Hi everyone! Good evening, hope you are all well 🙂 The latest blog post is 20 progression photos of an amateur acrylic painting. I’ve kept with the fantasy theme and painted a dragon/castle, hope you like 🙂
I used my art therapy books as inspiration. Dakota and the castle are quite similar colours, with fluffy white clouds in the blue background; I love their effect. I’m pretty pleased with how it’s turned out, as is only my amateur second acrylic attempt. Hopefully the more I practise, the more I’ll improve! Here is the finished piece:
Coming soon, maybe more fantasy/fairy inspired tale acrylic paintings (mermaids, witches, fairies etc) or a gigantic wolf crystal diamond art I bought from the Range, or excitingly, upcycled furniture as I am beginning volunteering as a furniture refurbisher for the Children’s Air Ambulance this week! 🙂 🙂
Thank you so much for reading /viewing!
Thoughts with the the people of Ukraine, and hope of a world free from war and atrocity.
Hi fellow bloggers! My latest blog post is progression photos of an original, art therapy book inspired, (amateur) fantasy acrylic painting, Uma the Unicorn 🦄 Hope you enjoy!
This is my first proper go at acrylics in like a decade, ha! It’s not the greatest – she’s not in proportion and looks either a bit chubby around the middle or heavily pregnant lol – but it’s a start. I am hoping the quality of my painting will improve as I practise, and get back to the professional standard it was many moons ago.
Here is the finished art work:
I have an additional 4 canvas pannel boards I bought from the Range, so I think for my next acrylic paintings I’ll keep to the mythical / fantasy theme; haunted castle, dragons, mermaids, fairies etc or perhaps animals or sea life, I have a fair few art therapy books to gain inspiration from 🙂 🙂
So please, keep a look-out, and thank you so much for reading / viewing 🙂 🙂
Hi everyone! My latest blog post is progression photos of a Marilyn Monroe diamond art! It’s taken me a good few weeks to complete, but definitely worth it in the end I think, I’m pretty proud, haha. Hope you enjoy!
Norma Jeane Baker, born 1st June 1926, was transformed into Marilyn Monroe, the American sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s – a ‘blonde bombshell’, established model and actress who remains one of the most iconic women in film history; defining an era in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Here are some of her famous and inspirational quotes:
‘I don’t want to make money, I just want to be wonderful’
‘We should all start to live before we get too old’
‘I’m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I’m out of control, and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best’
‘We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle’
‘I defy gravity’
‘Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world’
‘Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about’
You may not know but I have actually been in a mental health hospital for the last four and a half months. I’m doing much better thank goodness; I thought it would be nice to share though some of my promarker pen amateur art therapy drawings I’ve produced whilst being a patient, and to offer a brief description of what inspired each piece. I do hope you enjoy!
I took inspiration for this cat piece from some art therapy books I already owned. The symmetry with the mushrooms, trees and butterflies and the blue/pink colour scheme is supposed to visually depict equality and togetherness.
This abstract quirky piece depicts looking at the world with eyes of love and promoting peaceful protest.
My two giraffes are boosting upwards off the yellow brick road towards Emerald City (I can relate to all the characters in the Wizard of Oz and I am considering a full leg sleeve tattoo haha).
This is art from great imagination if I may say so, haha. It’s Christmas themed and was started for the ward unique Christmas card competition. There’s a time traveling santa ‘Ho Ho’ sack, a mushroom / tea pot house, pouring green tea where a few people are zorbing. There is also a purple mother mountain, with people and unicycle trees tobogganing down her hair. Tiny snowmen and cute gnomes and everyone flying in the air like Iron man superheroes!
This is my tree of life, with quirky people who are also little tree houses living on each branch. There are blue circles up towards heaven with writing above saying ‘heaven is a place on Earth’. I hopefully envision a future where our planet becomes a utopia; where we come together in solidarity to tackle climate change and establish a better appreciation of and connectivity with nature.
This piece is inspired by The Lion King, where Mufasa encourages Simba to remember ‘who he is’ – the rightful aire to the throne (pride rock). I strongly believe that our actions in our lifetime matter, and we therefore have a responsibility to be and strive always to be, our best selves.
Here is a dark skinned goddess with elephant arms meditating on a mandala. There is a temple (and wind turbine) doorway to the right and to the left a tipee with banner swaying, saying ‘Blessed be the peacemakers).
And last, but certainly not least, is my colourful tiger. There are ‘eye of the tiger’ lyrics. This drawing seeks to symbolise tenacity. Life isn’t about how many times you get knocked down, but how fiercely you stand up and put your gloves back on, like the god/goddess YOU are!
I recently drew a portrait of Muhammad Ali (the greatest) for my Dad, as he is my dad’s all time hero. Please see below progression photos of the drawing and a description. Many thanks…
I sketched using Derwent pencils, and coloured the background blue with a promarker pen. To me, blue is the colour of God and I believe Muhammad Ali was a prophet.
