Birds of Mauritius

When we were over on Reunion Island there was time for a short trip to the Mauritius. It’s an AMAZING island with beautiful scenery, delicious food and very kind people. There was only one downside to our trip and it was that we were robbed on the way to the airport, losing all our possessions (including passports, camera, sketchbooks, phone, etc)…they just left our suitcase as they obviously couldn’t carry that! But even though it was a tricky few days following and not the cheapest trip after all the extra costs, we were so thankful for the people who helped us and made the experience more of an enlightenment than one massive downer.

I did this sketch when trying out the software Krita. It’s really decent and FREE! It was completed after the trip, so it’s probably a little flatter on the ‘life’ side of things (I always think an on location sketch has a bit more ‘oomph’ than something from a picture) but alas the sketchbook from that day was nicked! I hope the perps have had a good read of it and it’s inspired them to take up drawing themselves 😛 Maybe not hey.

Mauritius-birds

A pair of Red-whiskered Bulbuls sitting on a fence

 

Wintery sunsets

Winter sunset in the UK

Since I’ve arrived back in England the effect of winter is even more stark now. No more tropical steamy vegetation and blazing sun! But I do love the variation of the winter days. Sometimes it’s a grey cloud blanket, almost like the world doesn’t get out of bed for the day! Other times there’s a crispness to the air that makes you feel every minute of the precious sunshine.o

Here’s a sketch I made one winter morning looking towards some distant hills. I remember the colour of the sun being a kind of gold you only hear about in pirate stories! Last week we visited Anglesey in Wales and that was a different atmosphere all together.

I think the changing seasons is one of the things I enjoy most from an artist and observers point of view. The planet is so alive you guys! 😀 Even when it’s raining…

Winter sunset sketch from the north of England, UK

Happy holidays!

Happy holidays

It’s that time of year again when many people are seeing family, taking in some downtime and generally reflecting on the year just gone. I’m back in my home county of Nottinghamshire for Christmas, catching up with my family. My brother is even over from Philadelphia in the US! So my mum is super happy of course 🙂

I’ve been away working on Réunion island (more on that later!) so it’s good to be back in the UK for a change. No snow here but see the seasonal snowman in the picture is my contribution to the festive vibe 🙂

I’ve got some plans for the new year regarding animation and training, so I’ll post updates as things progress. Enjoy the downtime everyone!

British Summer

British Summer

It’s been a LOVELY British summer this year (and we’re not even finished yet!) Lots of sunshine, blue skies and the occasional downpour to ward off the hosepipe bans. One of my main aims with drawing a scene is to try and capture it so that I can look later and feel like I’m there again. Some artists do this so well and evoke a feeling of the weather and atmosphere like it was a snapshot in time. No such luck for me! But I paint quick watercolours like the ones below. The positive side of this is that I sketch more than I would if everything took much longer. Plus, I use it as a memory-jogging tool, and it seems to work! Here are a few pictures from my sketchbook during the summer months (and fingers crossed for another great British summer next year!)

Hot Chester

Hot, sweaty Chester. It was spitting with rain at one point and felt like a warm shower, very strange! Here’s the vegetation across the river as my sketchbook page began to get a little damp.

Mexican meal

I do love a bit of Mexican food! My mum and I went whilst down in London. Here’s a super speedy sketch I made whilst waiting for hers to arrive. Note the big old Mezcal bottle now used for drinking water in the background!

British Summer

One of my favourite watercolour sketches I’ve done, just because it was super fast and really nailed the colours of the day. It’s got that early summer feel with a little burnt out grass in the foreground, showing how hot it was! And some bonus sketches from a clothes shop, made whilst waiting for Josie to try on clothes 🙂

Rainbow card

A watercolour illustration to M6 theatre

Hey hey! Here’s a mid-week watercolour illustration for you.

My girlfriend, Josie (@josiecerise) recently toured with M6 theatre for a cute children’s show ‘Whatever the weather’. It was a lovely play for the real little kids, with no real dialogue and lots of great imagery. At the end of the tour I made them a card in my fave medium, watercolours! So here it is for all to see. I do a lot of watercolour cards for birthdays, gifts, etc and they’re fun 🙂

P.S Josie wants me to mention she is small but not THIS small 😉

A watercolour illustration for theatre show, 'whatever the weather'

Copyright © Adam Oliver 2025.