Instagram story viewer> @merlinda_makes> Posts

Merlinda (Glimmer of Hope)

@merlinda_makes

2.8K

followers

2695

following

A Mum who used to blog at Glimmer of Hope Blog, I love bread, to take photos, join competitions and draw. Perimenopause here i come 😅

POSTS STORIES REELS

I have this thing connected to my body to record my heart palpitations for 2 days and for 2 days my heart is SO stable. Few minutes after removing it... my heart suddenly feels like it want to jump off my body 🤣

#perimenopause #book #exitparty #handpainting #watercolor by @merlinda_makes

I've been quiet lately. We've been busy with GCSE and illnesses and house quirks that needs addressing (massive boiler leak being one of them 😱)

But I'm creating while all of these things are going on. I started with the 100 heads challenge and I haven't counted how many I actually drew 😅

My sketchbook is @etchr_lab which i said ill use for goauche but ended up using for watercolor. Its 2/3 done! Watercolor is @schmincke_official and some random brushes i have which include a lush @davinci_artistbrushes_official and almost all of my references are from @pinterestuk

I'm doing these poses that scares me before. I have this safe side pose that I always do and I am so scared to do anything else because I'm not good at it. But since I'm learning portraits now... I'm trying to do those poses that I wouldn't usually go for. I definitely need more time and more learning but I have improved so much if I may say so myself. I was going to add music but I just love the actual sound of this video. The crisp paper sound is 🤌

#findyourfizz #portraitpainting #portrait #watercolors #sketchbooktour by @merlinda_makes

Finally finished my @stillmanandbirn delta sketchbook! Photos 2-3 are my fave in it. I need to darken the hair of the guy in photo 2 but I was drawing late at night / early in the morning and I got so sleepy and I left the color lighter 🤭 and photo 3 actually looks like my son who is my model here 😱 i am improving in this portrait drawing malarkey! Also I can draw ears!!!!

And last photo is a new sketchbook from @etchr_lab and their collab with my fave artist @emhuesart .. that needs stickers which i have a lot of. I will try to do 100 faces thingy on this sketchbook so wish me luck that I'll have the prowess to draw that much faces 🤞

#sketchbook #portrait #watercolors #stickers #bringbackpaper by @merlinda_makes

Its chaotic at the moment in the house with my son doing GCSE and me studying.

But there's always pockets of time for drawing!

Firstly thanks to @jacksons_art and #mijellomissiongold for choosing me as one of the winners on their competition. I love the prizes! The bag is amazing and I just look at it all day because its so pretty. And I haven't opened the watercolor yet because I want to savour the newness of it. Thanks very much.

I'm learning portraits. I have few successful drawings and a lot of bad ones 🤣 I'm doing #loomis method. Started to sort of get it but not yet totally got it.

So were still alive. Half term is here now so my son and I will use it as a time to breath and recalibrate our heads. And of course for me to finally open the new watercolor paints and try using it for the first time. Excited much.

#watercolor #portrait by @merlinda_makes

Hello Instagram. Its been awhile.

I just finished parts of my course and I'm on my easter break! Yay!

I have been creating in the background and thoroughly enjoying my new paint, @kuretakejapan gansai tambi granulating color. Its so lovely to use. Im using it as a galaxy background thingy. I'm also using a massive sketchbook. As I age, my eyes are steadily deteriorating, sadly 😢 so I need a bigger sketchbook to see better. This one is A3 and opens to a massive A2! Its from @moleskine I think its the Art Watercolor collection. Its 200gsm so it can take a lot of water.

Again I'm thankful that my son is posing for me even if he's busy studying for his GCSE so I appreciate him taking a break to willingly pose for my drawings 🥰

#watercolor #watercolorpainting #artofinstagram #angel #painting by @merlinda_makes

Can I just vent out a bit before talking about this painting of mine. My son and I had just gone out for a walk. When we reach the Marine Lake area I noticed a girl filming us. I followed her and she is gone. I feel so violated being filmed without my consent and my son is still a child. A wee bit taller than me but still a child. Filming people without their consent is illegal right? I don't know why she decided on filming us. My son is fair and my skin is brown that must be something that interest her? In the end, i saw her phone hanging from her pocket filming us. It feels so unsafe outside now 😢

Anyways, I drew this pose (from before) and was thinking of the character as something celestial and will do the background as a galaxy of some sort. Using the second photo as reference. I did took a creative writing class and i think this planning is worldbuilding which is cool that i can apply what i learned in creative writing class in my watercolor works. I was so excited to share this work but now I feel so deplated. But I hope you guys like it.

#watercolorpainting #rant #angel #worldbuilding
#watercolor by @merlinda_makes

This is my first ish reel. I'm just playing around so this is not a good level. Please be kind haha.

I just finished a sketchbook!

Its a @stillmanandbirn Delta. So good. So I'm starting a new one of the same specs again 🥰

#stillmanandbirn #stillmanandbirndelta #sketchbook #art #watercolors by @merlinda_makes

A new pose. A far cry from the usual hands. But still have hands haha.

And since I have paper wings readily available, I play and add (one of) the said wings on every painting I finished 😳

I still can't draw faces but this painting seems to have a face isn't it? Its a shadow play, me thinks. I am out of poses to draw at the moment and my son seems to not be in the mood to pose, so I wait.

I probably do this on a bigger paper and really add the wings on that planned painting. Endless possibilities 🥰

#art #watercolorpainting #wings #lifedrawing
#stillmanandbirn by @merlinda_makes

My son is so generous as he is doing poses for me to paint/draw. Almost all of the hand, arm poses in my current sketchbook is him. I'm venturing out into doing whole body lately and drew one of him and I thought 'hey he looks like his levitating here!' And it gave me an idea to add wings to that pose.

So I added wings to that pose! Created a paper doll of that pose and added the wings 😅

I'm planning on actually drawing it but a little arts and crafts is nice way to try poses as well.

So there you go Number 1985 weird things that you will find in my house ➡️ a paper doll with wings 🤣

#paperdoll #angel #angelwings #watercolorpainting #lifedrawing by @merlinda_makes

What I'm reading? Old and New books.

Portrait Drawing by @joanna.henlyartist
Butter by @yuzukiasako
How To Draw by @jakespicerart
&
Sketchbook Joy by @katie_moody

Its a mix bag of fiction and non-fiction because I'm learning to draw faces. So I dug up old (and old-ish) art books that looks like new because I haven't read them yet 🤭

And I heard so much amazing reviews about Butter so I'm reading it now. Promising start!

#fmspad #fms_whatimreading #bringbackpaper #books #artbooks by @merlinda_makes

There was a time when my hands are flexible as you can see from a reference photo in the first post. That's me and my hand. Now my hands (and every part of my body) make sounds like its asking for wd40 🤭

I managed to unearthed an old drawing (photo 4) and im so happy to see that I'm improving in drawing. I always feel so stuck and not progressing but I am, albeit slow.

I guess this is my sign to not stop because I aim for progress not perfection.

Advance happy valentines day 🥰

#loverosemarybrushes26 #watercolors #handspainting #heart #valentinesday by @merlinda_makes