May 2024
Hello, my dear friend,
As I sit down to write to you, the sun is shining after a short rain shower and the garden outside my window is of an intense green. The weather has been changing today, going from stormy to sunny in just a few minutes. The air is fresh and pleasantly cool on my skin. I decide to stand up and my body seems grateful for the stretch. I feel somewhat agitated today and listen for and feel the energy inside my body.
Luther is sleeping at my feet but listening with half an ear for anything interesting.
So how have I been lately? I cleaned up my studio (photos further down), walked with the dog as often as possible, and researched 18th and 19th-century patterns. I want to make modern versions of those kinds of patterns. I like the fantastic details of different flower types sprouting from the same stem and intertwining. We also visited the royal greenhouses of Brussels and walked at the beach in Koksijde.
Most of our walks, however, happen in the nearby nature and parks, so here is an illustration of me and Luther in the forest.
It is available via Redbubble.
Patterns
I made a pattern depicting crabs (yes, I did let myself go crazy with all those dots!) that was surprisingly popular on Spoonflower. People seem to like the simple patterns the most, with just two colours.
I find this surprising because it’s more satisfying for me to make intricate patterns where a lot is going on, where you get pulled into, and for which I spend hours and hours reworking!
This crab pattern is also available through Redbubble.
For a Spoonflower challenge, I made another pattern with the theme “vintage glamour”. I am not very convinced of the result, but I generally like line work, symmetry, and portraits, so it’s as good as I could get it for now.
It is also available through Spoonflower (as metallic wallpaper!) and Redbubble.
This next pattern is more up my alley: poppies and foxes!
Available through Spoonflower and Redbubble.
Art Academy
At the academy, this month has mostly been about model drawings (and a plant):
One evening the model was unexpectedly absent so we did portraits of each other. Drawing is a very good way to ensure you really look at someone or something. Although I see my colleagues every week, I had never looked so attentively at them as when attempting to render a portrait that shows some sort of likeness! When looking attentively I can see the beauty in each line, each curve, and each angle.
I notice that I am most happy and at peace when I give total attention to what I do. Unfortunately, my attention is so often sabotaged by my thoughts that jump from one idea to the other like a multitude of crazy rabbits in a field. My mind is like a hyperactive assistant that always wants to be helpful. One evening I was brushing my teeth and trying to practice clearing my mind. A thought came in, I allowed it, did not engage with it then let it go. Pause, another thought came in, I again allowed it then let it go. This went on for a few more thoughts until my mind realised, it won’t work this time. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an annoying song I had heard on the radio started to play loudly in my mind. I smiled, allowed it to play without singing along then let it go.
Sketchbook
I’ve been mostly enjoying playing with a children’s gouache set I once got from my mum. The colours are intense and if mixed with a bit more water, they create a watercolour effect.
There is a french breakfast that I saw a picture of in a magazine, a portrait of Martine, a little cabin in the woods, a small castle surrounded by green and a bunch of white tulips.
Studio clean up
My studio is perched on top of our house in the attic. I have long hesitated to use this space even after we renovated it. There are a multitude of reasons for this: the space is only accessible with a foldable staircase, there is no water source (important when you paint), it’s a bit too cold in winter and a bit too hot in summer and the space is low (I can only stand in the middle at its highest point). There were more, at least one more reason which I can’t remember now. Not that important, I guess!
I’ve always dreamed of having a big home library, an entire room, or at least an entire wall! Maybe that will happen one day, but until then I have improvised with several wooden crates placed on their side. I will get two more for on the right side and my reading corner will be complete! The driftwood Christmas tree is a bit too heavy to howl up and down each year, so it has a permanent place in my studio, with the lights always on!
The drawing table facing a wall full of own drawing and other images I find inspiring at the moment.
A second drawing table under the window, for when I need natural light or when my daughter is also drawing.
And finally, maybe an unexpected thing in my studio, the Sylvanian’s village! I started buying these lovely figurines with their houses and all sorts of little possessions when my daughter was too young to play with them. In the meanwhile, she has grown and so has the village! She plays along nicely and I mostly do the cleanup!
Despite its shortcomings, I am grateful for this space!
What’s next? I am planning to handletter a few words on the theme of being present, of living in the moment. When cleaning up I also discovered my notes for an illustrated story that I had put on hold. It’s a Romanian folktale about a river goddess who steals boys during floodings. When rereading the story my interest has also been rekindled to start work on it again. It’s a very atmospheric story! I will see if now is the right time to restart it.
This is it for now, till next month!
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.
