Collaboration with So Typical Me

As an illustrator, there is nothing more fun than seeing your work on actual physical products. I love how these journals featuring my colourful houses have turned out. I’ve collaborated So Typical Me on arrange of four planners, inspired by colourful southern European buildings, and guaranteed to bring a bit of sunshine to your desk! I really love seeing work go straight from my sketchbook onto a product and I’m so happy with how these have turned out. You can find out more about the collection here.

Art Retreat in Portugal

SOLD OUT -I am so excited to announce my next painting retreat! I will be teaching a Mixed Media Sketchbook Retreat at the beautiful Sofia in Monsaraz retreat centre in Portugal from 18 (Thursday) to 22 (Monday) April 2024. During this getaway you will learn to create loose, mixed paintings in your sketchbook, inspired by the beautiful surroundings of Sofia in Monsaraz.

I will teach you how to combine different materials, like gouache, coloured pencil, and pastels, how to paint on location, overcome perfectionism and work in a loose expressive way, how to capture landscapes and still lives, as well as an in-depth class on colour theory. This retreat is perfect for both complete beginners and artists looking to improve their skills, and professionals looking to revive their creativity and recharge. You will come away inspired and refreshed, with a full sketchbook, new skills and new friends.

The retreat includes 6 art classes, wine tasting, tea tasting, yoga, meals and transport from Lisbon airport. Art materials, flights and travel insurance are not included. To make your reservation or to ask any questions email info@sofiainmonsaraz.site. You can read the full itinerary for trip and find out more about the venue and accommodation on the website. You can also watch my video here to find out more.

Testimonials for Emma

"I’m a bit lost for words on how transformational this retreat has been for me. It’s been an honour and privilege to learn from such an amazing and yet humble artist such as Emma. Her guidance, feedback, lessons, tips and tricks have been invaluable, she’s helped me overcome my fear of producing art, my main objective for coming on this retreat, moreover she’s highlighted my love for creating art! I’m very excited to bravely embark on the next chapter of my art journey once I return. She’s giving me the toolset to overcome failures and produce work that I’m proud of!"

"It’s been an honour to learn from Emma in person, I can hardly express my gratitude for the knowledge she has shared, the spark to draw and paint has been reignited!"

"It’s been such a well thought out, wonderful week of friendship, sharing and inspiration. I can’t wait for the next one!"

"Thank you for sharing your gifts with us this week! I’ve learnt so much and have a renewed joy for painting and a new love for gouache. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and the rest of the ladies. The retreat has been unforgettable and I’m looking forward to the next one!"

Testimonial for Sofia in Monsaraz

“This is a magical place with a wonderful host and hostess. The location has to be seen to be believed. A rural idyll with some great sights and restaurants nearby. The food was amazing - local produce, freshly cooked and abundant. The spirit and nurturing environment is the best location for a retreat be it artistic, creative or corporate team building and coaching. Perfect in every way. “

"Sofia In Monsaraz is more than a retreat center, it is a wonderful and wholesome life experience. No detail is too small for Sofia. She is kind and generous and wants to make sure that you feel nurtured and at home. Beautiful nature, fresh vegetables, delicious local cuisine, and excellent facilities for conducting a variety of retreats.

Art Retreat in Valencia

I’ve been back from my art retreat for just over a week and I’m still on a high from what an incredible experience it was, still busily working in my sketchbook recording my memories and making the most of all the inspiration. It’s hard to even know where to start. At the end of April I taught a week long art retreat with UpTrek just outside Valencia Spain with a wonderful group of women and we all had a magical time. During the week we focused on sketching and painting on location, using mixed media, developing a sketchbook practice, understanding colour theory, and capturing people. The week included day trips where we sketched on location in Valencia old town in the City of Arts and Sciences, as well as lots of time spent at the venue where I taught masterclasses and everybody had a chance to work in their sketchbooks and ask for help and advice.

For me as a teacher it was truly an honour to see my student’s work transformed in that week. I’ve done a lot of teaching before, but usually just for a couple of hours, maximum one day. It was really incredible to see students develop as artists, and for me as a teacher to be able to respond to them in real time and tailor the retreat to make sure they got the most out of it that they possibly could. I could see that for many of my students perfectionism and fear of making a mistake was holding them back. Some of my students were spending a really long time sketching and not painting, and when they did paint they were scared to add bold tonal contrast and texture. I took everybody to the Umbracle, a botanical garden in The City Arts and Sciences, and challenged everybody to do a 10 minute painting of a tree. Everybody picked a palm tree or an orange tree, gathered their materials, and then they add 10 minutes to paint it. And that was when the magic happened. People who had previously spent hours agonising over a painting, suddenly painted something beautiful in just 10 minutes, sometimes less. It’s amazing how the time restraint made people bolder and encouraged them to trust their own instincts. Everybody was amazed by what they had created! We did this exercise a few times and it was such a big breakthrough moment for people.

I also loved sharing my passion for painting on location. It was something that most people hadn’t done before, but sitting together painting, chatting, sharing materials and sipping on an orange juice or a Horchata and just felt so natural and people produced beautiful work imbued with memory and atmosphere. Valencia itself is such an incredibly beautiful city and was the perfect place to paint and gather inspiration.

For me the most wonderful thing about this trip, on top of seeing everyone’s artistic development, was how much everybody bonded and what a lovely group it was. We all had so much fun! Every evening at 7 we all gathered to share our sketchbooks over a glass of cava and a canapé. It was a real highlight for everyone. A favourite moment was going to see a flamenco show in Valencia, and our wonderful host Laura teaching us all some flamenco moves before we went. We had such a wonderful time! On the last night the venue hosts surprised me with a little book which they had asked all of my students to write a message in. It was so lovely it made me cry! And a few of my students got a little bit teary eyed as well.
A lot of people have been asking me if I will teach another retreat, and the answer is I would love to! I’m already making plans for next year, so watch this space, and sign up to my newsletter to be the first to hear about any new retreats.

My beautiful students looking very proud of their final pieces.

Five Days in Norway

I’ve just got back from a little holiday in Norway. We booked flights very spontaneously and we had a wonderful five days staying with friends in Stavanger. We hiked in the woods, went to the beach, visited the city and I even have time to do a little bit of painting whilst Herbie napped. I bought my neocolor pastels with me which encouraged me to sketch in a quicker, looser way. Before I went I picked out 10 colours that I felt were best suited to the Norwegian landscape, lots of blues plus some creams and browns. The only thing is I wish I had more greens, but I made up for that by mixing it with some watercolours. Here are some pieces from my sketchbook and some of my photos from the trip. I don’t have a lot to say other than Norway is a beautiful country and we had a lovely time. 

Top Tips for Slower Travel

Earlier in the year my husband and I went on a little holiday to Tuscany, where we stayed in the tiny picturesque town of San Miniato, and had one of our best holidays ever. A friend asked me what there was to do there. The answer was nothing; there was just a beautiful town, with beautiful scenery, great restaurants and lovely weather. We just relaxed, walked, ate, talked and enjoyed ourselves. My husband and I never made a conscious decision to embrace ‘slow travel’, (a growing trend for mindful holidays), it was just something that happened naturally. After a couple of very chilled, very relaxed holidays we now realise that slow travel is what we’ve been doing all along.

I think a combination of social media and limited annual leave means people are keen to pack as much as they can into a short period of time. The ‘photos or it didn’t happen’ culture makes us feel like the most important thing is other people knowing where we went and what we did, rather than how much we actually enjoyed it. I don’t like the way people talk about being able to ‘do’ a city in a set number of days, as if the city is nothing but a collection tourist attractions to be ticked off your list. I feel like the rise of Instagram has made travel very performative and it can actually become stressful for many of us.

Slow travel is all about slowing down and taking the time to make a real connection with the place you are visiting. It’s about spending time in one place, exploring your surroundings at a gentle pace and really relaxing, rather than rushing around in order to visit lots of different places. It means doing what you really want to do, whatever that is for you. It’s about abandoning the to do list of ‘must see’ sites and tourist attractions, and taking the time to really enjoy things rather than just check them off the list.

Top Tips for Travelling Slow

Pick somewhere where you can get around on foot or by bike.
It could be a gorgeous little village, it could be a city, but pick somewhere where you’re not constantly having to drive from place to place. You experience so much more buy just walking and taking in your surroundings. You could even make walking or cycling the main activity of your holiday. I love going on long country walks with my husband.

Keep your schedule flexible
Don’t pack your holiday full of constant day trips and early starts, make sure you’ve got time to relax and explore the area you’re staying in. Leave some day unaccounted for and see how you feel on the day.

Consider going self catering
Eating out is definitely part of the fun when travelling, but I also love going to little local shops to pick up fresh produce for an alfresco breakfast or a simple lunch. Staying in a holiday rental like Airbnb gives you a chance to have a little taste of living like a local.

Prioritise what you want to do, not what you think you should do.
Forget the things you’ve been told you ‘must see’. If you want to do them, do them, and if you don’t, don’t. Don’t feel guilty about going to a place and not seeing it’s top attraction if it’s not something you are genuinely interested in. Equally if you really lovely somewhere don’t worry about doing the same thing more than once.

