2019: In Review

2019, what a year.

A Collection of Commissioned Floral Drawings

I experienced the most change in 2019 than at any other time in my life. The year started with me being very heavily pregnant, anxiously waiting for exchange and completion on our first home together. The keys came in mid January and we had just enough time to give the flat an almighty clean and with (a lot of) help from friends paint a few rooms. We moved in and on the 8th February (nine days overdue) our son Harrison arrived. The next days/weeks passed in a blur. Sleepless nights, breastfeeding struggles, spontaneous tears all mixed in with pure joy, moments of disbelief that we had made something so perfect and a constant feeling of adjustment.

In April I picked up a pen to draw for the first time since Harrison arrived, I managed some simple sweet peas in fountain pen. In May we took a trip to Cornwall to visit my dad, it was our first little family holiday and felt so needed. In June I started working on a new ‘woodland study’ drawing for an exhibition with The Arborealists; an artist group whose focus is on trees. It was an honour to be asked by founder Tim Craven if I would take part in the exhibition at the Turbine House in Reading as a guest. The exhibition was a success and it was wonderful to be able to take some time to attend the private view and meet some of the participating artists in person. The exhibition coincided with me ‘solo-parenting’ for a week while Craig went to a festival, Harrison and I got on extremely well on our own though of course we were very happy when he returned.

Woodland Study VI at The Arborealists and Guests Exhibition at The Turbine House

Summer was spent picnicking with friends, fruit picking, taking walks, visiting National Trust gardens, Harrisons very first day at the beach and several trips to Lymington to indulge in pub lunches with my grandparents. Inspired by all the flowers we’d seen on our day trips I started making more and more floral drawings, most of which were on beautiful handmade paper that I’d sourced. The drawings that I made and shared led to a few commissions which I was grateful for but found to lead to a bit of anxiety as I felt under pressure to create the perfect drawing. Several of the floral drawings went on display at The Sheep Shed Gallery in Weyhill for an exhibition titled Where Flowers Bloom, as I’d hoped when I had a solo exhibition in 2018 I now have a lovely relationship with the gallery which has led to me being asked to exhibit in group shows a few times.

A Favourite Commission - Seeded Eucalyptus

Gardenia Commission

August 28th was a heartbreaking day as we had to say goodbye to our beloved golden retriever, Megan. She loved us unconditionally and brought us 14 years of joy and laughs. We still miss her everyday.

In September we attended the wedding of one of my dear university friends, Harrison stopped breastfeeding and we finished two terms worth of Baby Sensory classes. It really felt like Harrison was starting to go from baby to little boy. In October we were gifted five nights stay in Craig’s sisters caravan in the New Forest. We went for windy walks along the coast of Milford-on-Sea, ate pub lunches and drank hot chocolates, visited beautiful Exbury Gardens and took a walk from Beaulieu to Bucklers Hard. Since moving into our flat in January we had experienced some really awful noise disturbances from our upstairs neighbour, combined with lack of sleep and a fairly constant feeling of exhaustion we were so grateful to be able to escape for a few days to enjoy true peace and quiet. A new mortgage, new car and a new baby on basically one income meant that ‘adventures’ were a little few and far between throughout the year so a free trip really meant a lot and gave us some lovely memories - our first holiday just us three!

In November Craig and I celebrated 13 years together, we got to enjoy an uninterrupted brunch while Harrison slept peacefully in his pram and in the afternoon we took him to our local National Trust estate, The Vyne for a little DIY family portrait session. I also released two brand new giclée prints taken from my ‘woodland study’ series of drawings, they came out better than expected and I hope that many will find new homes.

In December I had two drawings on display at The Sheep Shed Gallery in Weyhill at an exhibition titled Synergy. I was pleased to learn that both drawings sold. The rest of the month was all about enjoying our first festive season together as a new family. I took some time away from social media after the results of the general election and realised that I’d like to take a break more often, I’m so guilty of constantly scrolling and spend a lot of my time liking, commenting and sharing other peoples work that I frankly felt quite burnt out. It’s great to support other people by engaging as it does make a difference but I was making it too much of a priority, feeling bad if I missed somebody’s post.

Winter Tree, pen on paper

It’s been a big year personally and that’s one of the reasons why my art business has not done as well as 2018 as I haven’t been able to devote as much time to it. In 2018 I sold over 100 drawings, in 2019 I sold around 40. In 2018 my website received over 7000 unique visitors, in 2019 just under 4000. I only managed a few journal entries in all of 2019 whereas in 2018 I ran an artist interview series and wrote some very personal posts too which got a lot of traction. Without new posts being added regularly it’s hard to get people to click on to your website, this year I’d like to increase my journal entries again, possibly by doing ‘artist spotlights’ where I write about other artists work, like an interview but without having to bother the artists with lots of questions.

Mottisfont in July - A New Woodland Study Drawing

I would also like to create more drawings that I can make prints from to create a little bit more passive income, I’m in receipt of child benefit as our household income is under the £50,000 threshold but I don’t receive maternity pay. The only money I have is money I make from my shop, child benefit and money that Craig gives me. I very rarely buy myself anything, most of the money that goes into my account goes on formula for Harrison, activities for him like ‘messy play’ and other baby groups, food shopping and household essentials. I’d love to be able to make enough that I don’t have to ask for money from my partner, can buy things that I need easily and things that Harrison needs too. Ultimately I’d like to earn enough to be able to have my income taken into account when we move on from our flat and into a house, it’s going to be a big financial struggle moving on as house prices in our area of north Hampshire get more expensive and not enough affordable housing is built.

