Category: Photography

‘Under The Sea’ drawing – 30 progression photos

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Hi, welcome to my blog, UnicornPostbox. My latest blog post is 30 progression photographs of an ‘Under The Sea’ sea-life themed, A2 size, amateur art drawing. Hope you enjoy!

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I used my art therapy and adult colouring books as inspiration for my ‘Under The Sea’ drawing – sketching an octopus, jellyfish, sea turtle, seahorse, crab and seashells. With this art piece, I did not trace the outlines of the images with my A3 light pad as done so previously with other drawings. I studied the subjects in the books very closely, but drew freehand, adding my own subtle changes and intricacies to make them more my own. (However, I do admit I am only an amateur artist, drawing as a hobby). I coloured using Boldmere colouring pencils, bold and differing colours, and lastly outlined with a black ballpoint pen, to make the images really ‘pop’. I am pretty happy with the result, hope you like it too! 🙂 🙂

The finished drawing: 

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For my next drawing, I think I would like to do an Owl themed art piece, again gaining inspiration from my art therapy and adult colouring books; I have already decided to title it ‘Twit Twoo’, haha. Then after that, I may return to the norm of portraiture and draw as I promised them, my auntie and uncle 🙂 🙂 And afterwards, well we shall see 😛

Thank you very much for taking the time to read / view my latest blog post, I do value and appreciate your ongoing support, all my followers!

We are unfortunately still in very difficult and uncertain times with the regard to the coronavirus pandemic, so please do stay safe everyone!

Take care, many thanks,

Lauren xx

 

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© 2020 Lauren Parr / https://unicornpostbox.com

 

 

 

‘Namaste’ – Indian inspired drawing, 25 progression photos

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Hi, welcome to my personal blog, UnicornPostbox! My latest blog post is 25 progression photos of ‘Namaste’ – an Indian inspired amateur art drawing. Hope you enjoy 🙂 🙂

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Firstly, I used my A3 light pad to trace the outline of mandalas from my mandala adult colouring book, the outline of an Indian lady was traced from my art therapy colouring book also (I admit I am only an amateur artist, drawing as a hobby!). I took inspiration from another art therapy colouring book for the elephant, but I actually drew this one, my own design, freehand. I coloured in the entire ‘Namaste’ drawing using Boldmere colouring pencils, and I lastly used a black ballpoint pen to make the images really ‘pop’ 🙂 🙂

I am interested in Indian culture, in particular I am intrigued by Hinduism. I have the upmost respect for other people’s religious beliefs, whatever faith they may follow, however Hinduism resonates well with me. I have bought books on the subject, and have tried to educate myself and learn more about this fascinating (in my opinion) religion. I just love the bold bright colours associated with Indian culture, and gorgeous intricate patterns, and I have tried to incorporate this into my drawing. I have titled my artwork ‘Namaste’ which is well known to translate from Sanskrit as ‘bowing to you’, e.g. bowing to the divine within you, and is a traditional Hindu friendly greeting. My Indian lady and elephant have closed eyes, two sentient beings, bowing down in mutual respect and admiration of one another 🙂 🙂

And here is the finished artwork:

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Thank you very much for taking the time to read / view my latest blog post!

I am not certain what I will draw next, maybe I will continue to gain inspiration from my art therapy and adult colouring books, with animals, paisley patterns, mandalas, flowers etc – I think an Owl themed art piece could look really good, likewise, a sea-life themed drawing would be ace and enjoyable to draw! Or perhaps I could incorporate lots of flowers into a design, maybe lotus flowers alongside more Indian inspired mandalas or a girl meditating. Just a few ideas, we shall see!

I do hope all my followers remain well during these unprecedented and difficult times, please do stay safe everyone! Sending a huge social distanced hug!

 

All the best, peace and love, Lauren xx

 

Further reading:

Dr Amrutur V Srinivasan (2011). ‘Hinduism for Dummies’. Wiley Publishing Inc: Indianapolis, Indiana.

Rasamandala Das & Professor M. Narasimhachary. (2017). ‘The Complete Illustrated Guide to Hinduism; A Comprehensive Guide to Hindu History and Philosophy, It’s Traditions and Practices, Rituals and Beliefs, with More That 470 Magnificent Photographs’. Hermes House: UAE.

 

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© 2020 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

‘Beth and Josh – Forever in Love’ drawing, 27 progression photos

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Hi, welcome to my UnicornPostbox blog, this blog post offers 27 progression photos of an amateur art drawing of my beautiful sister Beth, and her lovely boyfriend Josh. Hope you enjoy 🙂 🙂

I used my A3 light pad to draw the outline of Beth and Josh, once I had cut the reference images so that only their heads were being traced. I did this because I made the decision to draw Beth and Josh inside a big red love heart, in keeping with the ‘forever in love’ theme. I sketched as usual using Derwent sketching pencils and the colouring pencils I drew with this time were Boldmere premium artists colouring pencils. The background I incorporated block colour squares, similar to my previous drawings; all images were outlined using a Pilot FriXion pen.

