Tawny Owl - King of Daggers

This illustration is inspired by the Tawny Owl I often hear in my garden. I would love to actually see him one day, Tawnies are one of my favourite owls!

Following on from finding Tarot card archetypes within my illustrations, I decided I wanted to create this one with the intention of it having a King of Swords (or in this case, daggers) vibe. I’m particularly smitten with the crown of twigs and leaves I have drawn for him. The suit of Swords are normally associated with the element of air and intellect so I think it’s a good match for an Owl!

Little King Wren

A Wren illustration inspired by the tiniest Wren that was hopping about my windowsill the other day. They’re one of my favourite birds since they’re so small and cute! They’re also known for their relatively loud song and personalities.

In Druidry, Wrens are known as king of the birds, hence the reason why I drew him with a little crown. I also sketched him perched upon an upturned scribbly crescent moon to mirror my other illustration which features some Alstroemerias.

The Welsh word for Wren is Dryw, and it means Druid or Seer which I think is really cool, and adds to the symbolism even more!

Brecon Beacons Landscape

Here’s a landscape sketch featuring a few mountains in the Brecon Beacons. Since I live here now, I thought I would get to know my new surroundings by drawing them. I had to reference this from a photo online as we’re currently in lockdown and it would be quite an intense hike for me to go in person without driving some of the way haha. I’m looking forward to exploring the mountains once lockdown is over!

I experimented with some gouache style Procreate brushes for the sky and although my understanding of how to paint is very basic, I am quite happy with how it turned out! It also helps that the brushes I used are amazing, they’re the Gouache Wash and Gouache Flow Detail brushes from the Retro MaxPack!