Best of 2016 and A Look Foward to 2017

This year has been a whirlwind. Lots of travel and tons of studio work. I have left many things undone that I wish I had accomplished this year but I will move them onto the 2017 agenda. I wanted to highlight some new favourites for me that became a big part of me this year. I spent a year drawing in coloured pencil with Wendy Hollender and her year of Botanical Drawing that she launched online. It was by far my best experience with online claasses. There were monthly deadlines to complete projects as well as critiques that happened in the online community. These two elements combined perfectly for me and kept me accountable to the deadlines. She also had a live monthly meeting where we could all connect online and ask real time questions and get answers. It was an amazing experience and one I am so glad that I had. My drawing skills are still novice but I learned much more about Botanical Illustration. I highly recommend her book Botanical Drawing in Color

. She is relaunching the same lessons in 2017 but they will be delivered in a different manner. More of a work at your own pace kind of class. I would highly recommend her teaching to anyone who gets the chance to study with her. As a result of my studying with her I have elevated Faber Castell Polychromos in my studio.

They are now my favourite coloured pencil to use. I am thrilled with their colour range, their vibrancy and their ability to blend with watercolour. They are an oil based coloured pencil and work far better for me than waxed based coloured pencils. I highly recommend them as an addition to your studio supplies. Another new addition to my studio supplies is the Rosemary and Co. Micro Detailer Brush.

This miniature synthetic brush has taken my painting technique to a new level. I can accomplish much finer detail on paintings as well as painted pens. Rosemary and Co. has become a beloved supplier for me! If you do place an order with them, be sure to request a catalogue as well as their newsletter. Both are wonderful. This year I worked exclusively with Miniatum Ink Gilding medium and Jerry Tresser's 23K gold leaf.

The combination of the two products gives a brilliant gilding result with very little effort. I highly recommend both products! As 2016 comes to a close, I am thankful for lessons that I learned and opportunities that I had for study. I will be launching new private online study opportunities in Offhand Flourishing and Italian Hand through Skype and Facetime in 2017. I will keep you posted. They will be on a very limited basis at first as I try to integrate them into my routine, but I am excited about the possibilites. Please email me privately if you are interested at heather@heathervictoriaheld.com. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. I am looking forward to 2017!

Christmas Snowflake Flourish Video

One of my favourite holiday tasks is filming a little Christmas flourish

. I was assisted once again by Oscar who loves to be on my table while I am working. He is pretty good about not messing up the work! Hope the little flourish is enjoyed! You can view it on my youtube channel by following the link.