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I am really happy with the way Beth has turned out. I believe I have been able to achieve a very good ‘likeness’. I accentuated her lips to make them bigger, as this is her personal preference, and made her eyelashes more prominent also so her eyes ‘popped’; moreover I contoured her face nicely with shading. Josh was much harder to draw for some reason. The amount of times I rubbed out his eyes and redrew, haha! 😛 I think he’s got a bit of a look of Freddie Mercury and Cristiano Ronaldo amalgamated, ha! Admittedly, I am only an amateur artist, drawing as a hobby! Therefore, I don’t believe I have been able to achieve as much as a likeness with Josh, however overall I am pretty pleased with the drawing. Beth and Josh are both over the moon with it, and it shall hang pride of place on their wall when they move in together soon, so that makes me very happy 🙂 🙂

I am not sure what I will draw next. I would still like to do a few family portraits as I would say I feel most comfortable practising portraiture, I have promised to draw my auntie and uncle at some point… however I would also like to experiment with different subjects and styles of drawing. I have purchased quite a few art therapy / adult colouring books, with mandalas, flowers, animals, paisley patterns inside etc, and a fantasy Art Nouveau colouring book, so I think it would be good to use them to inspire my own unique original amateur art. I would furthermore like to get some inspiration from famous artists and art movements, have a bit of a play about, so watch this space!

As me and mum are self-isolating due to the coronavirus pandemic, I’m afraid I will not be posting any theatre / travel blog posts for some time, as you may have guessed. I do have a couple of wooden stools however stored in a cubbyhole which I may upcycle outside on a sunny day. I haven’t upcycled in a very long time, so now would probably be the perfect opportunity, so again, watch this space!

I do hope you are all well during these unprecedented and extremely difficult times. Sending a huge social distancing hug to all my UnicornPostbox followers, I very much value your ongoing support. Thank you so much for taking the time to read / view.

Take care, all the best,

Lauren xx

 

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© 2020 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

 

‘Beautiful Mum’ drawing – 15 progression photos

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Hi welcome to by personal blog UnicornPostbox, hope you enjoy my latest blog post ‘Beautiful Mum’ – 15 progression photographs of a pencil drawing of my gorgeous mum Debbie…

I firstly used my A3 light pad to draw the outline of mum. I sketched mum using Derwent sketching pencils, and I used coloured pencils for the background. The red love heart / pink background is really mum-esque, it certainly reflects her loving nature, she’s an angel on Earth 🙂 🙂 Plus pink is her favourite colour, she’s a girlie girl definitely, hehe. I likewise opted for delicate soft calligraphy for the ‘Beautiful Mum’ title, using a Pilot FriXion rollerball pen.

Here is the finished product! I am actually really pleased with the way this one has turned out 🙂 🙂 I am only an amateur artist who draws as a hobby, but I’d like to think I am improving the more I practise. I am nowhere close to accomplishing hyper realism, I realise that, but I seem to be getting back to the level I was at when I studied Fine Art at A-Level many years ago. So that’s good 🙂 🙂

I love drawing so much and find it so therapeutic. Mum was absolutely over the moon with her drawing, so that makes me an incredibly happy daughter. Mum is a very poorly lady in the later stages of early onset Alzheimer’s disease dementia, so anything that puts a smile on her face means the world to me!

I know I promised in a previous UnicornPostbox blog post I would try and deviate from the norm of portraiture and try drawing something a little bit different, perhaps amateur art inspired by famous artists, but I think I will do a couple more family portraits first. My sister has asked me to draw her and her boyfriend, and I may do my auntie and uncle also… so please do keep a lookout for more art blog posts coming soon!

On a very serious note, I do sincerely hope all my followers are well during these immensely difficult times, in regards to the coronavirus pandemic 😦 😦  Please stay safe everyone!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read/view.

Much love, Lauren xx

 

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© 2020 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

Manchester / ‘Thriller Live’ February 2020

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This February, we celebrated my gorgeous boyfriend Howard’s 29th birthday by enjoying a weekend away together in Manchester, to go see ‘Thriller Live’ at Manchester Palace Theatre. Please see below a description of our travels, with accompanying photography. Hope you enjoy 🙂 🙂

Saturday 15th February (Howard’s birthday!)

