Long time no blog...UPDATE

I have been a rubbish blogger lately, mostly because I messed up the layout of my blogger template and it's taken me this long to sort it out!?! I know, lame right but hey that's why I like using pens and paper haha!

So I thought I'd do a quick update about what I have been doing so far this year...as it's just turned April! I can't believe how quickly this year is going. I am pleased to feel a bit of spring sunshine on my skin though as this winter has been so long and cold. 

January 

I started off the year with a determined focus to improve my illustration. The first drawing of the year was this deer...done sat in a messy kitchen because my house had been turned upside down with the installation of some much welcome double glazing. 

 

I also had some of my work on display in the Surface Gallery in Nottingham as part of their Under the Bed exhibition. This was the first time I had any of my artwork on public view and I was very excited and proud of myself when I went to view the exhibition on the opening day! 

January was also the month that the first Drink and Draw Social zine was published, it was beyond exciting to see it on sale in Rough Trade! 

 

February

February was a tough month for me creativity wise, I was not in the zone at all and I really struggled to find inspiration. I began reflecting on what direction I wanted to take my drawing and finally decided to focus on botanical illustrations and tattoo art- I also decided to teach myself watercolour. This was after discovering the work of the illustrator Holly Exley and basically watching all her videos on Youtube about 50 times...

 

I discovered the joys of buying random art shit on Amazon and got some small sketchbook 'tiles' and set about drawing something decent on every one. Including this rabbit...

I also went along to some really interesting talks at Rough Trade run by the local Nottingham Etsy ladies (this may have been Feb and March), the talks were about running an Etsy shop and how to take photographs of the things you sell. The talks were great but as it still stands I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to setting up my own shop- I will get there though. 

March

Once march hit I was a bit more in the zone drawing wise, helped along by the fact I turned my kitchen table into a mini studio and I didn't have to draw hunched over any more. I started to do more colour stuff, including a fashion illustration (something which I always do when I need to get my focus back ). The planning for a few exciting art related bits and bobs also started to happen this month .....

Uni POSCA pens ♥

If you follow me on my instagram you will know how much I love uni Posca markers because I use them so much! they are such a versatile pen to use because they draw on pretty much any surface. I like to draw on glass a lot with them but I have also used them on fabric and textured black paper. 

The pens are available in different nib sizes and I have been working with the bullet nib and pin nibs...

One of my favourite ways to use these pens is on glass, you can build up the layers of ink to create a sense of dimension; which is what I did with the rams head below. You can also draw on top of the base ink with a standard fine liner. I also took the design above and applied that to different sized jars to create some tea light holders...

If you have not tried these pens before I really recommend them, they are available in Hobbycraft and I usually buy mine from ebay where they are usually under £3 a pen. If you do try them out I would love to see the results.

Amanda 

Saying goodbye to 2015...

So I am sitting here actually making a start of one of my new year goals...(I want to blog more ) and reflecting on what this year will bring. 2015 was a good year for me and when looking back and thinking about it a lot of great stuff happened...I had a lot of fun and feel like my illustration style started to develop into something that I am proud of. 

I am looking forward to being even more creative in 2016 and to travel a little more and finally get to see Berlin .Hopefully this year will be even better than 2015 and if I manage to actually stick to this goal you will be able to read all about it on my blog  :) (fingers crossed)...

Amanda 

Looking back at 2015...Amsterdam...

In October we went for a little day trip to Amsterdam...I had never been to the city before and even though it was a grey and overcast day I really enjoyed wandering around the canals and trying not to get run over by A LOT of cyclists! 

The architecture in Amsterdam is really inspiring and it's hard not to fall in love with the narrow houses...

There are loads of cute places to eat and grab a drink around the city...I thought this row of mix-match tables was so sweet. 

And it would be rude not to pop into one of the local art shops...even if the array of pens on sale was a little disappointing.

We went into this awesome vintage shop down one of the little streets (which I can't remember the name of unfortunately) and I think I will always regret not buying one of the denim jackets with the sheepskin collar...

Amsterdam is definitely somewhere I would like to go back to and maybe stay for a couple of days so I can really get to know the city...well worth a visit if you are thinking of going. We got the ferry over from Hull and it costs us £90 for two which is a very good deal! 

