July 2024
Hello, my dear friend,
We’re doing some home renovations and the house is a mess, so we spend most of our free time in the garden or nature. This has taught me that I can draw anywhere.
The weather has not been too hot, but quite stormy, which is unusual for Belgium. So stormy that many great trees have been uprooted, causing parks and forests to be closed off. Unsurprisingly, this month’s illustration is again a forest walk. I can’t get enough of being surrounded by trees!
You can find this illustration throught Redbubble.
Patterns
My daughter loves horses and everything about them so this pattern is especially for her. I don’t think it’s really up her alley, (though she politely said it’s pretty) but I’m very happy with how it turned out. I like the colors and I like the texture of the brush I used. The brush gives a wonderful freedom in the strokes which I think is visible in the final drawings.
You can find it through my Spoonflower and Redbubble shops.
I also made a pattern about cooking. Cooking is something that I used to dread, but in the last three years, it somehow changed. I don’t love cooking (yet?) but I do enjoy preparing a tasty meal at the end of the day.
You can find this pattern through my Spoonflower and Redbubble shops.
Sketchbook
That small square sketchbook I showed you last month is a success with me! I’ve tried many times before to draw something every day according to a particular schedule or challenges, self-initiated or inspired by others, but it somehow never stuck for long. I think the key element in this one is size. It’s only 12 x 12 cm. I don’t take it everywhere with me (when I go walk the dog I only have a small cross-body purse. The dog would probably also not appreciate me stopping to draw!) But despite that, I somehow managed to draw in it every day since the end of June. The other key element is simplicity. I draw something small and simple that I’ve seen that day or that somehow drew my attention.
I sometimes think I would like to use colors and paint with watercolor, gouache, or colored crayons. But I’m afraid I won’t stick to the daily practice because of the increased complexity. So the plan is to finish this sketchbook with line drawings and start a new one with color. I’m hoping that by the time I finish it, the sketching habit will be so ingrained that I won’t mind the extra complexity. We’ll see how it turns out.
Although next month we’ll still be busy with renovations, I would like to start working on my illustrated story. I find myself often thinking about it, so I believe I will just start with small steps like clarifying the plan.
If you are a subscriber to this newsletter, this month, I have a digital wallpaper for you with my newest horse pattern. I hope you like it more than my daughter :) You can find it here. If you’re not yet subscribed, you can do so here (you will then get access to the other digital wallpapers also).
That’s it for this month. I leave you with warm wishes to enjoy the summer, breathe in the fragrant flowers and look up at the clouds every now and then!
All the best,
Ema
Find all my patterns and illustrations below:
Drawing is not about what you see as much as what you can make others see.
I am an artist and illustrator who believes in the power of images to make people happy. I’m most known for my colorful cards and patterns depicting people, flowers, and animals, in a sensitive and feminine style using flat simplified shapes.
I live in Beersel, Belgium, and I like to go on long walks with my little dog, Luther.
