Beginning to Bloom

This little corner of the internet is where I’ll pour my heart into documenting my progress (however small) from absolute beginner to botanical artist. 

I was inspired to take up watercolours as a hobby during Lent 2024. I decided to dedicate more time to God, put down reading (for fun) and pick up something new for the in-between.

Soon my mother-in-law gifted me her original set of Winsor & Newton paints in an old wooden box with a ceramic palette. My father-in-law followed up with a set of Cotman paint brushes. These gestures of kindness were all it took, I was off to the races and my creative passion was born!

In a frenzy, I experimented and painted different subjects like buildings, doors, food and soon landed on flowers and fungi as fast favourites. Pictured above are examples of my first paintings: a vase of flowers, a colourful door, a favourite place and Psalm 22 reference. These paintings are markers in time to remind me how I started and how far I’ve come. Back then, I wasn’t concerned about accuracy, and didn't know much about colour theory or the necessity of cotton paper. 

The seriousness of my creative practice came much later after the discovery of contemporary botanical artists like Billy Showell, Helen Cousins, and Ann Swan. They unlocked a new level of inspiration and botanical depictions I’d not thought possible with watercolour. I fell in love with the idea of refining my own skills.

This blog aims to document this progress, so I felt it only natural to begin at the happy and messy first blooms.