Tag Archives: charity

For those gone too soon

Click to zoom in

Today is the 11th of the 11th, Remembrance Day and a time to reflect.

I am giving a thought to all those who have fallen in conflict, gone before their time fighting or standing up for their beliefs and their families.

Yesterday I painted this poppy, the symbol of both remembrance and hope for a peaceful future.

I spent most of the day on it, using watercolours only and leaving each layer to dry before coming back to it. This way of painting is the opposite of my usual speedy quick sketching but I love the depth it gives when you look close up.

I also had plenty of time to think about this time of year and how we mark the date. Personally I feel it’s important to look back, remembering and marking the past and working hard to make sure we learn from history to make the future a better place.

I will be selling this poppy painting HERE as a signed and mounted 15cm square giclee print for £25 (UK postage included) with £5 from each one sold going to PoppyScotland.

My previous 2018 poppy sketch is also available HERE and has now raised £210 for the Scottish charity which raises money for veterans and their families.

You can order a print of today’s sketch via my Etsy shop HERE.

Click below to see a video of me sketching the picture above.

WhereArtI Edinburgh?

Can you tell me where’s Wullie?!

If you know leave your answer in the comment box below. I will pick a random winner from all correct entries on Tuesday morning, and they will go on to the ‘Winners wall’ for the month. At the end of the month one of those on the wall will be picked to receive a prize.

Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail is the first ever nationwide public art trail, here on the streets of Scotland’s cities for 11 weeks from 17th June. The trail will raise awareness and funds for Edinburgh’s Children’s Hospital Charity, Glasgow’s Children’s Hospital Charity and The Archie Foundation.

The prize for July is one of my Outlander themed tea towels, which features locations from the hit television series, including Linlithgow Palace and Hopetoun House.

Printed right here in Scotland, each one is a machine washable, 100% cotton and screen printed with one of my sketches.

Your comment will not show up until the winner is announced. Keep an eye on my facebook and twitter feeds for clues if they are needed later today, and I will pick a winner for the Winners Wall tomorrow afternoon.

I hope you join us to play along and keep looking up and noticing the beauty in the everyday, you never know where I will be sketching next!

If you would like to buy one of my four available tea towels (now all £9.95 plus postage) then you can order one here from my Etsy shop.

Postcard art from around the world at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall

The travelling annual showcase Twitter Art Exhibit was this year showing in Leith in aid of Art in Healthcare.

Twitter Art Exhibit is now in its 10th year, each one travelling to a new location and supporting a new local charity in that country.

Originally set up to raise money for a local library in Norway TAE has grown through social media and this year came to Edinburgh and the Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Dalmeny Street.

The charity they decided to support in Edinburgh is Art in Healthcare who
visual art to improve and humanise the healthcare environment, you may of see their art collection hanging in your local hospital.

I submitted the above postcard this year, an ink drawing of my rapidly ageing hand! Thankfully it has sold and is now in a new home. Anyone can donate a postcard sized piece of art and each one sells for £30. So start planning your piece for next year.

If you missed the exhibition there is some amazing artwork available and from tonight the sale of these will move online, there is a link below so you can have a look through.

And if you can buy an original piece, all proceeds go to the charity and you will give the artist a real boost too when they find out their postcard has sold. These are the two cards I bought, the giraffe (drawn by @healthartist) just makes me smile and I love the colour of the stoplight (drawn by @debbieshirley1), and that is is obviously in America.

See and buy a postcard from the Art In Healthcare website here.

Twitter Art Exhibit website.

Draw inspiration from your inner tiger for this art challenge from the Tailor Ed Foundation

Tailor Ed TigerGet creative and draw a tiger for this Edinburgh charity.

The Tailor Ed Foundation is a charity set up to teach daily living skills to children with autism, they have been helping families in Edinburgh since 2008.

Thanks to funding from the Big Lottery their services are available to families for free, but they are raising awareness through an art challenge that anyone can take part in. It is also a perfect creative activity for the October holidays, so get nivolved!

My tiger is drawn in black ink and watercolour but any medium is allowed, paint, crayon, pencil, felttips, collage. Tigers should be A4 or less in size and make them as bright and colourful as you want. Once completed take a photo of your work and email in to Tailor Ed. For full instructions and where to send your creative cats visit their website by clicking HERE.

The charity (SC039246) has a number of events happening which you can take part in or help to spread the word about, take a look at their website below for more information.

Tailor Ed Foundation website

Tailor Ed Tiger Art Challenge

Carols for Christmas at Edinburgh’s St Cuthberts Church

carolsforchristmasLast night St Cuthbert’s Church hosted the annual Carols For Christmas concert in aid of The Sick Kids Friends Foundation.

