I’ve been painting a number of different patterns over the last few weeks using the same colour palette to make them a cohesive collection. I made a video of painting this pattern of simple block shapes to demonstrate my process and so you can have a go if you’d like to.
I took a walk at Newhaven in Edinburgh recently and loved the sense of being in a small fishing village, even though I was not far from home and still right in the city. Edinburgh has the most diversity of any place I’ve known; there’s the ancient old town, the stately Georgian new town, you […]
This is a pattern I developed to use in a print, it is made up of simple shapes and I wanted it to look joyful, and give you the feeling of rummaging through small colourful things, like pick and mix sweets or a button jar! I called this pattern ‘small things’ because it’s about finding […]
In these two videos I show you my home setup for screen printing. It does require a little bit of equipment and know-how but it is possible to do at home and I’ve set up a screen printing studio in my spare room which has been very well used during lockdown. This print I made […]
I’ve been making mandalas for many years, they’re relaxing and satisfying to make and I enjoy setting up a structure to begin with and then filling it with shapes, watching as the complexity grows with each step. I’ve usually used a pen to draw my mandalas, sometimes adding colour with marker pens. I’ve got a […]
In this video tutorial I show you how to make this teardrop pattern, beginning with a base of triangles. This is a fun pattern to make to fill a page or to use as part of a larger work of art, and it’s very satisfying to draw.
Block printing is one of the easiest ways to get started with printmaking and in this video I show how you can make a simple pattern block using craft foam and cardboard. I use my block to print up some fabric which I sew into a pencil case. For this project, I use textile screen […]
There are some really simple perspective rules that you can follow to draw any building and make it look realistic. In this video I talk about two point perspective and give you an example of using it to draw a house. The house I drew is in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh and is known […]
In this video tutorial I talk you through making a mandala. I usually use a pair of compasses and a ruler to make sure my mandalas are really neat but in this video I show that even if you don’t have those things to hand, you shouldn’t let it stop you doing some mindful mandala […]
Painting buildings and houses is fun and can be a great way to get started with painting in watercolour. It’s all about breaking down buildings into simple shapes. In this project I use a photo of an Edinburgh house to demonstrate my process. This can be a wonderful project for someone you love who has […]
There is a simple trick to creating perfectly repeating patterns and, though many patterns are created using design software, it’s fun to make them by hand too. I show you how to make a simple repeating pattern using a piece of paper, pen, knife, ruler and some tape.
I’ve made two videos showing my process for making a Lino print. I’m working on a series of prints with the letters of the alphabet and this shows how I cut the block and printed my letter ‘J’ print. The first video shows how to make the block and the second, how to print it. […]
