Year of the Rat (2020-2021)

The good weather recently tempted me into the garden, seeing as I am not allowed out anywhere else, and I have surprised myself with a series of watercolours (to be continued).

I say surprised as these seem a bit “old fashioned”…

Had a bit of a dip over the weekend and wasn’t feeling great on Monday either but was hugely cheered that evening by my first Zoom drawing club. Five of us “got together”, drew and chatted for about 2 hours. It worked really well and like my physical club sessions it was peer-to-peer sharing rather than a workshop. For so many artists this seems to fill a gap – they don’t need workshops – just time occasionally to work in a shared space before going back to solo time.

Drawing by Rosie James

Otherwise more ink drawings in my Family Stories series and a few gelli plate prints as well as updating the website.

I am also posting on Instagram using the hashtags #covid19artistsathome and have joined Matthew Burrows’s #artistsupportpledgeinitative It’s a simple concept, you post images of your work you are willing to sell for no more than £200 each (not including shipping). Every time you reach £1,000 of sales you pledge to buy another artist’s work for £200. This creates a small but dynamic market where all can contribute whatever their level of success. This is a culture dependanct on the honesty and generosity of our artistic communities at every level. So, make a pledge and post your work with the #artistsupportpledge.

So I have sold all the Easter cards – I am in full lockdown so my husband has to go out and post them to buyers but thankfully I am able to reduce contact with post office staff by using the online Royal Mail facility for printing labels and paying for postage.

My health has taken a bit of a turn for the worse so trying to keep my spirits up and doing lots of work, which is all I know how to do, though I feel I should be doing some housework since I am confined to the home.

Anyhow I’ve started a new series of black and white ink drawings from photos – Family Stories

and am reworking some found old drawings.

Sometimes when I am anxious making cards is a good way of relaxing and working at the same time as it doesn’t feel quite so demanding