Bee in the moment

I've topped up my bee cards with a collection of dinky A7 hand-painted greetings cards. Have a look at the collection and choose your favourites. I'll be taking them along to Otley Coffee Culture at the end of the month. They're very popular at markets so order yours before they buzz away to other forever homes. Here's 12 reasons why I love creating bee art cards for you. 

1. Bee-ing in the moment

Painting bees in my favourite meditation. It's so good for the soul. I paint them from life and waiting patiently and attentively for them to hover (and hover again at the same angle) is pure mindfulness.

2. Doing my bit for the planet 

I love flowers and gardening. I have a small courtyard garden full of pots. Planting blooms that appeal to nature's essential pollinators is good for my art life and simultaneously good for our planet. It's a little gesture that gives back in a world that needs more care and kindness.

3. Connecting with nature, connecting with you

Painting cards plein air is all about connection. I'm grateful for any time spent in the sunshine and fresh air, away from screens. Sitting in my garden, painting from life, is a simple and easy way to make time to be outdoors, connecting with nature. It's a bonus that this connection, expressed in paint, is something that other people connect with when they buy or receive a bee or floral card. I believe I'm passing it on: the joy of connection, captured on a card and shared with you, for you to share in turn through sending a card.

4. Exploring painterly mark-making

Capturing bees requires spontaneity, they move faster than I can paint. The exercise of seeing form and movement and translating that into paint with the simplest of brushstrokes is a wonderful creative challenge. It fuses my love of natural inspiration and the expressiveness of gestural marks on paper. Embracing possibility, one stroke at a time. You have to trust the mark. 

5. Creating something unique

No card is the same. Each one is hand-painted as a unique, painterly tribute to the bees that visit my tiny garden. Endless variations. As the catchphrase went when I toured Thailand: same, same but different. A lovely way for you to give an original greetings card with a personal touch.

6. Providing choices not cliches

Snail mail is increasingly special in this digital, mass-produced world. In an era where so many greetings cards are twee, I'm proud to offer you a way to send a card and brighten someone's day without resorting to banal mass-produced stock greetings.

7. Bee-ing framed

Oh yes, people buy these cards from me and frame them for wall art. Buying an art card from me is a very affordable way to own original art. I'm always honoured when people tell me they're choosing them to frame. Here's one that is up in someone's guest loo.

8. Bee-ing versatile

The days of being a bit stumped when people browse my cards at markets and ask if I have any that are suitable for men are long gone. The bees appeal to all genders and between the bees and my original, upcycled abstract cards, I'm happy to have a range to suit different tastes.

9. Watching you choose

I'm grateful for everyone who browses and orders from my website. But there's something special about witnessing you make your choices at markets. I always feel privileged how much time people spend browsing the card collections and deliberating over which ones are their favourites. It's an amazing feeling to observe how such humble creations can speak to people.

10. Bee-ing brave

All the time spent observing bees in real life and stylising them in paint has built my confidence for painting bees. I've now got a lovely and growing connection of flower meadow paintings in oil and acrylic that include bees in flight and alighting on blooms. It always takes courage to add bees to layered paintings. The risk of creating a dark blob rather than a delicate creative is always there. But it's a risk worth taking, as they add depth and movement to floral compositions. Have a look at some of these in my flower meadow collection.

11. Learning about different varieties

The care invested in studying bees in the garden has helped me learn about different varieties and which flowers each prefers. It's amazing how many bee species there are and learning to recognise them by their shape, colours and textures. I'm especially fond of the deep orange ones and the ones with white fluffy bums. I've also inadvertently (lost in the moment) painted other flying insects and am delighted that these found forever homes too. Confession: I've not seen any pink bees in my garden but I think they're a lovely addition to my bee series with that pop of glowing colour to warm your soul. A little bit of creative licence is uplifting and part of the joy.

12. Bee-ing delicate

Painting bees has been good for my creative evolution, helping me explore how to make a deliberate mark with just the right amount of paint and pressure to convey the essence of these delicate creatures. This experience translates into my other work. I'm becoming increasingly gentle in painting process, being more mindful of how much paint I want on the brush or applicator and building layers without overworking them.

Browse my bee cards, flower meadows and other bee creations.