NEW WORK & INSPIRATION
January can feel like a very slow month, especially on cold and damp days. But the brighter, crisper days are more enjoyable and make you yearn for the warmth of spring.
I've been using these slow days to create new work. I gave myself a new year project of creating a new lino print for each month of the year so that I can finally put together a calendar for 2025, which I've always wanted to do. It's been really interesting trying to interpret what the months feel like to me. So far, I have created a print for December and January and aim to create two a month hopefully completing them all be July/August time.
December moodboard
Midwinter's Eve
For each month, I'm putting together a moodboard of other artists work and some of my own photos. It's important to look at the work of others, not to copy or imitate, but to provide inspiration, colour combination ideas and look at the different styles of print/painting. My December moodboard features the work of: Angela Harding, Vanessa Lubach, Rob Barnes, Annie Soudain and more! I loved the use of orange sunset skies against cold blue snowy shadows, inspiring me to create 'Midwinter's Eve'. I will use this moodboard again towards the end of the year to create some more wintery art.
January moodboard
My January moodboard has some lovely rich colours alongside very soft and cold tones. the board features the work of: Liz Myhill, Helen Maxfield, Niki Bowers, Matt Johnson and many more! For me, its a great way of coming up with a rough colour palette to represent the month. I've used it to create one new print, two paintings and three collages.
Winter Furrows
'Winter Furrows' is inspired by cold January days when the last of the snow and frost is still hanging on. It features a solitary pheasant in the foreground and some signs of life through the bleakness of Winter. The landscape scenery is based on a view looking from Sustead church across the fields and tree-lined lane towards Thurgarton in the Norfolk Countryside where I grew up. I always find it strange that you don't see or hear pheasants where I live now in more urban Nottinghamshire, so they are always a welcome sight when visiting the countryside.
Winter Path
Collecting Pebbles
Cold Marshes
All of this new work is available to purchase now, on my website and Etsy shop. I'm really excited to start working on the months of February and March and gradually making work which is fresher and brighter as the months go on.