These two paintings were a result of an afternoon spent playing with watercolours. I posted the images on facebook and they were sold within 6 hours. Sometimes the paint just works, and I am incredibly proud of the way they turned out. As a result, I have issued a limited edition print run of 10 […]

The post Wild dog art appeared first on Lori Bentley's art.

My nephew got married on the 19th of December, mainly because it was the best time for family from all over the world to converge on the Cambridge area. He and his then fiancee, decided they were going to do as much of the wedding preparations, decorations and organisation themselves as the costs needed to […]

The post Designs for a Christmas wedding appeared first on Lori Bentley's art.

There are many many moments in a creative person’s life, where you produce a piece of artwork with a deadline looming and you then just want to tear your hair out. I did this recently with the cover for book two of Fiona Ingram’s series. On the cover of book one – The Secret of […]

There are many many moments in a creative person’s life, where you produce a piece of artwork with a deadline looming and you then just want to tear your hair out. I did this recently with the book cover illustration  the second of Fiona Ingram’s series. in the first book cover illustration – The Secret […]

The post How I wanted to put Excalibur through my book cover illustration appeared first on Lori Bentley's art.

I got a request from my friend Leslie of spectacular quilt fame: “Josh’s dear friend Emily is marrying Jeff on Jan 25th. I’m wondering if you could paint a watercolor for them with the intersecting hearts, their names and even the date if it fits the design.  Emily is an extraordinary musician.  I even took […]

A lot of my work is figurative, especially the illustration, but it has been a long time since I have been challenged to create portraits. I count the onsite sketches I have done over the years as useful exercises in hand/eye coordination. Just before Christmas I was contacted by my friend, Ken who now lives […]

It’s over! This is the final post – I’m about as done as the Christmas turkey and probably gobbling just as much. This illustration by Benji Davies just about sums it up! Thank you to everyone who has read my completely odd list, bearing with me when I threw products, conservation and art into the […]

When we were moving from America, back to South Africa, a child asked us this question: “When do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa?” As it was asked by a child, I didn’t unleash the sarcastic side of me (always very close to the surface), but explained about the difference in seasons and that our […]

  Welcome to the wild paint world of Louise Collis. Louise lives and works in Wales where she paints plein air landscapes in oils. I love how the paint is evident, and yet miraculously becomes sea or cliff or beach. Giveaway alert! Louise’s annual Christmas/new year competition is happening today! She picks a map co-ordinate […]

The Victorian Garden is a creative idea worth sharing. Lindsay Salthouse started the company, using recipes for skin care products found in a collection of diaries written by her great-grandmother. She started out small, and has since gone from strength to strength. The Victorian products were soon joined by the African Indigenous collection,  the Tudor […]

James Mayhew posted a link on facebook to a page on the website Illustration Cupboard, where some of Jan Peinkowski’s illustrations are for sale. It was like stepping into a time machine and being whisked back to my childhood. My reading life took off the day I picked up my first Joan Aiken book The […]

  Having written about the importance of so called “pests” in a previous advent post, I thought these guys needed a boost. Ecosolutions is a company that installs owl boxes and bat boxes in suburban gardens. It is run by a raptor expert who is often called on by FreeMe (a wildlife rehabilitation organization) to […]

It was one of those viral things, someone likes a page on facebook, and being nosy you go over to have a look and discover someone who tickles your funny bone. That’s how I found Angela Smythe who is based in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire. Whether she is illustrating an inspirational thought or a […]

Send the dogbox instead! My favourite wine people are offering this creative alternative to getting a puppy for Christmas… dog boxes. They consist of 10 selected bottles of wine and a large Endangered Wildlife Trust Wild Dog fluffy toy. The dog box has been around for a while and is possibly their biggest seller at […]

If you like loose and beautiful watercolours then Gerard Hendriks is your man. His style is wonderful -  it is almost as if the paint has been flung at the canvas in sheer joy and formed itself! What I particularly love about these works is the fact the Gerard is clearly a very accomplished draughtsman.  […]

Going on holiday with a sister who has just started a charity painting initiative, could be viewed as a busman’s holiday. As it turns out, it was more of a brushwoman’s holiday… The beauty of Vandy’s approach to these little paintings, is that experimentation is required and there is no pressure. It took a few […]

How much courage does it take for a 13 year old boy to invite his friends to a cooking birthday party? Probably quite a lot. I knew he would enjoy it as he loves cooking, but would it be a perfect opportunity for a bunch of teasing and derision from his friends? With this in mind, […]

There is something weird about Africa. Fathered by pompous colonial fatheads and mothered by tribal mystery and superstition,  it is slightly cuckoo, this troubled child of malfunctioning parents. Poverty, corruption and crime stand side-by-side with the more redeeming qualities of open-hearted generosity, breathtaking natural abundance and a pioneering spirit. When you live in South Africa you get used […]

  A while back I wrote about spazzing out in my quest to get the perfect “spontaneous” ink marks to represent wild dog and cyclists for Pedals 4 paws. In the post Going to the dogs I wrote: “I think cycling through some of Southern Africa’s most beautiful wild places is a series of stories […]

I recently wrote about my sister. The one who has a gazillion ideas a second…. She once told me that one of her employees confessed to flinching every time she said “I’ve had an idea…” because they figured it would mean more work for them. This was true in some instances, but just because you […]

This is an oldie… done over 20 years ago from a photograph in a book on birds. I loved the challenge of accurately drafting the bones.

There are days when you see someone tottering around the mall and just know that if you had a camera in your eyeballs you would have snapped a pic. People who look like walking cartoon images. Here is one of them…. the wheely bag and dog were my additions. Sketched on the back of an […]

For the first time, HeronBridge College decided to create a souvenir programme to sell at the performances of Cinderella. In previous years the programme was a double sided A4 folded to A5 with the basic information it as there was virtually no budget. However this year they have GONE BIG! I was asked to design […]

I was once again asked to design the imagery and accompanying marketing materials for HeronBridge College’s major production. This year they are producing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Ten minutes before the initial meeting, I sat in the car park with my pencil and sketchbook and produced this idea, and  it was accepted immediately. (this is […]

Meet my sister, Vandy Massey. One of those people who has a gazillion ideas a minute. Her grasp of financial maths is amazing – Her spreadsheets are works of art and a wonder to me (the member of the family who still counts on her fingers and toes). Whenever I have a geek problem (like […]