A Month Abroad: New Dog, New Scenery, New Painting Inspiration

¡Hola España! A change of scenery...

I've really lucked out... I was asked a while back by friends who live in Spain to dog sit / house sit for them while they're away travelling - for over a month!

So here I am, writing this from a gorgeous house in Spain, with a view of the sea out the window on my right. I totally understand if you hate me right now 😉

I recently left my job to focus on my art, so this is perfect timing for me to make the time and space to plan this next phase of my life. As well as hanging out with my new doggy best friend and going on long walks, I'm going to be learning as much as I can and figuring out how to make the most of being a full time artist.

A change of medium - just for a while

Of course, I also want to get time to paint, but I like to travel light. I hate waiting for baggage after landing (and I'm a bit stingy about paying more for checking in bags than for my flight!)

So I've brought a compact box of watercolour paint pans, some pens and brushes, masking tape, a watercolour sketchbook and some watercolour paper, all of which took up minimal room and are allowed in cabin baggage 🙌

Here's my kit:

I might still try to get my hands on some acrylic paint if I can, but at least this will keep me going in the meantime.

I've already taken plenty of photos of the gorgeous scenery and beautiful architecture, so I won't be stuck for inspiration while I'm here, that's for sure!

Watercolour experiments - finding the flow

Having said that, I'm a little out of practice with watercolours! Every medium has its own challenges, and with watercolours they kind of have a mind of their own, and you can't just paint over the parts you don't like. So I'm giving myself permission to experiment and just have fun, without trying to create any masterpieces.

This also means that, unless I can find some acrylic paints, I'm not planning to create any new paintings for sale this month - but I'm not abandoning you completely... Keep an eye on my Instagram stories to see what I'm getting up to as well as the occasional sneak peeks at my sketchbook. And...

New abstract art prints for your walls

I've also started using some of my time here to update the art prints on my website, adding new work I created for exhibits, open studios, etc over the past year. If you want to know when these go live, sign up to my VIP list here, and I'll send you an email to let you know.

So yes, an exciting month ahead! I hope you'll stick around and enjoy it with me vicariously...