Hi followers ❤️ My latest UnicornPostbox blog post is progression photos of an amateur ‘Sunset and Sunflowers’ 🌻 pub painting…hope you enjoy! 💕💕
First of all (and definitely no way of getting this stage wrong!), we washed a watery white on the top of the canvas. We then incorporated light blues, pastal pinks, oranges and yellows, blended lightly with watery brushstrokes. This process was for the sky top part of the painting, and an emerald green then created for the meadow at the bottom. We dotted out brown circles where the big sunflowers 🌻 would be (their disc center) and started on the recognisable yellow petals, or ray florets. As the painting progressed, we added smaller sunflowers 🌻 in the distance, to an appropriate scale. To make the painting more 3D, we scooped on thick acrylic paint; yellow, orange and white petals. Also, abstract fluffy white clouds added an artistic touch to the piece. I was not satisfied with the small orange blobs to represent the disc florets, so I brushed more brown back in. The final step was light green and white lovely swaying stalks… and here is the finished piece:
This pub painting was an extra one, not located as usual in a Doncaster pub, but in a coffee shop Friday evening. Evidently, this explains why the progression photos are rather dark, yet the finished painting much lighter. I actually found this one much harder than the previous wonky donkey. I really struggled with forming realistic petals, mine are more round than defined. Nevertheless, even though not my favourite pub painting, it was still enjoyable and therapeutic 😄😄
Coming up, I’ve got two portraits ready to do, one of Keanu Reeves, one of YungBlud 💕 I would imagine maybe a diamond art 💎 🎨 or two also before the next Halloween 🎃 pub painting 💕
Thank you as ever for your support. Lots of love, Lauren xx
Hi everyone! My latest UnicornPostbox blog post is progression photos of a pub painting wonky donkey I painted on Tuesday… hope you like! 🥰🥰
This time Becca, the teaching artist, decided to outline the shape of our donkeys on the canvas, as apparently otherwise it could have gone drastically wrong, haha 🤣 For some strange reason the background looks more a crimson red but it is actually a bright bold pink. It must have been the lighting. The eyes were first two brown simple circles until we added white dots and girlie eyelashes. The mouth, with its grey shades and black features, inclined to look like ‘Jack Skellington’ from ‘A Nightmare Before Christmas’ (I can’t unsee it now!) 🤣 🎄 We incorporated thick brown brush strokes for the mane and fringe, and fluffy ears. Brown block colour first for the head and body. Then it was very free and expressive the strokes for the fur, with our medium brush, starting off with darker tones of brown to light brown, to white. More white definition around the eyes, and more block colour to the background, and hey presto, the painting was complete 🥰🥰
Although in some ways a more challenging pub painting, it was great fun 😄 We have an extra ‘Sunflower’ pub painting this month, it’s tonight actually, so watch this space 😜
I am also to start a ‘Keanu Reeves’ and ‘YungBlud’ pencil portrait, and there will probably be another diamond art 💎 🎨 or two before the next pub painting in October for Halloween 🎃
Thanks as ever for reading/viewing. Lots of love, Lauren xx
Last Saturday, on 26th July, on the one year anniversary of my beautiful mum passing away, I fought like a warrior woman to complete a 5K Yorkshire Tough Mudder at Broughton Hall, Skipton, North Yorkshire.
An extremely messy mud obstacle course, designed to test your strength, grit and determination, with super intense obstacles to push you to your absolute limit.
I completed the course with my good friend Shez. To be honest, I don’t think I could ever have succeeded without his support; he encouraged me throughout. Shez ran for the LGBTQIA+ community and Autism Plus, both meaningful charities to him and I ran for Alzheimer’s Research, very close to my heart
With half hearted training in the run up to the event (not like Shez who hit the gym hard!) I underestimated the intensity and difficulty massively 😫 It was the hardest, most gruelling physical challenge I have ever done! Yet, somehow, I emerged victorious… here is the story:
Kiss of Mud: The first obstacle was Kiss of Mud, we had to crawl on our hands and knees through mud, with barbed wire only 14” above us! You had to get really low to avoid the barbed wire slicing your shirt and potentially making you bleed. Hardcore!