Embrace public transport
My husband and I can’t drive, so we’ve kind of been forced to embrace public transport. But we could just take taxis everywhere and we don’t. Using local buses and trains is often a much more memorable experience.

Take time to get to know the area you’re staying in
Find your favourite bakery, your favourite route from your apartment to the main square, get a loyalty card at the local coffee shop, buy fresh produce from the market every morning and take time to observe the rhythms of the place you’re staying in.

Make time just to be
Don’t pack your days full of things to do, constantly rushing from one place to another on a tight schedule. Take time to sit, have a drink, soak up the atmosphere and hopefully the sunshine too. If you feel like it bring a book, a journal or a sketchbook with you, but equally it’s fine to do absolutely nothing.

The most important thing is of course to make sure your holiday works for you. Everyone has different needs, but slowing down a little bit and taking in your surroundings can only be a good thing.

My London Little Black Book

As a Londoner I often get asked for recommendations for what to do when visiting the city. Here’s a list of my favourite places to shop, eat and drink coffee.

The photos in this post were all taken from the official website of the various venues mentioned. All the photos are copyright of the venue mentioned, unless otherwise noted in the caption.

Art Shops

L. Cornelissen

The most beautiful art shop in London is Cornelissen. It looks like something out of Harry Potter. It’s also right next to the British Museum, so I would recommend visiting both at the same time.

Cass Art is a chain of affordable art shops that can be found all over London. The flagship store is in Islington, but I also often pop into the Soho store, and there is one next to the National Portrait Gallery.

If you are exploring East London then Cowling and Wilcox and Great Art are in Shoreditch are also both were a visit.

Present and Correct is more of a stationery shop than an art shop, but they have a great range of pencils. you’re not following them on Instagram and Twitter already, you definitely should be.

Choosing Keeping is an independent stationery shop that stocks a wide range of supplies for painting, calligraphy and bookbinding. It’s a beautiful store and a great place for finding more unusual brands and products.

Choosing Keeping

Coffee

Clerkenwell Grind

One of my favourite places for coffee is Notes coffee shop, which is just opposite the National Gallery. My husband and I are often in Charring Cross due to the large number of book shops and guitar shops so we get coffee here regularly. They’ve also just opened a shop in Kings Cross.

Another favourite coffee shop is the Grind chain. You can find the coffee shops in Soho, Shoreditch and Clerkenwell. The Clerkenwell cafe is definitely the prettiest.

Saint Espresso, in Islington, and next to Baker Street station both do great coffee.

Kaffeine in Soho also do great coffee and light meals. I had a butternut squash and gruyere tart there which I still think about fondly.

Brunch

Bourne and Hollingsworth

I love brunch at Café Miami in Hackney, everything on the menu is delicious and it’s such a sweet little café.

Bourne and Hollingsworth in Clerkenwell is a classic for brunch, although you definitely need to book ahead. The interiors are absolutely beautiful. Also if you’re going mid week they have a great lunch time set menu.

Cafe Miami. Photo by @mybeatificworld. That’s my hand grabbing that toastie. It was so good.

Lunch/dinner

Blanchette

I love lunch at Blanchette in Soho. It’s such a beautifully quaint little French restaurant, and it does delicious French style Tapas. They also have a great lunch set menu. My top tip for eating out in London is always look out for a lunch set menu as they are often very good value.

Another favourite is the Ivy Café in Marylebone. The Ivy group have restaurants all over London, but my favourite is the Marylebone café as it’s cosy and intimate, and one of the more affordable ones. Top tip, order the zucchini fries. The Ivy Cafe is also know for it’s beautiful exterior decorations, especially at Christmas.

Brasserie Zedel is great for a reasonably priced classic french food with beautiful interiors. This vast underground restaurant feels like you’re stepping back in time. I highly recommend the tarte tatin.

For a quick and cheap meal in London Franco Manca is my go to. They make great sourdough pizza have branches all over London.

Brasserie Zedel

Bookshops

Daunt Books

Daunt Books in Marylebone is a beautiful bookshop, and the rest of the street is lovely as well. They also have a shop in Hampstead.

I love Foyles on Charing Cross Road. It’s huge, it has almost every book you could possibly be looking for and it has a lovely café as well.

There is also Hatchards in Picadilly, the UK’s oldest book shop.

Museums and galleries

One of the best things about London is it’s incredible range museum galleries, almost all of which are free to enter.

The V&A is one of my favourite museums in London, it’s absolutely vast and so inspiring. The café is also beautiful.

Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection is one of my favourite places in London and a true hidden gem. It’s famous for its beautiful interiors, stunning artwork and ever so Instagramable pink courtyard cafe. I recommend going straight to the café and ordering a pot of tea, it comes in lovely cast-iron teapots, and then exploring the rest of the house. Entry is free and it’s a great place to sketch.

The Tate Britain is definitely my favourite out of the two Tates. The classic architecture and the serene atmosphere appeals to me. I love the permanent collection and they have some great exhibitions.

The Fashion Textile Museum have some great exhibitions. This summer I’m looking forward to their exhibition on Peruvian textiles.

Tate Britain

Cocktails

The Night Jar

The Night Jar is a underground speak easy style bar in Old Street. It’s pretty small so it’s worth booking in advance, especially if there is live music that night. Cocktails here are fun and inventive. If you want to drink a cocktail from a giant seashell or an edible waffle cup this is the place. It’s sister bar The Oriole is also lovely.

The Ned is an absolutely beautiful hotel and former bank which has been lovingly restored to its 1920s glory by The Soho House Group. They have regular live music on Sundays and often there is swing dancing. It’s lovely to have a drink and have a little dance, there are lots of pros so even if you can’t dance it’s nice just to sit and watch. There is something lovely and old-fashioned about complete strangers coming up to you and asking for a dance. I’m a terrible dancer but I normally have a go.

The Ned

Hotels

charlotte street hotel

I love the Charlotte Street Hotel, it’s very old school with a bit of a twist. The rooms are beautifully designed by Kit Kemp. Every room is a total delight. I’ve been here for the afternoon tea and cocktails, but I’d love to have the opportunity to stay.

I’ve been to the Leman Locke hotel as part of an event with WeekendIN, which means I’ve had a chance to eat at the restaurant and see inside the bedrooms. It’s almost like a studio flat with calming pastel minimalist decor. It’s perfect if you’re in London for work, or just want to stay somewhere that feels more like a (very trendy) home.

The Hoxton have hotels all over the world now, but the original in Shoreditch is a classic. Ive been there many times for coffee and events, there’s always something going on at The Hoxton. The location is great and the rooms look lovely.

Leman Locke

I hope this list is useful. Let me know if there’s anything else you would like to see added to the list. I’m probably going to add new places as I discover them.

My 2018 in Review

So 2018 was a bit of a crazy year. I feel like I say that every year, but I think your late 20s are the pivotal years when big things happen and you start making strides in the world rather than just bumbling along cluelessly (or maybe that’s just me). The two biggest things that happened this year where that my first book, The Joy of Watercolour came out, and my husband and I bought our first home in London. It was so exciting to have my first book published, and the reaction has been incredible. It has sold so well that it went to reprint within a month. The best thing for me has been the reaction on social media. I absolutely love seeing people painting the projects in the book and getting in touch asking for advice or just telling me how much they enjoy it. I absolutely loved the process of creating a book from start to finish and I’m excited to be writing another book next year.

At the beginning of 2018 I wrote down my goals, one of which was to buy a house, which honestly I feel ridiculous just writing down, but somehow it’s happened. It’s funny how things work out; what started as a very stressful situation, being forced out of the flat my husband and I had rented for five years with no warning, led to us buying a beautiful flat that we love. It’s a Victorian conversion with lots of original features and I’ve had the time of my life with decorating and sourcing furniture. I wrote about the living room here and I’m planning more interiors posts in the new year.

This year also included a once-in-a-lifetime trip to San Francisco, which I still need to blog about. On this trip I had the chance to meet my literary agent Leslie face-to-face for the first time after years of working together. The trip was absolutely incredible and we both loved California. Visiting Yosemite was a particularly memorable part of the trip. I had time to take a couple of meetings while I was in San Fransisco which have led to some exciting things for 2019.

This year I had make peace with the fact that the repetitive strain injury in my wrist is likely to be permanent, and I will always have a lack of strength and range of movement in my right hand. This means my live illustration career is over, but I’m not too upset about that, I think it’s important for your career to always be evolving and changing to meet your needs. I really feel my passion lies in writing and illustrating books and encouraging others to be creative.

I worked with some lovely brands this year. At the beginning of the year Kikki K spent a day with me and made this beautiful video. If you want to learn a little bit more about me and my background I definitely recommend watching it. I also had Papier visit me in my studio and create this stunning video of me painting one of their wedding stationery designs. I’m working on some new wedding stationery designs for Papier at the moment which will be launching in the New Year. I also had the opportunity to design an Emma Block illustration Easter egg with Godiva, which was a rather bizarre but absolutely lovely job. 

