May 2025 blog | getting through hard times

April and May have proven to be the most difficult months so far. May in particular. This month seems to have flown by, and I feel like I did very little in that time. I was not able to work or draw very much as I wasn’t in the right headspace.

Tilly weeks after I drew her that day enjoying the sun!

The family dog, Tilly, has been poorly since January with a snake-bitten leg. It took a long time for her to recover from that, only for her to then get poisoned by rat poison this month. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster as we would see her improve a bit, then get worse, and do that again and again. We kept having to mentally prepare ourselves to lose her. She lost the use of her back legs, so she had to be looked after almost 24/7. We were exhausted from getting up multiple times at night, hand-feeding her, lifting her and moving her around, cleaning up after her, and not knowing how to alleviate her pain.

Thankfully, we got fantastic help that got her on the road to recovery. I’m very pleased to say that she is back to being the dog we know and love (though somehow way more affectionate than before being ill) even if she still has some recovering to do. She is able to use her legs and is getting more and more steady on her feet as each day passes. We are severely hoping that this is the end of this whole chapter and that she does not get worse again (as this is what happened with her bitten leg). I did this drawing of her while waiting to hear her diagnosis. I remember waiting to see whether it would be super bad news or not, and not knowing what the days after would bring.

Not being able to make too much art, I kept myself busy in other ways like helping out with the kitchen garden - planting veg and preserving harvests. I did manage to visit 2 art fairs (as a customer): Fine Lines Festival in Cheltenham and CMYK in Hereford. Both were fun and a nice break. It was lovely talking to lots of makers and treating myself to a couple stickers and zines. I also did some video editing! And so I finally got up on YouTube a travel sketchbook tour I filmed ages ago. The rest of the time was spent writing my fantasy book.

Berrington Hall

It was great to go visit a National Trust property and relax a bit at the very start of the month. This was the first time I realised I could use my new-found style (watercolour blobs and coloured-pencil outlines) in my travel sketchbook to illustrate the façade of this building. I painted while we sat outside eating our lunch in the lovely weather. Then, at home, I added the details with coloured pencils. I also enjoyed using my brush pens to quickly sketch parts of the rooms inside - namely the table set-ups!

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We went to a local summer fete where they had maypole dancing, craft stalls and LAMBS! They were so cute and tiny. I also found and adopted a crochet duck. Everybody: meet Derek. Derek has been coming with me on my travels. You can keep up to date with his busy schedule through his very own Instagram Highlight.

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Shop orders

It’s been a good while since I’ve received a shop order, but this month I got three!! I’m so grateful for the large orders! It’s incredible seeing my zines going off to different parts of the world like the US or Singapore! Every penny means so much to me right now :))

Sketching in the garden

This page was done on two separate occasions. The watercolour flowers came first, then the pen drawings came a few days later when I was keeping Tilly company outside on a sunny day (we took her into the garden in hopes she could have a change of scenery from her bed.)

Hanbury Hall

At the end of the month we went to a place called Hanbury Hall. I made sure to get a variety of drawings, and to draw lots, as I am currently working on a new zine and wanted these to be a part of it. I enjoyed using different mediums and finding different subjects to sketch.

Fantasy novel update

Writing my book was the only thing I could truly focus on while Tilly was ill (likely because it was a good mental escape…!). I halted writing chapters for a little while to focus on planning and writing out the outline for the rest of the book. It was very surreal to get to write this once I was done:

(The multiple question marks were me not believing I could write that after 10+ years haha. Although I suppose they could also indicate the fact this is definitely not the end of the story - there is lots more to come 👀)

Since then I have been back to writing the chapters out, and I am so unbelievably close to the end!! It’s very exciting.

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Upcoming

Now that the family can all focus a bit more on other aspects of our lives, I am slowly getting back into the groove of working and making artwork. I have two markets coming up in the next couple of months, so I am busy preparing for those.

21st June 2025

Ella’s Pop-up Shop, Ella’s Hair Salon, Bath Road, Cheltenham

16th August 2025

Alright? Illustration Fair, St Mary’s Priory Church, Chepstow

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If you’ve read this all the way through, consider supporting me and my work by going over to my Etsy shop and having a browse if you like zines, stickers and prints mostly based around nature and travelling. You will also find my pet portrait commissions there! letsgetartyshop.etsy.com <3