Cheat’s Falafel
Create Falafel With One Can Of Chickpeas These falafel are an easy cheat’s version of the real thing. Cook a batch and put them in the fridge to eat hot or cold. They will remain fresh for three days if you place them in…
Chickpea And Ginger Soup
A Soup For Lovers of Ginger This is a recipe for lovers of ginger and packs a powerful punch. It uses lots of fresh and ground ginger and a little turmeric which are both natural anti-inflammatories. 400g can of chickpeas – drained and rinsed…
Chickpea Pancakes
|Easy chickpea pancake recipe Make a whole batch of pancake mixture and create fresh breakfast pancakes for a week. Try different fillings each day, both sweet and savoury. I have tried chocolate spread, nut butters and even sweet chilli sauce – which was delicious.…
How to Cook Chickpea Flatbreads
Make a batch of these flatbread/pizza bases and then freeze them. They can be taken out of the freezer, topped, placed under the grill and ready in 15 minutes. They taste good, they are sugar and yeast free and contain only natural ingredients. Method…
Super Quick Spiced Chickpeas & Paneer
Paneer is an Indian cheese and goes well with strong spices. You can now buy this delicious cheese in most high street supermarkets. This meal is super quick and requires little preparation. It’s full of flavour and perfect if you want a fuss-free midweek…
How to make naan bread
Soft and chewy, easy to assemble and super fast to the table. These naan are deliciously soft and can be frozen to eat at any time. They can be made as pizza bases and whipped up in minutes and ready to add your favourite…
Figure Drawing
As artists we know how important it is to learn how other artists create their work. Watching an artist sketching a figure from start to finish, or seeing how an artist adds shading or how they start a piece of work is invaluable information.…
Drawing The Hands
Like many artists I find drawing hands a little tricky at times. At life drawing classes I found myself spending too much time on this part of the anatomy, getting frustrated when the results were not good enough and often running out of time…
Celebrate National Poetry Day!
Yes, it’s National Poetry Day! The theme this year is Choice! We’ve been asked to Choose a Poem. And I have chosen a poem called, That’s Unbelievable! by Alan Richardson from his book called: There Are Hats….Fun Poems for Children. That’s Unbelievable! Some people…
How To Plan A Graphic Novel
This is the second blog post about my experience of creating a graphic novel. In my first blog post I focus on the advice given in books by some of the Big Beasts (Marvel and DC) of Comics and Graphic novels, so this post…
How to create a Graphic Novel?
I started my first graphic novel. I plan to write it and illustrate it. Full of enthusiasm and excitement I sat down with my idea and………stopped. Do I start with creating the images or should I begin by writing the story? Do I divide…
How To Illustrate A Children’s Book
How to illustrate children’s books. Steps to take and mistakes to avoid.
The Design Museum London – Moving to Mars Exhibition (on until Feb 2020)
How do you prepare to live on Mars? This exhibition in London’s Design Centre asks this question and so much more…….
How to practise drawing at home without a model
Find inspiration and practise as an artist with these excellent images.
Google Arts and Culture Site
Wow! Highly recommend this site for all artists. Access the new Google Arts & Culture Site to explore exhibitions/paintings/museums around the world. You can focus on individual paintings or take leisurely walks around museums and art galleries – oh and so much, much more.…
Tips on how to use oil pastels
I’ve been asked to create a piece of artwork for a large bedroom. The work can be in any medium so I’m practising some ideas, starting with oil pastels. I picked up my soft oil pastels again this week and have decided this is…
How to tell when your painting is finished
I think this painting is finished. But every time I look at it I see areas that I could improve or embellish. Should I continue to work on this painting? How do I know when my paintings are finished? This is a question that…
Working with ballpoint pens
I threw myself in the deep end. A couple of weeks ago I decided to draw using a ballpoint instead of pencil. And I loved the experience. I picked a photograph of my husband to draw mainly because I liked the texture of his leather jacket…
Our Post-Apocalypse drawing session
We experienced another fabulous afternoon of drawing. Daniel, our model was dressed as the perfect post apocalypse vigilante and brought along his own home-created baton and axe! The music was dark and moody and the sketchers created some exceptional pieces.