This year I did a lot of editorial work with clients including, Vogue Brides, Next, Magnolia Journal, In The Moment Magazine, Prima, Sister Mag, The English Garden, The House The Lars Built and Eve Mattresses. I do think my style evolved a bit this year, embracing the dry texture of gouache more than ever.

In terms of personal goals this year I read more books, the majority of which were by female authors, got back into the habit of working in my sketchbook, and developed a gym routine, which I’ve now completely abandoned since moving house. In the new year I’m hoping to find a new gym, and get back into reading and working in my sketchbook, make the most of living in London and visit lots of exhibitions with friends and family. I’m really excited about what 2019 will bring, and I can’t wait to start writing my second book.

A little Guide to the Suffolk Coast

I love Suffolk; I think it’s a little bit overshadowed by Norfolk as a mini break destination, but Suffolk has so much to offer. It’s only an hour and 10 minutes from London on the train and is full of beautiful villages and charming seaside towns. This is by no means an exhaustive guide to Suffolk and for this first instalment I have decided to write about the Suffolk coast line, which is recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Aldeburgh

Aldeburgh is a lovely little seaside town with a pebble beach, colourful houses, boutique shops and a nostalgic British charm. It also has a generous helping of art with Maggi Hambling’s scallop shell and Antony Gormley’s figure on the Martello Tower, plus several good art galleries, including Thompsons. Aldeburgh is known for its fish and chips, with queues stretching up the road at lunch time.

Walberswick

Walberswick is a favourite place from my childhood. I have fond memories of going crabbing with my little brothers and playing in the sand dunes. The highlight of Walberswick is definitely its slightly wild, windswept feeling beach with sand dunes aplenty.It also has extensive heath and marshlands with picturesque herds of dosing cows. Around this part of Suffolk there is a trend for black painted wooden clad buildings, which I love as they look so striking against Suffolk‘s flat landscape.There isn’t very much to the village of Walberswick, but I recommend having lunch at The Bell or The Anchor.

Southwold

Across the river Blythe is Southwold. You can walk across the bridge or get the ferry. The ferry is simply a wooden dingy sailed backwards and forwards by a man who charges £1 per person, dogs are free. The journey only takes a few minutes and it’s lovely to take part in something that has been a Walberswick tradition for so long. Southwold is a very pretty town with a great selection of shops, cafes, pubs, bakeries and galleries. Highlights include The Swan Hotel, which has been recently renovated and has beautiful rooms, and the lighthouse. 

Thorpness

Thorpness is a strange little village by the sea. It mostly consists of holiday cottages built in the early 1900s, the Meare, a shallow yet extensive man made lake for boating, almshouses built in the 1920s that looks like they could be  mediaeval, and the house in the clouds, which was originally built to hide the eyesore of having a water tower in the village. In 2003 it was named Britain’s weirdest village, so it's not just me that thinks it's a bit odd. It also has a stretch of quiet and windswept beach. It’s definitely worth paying a visit to see the house in the clouds and go boating on the lake.

Orford

Orford is a small village near the coast, on the banks of the river Ore. It’s famous for its castle and the excellent Pump Street Bakery. I definitely recommend popping in for a hot chocolate or a sausage roll. You might recognise its distinctive pink building from Instagram.

Snape Maltings

Not far from Orford you'll find Snape Maltings, a converted barley maltings turned arts venue. This complex of buildings houses everything from concert halls, galleries, vintage shops, print studios and cafes, set in stunning natural surroundings. It has a couple of excellent pieces of outdoor sculpture, which work so well as part of the landscape.

Felixstowe

Whilst Aldeburgh, and Southwold feel distinctly upmarket, Felixstowe definitely isn’t, but that’s where its charm lies. There is something nostalgic and a teeny bit tacky about Felixstowe. It’s a very affordable place to eat and drink, with a scoop of ice cream costing £2.20 rather than the £2.95 you'll find in Southwold. I particularly recommend the Little Ice Cream Company for excellent ice cream. Felixstowe boasts a newly renovated pier and a long stretch of pebbly beach with colourful beach huts. At the far end of Felixstowe the beaches are a bit more wild and dog friendly through out the year.

I hope you have enjoyed this first instalment. I'm hoping to write another covering the lovely villages you find inland at some point. 

A Little Guide to Sóller, Mallorca

My husband and I love a European city break, but I've realised in the rush to do and see as much as you can in three or four days it's not always that relaxing. We decided to book a springtime European getaway with a focus on slowing down and relaxing. Ideally we wanted somewhere beautiful and rural, but neither my husband or I drive which poses a bit of a problem. Sóller in Mallorca was the perfect solution, as this small town is surrounded by stunning countryside, yet it’s easily accessible by bus and train.

Sóller

We flew into Palma and then got the antique train through the mountains straight to Sóller. I had read reviews on Trip Advisor urging me to get there early and be prepared to fight for a seat. As we were travelling out of season and mid week there was no queue at all and our carriage was almost empty. The beautiful antique train takes a scenic route through the mountains, passing olive groves and fields of sheep. A single ticket is €18, so it’s not cheap but it’s a beautiful journey. It’s also worth checking out the train station in Sóller, which includes a free permanent collection of works by Miro and Picasso. Possibly the most cultural train station I’ve ever been to.

Sóller is a gorgeous little town, fairly untouched by modernisation. The main shopping street is still full of independent boutiques, butchers, greengrocers and many, many ice cream shops. The main plaza is particularly picturesque as it features a huge church, orange trees, outdoor restaurants and cafes and an antique tram which winding through it all. The antique tram runs regularly between Sóller town and Port de Sóller carrying waving tourists. We stayed in a hotel in the centre of town then walked and cycled in the surrounding areas. Our favourite restaurant was Bar Molino, a family run place on the edge of own.  It doesn't look like much but it is the place to find authentic flavours, friendly service and big portions.

On our second day we hired bikes and planned to cycle to Port de Sóller via the scenic route. The scenic road actually involved cycling up a mountain. We zig-zagged up the mountain for over an hour, at every corner hoping we were at the top, and when we finally made it to way we thought was the top my husband got a massive puncture and we had to walk the bikes all the way down the mountain to the bike shop. You’ve got to laugh. The tire was replaced and we decided just to take the main road and cycled to the port in less than 10 minutes. We had a lovely lunch on the sea front, I did some painting and we explored the area on our bikes. 

Ecovinyassa

I developed a bit of an obsession with oranges whilst in Sóller: I probably drank about a gallon of freshly squeezed orange juice and came home with a memory card full of pictures of orange trees. To fuel this obsession further we paid a visit to Ecovinyassa, an organic orange farm in the Sóller valley that offers tours. We spent an hour wandering around the orange groves and learning about different varieties of oranges and organic farming methods, and just generally taking in the beauty and tranquillity of the scenery. The tour finishes with a jug of orange juice and a snack of bread with fresh tomatoes.

Fornalutx

There are lots of beautiful walks in the surrounding area. Our hotel gave us a map of hiking trails, and we did a few of the shorter ones, walking to Biniraix and Fornalutx. The walk to Fornalutx via Binibasi is particularly lovely. The scenery is so magical, I'm not sure that photos really do it justice. There are miles of orange and lemon trees in every direction, remote stone villages dotted along the mountains, wildflowers growing along the edge of every road and blue mountains rising in the distance, with a delicious smell of orange blossom, jasmine and woodsmoke everywhere you go.

Deia

Another day we decided to get the bus to Deia. The timetable said it would only take 25 minutes, but it took more like 40 as it wound its way through the mountains, slowing to a crawl every time we passed another car. There were a few hair raising moments as we squeezed past another bus along a cliff edge. Deia is a mysterious, quiet town, once home to the writer  Robert Graves, and the setting for the BBC drama The Night Manager. The bus dropped us in the town and then we decided to walk down to the sea, which as it turns out is quite a challenging 30 minute walk following the path of the river until it meets the sea. I don't mind clambering over styles or small streams, but it's something to bear in mind if you're planning at visit. We had a drink in a picturesque restaurant jutting right out into the sea (it was used in The Night Manager). It was the most expensive orange juice I'd had all week but it was worth it for the breathtaking views. We sat and watched braver folk than us swim in the crystal clear turquoise waters. 

The Can Prunera

On our last day the weather was a little cooler so we explored Soller town a bit more in the morning. We visited the Can Prunera, a stunning art nouveau townhouse that is home to a collection of modern art. The rooms are beautiful, and the way the furniture and artefacts are arranged you feel like the owners have just stepped out for a minute. It’s easy to imagine these elegant people of the Fin de Siecle catching the wooden tram down to the port, or strolling in the main Plaza.

Mallorca is such a gem of an island, and so much more than just a party destination or somewhere for a bit of sun and sand. I feel like we have only just scratched the surface of the wonders that Mallorca has to offer, and we are keen to go back. I would recomend it to anyone; pack a book and some comfy walking shoes and prepare to relax. 

