News & Updates from Helen Howell Designs · Page 2

Some of you know that I am a watercolour artist, but I also like to draw. I find drawing to be a very relaxing past time. It is an easy thing to do anywhere, at home at a desk or even while watching TV. Outside on a summers day.

All you need is some paper, a few graphite pencils and in my case also a rubber. Sometimes I also like to add a touch of colour to some of my drawings, maybe the pink of the lips or a red of a rose.... so many ways to treat a drawing.

This is one of mine, I hope you like it.

This School holiday we took Alyssa, our granddaughter out to Coal Creek a recreated coal mining village and heritage-listed buildings .

Before though we stopped off in the quaint village of Locke for Coffee and Alyssa had a giant Wagon Wheel (she didnt eat it all though!) Then we carried onto Coal Creek.

We had an enjoyable time looking into and around the old buildings before we stopped on one of the Verandahs of an old house and had our picnic.

Nice day out was had by all.

Its spring, and I love how the garden is waking up and bursting into colour. The first of my roses is out, and the poppies in beautiful colours wave their heads in a welcoming greeting.

The bees have woken up and the buzz around the flowering apple blossom can be heard as I walk past.

A beautiful time of the year. Spring holds the promise of things to come, summer fruit and a signal to get planting those tomato plants out for a real taste of summer.

As some of you may know, I am a Watercolour Artist, so when I saw liquid charcoal, I thought thats for me.

Having never got on with ordinary charcoal, always got it all over my hands, liquid charcoal, used like watercolour, sounded just up my street.

The subject I chose to try it out on was a Japanese Geisha. I painted the main body of the work with the charcoal and added for extra interest just a few touches of colour using water colour paints.

Hope you like her!

I have installed some new raised beds. Filling them was a real task. My husband and I trundled our way up and down the garden with a wheelbarrow, negotiating two different levels of steps which exist in my backyard, and the slope of the land to reach the veggie garden.

It took us 4 half days between us to fill all four beds, not bad since we are both in our 70s.

Now I can look forward to a very productive vegetable garden. Spring is almost here and Im raring to go.