Lighthouse Inspiration

An old stone-built lighthouse – the original beautiful white colour shines gold in the evening light.

For all of you, urban sketchers or landscape enthusiasts – here’s the best of both worlds – an old lighthouse:).

Green inspiration

One of the most hopeful plants that grows in impossible places.

In the summer droughts are quite common in this area of little islands so there’s not much greenery around apart from some pine trees and agaves. But even in the smallest cracks, there is life pushing through and persisting despite all the obstacles. So if you need some hope – this little plant is full of it! I will draw it whenever I feel like life is taking over.

Flowery inspiration

Climbers are such amazing plants but this one also blossoms beautifully!

This week I owe you a nature inspiration, right? These are some dried-up blossoms from bougainvillea and they are so pretty that we pick them from the floor, sweep under them and then scatter them again :D. We have some in bowls, some were decorations on the gifts for my daughter,… Do you have any beauties like this where you live?

Fairy Inspiration

This is fairy and gnome paradise, don’t you think? Even the air here is so so fresh! I know my photo doesn’t do justice to this place but still – I hope you can get a sense of this magical place…

Where the magical beings live…

Exotic inspiration

In my last inspiration I asked where do you think that flower picture was taken. The answer is Tenerife and here’s another inspiration from that wonderful island:

Beautiful colours and diverse landscape (rainforest in the north, dessert in the south) provide plenty inspiration!

Sea Inspiration

It’s mermay and we’re all looking forward to summer holidays – many make plans already… so to put you in the mood, here’s a picture for you:)

Planning summer vacation yet?

Nature Journaling in Spring

Spring is perfect for nature journaling – it’s getting warmer so it’s easier to be outside for a longer time and nature is inspiring us with all the colours, all the patterns and all the beauty you can imagine!

Spring calls us outside:)

Yes, spring can have it’s drawbacks like a lot of rain and allergies if you’re one of the “lucky ones”;). So how can we work around that?
– Rain: look at the weather forecast when planning your outings, take an umbrella and sketch under a roof if it begins to rain. Using waterproof pens and a waterproof bag for your art journal is also a good idea.
– Allergies: wear a mask – it could be a normal fabric sewn mask that we all have from the jolly days of isolation;). The pollen is actually pretty big and those masks really help. If your eyes are itching, try wearing tight fitting glasses (some sun glasses are shaped really well and very useful if it’s sunny).
– Mud: even if it’s not raining at the moment, the ground is usually wet in spring – at least in our climate. To avoid getting your bumm wet, use a DIY sitting mat from recycled materials – it works like a charm.
– If the weather is continuously unkind, go out just to gather some materials (to sketch them, to incorporate them into your journal or to make art with) and journal at home:).

How to start nature journaling:)

I hope this helps and if you want to start nature journaling, I recommend this video to get you started:).

Nature journaling at home.

If all else fails, you can still just press some leaves and flowers and glue them into your journal. The key is to get us outside and to do art from time to time – not to make a masterpiece;).

Enjoy the spring!

Just a Little Colour

Here’s just a little colour inspiration for you – these are the tulips that my dad grows at his steps – aren’t they gorgeous? Even with my photographing skills you have to admit they are radiant – no editing used whatsoever!

Rainbow

We went to visit my friend and her daughter (that is my daughter’s friend and ex-schoolmate) to their new home. When we went for a walk it started to rain a bit while the sun was shining – and you know what that means – rainbows! I love rainbows – if that was not obvious already;). They always make me happy:).

Rainbows make us happy. I am not good at photographing them but they do make me smile:).

When kids were little I told them that the day when you see the rainbow can’t be bad – and then I put a thick glass bottle onto the bathroom window – so they saw a rainbow quite often;). It worked, hehe:).

Sky Inspiration

Once I looked through my window and saw this beauty. I then took a picture from a different angle with different lighting where you can see the street and dumpsters, etc… And thought how much of beauty we have in our life depends on how we see it. I sent pictures to my friend with a note – “always look at the bright side of life” 😉

Such a beautiful sky!

This attitude is in my genes: when my grandma and grandpa once looked through the train’s window at the very same time she said: “Such beautiful flowers!” and he said: “Such an ugly trash!” They weren’t trying to be opposed to each other – they just were that way. I am much more like my grandma I guess :D.