My Mats Prep for Bootcamp 2019

Hooray! It’s here again, the inevitable anticipation is over and our first ‘mini’ assignment has been released. Bootcamp with Lilla Rogers has to be one of the creative highlights of my year!

We get a week to work on a little warm up exercise before we’re given the main assignment. We then have 2 weeks until sharing our work in an online public gallery. Then a weeks rest before the cycle starts all over again and so it continues for four marvellous months of incredible inspiration with a group of kind, talented and wonderful artists, many of whom like me, come back year after year. There’s always a fabulous mixture of old and new faces alike and a buzz of excitement which is quite contagious.

Before the class begins, Lilla always posts a little preparation exercise or two. This time we had to collect a variety of objects from around our homes to create a colour palette from. That’s a photo of mine below. I’ll be sharing updates of my work from the assignments over the next few months so feel free to follow along.

My Mats Prep Bootcamp 2019 Colour Palette by Susie Batsford

1920’s Flapper Girls and Colouring Books

Vintage Fashion Glamour Portrait Art Deco Colour in

Vintage Fashion Glamour Girl Portrait in Watercolour Paint

Vintage Fashion Glamour Girl Portrait in Watercolour Paint

Vintage Fashion Glamour Girl Portrait in Watercolour Paint

Vintage Fashion Glamour Girl Watercolour Portrait

Vintage Fashion Glamour Girl Portrait in Watercolour

Hello Everybody and Happy March, I'm so glad spring is finally here.  I've been busy preparing for an end of year exhibition sometime in June, although we haven't decided on the exact date of it yet. It’s the final module in my FdA in Illustration and there's plenty to keep me busy. I've also started an online class with Art Agent Lilla Rogers called MATS Bootcamp.  There's one preparation mini which leads into the main assignment each month.  This is my work towards our first assignment which is  to design a colouring book cover using 1920’s iconography and portraiture.  I've decided to use it towards my FdA exhibition, the top sketch is a rough draft of my colouring book cover, I must admit it's been a lot of fun.  I'll post the finished design in the coming weeks, but meanwhile you check out some information about the course here: http://makeartthatsells.com

February's Relief Printing of Blue Flowers

Succulent Vintage Keys Snowdrops Hellebores Blue

Mala Rose Quartz Heart Viburnum Pink Antique Tea Cup

Collograph Print Antique Tea Cup

Collograph Print

Hello my friends, I thought today I'd share my results of the wonderful collagraph printing workshop I did at college earlier in the month.  For those who know not, a collagraph is a little like a collage which you then make prints from.  I made the collagraph plates by collecting plant matter from the garden.  Then after pressing it for several days I assembled two plates on cardboard using strong pva glue.  I then painted the whole thing white using acrylic gesso, this is so you can see where you've put the ink when you ink it up in the print room.  Then I varnished each plate using acrylic matt medium and voila, once dry they were ready for printing.  The top picture shows one of the plates on the printing press and below this are my prints.  I had so much fun, I recommend it if you get the chance!

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Anthropomorphic Woodland Animal Adventures...

Dried Flower Basket

The Woodland Animals Garden Adventure

The Woodland animals garden adventure

The Woodland animals garden adventure

Hello dear readers, I can't believe over a month has passed since my last post.  Time flies and so much has been happening, but I'll update you with that sometime soon.  In the meantime, I have begun a 'photography for makers' class with the lovely Emily Quinton at https://www.makelight.io/workshops/

My woodland animals have been getting quite involved in the photoshoots!