Twinkle Toes: This one really frightened me. Balancing and tip-toeing daintily along a 40″ skinny wooden platform, with Shez one side of me, the helper the other. The wood itself was narrow and the dismount awkward. It really triggered my anxiety, I was literally shaking afterwards
Stairway to Heaven: Aww ye, more like stairway to hell! This one absolutely petrified me. So even though I did a 10’000ft tandem skydive for my 21st birthday years ago for the Mitochondrial Disease charity (At that time, I was caring for someone with the disease), weirdly, I am frightened of heights! The skydive was a different sensation altogether, it felt almost as though you were flying once they popped open the parachute. However, when I abseiled down Liverpool Cathedral a few years ago to raise money for the Children’s Air Ambulance, the fear was immense, descending backwards, my knees trembling. Climbing up over and down the Stairway to Heaven triggered the same horrible feeling. I took my time and climbed/descended timidly and slowly, but it was awful! The worst one!
Trench Warfare: This one wasn’t too bad to be honest. All it entailed was what it says on the tin, crawling through a muddy made trench. Sure, a confined and dark space, but not too scary
Hydrophobia: This was the first water based obstacle. I really enjoyed the water ones! Basically you were expected to hold your breath, submerge and swim underneath a huge black pipe. We came out absolutely drenched; our gym shorts soaking and sellotaped pretty much to our wet bodies. The water was so cold and made you gasp coming up
Pyramid Scheme: A team based/ team-centric obstacle, you have to rely on other mudders totally. Luckily, there were some really nice participants who were more than happy to help me and Shez. Essentially, it is a slope you have to ascend. A solid foundation, I stood on a strong man’s shoulders and gripped hands with a few at the top, thankfully they had the strength to pull me over. Woop woop!
Cry Baby: Crawling through a tear gas filled tunnel, staying low, trying not to well up with the fumes, trying to escape as soon as possible
Mudderhorn: Surprisingly, although the Mudderhorn was higher than the Stairway to Heaven, at 40ft, I wasn’t as afraid because the surrounding net gave you (maybe a false) sort of sense of security. I needed a leg up to get on the obstacle though, ha 😆 But I actually reached the bottom before Shez, which was extremely unusual!
Cage Crawl: Here we had to pull ourselves along, with metal overhead, through a pit of water which was fun but at the same time it felt a little claustrophobic. Holding your breath, going under, coming up for air. It reminded me of the popular ITV programme ‘I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here’
Devil’s Beard: Devil’s Beard was basically a on your hands and knees, through an enormous heavy net situation. Not as frightening or as particularly challenging as the others, but by ek my knees were sore the next day!
Everest: The only challenge I didn’t complete. I was gutted. Essentially, it is like the end wall in the TV show ‘Ninja Warrior’. A 13″ quarterpipe you have to sprint at, leap upwards, and hopefully be hauled over by the other mudders at the summit. I tried about ten times. Although sometimes my hands gripped with those above me, I didn’t have the strength and they didn’t to yank me over. To be fair, about half the mudders I saw couldn’t do it either, which is some consolation. I just physically was not strong enough, simple as that. If I’d have tried anymore I could have seriously injured myself 😢
Blockness Monster: My favourite of all the obstacles. The last water 💧 one. Rotating 500lb blocks. The first block I just could not get my grip properly and thought I was defeated. I went to exit the obstacle feeling beaten. But Shez convinced me to come back and tackle the other block together. I literally clung to his waist and we went tumbling over together, me on top, head first into the water. It was absolutely hilarious and our spectator friends Lou, Emma, Emma’s son Lucas and my boyfriend Aaron took some extremely funny videos. It was so epic!
Electroshock Therapy: This was the one I was dreading the most but it was a piece of p*ss. Apparently 10’000 volts of electricity. We psyched ourselves up and belted into it, but for some reason the shocks were much milder than I anticipated… not like I’m complaining though, ha ha! 🤣
What an achievement! Three hours fifteen minutes in total, with all the 5K power walking/ jogging and all thirteen obstacles. I almost twisted my ankle as well as I fell while jogging downhill. I was completely knackered for a few days, bumps and bruises
I am so proud though because so far I have raised £670 for Alzheimer’s Research, in loving memory of my beautiful mum Deborah Jayne 💓💓 who sadly died last year after a long battle with early onset Alzheimer’s
I received a celebratory medal, head band and t-shirt which was really cool!
If I can achieve this, I feel like I can accomplish anything. The challenge has inspired me to get super physically fit and next year I would love to do the Great North Swim, a 10K and a half marathon for charity 💓💓 So, watch this space! 😜😜
Here is the link for my Tough Mudder fundraising page if you would kindly like to donate:
For my next UnicornPostbox blog posts, I have printed off reference photos to start my Keanu Reeves and YungBlud portrait drawings, also I have a Wonky Donkey and Sunflower 🌻 pub painting in August 🥰
Thank you as ever for taking the time to read/view. Much love, Lauren xx
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