Since the move commenced I have found it difficult to cultivate the creative energy to create. So much of my energy has gone into snipping the small threads that make up our lives in England and rethreading them in America, all while ensuring the whole piece didn't unravel. My mind felt a bit numb and I took my time with extra self-care, extra family time, and careful planning.

​All of that changed last week. While my supplies has been gently waiting to be used, I rode the creative wave found last week and out came a colorful piece depicting oranges on their tree. The process was fluid and organic, pure emotion pouring onto canvas through guache.

While the piece is not completed (is any piece ever really done?) I wanted to share. Still need to add some darker blue hues and some very light highlights. Maybe it's just what you needed to get your creative energy flowing again, too.

It's official – we have moved. Our belongings are currently crossing an ocean. In 2015 we moved away from the Washington, DC area as two and are now returning back as a family of four. The landscape of fresh, green trees and concrete-and-glass cities make us feel at home already.

While my supplies is being shipped, I'll be sharing new finds on Pinterest. I'm making plans to re-engage the studio and my art practice now that this major hurdle of internationally moving has been cleared. Part of this will be reintroducing Instagram. My previous account featuring art was a personal account and has been made so again, so a new fresh account will be in the making.

Feels good to be back on track, friends.

When my eldest was younger, she forged a relationship with our dog. Watching this friendship unfold was so special. I started sketching what it might evolve into in a few years. These are now factually true sketches which once were a daydream. Drew in quick sketches at first but the two-tone watercolor was needed to add the binary relationship of excitement and warmth (yellow) with the comfort and calm (blue). These five are a sampling of a collection.

Scottish countryside view from the train.

Always enjoy making the PTG event posters!

Created a fun fair poster for our schools PTG team to promote an end-of-the-year fun day. Using a free download for the tents, I cleaned up the illustrations and changed the palette, added the bunting and laid atop the background. Vibrant colors called attention and the turn-out was wonderful. A fun day indeed!

All art is ©Ashley Stuart and may not be used without explicit permission.

I've been so inspired by the Coloricombo prompts by Esté Macleod that I've lost count what week or piece it is. So I think from here on out I'll just post with the title of the piece. I took a video of the process for this piece and made it into a Reel on Instagram [ watch process ].

Hello friends. Pinterest has been a wonderful place for me to find various technique how-to's for painting, or inspirational images, or home ideas and products. But recently I've been adding more of my own work to Pinterest. I'm excited to share my inspiration boards with you all as I've been collecting and pinning for a long time now, but not shared these boards. I'm also excited to show the gallery-style boards of my work. Why not go take a peek of the process?

The process for this piece was frustrating. I'm not drawn to reds and pinks at all so the concept was lacking at first. My initial sketch was a go-to painting of vines, leaves, and circle flowers creating a nice pattern. But it just wasn't what was needed. So I took my extra paint, as recommended by another #coloricombo artist, and painted roughly overtop the initial concept. I then painted three flowers, but knew it needed more. I enjoyed the collage creation from week 8 so much that I decided to try again. I really love the depth of process this gives my pieces and I really just let my brain flow through my hands without overthinking.

I have had Ukraine on my mind since the start of the invasion. I'm inspired by the strength and pride of her people. The images of sunflowers and babies being born during the crisis has flooded my thoughts. This piece has those feelings brought in. New growth is starting and mirrors current events.

I have been wanting to try my hand at collage for a while now. Starting with watercolor washes, I didn't have a plan for the final piece. Organically assembling the pieces, two flowers growing from the same place began to appear. I've really enjoyed this and would love to explore more.