GROW YOUR BLOG! A Re-Introduction!

Hello and WELCOME to the 'GROW YOUR BLOG' post! I'm so happy to take part in this blog-boosting event hosted by Vicki at '2 Bags Full'.  It's really quite exciting.... It's pretty scary to put your art 'out there' on t'interweb, especially on a blog, as you're basically asking strangers to judge and comment on the work that's on display. I'm still relatively new to blogging and I still get all nervous when I check up on my comments page (like...30 times a day!) - when there's a lovely comment there from an incredibly kind fellow blogger it's like all my birthdays have come at once! I think all artists need approval and blossom when we receive support - so taking part in this blog hop event is both terrifying and exciting!

This post collects a selection of my work which regular visitors may already have seen, but I've added several new pictures for you to look at too. Those of you who are new visitors to 'Shroo's World' might want to know a bit about me, so here goes...

My name is Rachael, although I'm known as Shroo - at least as far as internet communications are concerned, and that's how I sign my work, so please feel free to call me 'Rachael' OR 'Shroo', whichever you prefer.  I'm an artist and  journal maker and I live in the UK with my almost-spherical black cat.

I'm an only child of a single parent, raised by my wonderful mum and my grandparents with help too from my globe-trotting uncle, and some lovely family friends. My mum is a dancer and a commercial artist, whose work and encouragement have been invaluable and inspiring to me. She filled my life as a child with music and art, drawing little cartoons on messages and cards at every opportunity. She still does -

Her work is FILLED with joy - my house is filled with it, which is fabulous! You can find more posts including her artwork by clicking the following picture link:

Yule dancer

My grandfather was a carpenter - a good one, and my grandmother knitted and cooked and loved painting and poetry. I made swords and shelves with my grandfather, and never ONCE beat my grandmother at scrabble or cards, but did make some lovely scones!

I've always loved art, and would have loved to make it a career, but circumstance sometimes forces a different path.... Many twists and turns later, and I'm at a point in my life where I'm fortunate to have my own space - no negative influences or nay-sayers, and my heart has returned to art. It's saved me - a grandiose statement, but true - and now I want to make use of any skills I have and try and earn a living. Bold move, made with tentative steps! The blog was my first leap....Etsy, my second....this is my third! *JUMP!*

My influences are manyfold. My mum and my grandma both loved literature and book illustrations, so I grew up surrounded by the incredible variety that books provide. I love animation  and comic book art, which are both highly underrated in the art world. I adore sculpture and classical art including the wonders created by ancient cultures as well as the bold modern movements.  You can read about some of the artists who've influenced me by clicking the link below:

Influential artists

Other than existing artwork, my main influence is the natural world and it tends to feature heavily in most things I do. I love to express the beauty of the organic world around me in arts and crafts and hold it close to my heart.

 This is a copy of a piece I did for a very awesome friend of mine, without whom I'd not have had the confidence to pursue my dreams. Some people are more valuable than they will ever realise. You can find more examples of this black-and-white work in my gallery (click on the mouse picture below), which will take you to the relevant posts if you clicks the links!

Gallery

I love colour, and I love to experiment with different mediums and collage elements - play about with textures..

This was painted with Derwent watercolour pencils, Caran D'Ache Neocolor II soluble wax pastels, Winsor & Newton gold ink, fine liner pens and gel pens.

The following images might give you a better idea of the kinds of things I like to draw and paint and will link to their related blog posts/pages if ya clicks 'em:

 

 

Oh -  and I love the sea, marine life and BLATANTLY obviously, mermaids and will find any excuse to paint one. 

They also find their way onto the journals I make..

.....and colour is a key feature of my handmade books and journals. I only started making my own books a couple of years ago, mainly because I have 'pristine page terror' - that blank brain effect that comes with a nice pretty new pad of paper. I discovered that pages that were 'rustic cut' (ragged round the edges) presented less of a weird barrier to creativity, and I started cutting my own sheets. Learning to bind them into books was relatively easy thanks to the plethora of tutorials on Youtube! I took a chance and opened an Etsy shop to sell some of them and it seems other people like them too - which is AWESOME! Here are a couple of exampes - 

I do tend to get over-excited with arts and crafts and I love learning new skills. I love to embroider my own designs and I find making jewellery REALLY theraputic. Mum loves this as she's even more of a magpie than I am and has a collection of jewellery that would make the Queen feel inferior!

 

Ok - that's a bit about me and my work - LOTS of piccies and links which I really hope you'll enjoy. I would LOVE it if you left a comment and if  you like what you've seen, perhaps you'd consider becoming a blog follower (you'll find the link in the right hand page border). I'm off now to begin a day of  utter indulgence enjoying the variety of blogs and blogged subjects out there thanks to the awesome work of Vicki at '2 Bags full'. I hope I'll see you again - and you can email me if you like at

 artyshroo@gmail.com. 

The email is on my public profile but BLOGGER can be glitchy! I'll leave you with three little watercolour illustrations of my fat black cat, Count Harvelstein Fluffpants III (Harv for short...or 'Colonel' if he's feeling bossy!) These were for mum for Halloween 2013. I bid you a very fond farewell - see you soon! Shroo :) xxx

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