We arrived on the train at Manchester Piccadilly station early afternoon on Saturday 15th February, then checked in early at our Britannia Sachas Hotel, situated in the Northern Quarter, near Piccadilly Gardens. I have stayed at Sachas before, last year with my mum in April, when we came to see ‘Ghost – The Musical’. The accommodation is cheap and cheerful in my opinion, my return based on the hotel’s extremely convenient location, close to all the action, and ‘smoking room’ option, allowing myself to use my e-cigarette inside, haha! 😛 The weather was absolutely atrocious, chucking it down, so we made the wise decision to partake in indoor activities during our stay should the weather not improve. After a quick unpack, we headed to Bella Italia to fill our bellies with delicious Italian cuisine, yum yum.

First on our itinerary was the National Football Museum. Not exactly top on my list I must admit, but Howard was keen and eager to visit, and it was his birthday after all! 😛 Being a big Manchester United fan, he was certainly in his element. In the ground floor entrance hall Howard had his photograph taken with the FA Cup and Premier League trophies, so that was definitely a great opportunity, hehe. Level 1 displayed various other dazzling trophies, it delved into the history of the ‘beautiful game’; matchday experiences, the fans, the stadiums, the players, the clubs and the portrayal of these all in mainstream media – a creatively interactive exploration throughout. There was much more physical interactivity offered furthermore on Level 2, such as ‘shot stopper’, ‘penalty shootout’, ‘one-two’, and ‘pass master’, where visitors are encouraged to test their reactions and show off their football skills. Likewise, many toys and games and in particular the ‘discovery zone’ was there to keep youngsters entertained. The ‘football for all’ area demonstrated well how football has full capability of being always an inclusive sport, enjoyed by players of all abilities. The ‘Strip! How Football got Shirty’ exhibition occupied Level 3 of the museum, educating visitors on the history of team shirts. Although I was reluctant and hesitant to explore the National Football Museum at first,  I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by its content, so I would therefore recommend a visit for those like myself, not massive fans of football, it’s still worth a look around for sure.

As evening approached, we passed pretty Piccadilly Gardens and the beautiful and stunning luminous water fountains, on our way to Palace Theatre.

On Saturday evening, we saw the highly anticipated ‘Thriller Live’ at Palace Theatre, Manchester! 🙂 🙂 Michael Jackson was, in many people’s opinion, the ‘undisputed King of Pop’, and the greatest entertainer the world has ever known. Michael’s musical genius, from The Jackson 5 to his solo career, dominated pop charts and wowed audiences in a four decade span; he’s sold an exceptional 750 million records worldwide, and counting! The iconic Thriller album remains the best selling recording in the world, like ever! How incredible is that?! What a legacy Michael has left when he sadly passed away in 2009. ‘Thriller Live’ is ultimately a huge celebration of Michael Jackson; the man and the performer. The show has now played in over 30 countries, including; Italy, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Germany, China, Singapore and France, among more, dazzling over 5 million fans across the globe – luckily for us, arriving at Palace Theatre, Manchester this February, 2020 [Official Thriller Live Souvenir Programme].

There are many vocalists in the production that sing Michael’s songs, not just one individual singer; Kieran Alleyne, Jason Brock, Shaquille Hemmans, Joseph Thomas, two female vocalists Ceante Harris, Adriana Louise and resident director/ vocalist Britt Quentin, singing both solely and collaboratively on stage. Act 1 features Michael’s earlier Jackson 5 hits and disco and funk classics such as; ‘I Want You Back’, ‘ABC’, ‘Rockin’ Robin,’ ‘Blame it on the Boogie’, ‘Shake Your Body’, ‘Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough’ and ‘Can You Feel It’, whereas Act 2 focuses of Michael’s solo career acclaimed songs, including; ‘Beat It’, ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’, ‘Smooth Criminal’, ‘Man In The Mirror’, ‘Earth Song’, ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Bad’, ‘Black or White’, and of course, ‘Thriller’! The costume designers, Rob Jones and Catherine Teatum, did a fantastic job designing the amazing diverse and vividly colourful costumes, and obviously the dancers brought the stage completely to life with the eccentric moves, street dance, back-flips and of course iconic moonwalks showcased. Magical. [Official Thriller Live Souvenir Programme].

Of all the theatre shows I have attended over the years (and I’ve seen a fair few!) I have never known an atmosphere quite like it! The place was on fire. Everyone was up on their feet singing and dancing, waving their glowing flashlight merchandise wildly in the air. They were congregating in the aisles, much to the theatre staff’s dismay ha, and screaming their heads off to all of the lyrics, it really was something else. Manchester was mad! (In a good way 😛 ). Unsurprisingly, the show concluded with a very well deserved standing ovation, as most of the crowd were already on their feet, hehe. Spectacular.

