River (InkWells Illustration)
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inkwells.bsky.social
River (InkWells Illustration)
@inkwells.bsky.social
440 followers 66 following 55 posts
Multidisciplinary artist & woodland creature

they/them

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

https://linktr.ee/inkwellsillu
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inkwells.bsky.social
It's sketching/ideation/playing with mediums time! While most of my "final" work ends up being in gouache or wax pastels, when I'm in my sketchbook I'm always reaching for ink.

#sketchbook #magpie #birdart #eurasianmagpie #birder #wildlifeart #wip #progressnotperfection
Photo of part of a sketchbook page. On the page are watercolour blobs in bright colours, each with a simple ink magpie drawing overlaid. This is a close up of the sneaky magpie, sort of crouched and stretching their beak forward as though to reach something. Low angle photo of the same page showing the TV in the background. A Twitch stream by ipaintbirbs is playing. A progress shot of the same sketchbook page. The ink and glass dip pen are shown at the sides of the shot. A completed magpie sketch is standing and looking over their shoulder with bill open. A magpie perching is in progress. A close up of a yellow watercolour patch with an inked magpie on it. The magpie is standing with their tail part raised.
September 26, 2025 at 8:37 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Trust the process 🙏🏻😅

Some sketchbook practice ponies in progress!

#gouache #horseart #horsesinart #equineportrait
Sketchbook page with two unfinished portrait paintings of a black horse. The magenta underpainting shows though and there are accidental blobs of magenta over the top of one.
March 31, 2025 at 11:19 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Stuck in the middle step -> finished! 💛✨

Sketchbook studies in gouache and wax pastel (Neocolor II).

#horse #horseart #horsesinart #equineart #equestrianart #equineportrait #warmblood #thoroughbred #sellefrancais #sketchbook
Photo of a sketchbook laid open on a desk, showing a page of paintings. The two painting studies are of horses' heads/faces in somewhat abstract colour palettes, with yellow circles behind them. The paintings are unfinished, with just main paint colours blocked in. The same sketchbook page, with the paintings finished with pastel details. The horses are stylised with back outline and semi realistic textural detail.
March 26, 2025 at 5:48 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
✨🥳 Prints have arrived! 🥳✨

inkwellsillustration.etsy.com/listing/1877...

#birdart #comicprint #magpieart #birdcomic #magpie
A print of the comic "Prototypes" being held up in front of a bare-branched tree with a magpie nest in it. Close-up photo of the first comic panel. Close-up of one of the ink drawing panels. Close-up of a painted panel, a magpie carrying a stick.
March 25, 2025 at 12:12 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Willow ptarmigans 🥰 I'll admit I'm in a slight art slump right now and these are from a couple of weeks ago 😤 Anyone for ptarmigan stickers? Or is that a bit too obscure? 🤔

#birds #ptarmigan #willowptarmigan #birdart #wildlifeart #birdstickers
A page of small paintings of willow ptarmigans on grey paper. They are slightly stylised, and are surrounded by star and sparkle motifs. There is a side-on portrait of a male ptarmigan, a male ptarmigan running in snow, and two full body paintings of females. Close up of one of the female ptarmigans, showing more of the detail and texture of the wax pastel used for the plumage. Close up of the top part of the page: the male ptarmigan portrait against a pale blue halo, and a fluffed up female surrounded by yellow sparkles. Flatlay photo of the page on a desk, against a cork desk mat. It is next to another page of paintings, the tin of wax pastels, and a plate being used as a paint palette.
February 17, 2025 at 1:21 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
Went to Peak Wildlife Park last week and saw lowland tapirs and all sorts of other critters 💛 I took a sketchbook but it was just too cold to get it out and draw, so I looked at some refs when we got home 🥰

#sketchbook #wildlifeart #natureart #gouachepainting #peakwildlifepark
Painting of a baby lowland tapir lying down. It is slightly stylised with linework in a deep purple-brown and a single broad brush stroke in pale blue painted around its front end in a circle. Close up of sketchbook pages showing a tapir on a front-on three-quarter angle walking, and an unfinished side view of a walking tapir. The front-on tapir is a pencil sketch with black linework over the top and a painted blue circle behind. The unfinished tapir has a watercolour like base coat. Sketchbook page including the baby tapir painting and other partial pencil sketches of tapirs, including one standing and one chewing while lying down.
January 28, 2025 at 1:43 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
The lovebirds are done! 🦜💕✨

#birds #lovebird #parrot #birdart #traditionalart
January 24, 2025 at 12:32 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
First coat down on some bird WIPs - fancy crayon layers next! 😌 lovebirds come in such lovely colours 💛

