Colour from the Season - Butternut Squash Yellow

When you need to relax you want colours that are calm and natural, such as the combination of yellow and tan shadings in this Butternut Squash. After an intensive few weeks of workshops and screen-printing, I was completely shattered on Sunday, therefore painting this Butternut Squash was a perfect way to unwind...

It's skin was almost exactly the colour of Naples yellow acrylic paint from Windsor and Newton, (which might be useful info for anyone else thinking of painting one).

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Celandine Yellow

When the sun shines Celandine open their petals almost backwards to face it, I feel like this about Spring sunshine too so I have a fond affinity for Celandine and pleased to discover that it was also Wordsworth's favourite flower.

In Spring much of our garden is a spectacular carpet of this scruffy little yellow flower which is 100% uncontaminated yellow (matched to my eye) in my printed CMYK book...

After spending hours creating a design with Beech, Gorse and Heather (not at all bad), I discarded the idea and instead have given the Beech a solo focus as a large panel.

Printing in late afternoon yesterday, the sun streaming in and a Spring green colourway.

Printing the outline, and cleaning the squeegee before lifting the screen.

To satisfy an urge for some pattern in this print, today I added the repeat design created from notebook drawings (in brass). The Beech collection (cushions, runners and large wall panel) will be for sale in my shop fairly soon!

Happy first day of Spring..!

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Wild Honeysuckle Yellow

Drawing wild honeysuckle seemed a good way to hang onto something of the scent and colour of summer as it's turned a bit chilly here in Devon. Still flowering on Exmoor, as well as in my garden, I drew this in a hurried but fragrant moment in between re-printing Moorland Rabbit cushions...














































"Echo the warm hues and rustic textures of the season with accessories in hewn wood, gleaming copper and rich berry shades"






















as spotted in the Emporium pages in September's issue of Country Living magazine!
For sale in my online shop at www.sampickard.co.uk

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Gorse yellow

In Spring, Exmoor and the North Devon cliff paths are ablaze with the uplifting yellow of Gorse but lucky for me, it continues to flower throughout the year. As the old saying goes..."When the Whins (Gorse) are out of bloom, kissing's out of fashion".

I loved drawing this Gorse, I'd felt dispirited for a couple of days and drawing such a intricately detailed shrub was daunting. Once I started I drew for about 6hrs (with quite a break in the middle). After about two hours, I noticed that I was feeling loads better - spirited again! Complicated as it was, it had forced my thoughts to focus only on the matter in hand, and there was no place there for anything else - amazing.

Vivid yellow flowers offset against black seedpods, (which appear grey, because they are covered with downy white fur), vicious spikes when you get too close and a sweet coconut fragrance...

..from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Winter Yellows!!

Two sunny days in a row here in North Devon! I've been decorating, painting walls not paper but I did update a few yellows from past notebook pages (February/March) and thought I'd share their cheery colours...

Forsythia...

Elegant Spiketail...

Encrusted with Lichen - Damson Blossom buds...

Dandelion - and yes the bees are definitely out and about..!!

Gorgeous and Furry - Pussy willow!

Dancing Daffodils (have you noticed how many Ladybirds are already out and about this year!)...

Today, wandering lonely as a cloud(!) chanced across these wild ones - What a happy sight...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.