Barbara Hepworth at St Albans Museum
There is a beautifully curated exhibition currently on at St Albans Museum. It is a small collection of Barbara Hepworth’s scultpures created between 1948 – 1953, when Hepworth spent some time in Hertfordshire. The exhibition is called an ‘Artist in Society’ – an expression…
Mixable oils – a new medium for me
I bought these a couple of weeks ago to try. Having used acrylics for my paintings I was delighted to discover oil paints that can be mixed with water. Also, paintbrushes can be washed too – no having to use turpentine or white spirit.…
Taking your work to local galleries
It’s probably worth researching galleries before turning up with paintings-in-hand, as I did. I visited two galleries in one day and could not have had two more contrasting experiences. But before I describe these, I must express my surprise at how willing the gallery-owners…
Creative Drawing Session at the Maltings, St Albans
A hardy band of creatives made their way through wind and rain to the Maltings Arts Theatre on Sunday and stepped into a sunny Californian set, where model Rowena started the session looking fresh out of the crowds of the 1969 Monterey Pop Festival.…
St Albans Life Drawing
The Pop Up Drawing Club spent an inspiring Sunday drawing our fab model, Rowena during our 1950s themed event.
St Albans Museum and Gallery
The St Albans Museum and Gallery – a world class centre for art and culture.
Life Drawing in London – Art Macabre
There’s a very exciting drawing class that I attend as often as I can. Art Macabre is run by entrepreneur and Creative Art Director Nikki Shaill. These drawings were completed at the Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch (short walk from Liverpool Stree Station). Nikki…
Looking for Costume Model Classes
St Albans has several good life drawing classes to keep your skills up to date, but are there other drawing classes too..
Seven steps for a successful solo exhibition
Seven steps to ensuring you make the most of your solo exhibition.
Sold a painting
It’s difficult to describe the feeling of selling a piece of art at an exhibition. Joyous, is a good start, quickly followed by exhilarated and galvanised! The sold piece – image on the left – is a favourite of mine. I started painting a…
Comic Art Goddess
I love Comic Art. It can be dramatic, dynamic and powerful. I love its bold lines and its energy. In this pencil drawing of Flora the Goddess of flowers. I wanted to create a sense of Spring and new beginnings. The bold lines of…
Exhibition at Trestle Arts Base – St Albans
From 10th March to 4th May: Trestle Arts Base has agreed to host my first solo exhibition. It’s a fantastic space and worth visiting for so many reasons. Apart from supporting local artists, you can attend yoga classes, watch theatre productions, attend mask-making classes…
Goddess Flora
A modern day image of Flora, the ancient Roman Goddess of spring. Painted by combining comic art style and realism.
Russian Revolutionary Posters
Russian revolutionary posters in David King’s book. A must-buy for all who love graphic art in posters.
Free motion machine embroidery
Free motion embroidery is addictive. I’ve created a few items using this method and this year took my creations to a local Christmas Fair. For this item I attached organza to a silk background using a free swirling stitch. I then ‘drew’ the mistletoe…
Paint with mixable oils take II
I attended an excellent art course at ArtShed. The tutor was Jayne Evans who provides excellent tuition. The glass was my second painting in the class using mixable oils. I learned that looking at each part of the object was the key to working…
Easy vegan soup recipe
Super speedy and nutritious vegan soup. From pan to table in ten minutes.
How to use mixable oil paints
I like to paint on larger canvasses and the size of the one in the image is approximately 60cm x 80cm and as you can see my first work using mixable oil paints was not the best. I found the paint very difficult to…
How to wrap a painting for a gallery
Last week I once again jumped into the deep end. 10:30 Tuesday I decided to present a couple of my paintings to some local galleries and get some feedback. Grabbing the paintings I made my way to the door and then stopped. If I…
Working with ballpoint pens
Drawing with ballpoint pens. A few easy pointers to help you begin illustrating with ballpoints.
Healthy, Fast, Lunch
A simple, fast and healthy light-bite. Created in minutes, eaten any time of the day.
How to make a Roti
Alternative to shop-bought bread. Yeast free. Free from preservatives, sugar and salt.
Quick Tomato and Bean Soup
A super speedy tomato and bean soup using tinned tomatoes and tinned beans. Delicious and hearty.
How to make Cornflour Pizza bases
Create a delicious alternative to shop-bought pizza bases at home. They’re crispy and delicious. Simple ingredients, nothing artificial, sugar and salt free. Healthy and easy to store. Cook a batch and store them in the freezer. Serves two. 30 minutes to cook. Ingredients for…
How to cook vegan pancakes
An easy vegan pancake recipe with chickpea flour. In celebration of Veganuary!
Billie K Richardson - Illustrator/Writer 