A very short film of my time in Mallorca. Music Mysteries by Dan Lebowitz

How to Sketch While You Travel

Is there anything more relaxing than sitting painting in the sunshine whilst on holiday? However it’s so easy to pack your paints and sketchbook in your suitcase and then leave them there all week! I’m definitely guilty of taking my art materials on holiday, but never actually using them. When you are on holiday and you’ve got a limited amount of time to do and see things it can be difficult to make time to sketch. Here are my top tips for making it happen.

Preparation

Paint
Think carefully about the materials you are bringing. You want to choose things that are compact and lightweight. At home I use a Schmincke Horadam Watercolour Set that comes in a metal tin, however this is very heavy, so on holiday I take this Winsor & Newton Watercolour Set which comes in a light plastic palette with lots of mixing space. It's the perfect paint palette for travelling with.

This was my first time travelling with gouache. I had just bought a set of Holbein Artists Gouache, which come in tiny 5 mL tubes. These teeny tiny tubes are perfect for travelling as they take up no space at all.

Brushes
Water brushes, brushes that contain water in the handle, are ideal for painting on the go. I also like to bring small travel brushes with me. The set of Winsor and Newton watercolours I linked to above comes with a size 5 brush with a short handle so it fits perfectly inside the palette. You can get travel watercolour brushes with detachable or retractable handles that keep the bristles intact whilst travelling.

Sketchbook
I might be completely biased, but I love my sketchbooks from Papier. Yes, they might have my illustrations on the front, but the paper inside is great for pencil sketching, gouache and watercolours. The sketchbook is paperback and staple bound so it opens up completely flat and is very light to pack. The pages are thick enough that you can paint on both side.

Pencils
If you are packing traditional pencils make sure you bring a pencil sharpener, and if you are taking a mechanical pencil make sure you bring some spare leads. I bought my Blackwing pencil with me which has a great rubber on the end.

Pencil case
I used a make up bag as a giant pencil case which I could fit my sketchbook, paint set, brushes and pencils into. Having everything all in one bag made it easy to keep everything together.

Choose your Colour Palette
It’s a good idea to pick a colour palette before you go as it will allow you to limit the amount of art supplies you need to bring. Some people might say that you never know what will inspire you, and therefore what colours you will need, but realistically knowing that I was going somewhere with stone houses with green shutters and lots of orange groves that I would need a good green, orange and stone colour.  Think about the place that you are going and the colours you are most likely to use. For example if I was going to Japan during cherry blossom season I would want to take some great pinks with me. If you are bringing watercolours you will probably just bring the whole set, this applies more to tubes of gouache, colour pencils or felt tip pens. On my holiday I brought five tubes of gouache - white, raw umber, permanent yellow, permanent green and flame red. I also took a set of watercolours.

Top tip -

If you are short of space you can just take a set of watercolours and a tube of white gouache. You can mix the pigment from the watercolours with the white on the palette to make gouache of different colours. 

Make it Happen
 

Make Time
Doing a sketch or painting takes a bit of time, it’s not like taking a quick photo. Plan times when you are likely to be able to do some painting and take your sketchbook out with you. I found that waiting for my food to arrive in a restaurant was a great time to sketch, as we were always eating outside in picturesque locations.

Compromise
One of the tricky parts of painting on holiday is compromising the people you are travelling with. Explain to your travel partner that you want to do some painting and suggest that they have a go sketching as well, or bring a book to read. On holiday I did lots of painting and my husband read. 

Edit
Don’t feel like you have to paint everything you see in front of you. If you are inspired by one small detail of what you can see, like a particular person, a beautiful tree, or a cute dog it is fine to just paint that one thing. It’s also fine if you don’t finish your painting or sketch in one sitting. Take photos of the scene and use them, plus your memory, to finish it later.

Save it for Later
If there is something you want to paint and you don’t have time grab a sneaky photo and paint it later. I always like to do some holiday paintings in my sketchbook when I get home whilst it is all still fresh in my mind.

Enjoy the Moment
Don’t worry about creating a masterpiece or a beautiful sketchbook. Painting on holiday is about the experience, not just the end result. Painting while travelling is a great way to force yourself to slow down and really take in your surroundings. Enjoy the moment and don’t worry too much about the outcome.

I hope those tips have inspired you to get painting on your next holiday. Let me know if you have any questions. Here are some great blog posts about sketching while traveling from my friends Jackie and Viktorija.

More from my trip to Mallorca coming up soon!

2017 in Review

It’s that time again, the year in review blog post! I’m terrible at remembering what I’ve done in a year, and tend to think I haven’t done much of anything, which is why I’ve got my diary out so I can go through the year month by month and remind myself of all the exciting stuff that’s happened. My hopes for 2017 were to grow my business in bold new directions (hello book deal!) but also to achieve more work-life balance and spend more social time with my husband and friends. I’m very happy to say I think I’ve done it!

January

My year started off with some pretty exciting work as I traveled to Berlin in January to live illustrate for SisterMAG. In January I started hosting my own watercolour and brush lettering workshops at West Elm. Until then I had been running workshops for soemmmebody else, and taking sole responsibility for teaching, promoting and running workshops was a little bit scary. I kept having dreams that I hadn't sold any tickets or that I turned up without any materials. I’m happy to say neither of those things happen and I have now taught a whole year of sell-out workshops at West Elm. I’m very excited to be adding some new workshops to my repertoire next year, including my gouache workshop which has already been very popular. I worked on a couple of book covers in January and provided illustrations for the Mollie Makes Creativity magazine. My husband and I also booked tickets to Peru!

February

This was the month but I got my book deal! At the end of 2016 my amazing agent sent out my book proposal to a few different publishers, and by February I had an offer! I read the email on my phone walking back from a Pilates class and when I met my husband for coffee I started crying out of shock and happiness. This month I taught a couple of brush lettering workshops with Etsy, which was really exciting as I wanted to work with them for a long time. I also did some illustrations for the Betty Collective website.

March

In March I went up to the north Norfolk coast to visit my aunt and uncle. One of my goals for 2017 was to take more time off, and visiting family who happened to live in a beautiful part of the country was a great way of doing that. That month I also did some live illustration with Dermalogica in Selfridge’s, and Viktorija and I hosted a second London Drawing Club event at the beautiful Barbican conservatory. I also illustrated some very popular postcards for Mollie Makes and illustrated a lovely article for Stylist Magazine.

April

In April we celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary, and the day afterwards my own wedding was featured on Love My Dress. I had a super busy month of workshops, trying to squeeze in as many as possible before my trip to Peru. I also did some live illustration with Reiss at Brent Cross shopping Centre. I also made time to see the amazing Hockney exhibition with Viktorija.

May

I spent most of May travelling.  I had a quick trip back to Suffolk to see my parents at the beginning of the month, and then I was home for one night before heading off with Nancy to a trip to Somerset with Joules, and then three days later I was heading off to Peru. Our time in Peru was absolutely amazing, and you can read more about it here. It was such an incredible trip and a great way to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

June

In June I taught a really lovely watercolour workshop for Pinterest as part of their interior design awards, at the beautiful Bourne and Hollingsworth Building. I also taught a very special watercolour workshop with Oasis that took place in London Zoo. I got to chat to the zoo keepers and feed two pygmy hippos, which made it one of my top workshops ever. June was also the month that I initiated my Monday afternoon dates with my husband. He is a jazz musician so mostly works evenings and weekends, which means we need to be organised about spending quality time together and not just working all the time. He rarely works on Monday, so we decided that was the best day to take an afternoon off and do something fun together. In the last year our Monday afternoon dates have included trips to the cinema, exhibitions, lunches out, walks in national parks, vintage shopping and we've explored lots of new neighbourhoods in North London.

June is the month that I really started writing my book properly. The last few months I had been waiting to get the contract sorted, and I didn’t want to start actually writing it until everything was signed, although I had been researching and planning it in my head. It was so exciting to actually sit down and start writing my book! For me the challenge was finishing up all my other projects and saying no to new work to give myself the time I needed to do it.

July

I spent most of this month writing my book and enjoying the heat wave in London; going to barbecues, street fairs and summer parties. I also had the chance to go to a really lovely bloggers event in Somerset, which was such a lovely break away from the city and work. I had to hand in the first half of my manuscript on the first of August, which meant the last few weeks of July were very busy getting things finished and organising hundreds of images and pages and pages of writing.

August

August was all about writing my book, and I only taught one workshop all month to make sure I had plenty of time to focus on it. People always say how difficult it is to write a book but I actually really loved it. It was so nice to just work on one creative project continuously for three months, and not have to deal with contracts, negotiations invoices and everything else that comes with being freelancer. I also managed to enjoy the sunshine in London a bit and visited Columbia Road flower market with friends. I also worked on some content with Pink Lady Apples.

September

In September I had to hand in the second half of my book. This time I was much more organised, having named all the files correctly as I went along and kept the manuscript in better order. It turns out writing a book in order from start to finish makes life a lot easier than writing it in any old order you feel like! In September I also taught my first ever Instagram workshop which completely sold out and was a big success. I’m teaching another one in February.

