Hello hello!

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably found yourself squinting up at the sky in the last few weeks, wondering if the clouds simply forgot where you live. Here in Lancashire, it’s been what felt like an eternity without a proper drop of rain – just endless stretches of warm, sunny, and decidedly dry days.

It seems the jet stream – that fast-flowing river of air high up that usually steers our weather – decided to take a scenic detour further north. This effectively blocked the usual rainy systems from reaching our shores. This persistent “blocking” is precisely why we’ve had such settled, dry, and exceptionally sunny conditions, making it one of the driest springs in over a century for the UK.

So, when the skies finally opened up and dumped some much-needed rain down on us here, everything sighed in relief. Life was utterly parched; my water butt was bone dry, and the grass was definitely leaning into the whole “straw yellow” vibe. So, yes, those big wet drops were greatly appreciated by pretty much everything. The 40mph gusts that followed in their wake, however? Not so much! I’m not a huge fan of horizontal rain, personally.

I won’t be complaining, though, I promise. It had been 18 days since we last saw any meaningful rainfall. And I’ve greedily been using all those extra hours of sunlight to go rambling around outside. The temperatures even had me taking a gamble with the last frost date, and I planted out my tender seedlings and such. So, despite the sideways deluge, I’m certainly content about the rain’s arrival!

I’m relieved to see the spring rainfall come back if truth be told. It has been tough on the local wildlife here. I’ve still not seen a single mayfly this year, which is a real worry. Our resident house sparrows, incredibly busy with their nesting young, have also been reliant on us for water, becoming frequent visitors to our newly erected bird bath. High temperatures can really affect birds and local wildlife, especially when they’re so busy nesting their young. It can lead to dehydration, making it difficult for them to forage for food as they’re constantly seeking water. So M has been putting out some food too, as the intense heat at points had them looking really bedraggled, bless ’em.

As I’ve retreated indoors a bit this week, away from the sidewards rain, I’ve done my annual art supply spring clean. I normally tackle it earlier, around April time, but I’ve been putting it off for want of better weather (or perhaps just putting it off!). 

I rarely wash my palettes, as I’m usually determined to use up every single drop of colour – paint is expensive, and nothing is truly wasted! But I do think a yearly clean-down of my watercolour mixes, especially, is a satisfying way to get rid of any muddy pools of unwanted paint. It feels good to start the months ahead with new colour combinations, experimentation, and swatches.

My preference is always a porcelain palette when I’m painting with water-based mediums. You get a smooth, non-beading mix, and I find it genuinely helps to gauge paint colour and consistency. I have my extra-large square palette that is my absolute favourite. It’s a heavy, much-used beast of a thing. As a colour maximalist, it suits me well.

I much prefer studio painting for my full studies; I get no joy at all from working with a limited colour palette when following my innate detailed style. Limiting colours just holds me back and doesn’t fit with what I’m trying to achieve.

When I’m outside and working in a more loose, playful fashion, I prefer a pen and wash, with mixes of watercolours that granulate. I have tiny little travel palettes by Etcher that are great companions. And my watercolour tins, where I keep pans filled with tubes of paint, are very transportable!

Ive learned an artist’s supplies should truly support the work they are focused on achieving. Art supplies should be set up in a way that suits an artist’s preferences, no matter how unconventional that may seem. Not fitting in with passing colour trends or other fashionable ways of doing things is often a sign you’re most likely following your own authentic journey in my humble opinion.

Anyway. The rain is lashing down as I write. I’m thinking at this rate I’ll need to get my wellies out to report back in next week – wish me luck!