Jen
LightNews LightNews
banner
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Jen
@jenillustrates.bsky.social
370 followers 98 following 1.8K posts
Artist. Wafts pencils across paper, dabbles at watercolouring-in, refuses to get the scary bush pen out & somewhat distracted by crochet

Hoping to get back to drawing soon…

No AI/NFTs

Ko-fi.com/jenillustrates
Posts Replies Media Videos
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Less than 24hrs to bid on my Mari Lwyd!!

All proceeds from my two are going to Refuge.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15748996...

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15748998...
My two stylised Mari Lwyd illustrations - on the left is a simple fineliner drawing featuring lots of stylised foliage, a hare, fungi & a snail (yes, there really is a snail there); on the right is a fineliner & watercolour illustration with a Celtic themed moon (because I can) behind the head of a Mari wearing a blue shroud that almost matches the colour of her eyes, there’s a purple background to go with it
December 7, 2025 at 1:08 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Love Art Deco? Love Mari Lwyd? Then look no further as this is the artwork for you!

@lri.bsky.social gorgeous Mari is looking for a new home!

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15749003...
Screenshot of a fabulously stylised art deco Mari Lwyd multi media illustration by Luke Ridge being advertised on eBay
December 1, 2025 at 9:45 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Aaaaand the links are live! Yay! Well, so long as I’ve copied & pasted properly…

Both of mine are raising funds for Refuge & I’m glad that they’ll be finding new homes!

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15748996...

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15748998...
My Mari Lwyd illustrations - left is a line drawing with stylised nature as part of the cloak, no colour; the right is watercolour & fineliner with a Celtic style knot as a moon because why not! She’s also wearing a blue cloak/shroud & there’s a purple background
December 1, 2025 at 4:55 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
My two pieces will be available at 12.30 & 12.35pm - I’m looking forward to seeing them find a new home & raising money for charity! They’d make a nice little gift for someone (& won’t take up much wall space).
Two Mari Lwyd illustrations. On the left is a stylised version with fungi, seedheads, a hare & hidden insects completed with a fineliner pen - on the right is a fineliner & watercolour illustration where the Mari Lwyd is wearing a blue cowl, the background is purple & there’s a Celtic stylised moon thingy
November 30, 2025 at 8:41 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
It is & he was! He was quite happy to say good morning & have his pic taken.