October

In October my husband and I headed off to Lisbon as a post-book writing treat. Whilst I might have finished writing the manuscript and painting all the illustrations, there was still edits and changes to make, which I worked on during October. Fortunately the edits to the book were very light and not much needed to be changed. In this month I also personalised notebooks with brush lettering for Papier at Brides the Show, and did some live illustration at Harrods. I also had an interview and photoshoot with Moo in my flat, which was really exciting as Moo were one of my very first clients, read the interview here. I also worked with my friend Kathryn on the branding for her new company Wander for a While. I also developed some new products for my shop including note books and new Christmas designs.

November

November was a bit of a funny month. I had so many hospital appointments and social engagements that I felt a bit all over the place. The hospital appointments were for my wrist (for my ongoing RSI) and for my troublesome tooth. Fortunately both seem to have settled down for the moment. I also spent a lot of time preparing for an onslaught of festive workshops in December and sent out lots of Christmas Etsy orders. I also worked on some lovely magazine illustrations that I can't show you yet and some branding for The Market Beautiful. I also got to attend Weekend:IN again, this time in East London.

December

In December I taught lots of Christmas bauble painting and lettering workshops with clients including Topshop, Battersea Power Station and Seven dials. I also finalised the cover of my book with my publishers and got to see a first proof copy of my book. It was so exciting to see all those months of work come together into 250 beautifully designed pages.

So that was my year. I achieved my main goal of getting a book deal and writing a book, I also managed to travel and spend lots of time with friends. I think there’s a bit of a myth that as a creative freelancer you have to be badly paid, working constantly with no social life, and definitely no exercise routine, and it’s just not true. This year has been all about saying yes to exciting opportunities, no to the projects that aren’t right for me and learning to look after myself.

I’ve got some pretty big goals for next year, which include travelling more and hopefully writing more books. I’m so excited to see my first book come out this August, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Thank you so much to everyone who has come to my workshops, bought something from my shop or just followed me on Instagram, Your support means so much to me.

A Little Guide to Lisbon

Lisbon has always been on my must visit list, so when I decided book a mini break as a treat for finishing writing my first book it was an obvious choice. I couldn’t wait to explore the cobbled streets and colourful alleyways of Lisbon. We went at the beginning of October, and were expecting pleasantly warm weather, what we actually got was a heat wave with highs of 32°. Perfect weather for wafting about in a sundress, drinking beer and eating ice cream, although it did make the steep hills and hundreds of steps in Lisbon a bit of a challenge.

Santos and Bario Alto

We stayed in an airbnb in the historic Santos neighbourhood, on the charming Rua da Esperanca, which translates as Hope Street. It was a quiet and pretty neighbourhood, and an easy walk into the busier neighbourhoods of Barrio Alto. We arrived just before three in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time to explore our first day. One of our favourite local finds was  Mercearia da Milla, which is a lovely delicatessen selling great coffee, pastries, salads and sandwiches. After grabbing a coffee we made our way into town for a wander and a chance to get our bearings. For dinner we popped into the Time Out Market, which everyone raved about. Unfortunately it just wasn’t for us. The food looked great, but having to bring your food on a plastic tray to a vast communal table in hope of finding a seat somewhere near your partner as well as having to shout to each other among the crowds of people just wasn’t our kind of thing. I’ve realised that any restaurant described as having a 'buzzing atmosphere' just isn’t for me. I picked up an incredibly tasty custard tart at Manteigaria, the first of many, to eat on the go. It was warm, flakey, fragrent and slightly gooey; the best. We found a little family run restaurant in a quiet alleyway near where we were staying and had an excellent, and very affordable dinner there instead.

Alfama, the flea market and the tram

The Museum of Antique Art was just around the corner of where we were staying, so of course I dragged my husband there on our first morning. The museum is a real mixture from mediaeval art work to the home furnishings of the Portuguese royal family. One of the most memorable exhibits in the museum was a triptych by Hieronymus Bosch. It was my first time seeing a Bosch in the flesh, and we must’ve spent about 20 minutes just staring at it. After a few hours in the museum we decided to go to the flea market in Alfama, which is pretty much the opposite side of Lisbon. We made our way there slowly throughout the day, with lots of stops for iced coffee, beer, ice cream and a chance to take in the beautiful views. Santini in Chiado was our favourite spot for ice cream. Our route took us through the Praça do Comércio, a large plaza that looks out onto the river Tagus. From there we made our way into Alfama, the oldest neighbourhood in the city which is beautifully higgledy-piggledy and colourful. After walking up what seemed like hundreds of steps we made our way to a mirador (view point) where we enjoyed an iced coffee and a stunning panoramic view of Lisbon and the Tagus. After that we continued towards the flea market via George castle and the church. The flea market itself is vast, and I would describe it as containing everything you could possibly imagine, but don’t actually want to buy. Everything from rusty nails and vintage matchboxes to cheap shampoo and tourist postcards. It’s great fun to wander round and have a look. After that we decided to get the historic Tram 28 back, as we couldn’t face walking all that way in the scorching sun. Tram 28 is a traditional wooden tram from the 1930s and it’s a great way to see the city

Fado

We had dinner at the same place as before, partly because I had left my scarf there and partly because it was really good. After that we made I way to Barrio Alto to hear some Fado. Fado is to Portugal as Flamenco is to Spain. It is a haunting and melancholy music. There are many Fado bars in Barrio Alto and Alfama, and they get very busy in the evening.
 

Cascais

We debated going to both Cascais and the castle district of Sintra in the same day and getting a taxi from one to the other, but in the end we decided it would be more relaxing to spend the whole day at Cascais instead. Cascais is a beach resort 30 minutes from Lisbon on the train (€5 return). It has lots of beautiful sandy beaches, stunning historic mansions, beautiful parks and lots of restaurants. It has such a relaxed, chilled out vibe, I would love to go back and stay longer. My favourite part was finding a teeny tiny hidden beach tucked behind a stunning mansion. There were only four people on the beach and you could only reach it when the tide was out.

LX Factory

On our last day we visited the Estrela Basilica, and paid to go up onto the roof, which was amazing, but not for those scared of heights. After that we had a wander in the park and explored the quiet neighbourhood Estrela. Looking for somewhere for lunch we stumbled across the Mercado de Campo de Ourique. There were vegetables, meat and cheese for sale as well as stalls selling hot food. The food section was similar to the Time Out market but much more quiet and family friendly. My husband had steak and fries and I had huge salad.

After that we decided to walk to the LX Factory which is a little way out of the city centre. We did an awful lot of walking on our last day! I’d been trying to drag my husband to the LX Factory since the first day but he is very resistant to anything that sounds too trendy. We had a coffee then explored Ler Devagar which Is probably one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. For a bibliophile like my husband this definitely made the journey to the LX Factory worthwhile. The bookshop is built around a huge antique printing press, which printed the very first ever newspapers in Portugal. Currently on the printing press, which is about the size of a small house, there is an exhibition of kinetic art run by a charming and eccentric old man. He makes electric sculptures out of old bits of rubbish and delights in showing them to visitors. There was something so wonderfully absurd and charming about them that you couldn’t help but to grin from ear to ear.

After that we walked back to the Santos neighbourhood and had a beer in a rather smart bar overlooking the river next to the Museum of Antique Art and waited until it was time to call an Uber.

This painting inspired by the lovely old neighbourhood of Alfama is now available as print in my shop. 

Peru Part 4: Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

After leaving the Inkaterra Urubamba Hacienda  we travelled by taxi back to Ollantaytambo to catch the train to Machu Picchu. The train station in Ollantaytambo is charmingly old-fashioned and the cafe on the platform serves an excellent cup of coffee. It was busy in the cafe so we shared a table with an older Canadian gentleman with an excellent handle bar moustache, who shared a giant bag of Peruvian gooseberries with us. Once on the train the landscape changes from arable fields and purple snow topped mountains to the incredible green domed mountains so characteristic of Machu Picchu.

There are three ways to get to Machu Picchu, you can trek the Inca Trail which is a four day hike through the mountains, you can take the train which is what we did, or you can get a minibus to the hydroelectric station and then walk along the train tracks into town, which is the cheapest option. The town of Aquas Calientes is most people's final stop before reaching Machu Picchu. It is a small town in the mountains with a hot spring, which it is named after. It sounds quite nice on paper but in reality it's a total tourist trap. The buildings seem to have been thrown up with no consideration to design and there is scaffolding everywhere. It had started rained when we arrived, but the moment we stepped off the train the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel staff were there to meet us with umbrellas and to take our bags. As soon as you step onto the grounds of Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel you you are enveloped by dense jungle and an immediate sense of calm. It is such a perfect oasis away from the noise and hubbub of the main town. Inkaterra own 12 acres of unspoilt cloud forest, and the hotel is nestled right into the jungle. The hotel is made up of 83 traditional white adobe casitas and several main buildings, including a beautiful dining room. The rooms are simple and cosy, and you feel incredibly close to nature at all times. Just wondering around the casitas you can spot beautiful wild birds gliding between the trees.