It was a wonderful night of choir singing, inspirational readings, and the stirring sounds of the Dalkeith & Mortonhall Brass Band who played a number of festive tunes.

Edinburgh Academy Chamber Choir sang throughout, guiding the audience through many classic Christmas hymns, but the cutest site was provided by the Choir of George Heriot’s Primary One class, who sang Child in a Manger Born beautifully.

The annual Carols For Christmas concert is a wonderful way to kick start the festive period and personally I love a good sing song at this time of year!

As many of you will know I am a very keen supporter of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation and know first hand the wonderful work that they do supporting the Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children and all those who go through that building at some point in their lives.

So I was honoured to be asked to draw the cover illustration for this years programme, which as you can see is a pen sketch of the front of St Cuthbert’s Church, which sits behind Princes Street and Lothian Road.

For more about the work SKFF do and how you can donate or get involved see the link below.

Sick Kids Friends Foundation website

St Cuthberts Church website

st-cuthberts_both

 

 

A family trip to Ireland and the European Haemophilia Consortium Inhibitor Summit 2016

ehc-conference-2016-peersMy son has a rare condition called Haemophilia and at the weekend we were invited to the European Haemopilia Consortium Inhibitor summit, this year located just outside Dublin in the Republic of Ireland.

The condition is quite rare and those with inhibitors make up an extremely small group so it was great to meet similar families from countries around Europe. We discussed treatments, new and old and exchanged tips for dealing with the condition in our families.

barretstown_castle

The summit was located at Barretstown, a children’s camp which offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with serious illnesses – supported behind the scenes by 24 hour on site medical and nursing care.

Barretstown is supported by donations and the fundraising efforts of corporate supporters, individuals and community groups. All of the children and families come to Barretstown free of charge. Everything, including accommodation, food and medical assistance are provided at no cost to the family.

It is a wonderful place with a wide range of activities to give children with serious illnesses a fantastic holiday, and their families a welcome respite. Read more about Barretstown below and if you can make a donation, they are changing lives for the better daily.

ehc-conference-2016-profBarretstown is a proud member of the SeriousFun Children’s Network, a growing global community of independently managed and financed camps and programs, founded by Paul Newman.

The European Haemophilia Consortium website

Barretstown website

Donate to Barretstown Childrens Charity

Haemophilia Scotland

Volunteers with a passion for fashion needed in Stockbridge

CHSS_fashionWith Edinburgh Fashion Week just around the corner the city is a buzz with fashionistas discussing the latests trends and creations.

If you have a ‘passion for fashion’ then this charity shop in Stockbridge is looking for some help. I spotted this sign outside the Chest Heart & Stroke charity shop on Raeburn Place, Stockbridge and thought it was perfectly timed.

 

Edinburgh Fashion Week runs from March 5th – 13th, highlighting the city’s fashion scene and unique, chic boutiques through numerous events. For more information see the links below, and if you can help out at the CHSS shop pop in and say hello.

 

Sketch in fine liner with watercolour wash.

 

 

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland website

#EdFashion Week on Instagram

 

 

Edinburgh International Fashion Festival website

 

6 Charity Christmas cards of Edinburgh

ChristmasCards13web6 Edinburgh charity Christmas cards for £5 + pnp from my shop page, or collect in person for no postage. £1 from each pack sold goes to Edinburgh’s Hospital for Sick Children.

Email me HERE to order for collection, or click the link below to order from the ES shop.

https://edinburghsketcher.com/products-page/cards/christmas-cards-pack-of-6-designs/

Christmas cards in the press

2nd December  This week the EdinburghSketcher charity Christmas cards will be advertised daily in the Edinburgh Evening News. Let’s hope this will give a boost to the sales and in turn to the money raised for Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

 

Each pack contains six designs, and raises one pound for The Sick Kids Friends Foundation, a wonderful cause which works incredibly hard to improve the lives of sick children and their families.

 

You can buy the cards direct from this website (HERE) for £4.50 +pnp or in the following outlets around Edinburgh for £5.00.

Concrete Wardrobe, 50A Broughton Street – website
Hula Juice Bar, 103-105 West Bow – website
The Haven Cafe, 9 Anchorfield, Newhaven – website
Foodies at Holyrood, 67 Holyrood Road – website
Cafe Montague, 12 Montagu Terrace – website
The Marshmallow Lady, 14 Rodney Street – website
Loulabelles Beauty Salon, 60 Rodney Street – website
The Scotsman Newspaper main reception, 108 Holyrood Road – website