.
This little watercolour of reed beds and an Egret, (for sale in my Etsy shop here) doesn’t rely on strong shadows or reflections but does use a graduated colour on the reeds, from light to dark, to suggest denseness and depth at the water line and the water is the same blue tone as the sky.
So my top tips for working with watercolours to create shadows and reflections are:
Work our your main light source direction for your image and keep all your shadows going in the same direction away from it.
If you have a secondary light source from a different direction, do the same for that but make your shadows are lighter and check whether they are cooler or warmer in tone than those from the main light source.
Think about graduating your colour blocks to emphasise the depth or solidity of an object.
Keep skies and water in the same tonal ranges in your painting, water reflects the sky!
Using the whole of an A4 sheet of paper for one basket(zero waste), I’ve created this simple paper basket for a great little craft project. Ideal for parties, egg hunts, Easter table decorations etc.
You can either draw out the grid on your sheet of A4 paper or lightweight card using the pattern as a template or print the pattern direct to your A4 sheet.
You can use pre-decorated or colour paper, draw your own patterns on it or add your own paper decorations or stickers to it (remember to pattern the reverse side of your sheet if printing pattern).
The heavier weight paper or card you use, the stronger the basket but the harder it will be to cut out!
You will need:
A4 paper, scissors or craft knife, ruler with finger guard, sticky tape, double-sided tape or paper glue. (I prefer to use sticky tape and double-sided tape.) Stapler for handle if necessary.
Directions:
Using pattern as a guide, mark or print out pattern onto A4 paper.
Cut along the solid lines, fold along the dashed lines using the edge of the ruler as guide.
Stick Tab A and Tab B to inside of Panel C.
Stick Tab D and Tab E to inside of Panel F.
Secure the corner edges of the basket with tape, if needed.
Fold two handle strips lengthways. Overlap ends and stick together securely with tape to make long handle. Attach to either the outside or inside of basket (where Tabs meet on panel to hide seam).
Staple handle in place for extra strength, if needed.
Warning: Please take care with sharp edges, scissors and glue with young children!
A look back at some of the art I’ve seen while out and about this year. (Stripes, lines, red, threads, waves, shadows, surface, time, stance.)
From top to bottom:
Myths & Machines exhibition, Niki de Saint Phalle
Myths & Machines exhibition, Jean Tinguely
The Madonna and Child with St John the Baptist, Giovanni Bellini
An Uncommon Thread exhibition, Max Boyla
Bronze Age Beaker, Broadmayne
Ship of Fools, Kehinde Wiley
Gromit Unleashed 3 Art Trail
Ton of Tea, Ai Weiwei
Street art, Mau Mau