He was an incredible human being, with morals and principles, who stood up for what he believed in, such as refusing to go to war in Vietnam; losing his heavyweight boxing titles in the process.
I have surrounded the portrait drawing with inspirational quotes, of a great social activist and amazing, charismatic wonderful man. Here is the finished piece…
I’m not the best artist in the world anymore lol but I’m pleased to give my dad, my hero, a piece of art for his hero 🙂
Earlier this year, me and my lovely grandma Ruth had a fantastic organised day trip to Skegness (skeggy). Here’s just a few photos and thoughts regarding our outing, hope you enjoy…
We were so fortunate that the weather was beautiful all afternoon, bright and warm and sunny; exactly what you wish for going to the seaside. Some others on the bus trip decided to visit Ingoldmells market first, we went straight to Skegness however.
I was very pleasantly surprised how gorgeous Skegness is. I’ve been to butlins often as a child, but couldn’t really remember how pretty the seaside itself is.
As soon as we got off the coach, we relaxed a while having a coffee / iced latte before strolling into the center. We window shopped a little, gran was adamant she was going to find a particular shop which just was not there, bless her. We had superb food in a popular fish and chips restaurant (no fish for me, urgh lol) before leisurely wandering around the fun fair, grabbing a slushy to cool down. Then we contently and casually walked along the promenade; it was amazing and heartwarming seeing families so happy on the beach. Me and gran sat down on the pier some time to unwind before heading to the pub, haha. I had a few ciders so I was rather tipsy on the way home and I don’t think the driver appreciated having an unscheduled toilet break, oh dear lol.
Skegness was not what I thought it would be at all, it completely surpassed my expectations. I can’t wait to go again and take my Dad along he would love it!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read / view, it is appreciated. Please keep a look out for my next blog post, a portrait of Muhammad Ali.
Earlier this year, I drew Ekisha, my colourful and aesthetically pretty Indian elephant, using my promarker pens for the first time. Please see below progression photos of my original art. Hope you enjoy!
I thoroughly enjoyed producing my first piece of original art using promarkers. It never actually occurred to me at the time, but I suppose it depicts Ekisha on an upward struggle past the weeds, through the turbulent stormy waters, towards the ever glowing radiant sun. She must be a strong Elephant because I later learned her name actually means ‘one goddess’ 😛
And here is the finished original art…
It was so much fun to colour so vibrantly with my new promarkers! I love them, hehe..
Please keep a look out for my new blog posts, one a seaside trip to Skegness with my Gran, and another a portrait of Muhammad Ali I’ve drawn for my Dad (his all time hero).
Not this weekend but the weekend before, we had a wonderful time celebrating my Uncle Jim’s birthday. Please continue reading for a description of mine, my Auntie Gina, her son Rich and Uncle Jim’s travels to; Ye Olde Bell Hotel & Spa in Retford, a day out in Nottingham and another trip to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. Hope you enjoy!
We went for a posh meal on the Friday evening at Ye Olde Bell Hotel & Spa, Retford. As you can see, we dressed up nice for the occasion! The food was delicious, I opted for the lamb which was very succulent. Our original choice for dining out was Spencer’s On The Square, Retford, the venue for Uncle Jim and Auntie Gina’s wedding a few years ago – however due to covid confusions, we changed to the place they have celebrated their subsequent anniversaries. Ye Olde Bell certainly didn’t disappoint on a taste point of view, even if we did have to wait a little longer than expected for our meal to arrive – annoying!
Of all the UK cities I’ve visited over the years, I have never been to Nottingham, so I was super excited to go on the Saturday! We started off at the Victoria Shopping centre. I was quite smitten with a quirky fancy / alternative dress emporium lol. We moseyed leisurely around the shops, enjoying a latte and cake break half way. Unfortunately Auntie Gina couldn’t find a particular hair accessory salon, to her dismay and Uncle Jim’s best efforts! The weather was slightly changeable in Nottingham city centre; one moment overcast with clouds and the next we knew, rays and beams of sunshine! Nottingham City Hall in Old Market Square proudly displayed a Union Jack flag, which would then be in excited anticipation of the England football teams’ upcoming Euro 2020 games. We decided it would be fun to take some typical tourist photos with street performers and in Seaside themed comical booths, hehe. Furthermore, Uncle Jim was delighted to get a photograph with his lovely wife in front of the Brian Clough OBE statue! We finished off our great day with some more retail therapy, something Auntie Gina relished 🙂
Sunday – yes, another venture to Yorkshire Wildlife Park, haha! We were so disappointed when we arrived because the new Point Lobos enclosure for Californian Sea Lions was closed due to essential maintenance. We were however able to see the new mother polar bear Flocke and her three triplets at Project Polar 2, which was fantastic! I managed to get some pretty decent photographs of the tigers and meerkats which I was chuffed about, although it was a shame Uncle Jim was unable to catch a glimpse of his beloved, timid red pandas lol – likewise the giraffes unfortunately were not visible in their indoor huts. So though it was a sad we were unable to see some of the wildlife, it was still a brilliant day seeing all the other amazing animals. I think we walked for about four and a half hours in total around the park, I was knackered afterwards, haha – it definitely didn’t help I was suffering from a urinary tract infection and on antibiotics at the time. I was slightly relieved when we entered the gift shop at the new Yorkshire Hive at the end of the day. I bought my beautiful mum a red panda and a zebra teddy 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to read / view my latest travel blog post!