#lovebirds #birdart #birds #illustration
January 20, 2025 at 9:47 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
Not much art done this last week but we did a lot of ikea furniture erecting/DIY to get Percyphone into her new house, so that she can watch when I eventually do do art 🥲 (if she can see anything after staring directly into the sun/her UV lamp)
Blurry photo of Percy the cornsnake waggling her tongue at her new UV lamp. Percy looking directly up and into her new UV lamp. Percy, a grey cornsnake, looking serene resting on a cork bark hide. Percy on her cork bark hide, doing a big tongue flick at her surroundings.
January 16, 2025 at 12:12 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
There's a "spooky" set of corvids and a barn owl against black backgrounds, get em here:

inkwellsillustration.etsy.com/listing/1806...

#corvids #birdart #stickers #magpie #raven #barnowl
Bird sticker held up with foliage in the background. It depicts a raven's portrait as the caw, against a yellow halo with lilac star and dash motifs. Bird sticker held up with foliage in the background. It depicts a semi-realistic portrait of a barn owl against a black background. Bird sticker held up with foliage in the background. It is a Eurasian magpie mid-strut against a yellow halo background. The portrait is semi-stylised with a U-shaped eye and little dash motifs to indicate highlights in the feathers.
January 9, 2025 at 1:32 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Some of the stickers in question:
Three stickers held up in front of a houseplant. The stickers are bird portraits with colourful backgrounds and star and sparkle motifs. There is a robin singing with a pale aqua background, a Eurasian magpie with yellow background, and common kingfisher with a magenta background.
January 9, 2025 at 1:21 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Experimental mixed media comic, which - ironically - I had many crises of confidence over 🙃

"Prototypes"
Gouache, Neocolor 2 (wax pastel), and ink.

#birds #birdart #magpie #eurasianmagpie #comic #illustration #wildlifeart
A six-panel comic in mixed media. It depicts a magpie in close up, then carrying sticks, and finally, building a nest with them. The text reads, "The only way to find out if an idea will work is to start making prototypes."
January 9, 2025 at 2:01 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
Trust the process trust the process trust the process trust the process 😅😂😭🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

#wip #trusttheprocess #theonlywayforwardisthrough #birdart I guess? #comic sort of?
Photo of a comic page in progress. The main element is a roughly bird-shaped close up that is mostly a brown blob with an eye and a bit of a beak. Some ink line art drawings are visible at the edges on the frame and text in the bird blob frame reads "the only way".
January 5, 2025 at 8:26 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Now that everyone's probably hopefully received their cards, here's my little lino design from this year (first time linoprinting is AGES and it was really fun actually) 😌😌😌

#linoprint #magpie #birds #birdart #reliefprint
A square cream coloured card held up in front of a Christmas tree with red decorations. The card has a linoprint design in black. It is a scribbly magpie with wings and tail outstretched as though landing, and holding a holly sprig in its bill. Text reads "wishing you a happy solstice."
January 1, 2025 at 5:59 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
This albatross is a lesbian 😌🤠

Gouache and Neocolor 2, A5.

#birds #natureisqueer #queernature
A semi realistic portrait of an albatross on grey paper, with a lilac/lavender circle behind their head. The same purple is included in the shadows on the plumage. The background also includes motifs of pink and white stars and dashes.
December 23, 2024 at 6:26 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Sometimes I forget about the original art behind the stickers! Here's my barn owl portrait - I was really enjoying Neocolor 2s in my black paper sketchbook :)

#barnowl #birdart #wildlifeart
A wax pastel illustration of a barn owl on black paper. It is a portrait, showing just the head and shoulders, and the owl is on a three quarter angle looking to the right of the page.
December 19, 2024 at 10:45 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
Magpies (or maggies as they are known in this household) are one of my absolute faves 🥰 I'm always admiring and often trying to capture that iridescence and cheeky personality!
Stylised illustration of a Eurasian magpie on black paper in gouache and wax pastel. The magpie is against a yellow circle and is mid-strut with one leg stepping.
December 19, 2024 at 10:33 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
Close-ups! 🐈‍⬛✨
Panel 1 (description in alt text for full comic). Panel 2 Panel 3 Panel 4
December 15, 2024 at 2:12 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
From back in October, a comic inspired by the #streamink2024 prompt "Familiar" 🐈‍⬛✨