Amanda 

INKTOBER

It's nearly October which means it's Inktober time again ! I will be drawing an ink illustration every day for the whole month! 

Leave me a suggestion below in the comments about what I should draw. My favourite from the month  will win the illustration of their suggestion...

*You can enter as many times as you like. My choice is final. Closing date 30 October 2015, winner will be notified early Nov.  

Day trip to the seaside

I had been feeling a little bit frustrated artistically lately, I just couldn't get into my drawing or anything really.  I needed a bit of a change of scene and so I went to Skegness for a little day trip with my mate Nic.
I think it was just what I needed as I'm feeling refreshed and inspired. Here's a few pics from the day...

Red's True Barbecue Review

Location: Queens Street, Nottingham

I went along to try out Red's as I'd been hearing good things about the place and it seemed to be a permanent feature on my instagram feed.

It's an American style BBQ place which basically serves meat...it's located where Fopp used to be and it has a really cool interior. Kind of industrial meets tattoo parlour...

As you can see by the serious bible style menu , they take their meat seriously here.

I opted for the pulled pork plate with a side of macaroni cheese and an iced tea.  

The food arrived really quickly. The pork was really tasty and tender and had a sweet bbq sauce flavour, it came with coleslaw which tasted really fresh and light and complimented it well. The macaroni cheese was ok but went cold really quickly and didn't really have much flavour. I was a bit disappointed with it and wouldn't order it again. 

The iced tea was great, nice and sweet and really refreshing. It was served in a cute half tankard style glass.

I would give the food 7/10 and the decor and theme 8/10 . I will probably go back to try something different next time . I did find that I smelt of bbq smoke after eating in there though which although not a surprise didn't like. Overall it's worth a try for sure. 

Lady Luck...

I have been struggling a bit lately to feel completely confident in my illustrations, I've still been drawing a lot but I guess I had hit the block that many creative people get every now and then. 

Yesterday though I deliberately gave myself a day of doing nothing so I could get back in the zone. I was browsing my illustration inspiration board on pinterest and realised that I had not done any drawings in the American Traditional tattoo style...so feeling inspired I got my promarkers out ( they have been neglected somewhat lately) and was pretty pleased with the result...

February favourites

Well February went quickly didn't it!!!!....here's some of the things that have been floating my boat this month...

 

TAYLOR'S SWEET RHUBARB TEA 
I am not a massive fruit tea fan as I find that the flavours are often too weak but this tea is really flavoursome and sweet without being sickly. It's a limited edition teabag made by Taylor's of Harrogate , I picked this up from coop randomly and i LOVE IT. I hope I can find more of this AS IT'S AMAZING !


AVOCADOS 
I am beyond addicted to Avocados, I eat one daily. They are good for you and make your hair grow, reeeeeal well. BOOM!


PRIMARK PINEAPPLE CANDLE
Primark's new spring homeware range is really on point at the moment, they seem to have the most random candles in. I picked up this amazing ceramic pineapple candle for £2.50 i think. It's really unusual and it is a nice addition to my fireplace. It is strictly for display purposes  though as i'm a bit monica like that. 




MODELS OWN NAIL VARNISH - GUN GREY
I rediscovered this nail varnish this month, it's a great sparkly grey colour which has great coverage and dries quickly. I like wearing dark nail varnish and this is a great alternative to my usual matte black. You can get these nail varnishes from Boots and Superdrug. Try it. 

HYDRALURON 
I think this was in my last months favourites too and that's because it works. It keeps my face looking hydrated and is now an essential. I cannot rate this highly enough, still not convinced well ok then have a desert face see if i care ;) LOLZ

BOOTS BOTANICS HYDRATING EYE CREAM RADIANT YOUTH
As I'm no longer a radiant youth I need some help in the eye wrinkle department. I hate sticky eye creams and so was pleasantly surprised with the formula of this one, you only need a little bit around the eyes and it sinks into the skin well with no stickiness. I have noticed the results almost immediately and I will definitely repurchase this bad boy. Oh yeah and it's full of natural ingredients and protective ginkgo...don't get me started on ginkgo eh eh...yeah I've no idea what it is either. 