I just wanted to mention, it is a misfortune that we didn’t win the Euros last night, especially so cruelly on penalties – but I think the England lads did terrific in the tournament, and brought joy to so many people this Summer, in such awful, dark and unprecedented times. Well done, thank you, and bring on the World Cup!
Happy new year all UnicornPostbox blog followers! My latest blog post is 27 progression photos of an A2 size amateur art drawing of Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe from ‘Gladiator’, the iconic 2000 Ridley Scott film. Hope you enjoy! 🙂 🙂
And below is the finished drawing 🙂 🙂
[SPOILER ALERT] Ridley Scott’s 2000 ‘Gladiator’ is one of my all time favourite films. It tells the story of Maximus, a brave and moral man, a respected General who is enslaved as a result of the deceitful Commodus’ chicanery. Reluctantly at first, Maximus fights as a gladiator to the Roman crowds and at the Colosseum; to win his freedom, and ultimately seek vengeance on him who has wronged him;
‘The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an empire’ (Commodus quote – IMBD)
I shall not spoil more of the plot for you in case you have not seen it but ‘Gladiator’ a brilliant and superb film in my opinion, and I would highly recommend viewing!
I have drawn using Derwent sketching and Boldmere colouring pencils. I positioned both subjects Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and Maximus (Russell Crowe) facing one another with a famous quote from the film arching overhead;
‘What we do in life echoes in eternity’ (Maximus quote – IMDB)
This is to emphasise my interpretation of the meaning behind the quote; that the choices we make and actions we take in our life not only define us as people but have a lasting impact on the world even when we die – our choices and actions do matter. Obviously in the film, Commodus and Maximus are arch-enemies, who completely contrast one another in personalities and integrity – I wanted this to be visually symbolised in my amateur art drawing.
For future drawings, I think I would like to keep to the film theme at the moment and draw other characters from my other favourite films – possibly Jack and Rose from ‘Titanic’ and Baby and Johnny from ‘Dirty Dancing’ 🙂 🙂
Thank you very much for taking the time to read/view my latest UnicornPostbox blog post. Please do keep a look out for future drawings 🙂 🙂
…I would also however like to take the opportunity to wish all my followers well. I understand how difficult life is at the moment with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. I myself am caring for my mum who is in the later stages of Alzheimer’s so I know how hard the current restrictions imposed on us all are. Please do stay safe and take care…
Hi blog followers! This Friday just gone, myself, mum, my Uncle Jim, Auntie Gina and her son Rich had a lovely day out at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. I just thought I’d share with you a few photos and a description of our visit. Hope you enjoy!
Me mum and my sister Beth visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park only a month or so ago, however, my Uncle Jim, Auntie Gina and Rich had never been before, so we thought it would be a nice day out 🙂
When we arrived we had lunch at the ‘Tsavo Bakehouse’. To be honest, I would not recommend it as the service was poor and there was hardly any food choices available. After an unfortunate start, we had a leisurely stroll around the park. It was quite a chilly day, so sadly some of the animals retreated to their little huts in their enclosures to escape the cold weather, ha 😛 Nevertheless, we still had a very enjoyable day 🙂
We made our way from left to right, seeing the baboons and spotted dogs first, then we had a walk through the ‘Lemur Woods’, on to ‘Project Polar’, ‘Land of the Tigers’, ‘Leopard Heights’, ‘Into Africa’ and ‘Lion Country’ etc. Somewhere I have never visited previously was ‘Himalayan Pass’, so it was a fantastic experience to see the hyenas being fed raw meat and we also tried to spot the new red pandas, however they were being shy hiding in the trees! We had a rest and a hot drink at the ‘Masai Coffee House’ near the giraffes shortly before leaving.
It was great for us all to spend quality time again with mum. As explained before, she is sadly in the later stages of early onset Alzheimer’s disease dementia, so all time with her is very special and to be cherished. On the way out, I bought her two new teddies; ‘Leo the Lion’ and ‘Georgina the Giraffe’ – we have quite a collection of teddy bears now which I put into bed with mum after I’ve read her a nighttime story, very cute, hehe 🙂
Thank you very much for taking the time to read / view this latest UnicornPostbox blog post. Up next, I think I may do some more amateur art – perhaps a portrait drawing of Russell Crowe in ‘Gladiator’ as this is one of my favourite films 🙂
Take care, stay safe, much love, Lauren xx
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