Sunday 16th February

There was a continuing heavy downpour of rain on the Sunday morning unfortunately. After a satisfying full English breakfast at Sachas, we took refuge in and decided to cheer ourselves at The Printworks entertainment centre, adjacent to Arndale shopping centre. I recommended Printworks to Howard, as I had been before last year, myself and mum. To try something new, different and fun and challenging however, me and my boyfriend thought we’d first give an escape room a whirl!

Escape Reality, Manchester features a diverse array of exciting , enthralling, mysterious themed rooms, all in which challenge participants, 2-6 players, to escape in a one hour time frame – a fully immersive experience in which players must use their problem solving skills and their own intuition to crack codes, decipher mystic clues / puzzles and outwit strategies purposefully planted to prevent escape. The complex offers 8 themed realities, all varying in levels / difficulty; ‘Auron’, ‘Tortuga Pirates’, ‘Enigmista’, ‘Bank Job’, ‘Asylum’, ‘Alcatraz’, ‘Ritual’, and the one we attempted – ‘Legend of the Mummy’.

The basic concept of ‘Legend of the Mummy’ is that a renowned Professor of Archaeology recruited the dangerous responsibility of retrieving lost Ancient Egyptian treasure has gone missing – we, as an assigned Archaeological replacement team, must continue the professor’s work; steal the treasure from ‘the dark depths of the Ancient Pyramids’ or face entrapment inside the triangular walls of the Ancient Pyramids forever, mwahahaha! Well, we were absolutely pants! I knew I’d be useless, but I hoped we might have a half decent chance of escaping with Howard as he regularly plays similar games on this smartphone/Xbox. ‘Legend of the Mummy’ was supposed to be one of the easier rooms, only level 3 of 5 in difficulty apparently. However, we didn’t find some of the hidden clues we were supposed to, and the ones we did find were so cryptic, half way through we were still only in the first of three sections – a staff member even had to come inside to help/guide us, what a disaster, haha! … INESCAPABLY, we didn’t escape lol… It was so much fun though. I would definitely like to try alternative escape rooms in different cities for sure, we can only improve 🙂

Our next pursuit was Treetops Adventure Golf – an 18 hole ‘Tropical Trail’ jungle trek, and another 18 hole ‘Ancient Explorer’ of mystical magic. Last time me and Howard played crazy golf at Valley Centertainment Leisure Park, Sheffield, I was victorious, this time however Howard beat me by a long shot 😛 At the end, he even struck the golf ball in the awkward 19th hole, winning us another free game, which we decided together to kindly pass on to a family with young children who told us they come to Treetops regularly. A nice gesture on our part methinks 🙂

After all the days’ activities, we were definitely ready for some good grub. Where better than a Hard Rock Cafe? For those of you following my blog from the very beginning, this will all sound very familiar, as you will know I have already visited Hard Rock Cafes in Amsterdam, Prague and once before in Manchester in fact. They’re so cool. I just love all the rock memorabilia adorning the walls, such a great sight to see, so captivating and intriguing. We ordered mocktails and our ‘Legendary Steak Burgers’ were, as always, divine, yum yum 😛

As dusk approached, we thought we’d have a casual wander around Arndale shopping centre. We found a really quirky shop selling impressive high quality music, film, TV and games fan gifts and merchandise; t-shirts, framed posters, figurines, original art etc. I got distracted in the ‘Stranger Things’ section, brill show.  There was even a ‘Only Fools and Horses’ yellow Reliant Regal model van, lovely jubbly! Howard bought me a new white snakeskin handbag from my favourite, River Island, lucky me, and then afterwards I was like a big kid in a candy store inside the Disney shop! Hey! 😛

On Sunday evening, our last night in Manchester, we were contemplating a comedy club but Howard convinced me to go to a casino alternatively. No wonder people lose money easily gambling unless they’re super lucky, it’s so expensive on the slots, I never realised! Howard isn’t able to drink excessive amounts of alcohol unfortunately as it may trigger his epilepsy, however we still had an enjoyable time hitting a few cocktail bars – Yates and Slug&Lettuce to be precise 🙂

Monday 17th February

Another Full English breakfast included in our hotel price Monday morning, and back we were on the train South Yorkshire bound!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read / view, your support is always very much appreciated!