It’s been one hell of a year, we’re used to working hard and travelling hard - our twenties were all about adventures to faraway lands but 2019 was probably our biggest adventure yet; parenthood. We couldn’t be prouder parents of our little boy, he’s fast approaching his first birthday and has such a big personality, mischievous, cheeky with an eye for trouble. We love making memories with him and hope 2020 will be a great year full of fun. My art making and business running has to slot in around Harrison these days but I like to think that I can make 2020 more productive so that I can spin both plates of artist and mum.

Harrison’s First Christmas

Have you written a review of your year or hopes and goals for 2020? I'd love to read if so, let me know in the comments below. 

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The Golden Forest

I’ve just returned from a short break to the Forest of Dean, a place I have mentioned many times before. It’s my ‘childhood happy place’ and somewhere that holds a lot of treasured memories. This years visit was particularly special as my partner and I went in celebration of our anniversary - 12 years together. It was also our last little getaway before our baby arrives in January. Not only was it special for those two reasons but also because the autumn colours were so vibrant this year; richer and deeper gold, orange and yellow hues than I’ve ever seen before. It felt as though the trees were really putting on a show for us, to make our escape even more precious.

Last years trip to the Forest of Dean inspired many drawings and was the catalyst for starting the woodland studies series which is ongoing and a project that I particularly enjoy working on. It seems a shame that I rarely work with colour nowadays as this time it wasn’t so much the tiny details of the woodland that captured my attention but the incredible copper colours. Perhaps this will signal a change in my practice, from intricate monochromatic drawings in pen to abstracted landscapes focused on colour? Only time will tell.

I hope you enjoyed these photographs taken by my partner Craig Pendrill. The Forest of Dean is located in Gloucestershire on the English/Welsh border.

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A Little Life Update

This journal has always been a space to share a little bit of everything; personal thoughts on life as an artist, exhibition summaries and for a big chunk of time an insight into my travels when I spent nearly 11 months backpacking, that seems like a lifetime ago now! As an artist I feel like all sorts influences my work and so it’s important to keep note of whats happening as a change in circumstances might be the catalyst for change in my art practice. With that in mind I wanted to share two life updates, one of which is very significant.

The first is that my partner and I are in the process of buying our first home. We’ve been together for 12 years but never lived in our own home together, rented or otherwise. In those 12 years I’ve lived in Cheltenham to study my BA in Fine Art, he has rented a room from a friend, we’ve spent a total of 19 months backpacking the globe together living in camper vans, hostels and hotels and we’ve lodged with my family. Finally, we will have a little place to call our own. North Hampshire is a pricey part of the U.K. to get on the property ladder (due to its proximity to London) so it hasn’t been easy and with me being a full time self employed artist we are only able to use my partners wage to get a mortgage. Still, we are chuffed to bits that soon we will have the keys and be able to hang all the art and illustrations that we’ve collected over the years as well as display all our travel photographs.

The second and most exciting piece of news is that my partner and I are expecting our first baby! Little one is due at the end of January and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Watching my bump grow over the last few months has been magical and we cannot wait to welcome him/her to the world. Of course, having a baby is life changing and will affect every aspect of my life and especially my art practice. In fact, baby isn’t even here yet and already so much has changed. I haven’t felt in the right frame of mind to create work for some time, the nausea at the beginning of the pregnancy, the overwhelming tiredness and the raging hormones have all contributed to me slowing right down. I’ve been trying not to berate myself for this as it’s just what my body needs at this time and I’ve been extremely fortunate in that working from home I can allow for time off without letting anyone down.

I’ll be the main caregiver to our baby as we need my partners wage to pay the mortgage and bills and I hope that in time I’ll be able to return to some of my work, squeezing in the odd drawing between the chaos. I will not be going on ‘maternity leave’ as such, I receive so few orders that I imagine I’ll still be able to pack and post any that I do receive (though there may be a slight delay) and financially I won’t be in a position to turn down any sales or opportunities to make a few pennies, the pursestrings will be very tight for some time going forward. I envisage that new drawings will be very few and far between and that my social media channels and journal entries may look totally abandoned but hopefully that’ll all be temporary and I’ll be able to bounce back.

It’s been really lovely keeping this news private for us to enjoy with our family and closest friends for so long but as I enter the final trimester I felt it was the right time to share, I didn’t want anyone wondering what on earth had happened to me come January when I’m no longer able to draw/make/share anything!

Thank you for following along with my art life so far, I hope you’ll stick around while I start this new chapter. I promise I won’t be bombarding my journal/social media with all things baby. If you’d like to help financially support this artist mama-to-be (home buying and having a baby are rather expensive things - especially at the same time!) then don’t forget to take a look at my online shop which is currently filled with lots of intricate original pieces of art ranging from £10 - £300.

If you enjoyed reading then please click the heart at the bottom, share or better still leave me a comment, I love reading them. ❤️