BOURJOIS BRONZING POWDER - DELICE DE POUDRE
I had been looking for a matte bronzer for a while, I was moaning about this to my friend Catherine and the babe gave me this as the shade was too dark for her; and I'm so grateful she did. It is a really lovely bronzer which gives you a nice radiant glow, the packaging is so sweet and it does smell like chocolate. I have it in shade 51 and it is now a permanent fixture in my make up. Thanks Catherine!! x

LOVE TANYA BOOK- TANYA BURR
For those of you that don't know Tanya Burr is a Youtuber and this is her lifestyle book. It ain't Pride and Prejudice but it is a lovely coffee table book. What I have been loving is the baking section of her book! So much so in fact that baking has become my new favourite thing to do, much to the joy of my work colleagues. I made her lemon cake and cookies and they were actually EDIBLE... #win
This book is not for everyone I admit but I like it so ner. 

What have you been loving this month? Leave me a comment below or get in touch on my twitter or follow me on instagram...

Amanda x

Starting out...

When you are first starting out with drawing you don't mind using basic pens and pencils but as soon as your skills start to improve and you begin to really develop a style you should take the next step and secure yourself some decent gear. 

However when I was trying to find out what materials or pens you need to use I found that people just didn't want to share that information (either that or I was just looking in the wrong place) and as a result I often used to spend a lot of time in the aisle of the art shop trying to work out what paper or pens I needed to buy. This resulted in a massive collection of pens and a lot of trial and error (and cash spent) before I ended up with a good idea of what I needed to have in my collection.  

Now I am the first to say that what you draw with is very much what suits your style and is very much down to your own preference but this is what I use and I hope that it's useful to some of you...

PENCILS AND ERASERS

One of my tips is to invest in a good quality propelling pencil. The benefits of using a propelling pencil is that you will always have a consistent nib and there is no need to buy a sharpener. I use a Rotring Tikky 0.5 pencil with a 0.5 HB lead. You change the lead by taking the end of the pencil off (the eraser end) and feeding in the individual leads. This pencil is great and whilst slightly expensive well worth the money. 

It is also a really good idea to buy yourself a really good quality eraser, one that actually removes pencil lines effectively from the paper (yeah I thought that was an essential for an eraser but it seems not to be the case for a lot of cheap erasers). Here i have the Rotring Rapid-eraser B30 , it's a nice quality small eraser.

PENS

If you want to start drawing detailed line work then you need to invest in some good quality pens. They need to have a good quality nib! And you will need to buy different pens with different nib sizes.

These Staedtler pens are one of my favourites to use, I use 0.2, 0.1 and 0.05 for all my pointillism drawings. You can get these pens from ebay for about £3.00 each. I'll review each of these pens in detail in another post. 

PAPER

Treat yourself to some nice quality sketchbooks, I like to use paper by the brand Daler Rowney. I use a heavy weight white Acid Free A4 220g paper for art work which I want to have an aged vintage feel, like this hand illustration of mine...

I have also been known to draw on watercolour paper, like my bird skull drawing here...

And when I really want to push the boat out and use the best paper I go for Bristol Board, like when I did this drawing...

Bristol Board has a smooth almost shiny surface, it doesn't absorb ink in the same way as the other papers i mentioned in this post will and in my experience it is also the best paper to use and blend promarkers on. 

I hope you found this post useful, please leave me a comment below on what art materials you recommend or if you try any of my suggestions let me know via twitter . If you would like to see more of my art work follow my portfolio instagram account here or my personal instagram.

Amanda x

Latest illustration...

Finished the first of my floral print series 🌹 #illustration #pointilism #dotwork #flower #flowertattoo #tattoo #tattooart #print #pigmamarker

A photo posted by amandainateacup (@amandainateacup) on Feb 9, 2015 at 12:35pm PST

Black and Gold....

Black and Gold by amandainateacup

I love making sets on Polyvore...if you are not familiar click here it's a great way to make a visual wish list of things you can only dream of owning...I like to think of it as the grown up electronic version of Fuzzy Felts. Yeah you're right they were awesome!

I'm in the mood for a little bit of black and gold on this fine Sunday post-valentines day afternoon. I'm not sure exactly how practical the gold rucksack is but I am loving the Jeffrey Campbell brogues. 

January favourites

January Favourites by amandainateacup 

Here are some of the things I have been enjoying during the past month.