Please keep a look out for near future amateur art blog posts. I am considering deviating from the norm of portraiture and drawing something a little bit different, original art perhaps inspired by famous artists, I’m mulling over ideas in my mind… So watch this space 😛

Much love, Lauren xx

 

Further reading / information:

https://adventuregolf.com/ [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://adventuregolf.com/manchester [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://adventuregolf.com/manchester/adventure-golf [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://www.britanniahotels.com/hotels/the-britannia-sachas-hotel-manchester [Accessed 1st March 2020]

https://www.escapereality.com/ [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://www.escapereality.com/escape-rooms-uk/manchester/ [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://www.escapereality.com/our-games/game-summary/legend-of-the-mummy [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://www.flyingmusic.com/thrillerlive/ [Accessed 26th February 2020]

https://www.hardrockcafe.com/ [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://www.hardrockcafe.com/location/manchester/ [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://www.hardrockcafe.com/menu.aspx [Accessed 29th February 2020]

https://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/ [Accessed 26th February 2020]

https://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/explore-the-museum/whats-inside/ [Accessed 26th February 2020]

[Official Thriller Live Souvenir Programme]

 

 

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© 2020 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

‘We Will Rock You’ – Musical Theatre Description / Review

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Earlier this year, on Thursday 16th January, myself, my mum, my boyfriend, dad, gran and auntie all went to Hull New Theatre to see the matinee performance of ‘We Will Rock You’; the hit musical by Ben Elton, celebrating the amazing music of one of the best bands ever in rock history, the one and only, Queen… Please continue reading for a description / review of the performance, with accompanying photography, hope you enjoy! 🙂 🙂

‘We Will Rock You’ smashed London’s Dominion Theatre for a whopping 12 years, (dazzling a record breaking 6.5 million people!) until 31st May 2014. The epic musical, written by Ben Elton, has rocked and toured in 28 countries all around the world, reaching over 16 million viewers in total! [Official WWRY UK and Ireland 2019-2020 programme]. The show has been an absolute triumph in popularity, winning numerous top awards, including Best New Musical in the Theatregoers Choice awards in 2003 and the prestigious Olivier Audience Award in 2011. Now, the 2019-20 touring production showcases a stunning and striking celebration of Queen and their undeniable musical legacy, luckily for us, bringing the exceptional performance to Hull New Theatre in January 2020.

SPOILER ALERT. The basic concept of the story is that ‘Galileo’ and ‘Scaramouche’ (‘Galileo’ being the main protagonist) live in a futuristic cyber world, where musical instruments are forbidden and live rock ‘n’ roll is all but forgotten. ‘Galileo’ is praised by a bunch of rebel Bohemians in a bleak conformist dystopian reality as ‘The Dreamer’ – as he dreams the lyrics of Queen songs! He holds the key to reigniting the rock flame, as the Bohemians fight for the freedom of individuality; to express themselves, to freely exchange fashion and thought – and to feel the exhilaration of listening to live music, to break free – to love, and to love rock, with a champion passion! 🙂 🙂

The musical features, to be expected, all the iconic hit Queen songs, including; ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘I Want to Break Free’, ‘Somebody to Love’, ‘Killer Queen’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘A Kind of Magic’, ‘I Want it All’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ in Act One, and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, and so on, in the second half of the performance. I must say, we were immensely impressed with the vocals of the cast, in particular, Elena Skye, who played ‘Scaramouche’, has an absolutely superb voice in my opinion; she absolutely belted out the high notes, incredible, a very talented young lady. Ian McIntosh, who played the main protagonist ‘Galileo’, brought a lot of enthusiasm and energy to the role, we were equally as enthralled by his portrayal. Jenny O’Leary, playing ‘Killer Queen’, brought the attitude and sass to the adaptation, accompanied by Michael McKell, as the eccentric and charismatic, cheeky Bohemian, ‘Buddy’; delighting us with playful puns and humour.

SPOILER ALERT: Just as we thought the final curtain was to close, ‘Galileo’ raised the roof once more with his wonderful rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, resulting in a very well deserved standing ovation from the audience! 🙂 🙂

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Please keep a look out for my next blog post, a description of mine and my boyfriend’s trip to Manchester to see ‘Thriller Live!’, with accompanying photography… Don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time! Haha 😛 😛

Thank you as ever for taking the time to read/view, much appreciated.

Peace and love, Lauren xx

 

Further reading / information: 

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/queen/dontstopmenow.html [Accessed 24th February 2020].

[Official WWRY UK and Ireland 2019-2020 programme].

http://www.queenonline.com/wwry [Accessed 19th February 2020].

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Will_Rock_You_(musical) [Accessed 19th February 2020].

