- March - 100 day challenge, a bonus drawing session and frosted florals
Monthly update from my art studio
Hello everyone,
This email is reaching you earlier in the month than it normally would - I’ve decided it feels more logical to send these to you at the beginning of the month. So let’s start with freshly painted flowers and other Spring news.
In the Studio
I have been a busy bee! Apart from my regular studio work and hosting our art community, I’m also participating in the 100 day project. What’s that? Well, you basically do something creative every day for 100 days. I want to keep it “casual”, and I’m sketching an element from nature a day. After 5 days, I unfortunately got a horrible stomach flu (having a 39C fever as I’m writing this…bweurgh) so I’m hoping I can catch up and keep up with the other 90 days.
I’m developing a botanical drawing course which will I will host in person in Haarlem, the Netherlands! Every week, we will meet in one of the greenhouses of the Kweektuin, where all of our drawing subjects surround us. It also has beautiful gardens outside where we study the plants. More info coming soon, keep an eye on my website!
Art community updates
The Seasonal Sketch Session was such a delight! I fell more in love with my kraft paper sketchbook. And to show a bit more behind the scenes, I made a video to share all my secrets on how I create detailed artwork.
In other videos, you will find:
Beautiful reference pictures of frosted florals and hibernating animals
The replay of the Frosted florals & hibernation drawing session
How I paint a Eurasian Jay bird (follow along in real-time)
Coming up : Holland in the Spring
As I live in the Netherlands, we’re taking a close look at those spring bulbs popping up everywhere. We have two live drawing sessions lined up:
For paid Substack and Patreon members, the monthly themed session:
Wednesday 20th of March - 20:00 (8PM) CEST Amsterdam Time - All paid members of the Creative Cocoon
Theme: Golden Age Spring Florals
SIGN UP HEREAvailable at Patreon - Meadow Maestros tier:
Tuesday March 12th 16:00 (4 PM) CEST Amsterdam Time (+replay)
Seasonal Sketch Session - we will be drawing plants / flowers and animals that are common in March in my area (The Netherlands)
Please use this time zone converter to find the times in your area: www.worldtimebuddy.com
****Are you a free member and want to join this month? Our free trial is still going, but ends this Monday! ****
EXTRA DRAWING SESSION: SPRING EQUINOX!
To celebrate the official start of Spring I will host an extra session:
Saturday March 23rd 16:00 (4 PM) CEST Amsterdam Time (+replay)
This session is a session open for all, and it’s donation based. Pay what you can! A portion of the sales will be donated to the Vogelbescherming (the Dutch National Bird Protection Foundation).
MORE INFO & SIGN UP HERE
If all goes well, I’ll host a free session for every equinox and solstice this year, 4 in total. Next year I hope to complete the circle with the remaining 4 of the seasonal festivals on the wheel of the year; Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa, and Samhain.
Other Live Session Tips:
Can’t wait to join the Animal Portrait session the
has plannedTo stay on theme, next month is Portrait Month at Emma Carlisles' Patreon. This might be the nudge I need to paint more faces.
I’m catching up on the Woodland drawing session hosted by Odd Orange.
Favorite Art - one of mine and one of theirs
Forget the fact that this scene might be a bit too idyllic (I live on the sarcastic side of life, sorry :-S). This scene does convey a lot of joy, though, and if there were a Spring day like this, I would want to be in it.
I love the colours and the way the trees are painted. It makes me think of Boticelli’’s Primavera, which may be one of my favourite artworks of all time.
The colours in this piece are completely different, but the feeling I get when I look at it is the same. I made this illustration of my then 1-year-old from a reference picture I made of her trotting around my parent’s garden. The sun isn’t in the illustration, but it was a lovely day. I made myself a promise to make an illustration of her every year and only got to 2…maybe I can catch up with the other 4 years?
Lovelies
Finding the joy in small things:
Podcast Authentic Obsessions : The last one I listened to was Lea Ann Slotkin - Nature & Color
Paper cuttings by Woodlucker. I’m just amazed every time I see something she creates.
Kraft paper sketchbooks by Clairefontaine. I have an A4 sized one and I think I need (I do!) an A3 one. Such a wonderful paper to draw on, especially with Neocolors!
Thanks for reading, don’t forget to make a garland out of daisies, and see you in April!
I am sorry that you had that nasty flu! I really enjoyed your first 5 drawings from the project, so waiting for more :) I think the 100 day rules can be quite flexible, life happens to all of us! When I started doing the project, I decided from the start that I won't be expecting myself to be doing 100 days in a row, rather I aim at creating 100 pieces. Sometimes I get up in the morning with anxiety and I just know that I won't be able to hold a brush that day, so I just try doing other things, like writing the newsletter or shopping for supplies haha
Thank you so much for including the Introvert Drawing Club session! I love your lil frog drawing!