I was given a tour of the grounds and then popped over to the main building for teatime, including teas grown right there in the hotel grounds. After that my husband and I decided to explore a bit and walk along the path into the cloud forest. Walking deeper and deeper into the jungle, marvelling at the wild orchids and humming birds everywhere, was such an incredible and unique experience. The hotel run a number of excursions in the cloud forest, with a focus on wildlife and conservation.

After our walk and a freshen up in our casita we made our way over to the dining room, where we had the best culinary experience of the whole time in Peru. My husband had an incredible tiradito, a traditional Peruvian dish of raw fish, and I had a traditional Amazonian river fish, washed down with a couple of Pisco sours. After that we got an early night so that we would be up bright and early for our trip up to Machu Picchu in the morning.

Fortunately the hotel serves breakfast from 5 am, which meant we could fill up with a delicious buffet breakfast before joining the queue for the bus. Even at 5:30 in the morning there was a long queue for the bus. The bus is about £20 each return and they are quite picky about what kind of debit card you can pay with, so I would recommend paying in cash. You can walk up, but it takes several hours so if you want to make most of your time I recommend just getting the bus. The bus takes you on an incredible journey winding up through the mountains, zig-zagging higher and higher until you reach the top. Once we got to the main gate we joined the queue with our tickets and passports ready. Fortunately the security guards didn’t notice that my husband had gotten my date of birth wrong when he booked our tickets, making me 117 years old.

We briefly joined the crowds taking obligatory Machu Picchu selfies and then made our way up to the Sun Gate. This was my favourite experience at Machu Picchu. The morning light was incredible as we walked up into the mountains to the Sun Gate, and at this point the trail was very quiet. The view was incredible from the top, and for people hiking the Inca Trail this is their first view of Machu Picchu.

You can’t bring your own food into Machu Picchu, so we had to go back out the main gate to buy food and drinks. You are allowed to enter through the gate three times in a day. As you would expect everything is a bit overpriced, and you even have to pay to use the toilets. We bought a couple of empanadas for lunch then headed back in. The citadel itself is amazing, but for the most part you can’t just roam freely, you need to walk round in a particular route following the many tour groups. One of my favourite parts was breaking away from the crowds managing to capture some shots of llamas looking dramatic against the magnificent backdrop as the mist started to descend.

At some point we got back on the main trail and realised everyone was heading towards the exit. The security guards wouldn’t let us turn back so we were herded out. We debated queueing up to get back in the main entrance again but it just started raining, so my husband and I decided to get the bus back into town for a coffee and some food before catching our train. We went back to Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel for coffees and they had our bags all ready for us, having stored them for us during the day. We had a a last moment soaking up the atmosphere of the hotel and the beauty of the cloud forest before catching a train to Cusco.

We stayed at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel free of charge, but all views and opinions ate my own. Thank you so much to Inkaterra for having us, we had an amazing stay.  

Peru Part 3 - Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba

Arriving

As you step into   Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba there is an immediate wow factor. This gorgeous hotel is nestled at the foot of a mountain with stunning panoramic views of the Andes, which the hotel takes full advantage of with floor-to-ceiling windows. It has possibly the most impressive hotel lobby in the world. When we arrived we were given a glass of Chicha Morada, a traditional drink made from purple maize and then we were shown to our room. The hotel has 24 casitas dotted along the hillside and 12 rooms in the main building. Our room was a private casita, which was bigger than our flat back in London.  It had stunning views of the mountains, comfortable beds, sofas and a well appointed bathroom. The thing I love most about this hotel is the attention to detail. The keyring for the room key is made of plaited naturally dyed yarn, the room is decorated with traditional rugs and blankets sourced from Chinchero and even the bottle of water has a woven cover. After settling in we headed over to the main building to claim our free Pisco Sours. The bartenders were lovely and gave us a mini lesson on making the perfect Pisco Sour and gave us some useful advice for Machu Picchu.

Tea Time

My favourite feature of this hotel is the teatime, which happens every day from 3 to 5 pm. I think every hotel should have teatime, in fact I think every day should involve teatime. A hot water urn and a selection of local herbs were set out in the lobby and guests could make their own infusions and help themselves to a selection of delicate biscuits infused with local flavours. I had a blend of wild growing mint, and my husband had a coca tea, which is believed to help with the altitude. If you need a little extra help adjusting to the altitude the hotel has oxygen tanks on hand.

Dinner Time

The hotel offers a number of free nature walks and excursions. Before dinner we went out for the Twilight walk. We each grabbed a candlelit lantern and headed up the mountainside lead by our guide. As the stars came out he explained that this valley was sacred because the flow of the Milky Way mirrored the flow of the river. We learnt the Incan constellations, so different from those we can see back in England and he explained the Incan theological hierarchy. This was such a wonderful insight into the traditional culture, and such a beautiful experience.

After we got back it was time for dinner. I don't have pictures of what we ate because there's nothing worse than somebody getting out a digital SLR and standing on a chair to get the right angle, but needless to say everything was delicious. When we got back to our room a fire had been lit (it gets chilly at night in the mountains) and a chocolate left on each pillow.

I think breakfast might be my favourite meal in the hotel; I had quinoa at pancakes and my husband had Peruvian style eggs, all made to order, with an array of fresh juices, smoothies, fruit salads, cold meats and cheeses available on the buffet. I know I've said it before, but the thing I love most about this hotel is the incredible attention to detail. Everything is thought out and on brand. In the dining room there are beautiful chairs covered in traditional textiles from Chinchero, the plates and bowls perfectly match the decor and even the placemat is woven. We were very sad to leave this beautiful place, but we needed to head onto the next leg of our journey to Machu Picchu.

We stayed at Inkaterra free of charge, but all views and opinions are my own. Thank you so much to Inkaterra for having us, we had an amazing stay.

Peru Part 2 - The Sacred Valley

We arrived in Cusco airport and got a taxi into town to buy our Boleto Turistico, a ticket that gets you into many of the ruins and museums across the Sacred Valley. You can pay for them individually, but the Boleto Turistico is much cheaper.  It is valid for 10 days and you get a stamp for every site you visit. We then got a collectivo to the Incan village of Ollantaytambo. Collectivos, also known as combis, are shared minibus taxis, and are a cheap convenient way to get around. They leave when they are full and passengers get on and off along the route. It was a two hour journey through the Sacred Valley to our destination, but the route was stunning as we slowly descended through the mountains.

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo is a unique intact Incan Village, and is often people's last stop before reaching Machu Picchu. This can give the place a bit of a backpacker vibe, but instead of just passing through, we decided to stay there for four nights. It is referred to as a living Inca Village, because the traditional Incan streets are intact and it is still inhabited by the indigenous  Quechua speaking community. The people living here in Ollantaytambo today are the direct descendants of the people who built the town.

On our first day we explored the ruins of Ollantaytambo. We went slightly off the tourist trail and found a path that led us right up the side of a mountain, leaving the tour groups far behind. The route we took gave us a spectacular view of the valley and the low-lying clouds. We then climbed up to the granaries on the opposite mountain. These mysterious sloping buildings look like churches, perched on the inhospitable hillside, but they are in fact store houses that were used by the Incas to store grains.  

Moray and Maras

The next day we decided to visit some of the local sites with a driver, as recommended by our hostel. We visited Moray, Maras, Salinas de Maras and Chinchero in one day for the cost of about £40, plus tip. The mysterious circular terraces of Moray look like an amphitheatre, but it is believed they were actually used as an agricultural laboratory. As the different levels of the terraces receive different amounts of wind and sun, it allowed them to see which crops grow best in different weather conditions.

We also visited the salt flats at Maras. You can wander around the extensive salt mines on a network of wooden bridges. Warm salty water drips constantly between the hundreds of salt ponds. Salt has been mined here since pre-Incan times. Naturally salty water emerges from an underground spring and evaporates in the sun leaving pools of white crystals behind.

The town of Maras its self is very small and very quiet and has an unusual and slightly eerie atmosphere. Our driver took us on a route from Maras to Chinchero via the back roads, which in the winter are completely impassible. This was a wonderful opportunity to see the unspoiled Peruvian landscape. You see whole families working in the fields growing traditional crops like corn and wheat, the way they have done for hundreds of years. At one point we had to make an emergency stop as a herd of piglets ran across the dirt track. The scenery is stunning, with golden green fields of wheat and dramatic snow topped mountains.