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I am really bad at finding the time to read but I have been really enjoying this book. It won't shock you to find out that it's about a circus that runs at night, it's set in the past and I don't want to ruin it for you but it's full of magic and a mysterious game and seemingly based on where I am up to a bit of romance. Well worth a read. 

2. My new TV

My life has been revolutionised by my mum buying me a lovely big Samsung TV for Christmas, now I'm not watching stuff on an Ipad sized old TV I'm really enjoying watching films again and of course lots of Youtube videos. I also watched Frozen for the first time finally and as I'm not really a Disney fangirl I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. 

3. White Gel pens on black paper

I have been loving drawing with white pens this month. I bought a white manga gel pen when I was in an amazing art shop in San Francisco which I really enjoy using. I'm also really into sacred geometry which this ram skull design incorporates. 

4. Hydraluron Moisture Booster £24.99

This is a serum that you use before your moisturiser and it increases the skins ability to absorb moisture by up to 1000%. Google it if you are not familiar as it is so so good and really makes a difference to your skin. I love it. 

5. B. Stunning Vibrant Eye Shimmer in 097 Golden Sand £6.99

This eye-shadow is only available from Superdrug's B. range, it is a cream eye-shadow in a gorgeous true shimmery gold colour. It applies really well and the pigment is very true and long lasting. I use this either on its own or when I am doing a smoky brown eye. I will be doing a tutorial using this eye-shadow soon. 

6. Herbal Essences Dry Shampoo- Uplifting volume Citrus Fragrance

I tried this by chance because Boots had run out of my usual Batiste Volume dry shampoo and this was on offer for £2.99. I am really impressed with it! Unsurprisingly it has an orangey smell which is really nice and refreshing, I wouldn't say it gave my hair a lot of volume but this is well worth trying and I am actually considering re-purchasing which is saying something as I had been brand loyal to Batiste for so long!  

7. Kerastase Resistance Ciment Anti-Usure £16.00

I love this whole range and regularly use the Thermique heat protection fluid but I had not tried any of the shampoos or conditioners. I treated myself to this conditioner and it's really really good. My hair can get dry and this conditioner restores it back to being silky smooth. It's pricey but you don't have to use a lot of the product and the results make it worth it. 

8. Primark - Minty Choc Chip lipbalm £1

I love this lipbalm, so much so in fact that I bought it twice this month after I lost my first one at my graduation. Considering it is so cheap the formula is really great, my lips feel really smooth and it doesn't have an overpowering mint or chocolate chip smell. At only £1 everyone reading this should pick one up and let me know what you think of it! 

Have you tried any of these products? or think you will now go and try some of them? Let me know in the comments below what you thought or tweet me here

Amanda xx

In progress...I'd lost my discipline for drawing every night but I'm back on it ✌#illustration #dotwork #tattoo #tattooart #flowertattoo #rose #drawing #flower

A photo posted by amandainateacup (@amandainateacup) on Jan 27, 2015 at 2:14pm PST

Restaurant Review - Wildwood, Nottingham

I went to Wildwood restaurant 18 Kings Street, Nottingham on Thursday night with my mum, it was a complete accident that we went there...we thought it was Pizza Express (no joke) and it wasn't until I sat down that I realised it wasn't...I know right BUT it turned into a pretty pleasant accident so I thought I would give it a bit of a review for you guys. 

The restaurant is where the Jonathan James shoe shop used to be and they have really done a nice job at renovating it. We were sat down at the back of the restaurant and I found it a bit strange that everyone was squeezed into the back of the room but soon realised that was because when the door opened it was FREEZING! I did feel that our table was a bit too close to the next table and we didn't have a lot of room but luckily we were on the end of the row. 

Mum and I both went for pizzas; Mum had the Margherita and I had the Wild Mushroom and Truffle oil pizza - mine was really tasty and you got a nice range of wild mushroom on it, Mum also rated hers. I would go back for a pizza for sure, the chips though were a let down- they were pretty expensive and were very average so I would give them a miss. They were nicely presented though. 

 Overall I would give the food a 7/10, only affected by the lame chips. The staff were really lovely and friendly and the toilets were very nice with really cute wallpaper....worth a visit but I'm not in that much of a hurry to return as it really put me off with the seating plan, I like to be able to eat and chat without other people sitting so close haha #diva