Tag Archives: schools

Daily Sketch

Puffin Colourin’

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PuffinColouring_photoThis year to kick off Puffin Festival 2016 the Scottish Seabird Centre is running a Schools Colouring Competition.

The Scottish Seabird Centre asked me to create a puffin illustration to be coloured in, which you can see above. I will also be judging the competition which has an amazing prize for the winning pupil. He/She will officially open Puffin Fest on Friday 20 May at 13:30. The winner will also receive free tickets for Puffin Fest and a trip on board the Puffin Express.

 

I’m looking forward to attending the 10 day festival in North Berwick which runs from 20th to 30th May, and running two sketching workshops in which you can learn some speed sketching skills in the beautiful harbour town. Book your ticket HERE. See the full programme of puffin-tastic events on during the ten days HERE.

 

So mention the competition to your school, and get colouring in – you can download the drawing and find out more details about the Scottish Seabird Centre’s Puffin Fest colouring competition HERE.

 

 

The Scottish Seabird Centre website

 

Daily Sketch

Fringe Schools Poster Exhibition Launch & Prize-giving Event

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MuseumofChildhood_exteriorThe Schools Poster Competition winner is announced today at the Museum of Childhood on the Royal Mile.

I will be there as guest artist to say a few words and help congratulate the winner, who as well as having their design seen across the city throughout the summer, will also receive a cash prize of £300, plus £750 for their schools art department. I can’t wait to see the designs, it is always a favourite part of my fringe, children’s art can be so pure and free. Very inspirational to a sketcher!

 

The competition is open to all school children, aged 5-16, across Scotland, with each child getting the same brief: to create a poster design reflecting their interpretation of the Fringe. The winning design becomes the official poster for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is also used on a range of merchandise such as mugs, bags and t-shirts.

 

“I feel very honoured to be invited. Children’s art can be so pure and free”

 

The top three prize-winners, as well as all of the 14 Regional Winners and over 60 shortlisted entries, will be displayed in a special exhibition at the Museum of Childhood on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile throughout the summer and for the duration of the Festival Fringe, so get along to see the amazing designs from the very talented Scottish school children.

 

Below is one of my favourite designs from past winners, by Jennifer Worrall. Click on the EdFringe website link below to see more past winners from the competition, which has been running since 1980.

 

schoolsposter2003

 

Edfringe website

Museum of Childhood website

 

Daily Sketch

Look out for the Giants…

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GiantswebTake a look in the trees around the Scottish Parliament just now and you might think you are seeing things. Giant faces constructed out of wicker, tree branches and plants are likely to be looking down at you.

 

Part of the Year of Natural Scotland 2013, The City of Edinburgh Council and Historic Scotland have come together to bring these unique pieces of nature into Edinburgh, where they will hang, growing and changing with the seasons.

This afternoon I was there to sketch as the 6ft sculptures were raised into the trees just by the Park Ranger’s Cottage outside the Parliament.

Created by independent arts company Vision Mechanics, the giants in Holyrood Park are just part of the project, there are more in Yellowcraigs Forest  Falkland Palace and elsewhere in Scotland.

Vision Mechanics didn’t do it all themselves, children were there from local schools Abbeyhill and Royal Mile to add the finishing touches and most importantly; name the giants. This one I sketched is called ‘TreeRex’.

 

The heads will change as the seasons do as they have living and flowering plants amongst the branches so make sure you head down to the bottom of the Royal Mile, just past the Scottish Parliament and look up, or you’ll miss them.

 

For more information visit the Giants in the Forest website HERE.