Also New..

.. and available at Forest & Sea on Spoonflower:

Scatter! Shown here on Linen-Cotton Canvas.

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Update 2014: See the new version of the sea lions here!

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

  

Forest & Sea @ Spoonflower

Now available at Forest & Sea on Spoonflower:

Palace Garden in Peacock Blue, Lime and Jaipur Pink

Palace Garden in Indigo and Pomegranate

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

`Apapanes and `Ōhi'a Lehua Blossom

`Apapanes and `Ōhi'a Lehua Blossom for this week's contest at Spoonflower.

`Ōhi'a Lehua trees are amazing: they grow right out of the bare lava on the Hawaiian islands. They're also the main nectar source for `Apapane birds, a type of honeycreeper whose feathers match the colour of the tree's flowers exactly. In this design the grey background represents the lava plain and the top and bottom borders are for the volcanoes and famous ocean surf of Hawaii.

This was made for the Hawaiian contest at Spoonflower that was palette limited to just 3 colours (+ white). You can have a look at all the entries and vote for your favourites here, read more about the birds here or visit the Forest & Sea page on Spoonflower here! I hope everyone's having a good week.

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

Taoyuan, Taiwan!

Google Street View is such a great tool but it never occurred to me to paint from it before I found this ingenious contest.

Taoyuan County, Taiwan. Click for larger image.

I came across some amazing views and finally chose this one; it's the Dahan River Valley in Taoyuan County, Taiwan. What cinched it for me was the cloud fall over the mountains (top left) and terraced fields (left bank). The Chinese characters say Taiwan.

Have a look at some amazing entries and leave a comment for your favourites right here!

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

For Sale...

... never-ending yards of Palace Garden in Peacock Blue! Available at Forest&Sea on Spoonflower.

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

IF - Perennial

Arabica Cherry in Red.

Arabica Cherry Details (in Smoky Blue, Warm Grey and Mineral Blue).
Click to view larger.

Arabica coffee: a perennial breakfast favourite and perennial flowering tree.

Have a look at some truly wonderful perennial illustrations here.
Peruse and vote for your favourite coffee designs here.
Read about bird-friendly, shade-grown and organic coffees here.

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

Coffee - Kahvi - Kaffe - Koffie - Café...

.. takes centre stage next week at Spoonflower.

Below are my sketches from Google image search. The idea is to tie my entry in with the Vanilla Bean and Cocoa Pod (as yet unfinished) designs to make a sumptuous group of the world's most popular flavours.

N.B. I'd never have thought it but Europeans drink the most coffee per capita in the world. This post's title is 'coffee' in the languages of the countries topping the list - according to Google translate that is :)

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

Love your weeds!

Butterflies is the subject for the new Spoonflower contest with a palette limited to just these six colours (I missed yellow!):



It did show me though how habitual my colour use has become and that's the whole idea right? I quite like that it's a pattern that would never have come about if left entirely to me! If you have a spare second, please click through and vote for it :)

Tree-hugger's Lawn

Tree-hugger's Lawn Details - click for larger view.

This weedy design was inspired by the idea of leaving a bit of your garden for wild, native plants to grow.If you're not a lover of weeds but would like to attract more butterflies to your outside space, there are loads of websites about which flowers butterflies will be attracted to - either for nectar or as a food source for their caterpillars. These small, natural areas add up fast to increase the available habitat for local wildlife!

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

Summertime

This is an old sketch, one of the ones I hadn't got around to painting, but this week's Illustration Friday is Midsummer Night and so a great time to get this one finished :)

Riverbank

Riverbank Details - click for larger view.

The little beastie on the rock is an Alpine Newt. They live nocturnally in forested areas next to ponds or streams - perfect for this evening riverbank scene.

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware

Scatter!

Spoonflower entries this week are all based on fishing. I don't think I'm alone in chosing a nature theme rather than the human sort:

Scatter!

This repeat design is put together from sketches I made of Galápagos Sea Lions seen on a beautiful documentary about the Pacific Ocean. As ever, I'd appreciate your vote if you have time :)

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Update 2014: See the new version of the sea lions here!

_________________________________________________

Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware