Make & Create

  BIRDS, BEES & BLOSSOMS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BOTANICAL AND ANIMAL WATERCOLOUR PAINTING IS OUT NOW                       

An interview with Laura Perryman, Author of The Colour Bible When writing The Colour Bible, which colour and it’s physiological/psychological effects most surprised you?  I had an understanding that some colours already had certain associations […]

Why attitude matters Drawing is not an innate ability; like all skills it is developed through practice. Anybody with a will to draw can learn to draw better and over time, practice will always take […]

  What is polyculture? At this point you might be wondering what a polyculture system is? The short answer is that it follows what nature does. It is a mixture, a little bit of everything, […]

                  Visit antique fairs, flea markets and yard sales – they can be great hunting grounds for adding to your collections. Arrive early and position yourself at […]

Ilex Press acquires first book from hosts of Talk Art podcast, Russell Tovey and Robert Diament Ilex Press (part of the Octopus Publishing Group) has acquired Talk Art: Everything You Wanted to Know About Contemporary […]

Aloïs Guinut, author of Dress like a Parisian and Why French Women Wear Vintage, studied fashion at the prestigious Institut Français de la Mode. She has previously worked as a fashion trend forecaster and now […]

Sketching in a city environment is an exciting experience. The streets throb with energy and pulse with life. From the soaring skyscrapers of New York to Rome’s ancient architecture, wherever you turn, the city offers […]

PAINTING TECHNIQUES First we need to see what watercolour can do. Watercolour pigment is intensely concentrated so you need only the tiniest bit. Water is the vehicle for the colour to travel, and it does […]

Florence Given is a 21-year-old artist, activist and writer. In her newly published book Women Don’t Owe you Pretty, Florence addresses social issues and challenges out-dated narratives supplied to us by the patriarchy. Full of […]

Extracted from RHS Gardener’s Quiz & Puzzle Book, this is the perfect quiz for the long, sunny weekend ahead. Pit your horticultural wits against friends and family or just to test your own grey, or […]

A note on summer foraging From early to late summer, foraging for dye plants feels like being a child let loose in a sweet shop. Plants are thriving and in full bloom and as the […]