 

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© 2020 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

 

 

‘Jack and Jessie’ Springador drawing – 35 progression photos

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Hi, welcome to my personal blog UnicornPostbox, please see below progression photographs of my latest amateur art A2 size drawing of two Springadors, Jack and Jessie…

I used my A3 size light pad to trace the outline of Jack and Jessie, Derwent sketching pencils to shade, coloured pencils for the block background, and a black Pilot FriXion pen to make each image ‘pop’…

Hope you enjoy 🙂 🙂

I drew Jack and Jessie as a gift for Paula, mine and mum’s great friend of many years…

I explained I am not a professional artist and only draw amateur as a hobby, but she was absolutely over the moon with her surprise present, and says she will cherish the drawing forever of her two lovely dogs…

So that makes me very happy indeed! 🙂 🙂

Thank you so much for taking the time to read/ view this latest UnicornPostbox blog post. Your ongoing support means so much…

Please keep a look out for some new Travel/Theatre blog posts coming very soon!  🙂 🙂

 

All the best, much love, Lauren xx

 

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© 2020 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

 

 

Hull / ‘Kinky Boots’ November 2019

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Earlier this November, me and my beautiful mum Debbie had a weekend break away to Hull to go see ‘Kinky Boots’, the musical, at Hull New Theatre. Please see below a description of our travels, with accompanying photography. Hope you enjoy 🙂 🙂

Friday 15th November

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the train station to travel to Hull, we soon realised that our train had been cancelled due to the flooding in South Yorkshire! 😦 Oh no, not a great start to our trip. My dad, who is a taxi driver, drove us instead. Nevertheless, when we finally arrived at our Ibis city centre Hotel, we were pleased to be in Hull and excited to go and explore the city.

We found a lovely quaint little fish and chip shop on Savile Street, and tucked into delicious grub and ice cream sundae, yum yum.

We took some nice photographs of Hull City Hall, the Maritime Museum, and Queen Victoria Statue in Queen Victoria Square, before visiting Ferens Art Gallery.

We very much (me especially) enjoyed viewing the various collections Ferens offers in different galleries, in particular we appreciated the ‘Renaissance’ and ‘Modern and Contemporary’ art.

On King Edward Street a gorgeous sparkly Christmas gingerbread house really put us in the festive spirit 🙂

Next, we walked to Queen’s Gardens. Unfortunately, it lacked impressive flower displays,  due to the time of year, however it was nice to see the water fountains. Nearby, fun fair attractions lit up the streets. Strolling leisurely around Princes Quay, we rested in a cafe, indulging in Rocky Road chocolate/marshmallows and frothy coffees, yummy. Later filling our bellies with toasties in Cafe Nero, we then set off on a slow walk towards Hull New Theatre, admiring the city in stunning twilight.

We unexpectedly came across rehearsals for a BBC Children in Need concert, so stayed a while and happily danced along to popular songs.

Kinky Boots is an incredible 2016 ‘Best New Musical’ Olivier winner, with songs by Tony and Grammy winning pop sensation Cyndi Lauper. It tells the story of Charlie Price, living in Northampton, who inherits his father’s drab and dull shoe shop. The business is struggling enormously with sales and orders until Charlie meets the glamorous drag queen Lola, and together they decide to re-brand and design sexy glittery knee-length stiletto heels! 🙂 It’s a very entertaining, funny, uplifting, yet moving story – belting out a powerful message; the importance to accept and love ourselves and others. As Kinky Boots has ended it’s dazzling 3 years in the West End, I was extremely keen to go see a performance on the UK/Ireland tour, and…  We absolutely loved it! Fabulous darling!

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We got chatting to a great couple, massive fans of Kinky Boots, who have seen multiple performances of the show. At our Hull New Theatre performance they had front row tickets, were the first, we noticed, to stand up cheering during the (well deserved) standing ovation and, as you can see above, made a huge effort to dress up for the occasion, haha! Amazing! 🙂 🙂

Saturday 16th November

We started off Saturday morning with a scrumptious English breakfast at our Ibis city centre hotel, as part of our bed and breakfast deal. The first place on our itinerary for the day was Hull Minster, situated in Old Town. There was a craft fair on inside which was very enjoyable to walk around, I bought mum a pretty blue and turquoise brooch for her coat, as a souvenir.

The next port of call was the harbour of Humber Dock Marina, where we took some selfies with the plentiful pleasure boats.

The pier making our way to nearby The Deep was breezy and blustery, so we walked more briskly as the rain poured.

The Deep aquarium was brilliant fun. We loved exploring all the exhibits, such as ‘Awakening Seas’ – learning the four billion years history of the ocean, ‘Lagoon of Light’ – gazing upon colourful cute tropical fish; gaping at the turtles, rays and sharks in ‘Endless Ocean’, becoming mesmerised by jellyfish in ‘Cool Seas’, and my personal favourite, we were delighted to peep at the gorgeous Gentoo penguins as they played and swam in ‘Kingdom of Ice’. Another highlight was venturing through the underwater viewing tunnel! Slightly scary but stunning. I bought mum a teddy turtle as a gift also, awwww 🙂

Afterwards, we ate pizza and indulged in vanilla milkshakes with whipped cream at an Italian restaurant, close by to the aquarium. The Minster looked beautiful lit up as we journeyed back towards our Ibis hotel.

