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New Painting!!! Over the end of 2025/beginning of 2026 I painted 'Geese Over Castle Stalker' - possibly my most atmospheric landscape to date! This is the sister painting to 'Geese Over Loch Laich Salt Marsh' and shows the view facing the other way towards Loch Linhe and Castle Stalker. I took a fair bit of artistic license with the sky on this one. The photos I used for reference had a rather dull grey/white sky but my memory of this moment was a lot more stormy so I invented my own sky. It's partly a sky from another photo of the same area on a different day and partly just me making it up. I think it might be my favourite sky I've painted so far. I tried a few different techniques out on this painting. I used the same flat brush for all of the sky and background stuff to stop myself getting too bogged down in the details. I also added blue to almost every colour, including the browns and greens to give the whole painting a moody evening feel, which I think worked really well. Painting wet sand was also a new challenge and also rippling water, which I really had to force myself to be loose with or I would still be painting it now! It was so nice to paint something that wasn't a lot of grass and trees for once. Don't get me wrong, I love painting grass and trees but painting muddy sand was a fun new challenge. Here you can see it with it's sister painting, and although it is a very different colour scheme I do think the make a nice pair. The geese are the same ones in each painting.
Imagine you're standing on the bridge that runs over the salt marsh looking at the geese flying over Castle Stalker and then, as they fly over your head, you spin around and watch them fly away over Loch Laich - that is the story that these two paintings tell together.
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Behold! My first ever range of Valentine's day cards! There's a couple of classic puns, some Welsh ones and a sci-fi one for my fellow science nerds! Painting detailed landscapes is fun but it's so nice every now and then to just create something simple and cute. I really enjoyed making the rocket one because I've always loved that classic 1950's sci-fi future aesthetic. All available to buy now in my shop in Wrexham
and online here. Time for an upgrade! I thought it was about time my Art Bunny logo got a snazzy new look. I also needed to vectorise it so I could print it on larger formats so it seemed the perfect time to tidy it up a bit.
It's the same logo, I've just taken away the drop shadow and simplified the colours so now it has three colours instead of five. I've also taken the shadow off the writing and enlarged it slightly so it balances better with the image. It's still the classic Art Bunny paint splat but now it's sleek and fancy! 2025 was a very eventful year for me! I put on my first solo exhibition, I opened my shop, I painted a new mural - I did a lot of new and at times scary things in 2025 but it will definitely be a year I won't forget! Here are a few of the highlights...
Say hello to . . . . Rory! The Art Bunny Dinosaur finally has a name!
I put up a naming sheet in the shop a couple of months ago and today we pulled a name out of a basket and 'Rory' was the winner! Thank you to everyone who wrote down a name; it was so much fun seeing all of your suggestions! Rory is very happy with his new name and he and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Nadolig Llawen a Blwydden Newydd Da! My latest project is complete! Over the last few weeks I've been painting a space themed photo wall for Xplore! Science Discovery Centre in Wrexham to promote the new planetarium they're opening next year. It was painted across four equal sized wooden panels and pieced together on the wall. The names of the planets are in both English and Welsh and although I tried to sneak Pluto in there too they made me take it out (boo!).
Painting on wood was a bigger challenge than I expected as it really soaks up the paint so it took several layers to get bright colours. Jupiter especially has about four layers of paint in places. It was fun to do; I haven't done anything space themed for ages. This is going to sound weird but one of the bits I most proud of on this is the government logo I drew by hand at the bottom - it looks surprisingly accurate considering I drew it freehand! Hopefully it will inspire a new generation of space explorers to reach for the stars! I decided I loved my Nadolig Llawen design so much I'd also make it into a standing decoration! I've been getting all of my wooden decorations from Lightning Laser and they are so lovely. I can't wait to design some more that aren't just for Christmas! Available to buy in my shop in Wrexham and online here.
Look at my lovely new wooden Christmas decorations! They're all coloured pencil illustrations of mine that have been printed onto wood and laser cut by Lightning Laser - made in the UK which is something I always aim for. They all have adorable names too because I love a Christmas pun! All of these are available to buy now
in my shop in Wrexham and online here. More new Christmas cards! Santa Claws is in town - his sleeves are too long and his boots too small but he's ready for Christmas and loving it! Plus my first Welsh Christmas card featuring an illustration of the Welsh dragon - Y Ddraig Goch - with some colourful festive bunting and sparkly fairy lights. Both of these were just meant to be wooden Christmas decorations but they were so cool I had to turn them into cards too! Both of these Christmas cards and more are available to buy now at my shop in Wrexham and online here.
Here are a couple of new Christmas cards I made for this year! First is a Christmas 'Dinos with Desserts' card featuring a Camposaurus with a Christmas Pudding - because dinosaurs and Christmas are totally a thing now! The second is design I did for a Brains Beer competition that didn't win but I thought it was cool so I thought I'd make it into a Christmas card. Heaving that sack of presents around is clearly a very good arm workout! Both of these are available to buy in my shop and online here.
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AuthorMy name is Rachel West. I am a freelance artist, animator and cake enthusiast. This blog is an insight into what goes on in my Art Bunny world. Archives
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