#cat #comic #familiar
A four panel comic in a moderately stylised style using black ink and ink washes. Panel 1: a tabby cat with a dark body and white chest, sitting looking up towards the viewer. Text in a box says "Snitch". Panel 2: the same cat drawn from above, lying partially curled up on her side and looking up towards the viewer. She is on a furry/fleecy textured pet bed. Text reads in one box, "- ignore the reference". In the next box it says, "we've since changed our naming conventions -". Panel 3: the cat sleeping lengthways down a pair of legs, while lying on a sofa, from the point of view of the owner of the legs. Text reads, "always knew". Panel 4: a person holding the cat to their chest, with the cat almost hugging them back with a paw on either shoulder. Their eyes are closed and the person has a tear on their cheek. Text reads, "when she was needed."
December 15, 2024 at 2:04 AM
inkwells.bsky.social
If you'd like birb stickers or any other bits from my Etsy shop as xmas pressies, get your orders in! If you're in the UK, Tuesday 17th is the last day you can order to get them posted by Royal Mail's last posting date!

inkwellsillustration.etsy.com

#birbart #birdwatching #sheffieldartists
A sketchbook page including an illustration of a chinstrap penguin. It is painted in gouache and wax pastel with colourful stars, dashes, and sparkles around it. The colour palette includes navy blue, light turquoise, peach, and yellow.
December 14, 2024 at 7:23 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Some close-ups from previous untitled nature comic page :)

#comic #inkdrawing #wildlifeart
Square comic panel drawn in black ink with diluted ink washes for tone. It is a landscape with a moor or grassland in the foreground with a drystone wall going into the distance. Beyond this are various hills in different wash shades. A panel from the same comic. It depicts a branch with only rosehips on it against a plain grey ink wash background. Another comic panel. A portrait rectangle with a few clovers and a daisy near the bottom, in the foreground, and grass texture indicated with ink and washes going into the background. A zoomed out version of the daisy panel, with clover and the daisy at the bottom, and a horse's muzzle, grazing, and forefoot now appearing in the background.
December 14, 2024 at 7:17 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Hoping to continue with this one, I really enjoyed working on the first page even though landscapes are scary!

#comic #illustration #inkdrawing
A one page comic in black ink with ink wash shading. Panel 1: a close up of a daisy and a few clovers among grass. Panel 2: rosehips on an otherwise bare branch against a plain grey background. Panel 3: hilly landscape with a drystone wall going into the background. Panel 4: larger landscape taking up most of the page. Panel 5: slightly more zoomed out image from the first panel, with the daisy and clovers in the foreground. A horse's muzzle grazing and it's front foot are visible in the background. The smaller panels are inset on panel 4, a near full page landscape illustration of a hilly moor or grassland with a vague path leading through it.
December 12, 2024 at 3:03 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
all coloured in (ink washes) and canvad up for socials 😎

#comic #illustrator #sheffieldartist
A comic panel in the centre of a digital pink to yellow gradient background. The panel reads "since her return from her stay on the moon". The image depicts the moon (as a crescent with dark part of the circle also visible) and a woman with long hair walking along the top of it. The background is a dark almost black wash with some stars in it. A comic panel in the same format. A hand touches the flower of a snowdrop growing from a grassy area with a couple of snowdrops in the background. Text reads "she listens like spring". Same format. Comic panel depicts a woman's portrait. She has long curly hair and a fringe in a stylised way. She is looking down or has her eyes closed, and her lips parted, and the background has rays of light projecting out from her. Text reads "she talks like June". Full page in landscape of the whole comic. Each panel is in portrait orientation and the three panels are arranged side by side on the page.
December 11, 2024 at 1:58 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
Stonechat: gouache on 10x10cm linen canvas panel (tiny! available to a new home 🥰🧡💙)

For the festive period (until 6th Jan) I've got 25% off all sales over £25, which includes originals like this one!
A semi-realistic gouache painting of a male stonechat perched on a fencepost. His body faces to the right but he is looking over to the left, and there is a hint of golden hour lighting on his head, breast, and in his eye. The background is a varied pale turquoise blue.
December 8, 2024 at 2:59 PM
inkwells.bsky.social
25% discount on orders over £25!

That includes everything in my shop: original paintings, lino prints, stickers, and rugby prints.

UK based but can ship worldwide. ✨SHOULD✨ make it in time for Christmas, but as we know, anything can happen.

inkwellsillustration.etsy.com

#shoplocal #sheffieldart
Close up of a gouache painting on linen canvas panel. Painting is of a goldcrest, painted in a realistic style, with the natural linen colour and texture showing in the background.
December 7, 2024 at 2:37 PM