Saturday evening, we got cosy in our hotel room watching Saturday night television and drinking complimentary tea/coffee. Wild, haha! Another tasty full English / continental breakfast the next Sunday morning, and we were on our travels back home. Luckily, the train was running on our return journey, yey!

Summary

As mum is becoming more and more poorly with her Alzheimer’s dementia, I really do cherish these moments and trips away together. We had such an incredible time; discovering all Hull has to offer, eating out, being bedazzled by Kinky Boots the musical, and being in awe of and appreciating all the amazing diverse underwater sea creatures at The Deep. I personally have visited Hull once or twice before, but it was nice to have the opportunity to see more of the 2017 ‘City of Culture’. I would definitely go again, for sure.

Thank you so much, as always, for taking the time to read / view! 🙂 🙂

Keep a lookout for my next blog post, pencil portraits of two Springador dogs! Woof, woof, hehe! 🙂 🙂

Much love, Lauren xx

 

(Please visit my Facebook page ‘UnicornPostbox’ to ‘like’ and ‘follow’)

© 2019 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

 

Further information:

https://www.thedeep.co.uk [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://www.thedeep.co.uk/plan-your-visit/deep-tour [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://bwml.co.uk/hull-marina/ [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://www.hcandl.co.uk/museums-and-galleries/ferens [Accessed 24th November 2019]

https://www.hcandl.co.uk/museums-and-galleries/ferens/galleries-ferens-art-gallery [Accessed 24th November 2019]

http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/research/research-guides/history-hull-docks.aspx [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://hullminster.org/ [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://www.hulltheatres.co.uk/whats-on/year [Accessed 24th November 2019]

http://www.kinkybootsthemusical.co.uk/ [Accessed 25th November 2019]

http://www.kinkybootsthemusical.co.uk/uk-tour/synopsis.php [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_upon_Hull [Accessed 25th November 2019]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinky_Boots_(musical) [Accessed 25th November 2019]

 

‘Spencer and Debbie – Friends Forever’ drawing – 60 progression photos

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Hi all! Thanks for visiting my UnicornPostbox blog. My latest post is 60 progression photos of an amateur art drawing; ‘Spencer and Debbie – Friends Forever’ – drawn as a late birthday present for my mum Debbie’s best friend Joan, of Joan’s (very naughty, lol) bullmastiff Spencer and my lovely mum. Hope you enjoy!

Firstly, I used my A3 light pad to trace the outline of my reference photos. I then used Derwent soft sketching and coloured pencils to draw my amateur art, and a pilot friXion rollerball pen to define the images. I’m very much a fan of contrasting grey shades with block colour, it’s becoming my signature style 😛

It is not my favourite drawing I must admit. It’s certainly not a masterpiece by any means; I do not claim to be a professional artist. There are elements I am definitely not ecstatic with, such as the red chair being so abstract, and the random dark blue background was, in hindsight, maybe a mistake, in my opinion (Looked like the chair was floating in water so I tried to save it by incorporating some paw prints, ha!) Also, I wish my portraits were photorealistic, but I’m just not that good, ha! At least I’ve achieved some likeness 🙂

However, Joan was so over the moon with her gift, because of the sentimental value (with mum being so poorly), and the fact that I have dedicated hours upon hours of my time to create her a personalised present she can cherish forever… So that makes me very happy indeed 🙂 🙂

Here are some pics of the finished product!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to view / read, your support is very much appreciated! Feel free to ‘like’ or ‘comment’ or ‘share’ on my Facebook page.

Me and mum are off to Hull for a few days to see ‘Kinky Boots’ the musical at Hull New Theatre! So keep a lookout for a future travel / theatre blog post coming very soon!

Peace and love, Lauren xx

 

(Please visit my Facebook page ‘UnicornPostbox’ to ‘like’ and ‘follow’)

© 2019 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

Leicester / ‘Grease the Musical’ September 2019

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This September, me and my beautiful mum Debbie visited Leicester for a couple of days to go see ‘Grease the Musical’ at the Curve theatre. Please continue reading / viewing for a description of our travels, with accompanying photography. Hope you enjoy 🙂 🙂

Monday 9th September 2019

We arrived in Leicester lunch time on the Monday. After checking in to our Ibis hotel, situated very conveniently close to the train station, we went to explore Leicester and all it has to offer.

