August 2025
Daffodil Repeat Pattern by jo daisY
Hello Lovelies
I never get over the thrill at this time of year, when one morning I look outside and spot an open daffodil or magnolia. Every day there are new little gifts opening in the garden…the ornamental quince, snowdrops, jonquils, blossoms. If only there were a way to take in all the beauty and store it. I always feel torn between just sitting outside to soak it all in and everything else I should be doing! Painting is my way of internalising the beauty around me so I can carry it in my heart and memories.
News
Congratulations to two more lovely ladies who completed the Procreate for Beginners course. I’m looking forward to the first Procreate catch up where we can enjoy a cuppa and share our work in Procreate. A new course with new content will be commencing in mid October. I’ve already starting outlining the course and I think you’re going to love it!
I have a beautiful group of ladies who have joined me for a botanical watercolour course. I enjoy meeting new students, seeing their art in different mediums and learning about their interests. I can’t wait to share their final paintings when they have completed the course. We are working on some pretty tulips.
What I’m working on…
The Lilies and Coffee Pot painting is finally completed 😊
I’ve now dived into a project which is much more personal. I have over 20 poems, which I want to collate into a book for my children along with illustrations. I’ve started on the first of these illustrations for my poem, For You South Africa. It’s a pretty big painting on 600gsm cold pressed paper. Not my usual beloved hot pressed paper. I’m out of my comfort zone with the size and paper type. But hopefully it will turn out alright. Creating the composition and sketching out the flowers, elephant, giraffe and zebras has pulled at my heart strings and I feel a longing for Africa, which I’ve probably just silenced for many years. So I created a simple digital watercolour of a zebra in Procreate to express my longing for some African wildlife! As I wrote in my poem, “African dust still in my veins…”
Free Download & Discount
This month’s free download is a colouring page I created from the Protea flower I am working on. You can find it in Jo’s Gift Garden. I’m also giving you a 20% discount on everything in my shop for the month of September to celebrate Spring (in my part of the world 😉) Just use the code SPRING25 at checkout.
Invitation (thoughts on life & faith)
Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Each day proclaim the good news that He saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things He does!1 Chronicles 16:23-24 (NLT)
When I see all the beauty that surrounds my little home on the farm, it is truly as if the whole earth; the birds, the flowers, the trees, the sky are singing to the Lord. This is what brings joy to my heart. It is a reminder of His faithfulness every day. I do also want to publish that He is walking so closely to our family during this challenging time and He keeps strengthening us with joy and hope.
I hope you get to spend some time outdoors wherever you are in the world!
Have a sublime September!
With joy and beauty,
Jo xxx