- March - Falling in love, blue irises and painting a still life
Monthly update from my art studio
Hello,
You know that feeling when spring is in the air and it is slowly rising but not yet bursting out of every crevice of the streets, parks and gardens? We are almost there, I feel it. I feel it in the air, which is slowly getting warmer, I notice it in the people who are happier in the morning, I notice it in the sun rising earlier. It’s almost fully here ❤️
I fell in love
One cold Sunday morning, I wandered into the dunes with my family. After marvelling at all the glistening ice crystals on leaves, I looked up and fell in love—such beautiful light shining through the trees. I immediately knew I had to paint it. Only I hardly ever paint landscapes. Feels like the perfect time to give it another try, right? It became the thing I enjoyed most this month, and it also took me the least effort. Lesson learned: always do what feels inspiring.
Gift: 7-day trial!
I initially opened the doors to the Creative Cocoon art club on Patreon, but in the past year, Substack has proven to be such a lovely platform that I decided to host it exclusively on Substack from now on. To celebrate, I’m offering a free 7-day trial the whole month! You’ll get access to our drawing sessions, new videos, and our archive of 100+ videos and articles to satisfy your artistic needs. See you at the next drawing session!
Weekly botanical drawings
Despite always having a to-do list of 100 things, I’m allowing myself a moment of rest once a week to draw a beautiful flower or plant. I enjoy it immensely. Hellebores have been my favourite for some time now. Is there a plant you would like to see me paint? Mention it in the comments.
Art Retreat in the Eifel (Germany), Sept 2025
As some of you may know, I’m hosting an art retreat in Germany from Sept 1-4, 2025, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve created a little introductory video for you, to get a sense of what it’ll be like.
You can find more info about the retreat here: https://www.machershaus.com/en/botanical-drawing-in-the-eifel/
If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments. I’m also planning a Zoom drawing session so we can be inspired by the beautiful nature of the Eifel Region!
Painting on a larger scale
I've had this easel since September. And every week, I resolve to start painting. Why does working on a larger scale feel so challenging? This month, I’m taking the plunge. I’ll show my progress in a post for paid members.
Want to join us next month for a drawing session?
I have some lovely ones in store! Our live sessions in March are:
🐭🐘🙊🦋 Creatures Great And Small - Tuesday 11th of March at 16:00 (4PM) CEST Join us drawing animals of all sizes! A drawing session where we play with the size of our paper, the size of the animal and the size of our materials
SIGN UP HERE
🐞🌼🌳🌷 Wonderful Wildflowers - Wednesday 19th of March at 20:00 (8PM) CEST A session with co-host
where we will draw wildflowers specific to our dwelling places: The Lizard (Cornwall) and Zuidkennemerland (the Netherlands)SIGN UP HERE
Missed our meetings or videos?
No worries, (paid) members can catch up with the videos below.
Left: my sketchbook spread from our Under The Surface drawing session. Right:
s beautiful sketchbook
Drawings from our members:
(top left), (top right), (bottom left), (bottom right). Gorgeous results!Posts for free members:
Monthly Nature Palette
This is the monthly palette for March. I create these palettes by observing my surroundings and collecting photos of petals and leaves from nature. At home, I then compile a palette, occasionally finding new materials to complement it. I will create a new palette each month to inspire you. You can use all of the colours or pick only3 or 4 for a fresh palette. Feel free to use this and tag me if you create something with it!
Lovelies
I’m suddenly obsessed with watching unnarrated videos of people cooking or gardening on YouTube. Love this one (live in Hokkaido) and this one (Country life). I’m still looking for one featuring vegan cooking, and I would love some tips!
I can’t wait for magnolia’s to bloom, they are alllllmost opening!
My new art toolkit palette. So happy with it.
I'm secretly still making “kruidnoten” (we eat them around December here in the Netherlands), and this recipe is great. I just love a Biscoff flavour.
Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed this, please give it a like or a comment. Have a lovely month, don’t forget to draw some narcissus and I’ll see you next time!
It's so lovely to see how the nature is impacting your art. The Eiffelova retreat sounds so lovely 😍
Narcissus :) I love seeing you work, but also love seeing your studio (a dream)!