Chinchero

The little town of Chinchero is famous for its traditional weaving community, and was one of my favourite places in Peru. The Incans knew it as the birth place as the rainbow, and it certainly produces a lot of colour and beauty.  At over 12,000 feet it was the highest altitude we experienced, I must have been an alpaca in a past life because I was completely impervious to the altitude. We later met people who had gotten serious altitude sickness from visiting this village. There are numerous collectives of weaving families who sell their wares together and give demonstrations of the traditional processes. The alpaca wool is washed and spun by hand before being dyed with natural organic dyes. Purple corn, lichen and cochineal are used frequently. The women demonstrated how the shade of red produced by the cochineal can be changed by adding ingredients like salt or lime juice. The finished yarn is then woven to create beautiful textiles used in traditional dress and homewares. The weaving process is elaborate and lengthy, and the traditional designs incorporate many symbols of Peruvian nature, such as pumas, lizards, rivers and mountains. The most expensive textiles are those finely woven with alpaca wool; they are very detailed and are often used in clothing. The dense weave keeps out the rain and different towns have different traditional designs. My favourite type of traditional Peruvian textile is the Frazada, which means blanket in Spanish. They are made in two halves and then sewn together. These are a chunkier, heavier textile and quicker to weave, which is why they are less expensive. They are used as rugs and blankets are and cut up to make backpacks and cushion covers. In the square in front of the white washed church of Chincero,  women in traditional dress sell their colourful textiles. This open air market backs onto the Chinchero ruins.

Pisac 

Pisac is famous for its market, and is busiest on the main market days when tourists pour into the town from a fleet of coaches. The market is a colourful maze spread over the cobbled town square, and sells everything from the most beautiful textiles to the tackiest tourist tat. A lot of the goods are mass produced and there is more of a hard sell here, which is why I prefer shopping in Chinchero. After wandering through the market we decided to head up to the ruins. These were our favourite ruins; they were a challenging walk with spectacular views and Inca terraces and fortresses dotted all over the mountain. We had the trail almost completely to ourselves. At the top of the mountain we met a tiny little old lady selling bottles of water from a huge bag on her back.

Where to Eat

As a pair of jet lagged coffee snobs it's always important to us that we find a good local cafe. Our favourite in Ollantaytambo was Cafe de mi Abuelo. The coffee was good, the staff are friendly, the top floor has an amazing view over the mountains, and they have great home-made alfajores. Also they have a daily happy hour, which means you get two Pisco sours for around £4, which is exactly what you need after a tiring day of walking up mountains. On our last day we discovered Cafe Mayu, which is right next to the platform in the train station and has excellent coffee. It is attached to El Albergue restaurant and B&B. Uchucuta was our favourite restaurant, and did an excellent alpaca steak with red quinoa and Andean sauce. We also visited Hearts Cafe regularly, a casual cafe and restaurant whose profits all go to local community work. The Living Heart charity does lots of fantastic work in the local community, and I am proud to support them with the sale of this print.

The Sacred Valley is a magical place with truly unique people. Stay tuned for part three and four where we spend a night in the Urubamba Valley at Inkaterra and then venture on to Machu Picchu.

Peru Part 1 - Arequipa

Lima

After flying into Lima and staying one night we arrived in Arequipa. Arequipa is Peru's second largest city, but its compact Colonial centre makes it easily walkable. Uniquely among the cities of Peru, Arequipa has never been an Inca settlement and was founded in the 16th century by the Spanish. We decided to start our Peru journey in Arequipa as it is around 2500 meters above sea level, which is the perfect place to acclimatise to the high altitude. It's also a stunning city that deserves a few days to explore and appreciate. 

Arriving in Arequipa

Arequipa is surrounded on all sides by three majestic volcanoes, which means the city operates with two distinct climates. Before the sun rises over the mountains it is freezing cold and after it is pleasantly warm. We stayed in Casa de Melgar, which turned out to be a brilliant choice. This hotel was once a colonial mansion. The rooms are set around colourful plant filled courtyards and are complete with antique furniture and embroidered wallhangings. It was also only a five minute walk from the Plaza de Armas, the centre of community life in any Latin American town.

Visiting the Monasteries 

The Santa Catalina Monastery is like a city within a city, built in the 16th century and painted with striking natural pigments. The monastery covers over 20,000 square meters and has its own streets named after cities in Spain. Twenty nuns still live there today. The monastery has an incredibly peaceful atmosphere. Whilst it is a beautiful building to explore on your own, the way to get the most out of it is to have a guided tour. For example a small dark room took on new meaning when the guide explained that this is where the secluded nuns would speak through the grill to their family living in the outside world. 

We also visited the Santa Teresa Monastery, which is much smaller and less well-known but definitely worth a visit. It houses a stunning collection of art from the Cusco School. Before coming to Peru I had never heard of the Cusco school, it is a fusion of traditional Catholic devotional paintings with a Latin American influence. It is characterised by decorative floral detail, embellishment in gold and the rosy cheeks of the subjects. The monastery is home to one the most stunningly beautiful rooms I think I have ever been in. The walls are covered in pale pink and green frescoes from floor to ceiling; hand-painted hundreds of years ago and carefully restored and maintained. 

The Countryside

We took an excursion out to the countryside for one day. Neither of us drive so we used a local bus tour company. It was a four hour tour and worked out to be good value and was a great way to see the countryside. One of my favourite places that we stopped at was the Mansion Fundador, a colonial mansion in the countryside once owned by the founder of Arequipa and subsequently his insane son. Like so many buildings in Arequipa it is painted in vibrant colours and furnished with beautiful antique furniture. We also visited the Old Mill at Sabandia, which was a particularly charming and tranquil spot

Where to Eat

Arequipa gave us a great introduction to Peruvian food and was very good value. Our favourite restaurant was Pishku, which had a beautiful courtyard and served the best ceviche I had all trip. I became a bit obsessed with the sandwich chain La Lucha. We went there for lunch in Lima and then again in Arequipa, and I am still dreaming about those sandwiches. We had marinated pork (Chic Charron) with sweet potato and red onion on chunky, crispy rolls. The staff were some of the friendliest and most attentive we met in Peru and the sandwiches were amazing value.

We discovered Chaqchao chocolate cafe on our last night and wished we'd found it sooner. As you would expect it makes amazing hot chocolate as well as a selection of craft beer and chocolatey treats. Alfajores are not uniquely Peruvian, but they are delicious and they are sold everywhere in Arequipa, particularly in the Plaza de Armas. They are round crumbly shortbread biscuits filled with dulce de leche and dusted with icing sugar. Peru is known for growing coffee but not for making it. More than once we bought a takeaway coffee so bad we had to throw it away. Fortunately we found Kaffee Haus right opposite our hotel and during our four day stay managed to fill up a loyalty card and claim a free coffee. They roast and grind Peruvian beans in house and make delicious coffee.

Stay tuned for part two to read about our travels to the Sacred Valley.

Finding Inspiration

In this blog post I wanted to talk a little bit about inspiration. I personally define inspiration as feeling motivated to do something or create something. It's that feeling when you read a great book and immediately want to sketch the main character, or you go somewhere so beautiful that you can't stop taking photos, filming or sketching.
In interviews I often get asked how I stay inspired, which I've always found a really odd question as I'm inspired pretty much 100% of the time. There is never really a moment when I'm not planning new ideas or thinking about things I want to paint in my head. I actually dream about paint, it's a bit odd.

But I think for most people finding inspiration and staying inspired is a bit more of a challenge. I think for a lot of people there number one destination for inspiration is Instagram and Pinterest. I love Instagram and Pinterest, I think they are amazing places to share your work, build a community, find new customers and clients and to get a general idea of what's going on in the creative industry is. However I don't think they're good place to seek inspiration. What normally happens after a Instagram binge is that you end up getting slightly overwhelmed by image after beautiful image. The problem is there is no context to these images, you have no sense of how long they took to create, or even when they were created chronologically, and how many first drafts had to go into creating the final piece. You might have scrolled through two years work in 30 seconds. What I generally find happens is that seeing so much beautiful work by other people in a short space of time makes me doubt myself. It makes me feel that simultaneously my work should be more colourful yet more muted, more complex but more simple, basically less like me and more like everybody else that I admire. And what usually happens is that I don't feel motivated to create at all, I just get stuck in a cycle of endless scrolling. Not that I don't love seeing beautiful work on Instagram and discovering new illustrators, but if you're starting to doubt your own work it's time to put the phone down. Best case scenario and you feel a bit down and wonder why you bother, worst case scenario is is that people actually try to imitate what they are see on Instagram and end up copying the artists that they admire. My work has been copied many times by students and amateur painters. I understand why it happens and how easy it is to do. If you are spending a lot of time looking at the same few artists work it's natural that your work will start to look like their's. The best antidote to this is to seek inspiration from as many different sources as possible, preferably away from a computer screen. 

So where do you find inspiration? 
This will vary for everyone. What inspires me may not inspire you, and that's a good thing. Peoples unique and diverse sources of inspiration are what makes their work unique. 
 

Museums and galleries
I always find walking round a museum with a sketchbook or visiting a beautiful exhibition really inspiring. There is something about seeing great works of art close up, seeing the texture of the paint and the individual brush strokes that makes me want to pick up a paintbrush soon as I get home.

Travel
I find travelling so inspiring, and when I travel I deliberately pick places that I know want to sketch or paint. I love going to the colourful cities like Seville or Marrakech or places with a strong history of folk art like Mexico or Peru.

