A Fishy Post

I did mention my little fishy obsession didn't I?

Recently I've been doing a lot of art - all my spare time seems to be engulfed by the subject - not that I mind, its such a perfect way to spend time! (Even if the stress cranks up by a million close to deadlines...) Anyway, I thought I'd share a little of what I'm spending my days doing.

There is something about fish I just love to paint or draw, those colours are so beautiful! I'm trying to paint on top of recipes with fish in them, if you see where I'm going?

Other than fish, I'm also trying to improve on my (clothed) life drawing. I keep asking people if I can draw them, it's becoming obsessive haha, let me know if you have any tips!

Listening tooooo: 'The Power of Love' by Gabrielle Aplin & 'This Too Shall Pass' by Maria Mena

MORE FOOD - Borough Market

Another foody post about my trip to Borough market. Mmm, don't think I will ever be fed up of food... My obsession with drawing fish is still going strong too, I have about 5 paintings/studies of fish so far and intend on doing many more, oh yes.

This stall below was quite interesting to me in particular. They were recreating the real way of doing a raclette, where you melt a huge piece of cheese then scrape the top layer off once it's melted. Our family does this a lot & I believe it is a French thing, deeeelicious.

This mushroom stall was pretty awesome too, not many people I know are huge fans of them, but how can you not be when they look so good? All shapes, shades, forms, sizes - it was incredible, makes me want to go mushroom picking in a forest, although I don't think that would be a very safe idea haha.

After our morning at the market, my mother & I walked to Brick Lane for a late lunch. It was my first time there, and the feel of the place is so cool, it felt a bit like Reading festival style-wise, if you know what I mean? I loved it.

The street art, the restaurants, the buzz, AND MY BURGER (veggie burger of course) WAS AMAZING. It was huge, the guy kept asking me whether I wanted different salads and sauces & I just kept saying yes to everything, hence why I ended up with my humungous burger of deliciousness.

I had to resort to eating the burger with a fork in the end, it was that big.

Music-wise, I'm actually listening to The Paradise album right now (music to one of the best TV series) but I'm also listening toooo: Tom Odell's album, his voice is just so mmmm.

FOOD - Borough Market

 One of the beauties of picking your subject for A level art, is that you can pick something you love. My subject is about cultures & food, which meant an educational food-filled day trip to see Borough Market in London. Of course.

The place was buzzing with people, delicious scents and beautiful displays. I managed to go around as many stalls that gave out tasters as possible, sadly they were mainly cheese though, shame I'm not a cheese lover...

On the edge of the market, I came across a Meat shop with my family name on it... awkward because we're vegetarians haha.

I must say, the stall with many paella pans was the most impressive - the colours and sheer size of it were just overwhelming! (Plus they gave out loads of free tasters)

The fish was my favourite to look at though. Since I've started painting fish more and more, I've noticed all the different colours in fish - the shades of gold and pink are glorious.

The autumnal vegetables also caught my eye, pumpkins with their warm tones were beautiful.

I hope you like food, I've another post of this coming up, I'm excited. I'm also about to watch the Great British Bake Off. Even more excited. I think I can see a theme to all this...

Listening tooooo: 'Almost Lover' by A Fine Frenzy & 'Nice Fox' by The Rosebuds

Welcome, Autumn.

Autumn is my favourite season of them all. The knits are cosy, the crumbles are tasty and the colours are so beautiful. When I came across all these Autumnal images on Pinterest and Flickr, I couldn't help but share them. (Click on the images for their sources.)

Blackberries and baking; My parents went blackberry picking not long ago (one of the perks of living in the country) so now we have a steaming hot apple & blackberry crumble at home, delicious! 

Knitted jumpers and markets; I'm forever on the hunt for a big knitted jumper, or cardigan - I love Ruby's ones from the Great British Bake off, I wish I had her wardrobe - and hair and baking skills while I'm at it! And those markets filled with pumpkins have the most beautiful autumnal colours.

Big Duvets and forests; Now that my lessons only start at 10:30am on most days, I have that little extra time to stay warm in my duvet which is glorious when there it's cold outside. As for the forest element, they just remind me of Autumn walks.

The chilly outdoors, bobbly hats and more baking; I just had to add in another baking photo it is such a good photo! As for the chunky bobble hat, I can't wait to get outside and wear mine once again!

Hope you're all feeling inspired and have your knitted jumpers at the ready! If you're still not feeling Autumnal enough, here are a few songs...

Listening toooo: 'Soil, Soil' by Tegan And Sara and 'Time Is All Around' by Regina Spektor

Pages From My Sketchbook

This post is a little peak into my summer sketchbook I kept whilst I was in Villard de Lans last summer. Whenever I had a little bit of time, or saw something I really liked, out came the sketchbook! It's such a nice way to keep memories.

*I also managed to sneak in my beautiful super soft new blanket into a photo again. It's actually a scarf, but seeing as most blankets are over £100, and I am a student with a small part time job, this massive scarf was perfect for me! (It's from Zara if anyone wants one too.)

 Above is my little sketch of the view I had from my bedroom window & below is a pretty little shadow I found in a park which I traced & painted.

 

Above: My utterly delicious 'tarte aux mertilles'. (So difficult not to eat it whilst I was drawing...) And below is a little watercolour study I did whilst E & I paused in the shade during a walk.

HAPPY AUTUMN!! (my favourite time of the year)


Listening toooo: 'Grow Old with Me' by Tom Odell & 'We Come Together' by Goldfish

Chelsea Buns With Tea & Cake

'Tea and Cake' is my favourite book right now.

I bought it for the beautiful illustrations by Emma Block (one of my favourite illustrators) and my oh my has it lived up to my expectations. Her work is absolutely lovely, the colours, patterns & drawings are pure delight. Not to mention the recipes.

(P.S. that blanket I sneaked into the photo below is the bees knees)

Yesterday, E & myself thought we'd have a go at making one of the recipes from the book before she left for Italy (teeny bit jealous). Seeing as I'm missing the lack of Made In Chelsea on my TV screen, Chelsea buns seemed the next best thing. After lots of kneading, rising & a little cooking, out came these beauties.

They're delicious. This was my first time making Chelsea Buns so I was shocked at how delicious they turned out - the perfect amount of stickiness & sweetness. I'm seriously considering having a lunch consisting of just Chelsea buns today, they are that good.

Also, I now have twitter, wooo, you can follow my everyday nonsense by clicking on the little icon on the top right of my blog.

Listening tooo: 'Inspired' by Healyum - they're a band of 3 siblings from my school and they are so good, definitely listen to them - more songs here.