Art Bunny Blog - The Art Bunny

Good Geese!

22/7/2024

A few weeks ago I painted this new piece depicting a flock of geese flying over the tidal salt marsh of Loch Laich near Appin in Scotland.

I painted it from a photo I took whilst standing on the Jubilee Bridge - a wooden bridge built in 1897 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria that crosses the marsh.

It took me a week to paint because in my usual fashion I couldn't leave the details alone! I'm really pleased with the result though especially the colours and the dramatic sky (which I changed about ten times!)

Geese Over Loch Laich Salt Marsh - acrylic on canvas

Queen of Dogs.

27/6/2024

Sadly we lost the original member of Team Inferno (the team name for mine and my sister's dogs) recently - the beautiful Sally. She was 18 years old and was my sister's first dog so for her birthday this year I decided to paint her a picture of Sally in all her queenly majesty.

I took the photo for this painting when Sally was younger and I always loved how towering she looked even though she is actually the size of a cat. Sally was almost completely grey at the end except for the end of her tail, and I always forget how ginger she used to be.

We will miss you Sally x x

Queen Sally - acrylic on canvas

Shhhh...it's a secret!

26/6/2024

A little while back I made a postcard for the Ilkley Arts Secret Postcard Auction. I wasn't allowed to advertise what I'd made until after the auction was complete as who made each postcard had to remain a secret. The theme was 'Passage' so I decided to draw part of the door at Saddell Castle in Scotland as it shows two types of passage - the door leads to a passage and the aging shows the passage of time - deep right! (hahaha)

I'm really proud of this one. I think the texture of both the metal and wood are really effective. It was done from a photo I took many years ago when I stayed at Saddell Castle and I think this image really captures the castle's magic.

It was done in chalk pastels and coloured pencil on brown paper. I've fallen in love with chalk pastels recently, and combining them with coloured pencils is something I've never thought to do in the past but I love the results.

Saddell Door - chalk pastel and coloured pencil on brown paper

Craft Fairs Galore!

25/6/2024

I've been nice and busy with craft fairs this year and for the most part they've been going pretty well. Other than the most recent fair at Betty Berkins I've also been very lucky with the weather.

I did another Wrexham Artisan Market which once again was a very well organise event with lots of people.

Wrexham Artisan Market

Caersws Vintage Rally

I went to the Caersws Vintage Rally which was a lovely event and was a lot busier than I thought it would be.

Chirk Carnival

The Chirk Carnival has by far been the busiest event I've done so far. I learnt a lot about what sort of things work and don't work at this one. The best one was from the stall next to me who had a battery powered fan which was a great idea as it was really warm in the marquee!

Betty Berkins Craft Fair was the most eventful if unsuccessful fair I've ever done! It was very windy and we all spent most of the day holding onto our gazebos, especially after one gazebo flipped backwards over the hedge and landed on someone's car! All in all it was a bit of waste of time but sometimes events just don't come together for one reason or another.

Betty Berkins Craft Fair

lots more craft fairs to come!!!

Boats and Breezes...

16/4/2024

I made two new pieces of art this week - 'Autumn Breeze' and 'Far off Fishing Boat'. I made them both for the upcoming exhibition at the Drawing Board in Wrexham - a local community art gallery.

'Autumn Breeze' is done in chalk pastels and coloured pencil and 'Far off Fishing Boat' is just chalk pastels. I haven't worked with chalk pastels in a while but I've noticed that one of my most popular pieces of art the last couple of years has been a simple chalk pastel and coloured pencil illustration I made called 'Sweet Nectar', so I thought I would try and replicate that success.

I really love how both of these pieces turned out. Hair is one of my favourite things to draw/paint, particularly when it's blowing in the wind, and I think this drawing with it's beautiful colours of autumn is so peaceful and dreamy you can almost hear the rustling wind. The boat in the other drawing is the same one that features in my painting 'Weather Coming In'. It was very far away from me when I photographed it (hence the title) which actually helped me be a bit looser with the details as I couldn't really make them out.

One picture from real life and one from my imagination - a very productive week!

The Bunny's back in town!

16/4/2024

Craft fairs are back! That's right after many years I am back out on the craft fair circuit selling my wares.

I've bought myself a lovely new red gazebo, some personalised bunting and lots of cool accessories to make my stall as enticing as possible. I think you'll agree it looks pretty good!

My first craft fair of the year was Wrexham's Artisan Market on 30th March. It was a really good day - the sun shone, it was actually warm and best of all it was busy all day!

I must commend the organisers for putting on a really good event and also thank everyone who bought something from my stall (especially all of my very supportive family who are my best customers!).

It's an Absolute Gem!

19/3/2024

Behold! It's an Absolute Gem! For those of you who haven't seen the amazing television show Our Flag Means Death I highly recommend that you do!

I made this little illustration in honour of one of my favourite moments from the show - Stede Bonnet in his cursed red velvet suit.

I don't often make fan art but sometimes something is so good I just can't help myself. Rhys Darby delivers this line (and every other line) so well that I just had to draw it.

The original drawing of Stede I did with coloured pencil and then added the background and text in photoshop. I went through a few different background ideas before I decided to make it look a bit like a treasure map (because Stede was so proud of his) complete with ragged edges and blood stain.

It's such a shame that it looks as though this show isn't going to get it's final season (fingers crossed one day it will), but at least I had fun drawing Stede being Stede!

This is available to buy as print from my shop.

It's Official...Official Branding that is!

7/2/2024

Look how pretty!!! My new official Art Bunny branded paraphernalia has arrived and I love it! I'll be back out doing craft fairs again this year and it's important to leave a lasting impression. Having something for people to take away is a great way to do this and now I have plenty to chose from!

My new stationary also features my new Art Bunny QR code which will take people directly to my online shop.

My little thank you cards are done in what I am officially calling 'Art Bunny Pink'!

Bees at the Drawing Board...

6/2/2024

It's new exhibition time at the Drawing Board in Wrexham again! This time I've entered 'Bee on Pink Lavender' parts 1 and 2. I wanted to enter part 3 as well but this was a popular exhibition and everyone was limited to just two pieces.

Hopefully someone will love them as much as I do and buy them!

Art Bunny at the RCA!

5/2/2024

What a way to start the year! Two of my paintings - 'Steps to the Castle' and 'Cormorants and Herring Gulls' - were both accepted as part of the Royal Cambrian Academy Open Exhibition 2024! The RCA are a big deal so this was a really proud moment for me, and there were so many amazing artworks there so to be amongst them was a real validation of my work.

The RCA Gallery is in Conwy so I picked two paintings that showcase two of my favourite places in Wales; Castell Dinas Bran and the North Wales coast.

The exhibition is still on until the end of February so if you happen to be in the area do go check it out!

'Steps to the Castle' at RCA Open Exhibition 2024

'Cormorants and Herring Gulls' at the RCA Open Exhibition 2024