We started off with a cheeky Nando’s 😛 We then walked leisurely around the city centre, capturing nice photos in Town Hall square (by the fountain), Leicester market and outside the former Corn Exchange, now a Wetherspoon pub. Next, we made our way to Leicester Cathedral, home to the “resting place of King Richard III”. It was fantastic seeing the tomb, designed by architects Heningen and Haward, and learning the story of the Battle of Bosworth Fields and King Richard III’s bloody demise; we also became more knowledgeable of the timeline of the Greyfriars Dig. We then sauntered down The Lanes quaint cobbled streets, window shopping, and indulged in frothy milkshakes and delicious carrot cake, yum yum. Past Pares’s Bank “the most elegant bank in Leicester” – we then wandered around Highcross shopping centre, admiring new Autumn collection clothing just arriving in stock. Situated outside the shopping centre we gazed up at the Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower, a major landmark in Leicester – a slow lazy stroll back to our hotel and finishing the day off with a beaut a slap up meal at the Ibis restaurant, chicken skewers for me, nice.

Tuesday 10th September 2019

We woke up lovely and fresh the next morning, and ate a scrumptious full English as well as continental (greedy!) breakfast, to fuel us for the long day ahead. With a cool breeze gusting through the air in Leicester, we walked briskly past the train station (Thomas Cook statue selfie!), with map in hand, on our way to our first destination, the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery.

The New Walk Museum and Art Gallery was fantastic! Downstairs we explored the ‘Wild Space’ exhibition with a vast array of taxidermy animals on display, learnt the story behind the King Richard III portrait, enjoyed the Victorian gallery, were immensely awestruck by Picasso’s ceramics (no photos allowed in Picasso gallery, boo!) and very impressed indeed by the ginormous dinosaur fossil skeleton models. Upstairs, we loved seeing “Leicester’s internationally renowned collection of German Expressionism”, arts and crafts dainty pottery and ornamental pieces from around the world, as well as the amazing Ancient Egypt gallery, exhibiting mummies and explaining the mummification process of Ancient times! Incredibly interesting.

We then hopped on a bus at Haymarket bus station to go visit Leicester’s National Space Centre. It was incredible! Firstly, we were astonished by the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium; stargazing upwards at galaxies and night-sky constellations projected on the amazing dome ceiling, creating the illusion of travelling through space, absolutely superb. Afterwards, we navigated our way through a range of brilliant interactive galleries the National Space Centre has to offer, exploring and learning about; planets and moons, our solar system, the galaxy, the universe – rockets, spacesuits, astronauts, asteroids, the mystery of black holes, you name it.  What a great journey!

On Tuesday evening we moseyed excitedly down to Curve theatre, with great anticipation of watching ‘Grease – the musical’ – with Peter Andre making a cameo appearance as ‘Teen Angel’! I must say, we found that the theatrical production of Grease differed from the 1978 classic romance Hollywood film starring Olivia Newton John and John Travolta, as the Guardian aptly critiqued the show puts the “grit back in Grease”; as the director of this stage adaptation, Nikolai Foster, worked closely from the early 70s original script, focusing more than ever in places on the visceral feelings of the characters as they struggle through the tribulations of adolescence and high school life, growing up in 1950s America. That’s not however to say it wasn’t also like the Grease we all know and love; fun, lighthearted – petticoats, vinyl records, drive-ins and diners, rock’n’roll, high heels and candy floss (girls) hair and of course greasy (boys) hair! It delighted us with familiar songs ‘You’re the one that I want’, ‘Summer nights’, ‘Greased Lightenin’, as well as new numbers such as ‘Freddy my love’ and ‘Tattoo song’. Of course, it was so special having the opportunity to see Peter Andre live on stage with his guest appearance; the audience went wild with wolf whistles as he descended the glittery staircase in the second half! In conclusion, Grease was fresh, flirty and fab! There was a well deserved standing ovation at the end of the performance! Everyone up singing and dancing! Electrifyin’!

I really cherish all the time me and mum spend together. I’m so happy that we yet again enjoyed such a wonderful theatre city break, making amazing memories 🙂 🙂

Thank you so much for reading / viewing. Do keep a look out for new blog posts coming soon!

Much love, Lauren xx

 

(Please visit my Facebook page ‘UnicornPostbox’ to ‘like’ and ‘follow’)

© 2019 Lauren Parr / http://www.unicornpostbox.wordpress.com

 

Further reading / information:

https://greasethemusicalontour.com/ [Accessed 21st September 2019]

https://leicestercathedral.org/ [Accessed 17th September 2019]

https://www.leicester.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/museums-and-galleries/museums-and-historic-venues/new-walk-museum-and-art-gallery/ [Accessed 20th September 2019]

https://spacecentre.co.uk/ [Accessed 20th September 2019]

https://www.storyofleicester.info/a-working-town/paress-bank/ [Accessed 17th September 2019]

https://www.visitleicester.info/ [Accessed 17th September 2019]

https://www.visitleicester.info/see-and-do/new-walk-museum-and-art-gallery-p700961 [Accessed 20th September 2019]