People watching
People watching is such a great free source of inspiration. If you draw people in your work it's great to spend time observing real people, their body language what they wear et cetera. My favourite well-dressed old people and adorable children.

Old films and documentaries
I love the costumes and sets in old films. Anything with Audrey Hepburn oh Marilyn Monroe is a good start. I also love watching documentaries about inspiring creative women. Iris, and The Eye Has To Travel are two of my favourites. 

Vintage shops and antiques fairs
If you like drawing objects then vintage shops and antiques shops are great places to find inspiration. I don't know why it is but I find old objects have so much more character and are just more drawable than new objects. I would rather draw a typewrite than a MacBook any day.

Colour combinations
Keep an eye out for beautiful, accidental colour combinations in every day life. An iPhone is a great way to record these little moments of colour inspiration that might otherwise be forgotten. 

So basically every time you leave the house or switch on the TV the potential for inspiration is there! These are just a few of the places I find inspiration, hopefully this has encouraged you to try something you and seek out inspiration.

Live illustrating with SisterMAG and Alpro

In January illustrator I invited over to SisterMAG's head office in Berlin to live illustrate at a special press event with Alpro. I have worked with SisterMAG for years, so I was really excited to meet the whole team and see their offices. This was also my first time in Berlin, although Berlin in the middle of January is not for the faint hearted.  

The beautiful event featured bloggers and press from all over Germany. The day involved a variety of workshops, beautiful meals, including an amazing brunch provided by Alpro and some show stopping cakes. Activities throughout the day included calligraphy and moodboard making workshops, massages and the chance to be illustrated by me. I was very busy thorughout the day, illustrating guests, the SisterMAG team and people form Alpro. Fortunately I was very well looking after; if only all my jobs can with endless supplies of coffee, crepes and massages. After a busy day of drawing I hopped on a flight back to London.

All photos curtesy of SisterMAG and Saskia Bauermeister

A Little Guide to Seville

I’ve always had a fascination with Seville, probably because so many operas are set there. It has always seemed like the most romantic and mysterious of Spanish cities. So when we where looking for a city break that would provide a bit of winter sun and allow my husband to practice his Spanish, Seville was the obvious choice. October is a great time to go to Seville as the weather is warm (high 20s) but not oppressively hot.
There are so many things to do in Seville and it is such a charming, walkable city that it is the perfect place for a city break. We spent four days in Seville, and though we would have loved to stay longer we definitely got a feel for the city. Here are a few of my favourite things to do in Seville, though really the best thing to do is just walk and walk and explore the city on foot (with lots of stops for tapas).

The city’s most famous attraction, the Alcazar, is a must see. The Alcazar is a royal palace original developed by Moorish kings. It’s famous for it’s stunning architecture, tile work and gardens. We bought our tickets (€9.50) on the day and queued for about 20 minutes, but you can buy them in advance online. Once you get through the ticket office it’s easy to shake off the hoards of tour groups and explore the expansive gardens and rooms on your own. It is such a calm and peaceful place that you almost forget that the city outside exists.

The Plaza España is a collection of governmental buildings on the edge of the
Maria Luisa park. It doesn’t sound worth a visit but it really is. The buildings are beautiful, set in a semi circle with miniature bridges and waterways that you can row through. It is a testament to stunning Sevillian craftsmanship, every region of Spain having its own elaborately decorated alcove. It’s also completely free to visit. Make sure you also explore the park, which is beautiful. 

The city’s newest attraction, the Parasol Metropol, is somewhat controversial and not everyone is a fan. I think it’s definitely worth a visit as it only  costs €3 and gives you stunning views of Seville. Your ticket also entitles you to a free drink, I highly recommend enjoying an ice cold glass of beer at the top whilst taking in the view.

You can’t go to Seville without seeing some flamenco. There are shows in the city centre that cater to tourists where the tickets are quite expensive and then there are shows in the outskirts that cater to locals and aficionados, starting at midnight and serving only hard alcohol. La Carboneria is a happy middle ground. It is located in the city centre, it’s free to get in and shows run from 9:30 – 12:00. The shows are fantastic, and need to be seen to understand the passion and the energy. 

It’s actually quite hard to have a bad meal in Seville, pretty much everywhere is good. We mostly ordered tapas as its fun and cheap. Ordering tapas means you can try lots of different dishes and even several different restaurants in one night. Portions are generous and we usually ordered four tapas between two. Here are a few places I’d recommend: El Rinconcillo – the oldest tapas bar in Seville – go for atmosphere, decor and good tapas, La Huerta 9 – lovely tapas eaten under the orange trees, Confiteria La Campana – classic coffee and patisserie, staffed by adorable old men in stripy waistcoats and El Rincon el Rosita – the friendliest restaurant in Seville and delicious food.

We flew with Ryanair and stayed in an Airbnb apartment. We stayed in the Macarena neighbourhood which I would highly recommend. It’s about 20 minutes walk from the centre and is a really charming neighbourhood. Get £25 off your first Airbnb stay here.

What I wore:
Checked dress – People Tree, shorts – vintage, straw boater – vintage, white blouse – charity shop, denim jacket – H&M, sunglasses – Anthropologie, watch – Daniel Wellington

Honeymooning in Tulum

When it came to choosing our honeymoon destination we were looking for beaches, good weather and culture. I saw a picture of Mayan ruins over looking a stunning beach and we were sold. Two flights to Mexico booked.

Tulum is a tale of two halves; a stunning beach with trendy boutique eco hotels, and the town which is more rough around the edges but full of local colour and flavour. We stayed in the town in a lovely Airbnb and cycled down to beach on the purpose built cycle path. I have read a lot of travel pieces on Tulum recently that pretend that the town doesn’t exist and that you should spend your whole time staying in beach hotels in eating in beach restaurants. I think that is a bit of a shame because you miss out so much of the local culture and colour if you never venture into the town.

BEACH

On out first day we made the mistake of heading down to the beach, having a swim then lying down on our towels for a read and sunbathe. Big mistake, we both ended up with very burnt backs, despite slapping on the sun cream. I also fell off my bike, stepped in wet cement and turned green in the swimming pool, so we had a hilarious first day. You really can’t over estimate how strong the Mexican sun is. A few days later when our sun burn had healed we ventured back to the beach and did things the smart way. We went to Papaya Playa Project and rented a sun lounger for the day. The loungers are free if you are eating and drinking at the beach club. The days we spent at Papaya Playa were complete bliss; going for a swim in the incredibly warm, clear sea, coming back to our lounger to read, paint, drink smoothies and eat octopus tacos. Being served delicious Mexican food and cold beers whilst reclining on a lounger on a breathtaking almost empty beach was a new level of luxury for me, and I think Tulum has spoilt me for all other beaches. Also I could stay in the shade 90 percent of the time, which is really the ideal situation when you're as pale as me.

One of the amazing things about Mexico is how full of wild life it is. One of the best things that we did was to swim with wild sea turtles. You can swim with sea turtles for free at Akumel, you just need to hire a life jacket and snorkelling equipment. It’s a good idea to get there as early as possible before the crowds arrive. While in Mexico you should also keep an eye out for iguanas, pelicans, tropical birds and giant butterflies.

CENOTES

Another must do thing in this region of Mexico is to visit some cenotes. Cenotes are natural sink holes filled with fresh water. They are incredibly beautiful and an amazing place to go for a swim. We visited a few and our favourite was the Gran Cenote in Tulum. Large crowds tend to arrive from 11am onwards so I would recommend getting there before 9. Thankfully the jet lag makes it easy to get up super early If you have snorkelling gear bring it with you, and if you scuba-dive you are in for a real treat. Cenotes Dos Ojos is great for divers. 

VALLADOLID

If you love colour and folk art and want to see a less touristy side to Mexico you have to visit Valladolid. It's only a few hours away by coach, but it's a world away from trendy tulum. It's streets are full of colourful colonial buildings, perfect for exploring and taking photos. It's got a great selection of folk art shops and local boutiques. Cenote Zaci is a large cenote in the town that is worth a visit. My biggest regret of the holiday was missing the chance to visit the folk art museum because the infomation on TripAdvisor was wrong. What I saw through the door looked amazing! Coqui Coqui is a gorgeous perfume boutique and tearoom that you have to visit.

RUINS
There there are lots of Mayan ruins around Tulum but the ones at Coba were our favourite. They are in the jungle which thankfully provides some shade and also makes them super cool to explore. Hiring bikes is the best way to get around. Mexico doesn’t do health and safety, which is why seat belts are optional, you can swim in caves and you can climb up really tall Mayan temples. I didn’t know I had a fear of heights until I got to the top and couldn’t look down! The steps are steep and uneven so don’t wear sandals like l did! Whilst you’re in the area you can also check out the local cenotes and zipline across the lake.

Our trip to Mexico was everything that we hoped it would be and more; sunshine, beaches, culture, colour, adventure and a lot of incredible food. There’s not been a day when we haven’t wished we were back in Mexico. It was a truly unforgettable honeymoon.