Cattle are fab & are usually happier to have their photos taken in comparison to sheep (who tend to run off). Being the centre of attention to a herd of young bullocks is quite the experience (& they like how you taste)
A young friesian bullock showing off his side profile A brown & white speckled cow with the most amazingly wonky horns posing in the purple heather with an atmospheric foggy backdrop as only a cow can A different brown & white speckled cow with equally amazing horns that frame her face. She’s on the heath with face turned to camera, as though she’s asking if her bum looks big in her outfit (which, of course, it doesn’t)
November 30, 2025 at 4:12 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Lots to observe on the dog walk this morning
The dog living his best life racing off to truffle for some fresh rabbit poo. I know, he’s disgusting One for the texture lovers - a fallen oak tree that’s got a very thick coat of moss on one end, the bark has fallen off of most of it too. Behind is a very large oak tree with the most amazingly textured trunk & branches, covered in moss & dead ivy (I think) Some grasses & seed heads backlit by the early morning sun, framed by a cloudless blue sky A sparse hawthorn bush with a handful of very shiny red berries growing amongst the grasses. Also on one of the branches is a furry gall(?). It looks a bit like nature’s version of a pom-pom. Lit by the early morning sun, framed by a cloudless blue sky
November 30, 2025 at 11:56 AM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Early Sunday morning dog walk. There’s something special about the autumn/winter light
Badbury Rings bathing in the early morning sunshine & framed by a cloudless blue sky Frost on the low growing vegetation at the side of a field. The sun is just above the horizon hiding behind the tree line A young fluffy friesian bullock having a merry old time in an ancient woodland. His friends are in the background paying no attention the young poser Old man’s beard backlit by the early morning sun in a hedgerow. You may know it by another name but it’s the seedheads of a native hedgerow climber - a bit like clematis seedheads
November 30, 2025 at 11:56 AM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Still managing to find a bit of fungi on the dog walk. The dog was far too busy frolicking in the leaves to hang around for his pic to be taken
A lichen cover tree still wet from the torrential downpours from yesterday. Amongst the lichen & moss are some teeny weeny mushrooms that look like tiny umbrellas, scattered across the trunk The late afternoon watery sun is shining through what’s left of the leaves on the trees, mostly silver birch & various types of chestnuts & oak. A footpath leads the eye straight through the middle of the photo
November 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
When the budget won’t stretch to having an adorable frog in an outfit by @heknitt.bsky.social you go for an alternative & treat yourself to a notebook to write all your crochet patterns in instead. At least that’s what I did & I still get to support an indie artist 😊
An A5 notebook that has the most adorable cover featuring a knitted frog in a knitted dress & boots, holding a cup of coffee
November 22, 2025 at 2:22 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Today’s autumnal dog walk was full of mud & some weird little fungi friends
It’s almost like a fairytale setting for these fancy, yet wonky, red & white toadstools, protruding from a very green mossy stump surrounded by autumnal coloured leaves - it’s not fly agaric as there’s no speckly bits. You could almost imagine wee dragons & faeries hanging around, just out of sight Unsurprisingly I have absolutely no idea what this is but it is some kind of fungi. I’ve also absolutely no idea if it’s at the start or end of its cycle… it’s very white, very textured & a little bit covered in dirt
November 16, 2025 at 1:48 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
I’ve also made a something for a someone 🤫
A fluorescent pink crochet monster is wearing a pale pink crochet tutu, ballet shoes & a white crochet crown/tiara (because why not). The monster has small black beads for eyes & sticky out teeth with her smile. She looks very pleased with herself as she’s standing on her tippy-toes
November 16, 2025 at 11:42 AM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
And of course the masking tape takes refuses to leave the paper intact *le sigh*
The pumpkin & toadstool with mice stylised fineliner illo is finally completed with watercolours & Polychromos. Oh & a smidge of ye olde sparkly watercolours were used too The smaller stylised illos are also finished - on the left is the mouse sitting on a silver birch log which has sprouted yellow fungi, on the right is a mouse sitting atop a blue poppy seed head, another poppy seed head is there & a couple of nigella seedheads & some grass seedheads too. Why yes, I do like drawing seedheads & mice
November 16, 2025 at 11:37 AM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Early Sunday morning dog walks in the autumn are the best. Dog not pictured as he was having far too much fun to have his picture taken
View of trees wearing their autumn colours, bracken, a gate to an overgrown path & pylon cables bathed in the early morning sun, a soft golden glow if we’re going to get poetic about it. A red top fungi with a very clean white stalk sitting amongst the soft squishy moss at the base of a tree. Reading this you’d assume it’s a fly agaric but nope. It’s like someone squished it in the middle when it was little & now it’s grown up in a weird flowery shape. At first glance you’d be thinking it’s just a log floating in the murky water, what’s interesting about that you think but look closer. Now zoom in a bit more… there’s some very large fungi on both sides of the log. Autumn colours on the trees at the edge of the field & the cloud is getting greyer. The dog has already wandered off before I could get a pic of him frolicking through the long grass covered in dew
November 9, 2025 at 10:01 AM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
I stand corrected about the beetle. According to my dad it’s a Devil’s Coach Horse beetle & it’s bite can be a bit nasty
A devil’s coach horse beetle waving its arse around like a scorpion
November 3, 2025 at 6:46 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
A bonus day off today provided some interesting observations whilst on a blustery dog walk. Confused hawthorn, a fuzzy bumble bee doing a good job of clinging on to a flower & what I think is a juvenile stag beetle doing its best scary impression
A hawthorn bush with very few leaves left, lots of very ripe berries & weirdly, lots of blossom A fuzzy orange bumble collecting nectar from a bright purple flower in the long grass. I’m amazed it hadn’t been blown from its perch but it does look striking on the flower The beetle is nearly two inches long & is waving its tail in the air like giving everyone the impression it’s really, really scary. It’s not as wide or long as a stag beetle but I think it’s going to be one. And no I didn’t get that close to it, I used the zoom function.
November 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Had a bit of fun with Lino printing this week as the youngest niece wanted to give it a try so that she expand her portfolio she needed to submit to college. She did her thing whilst I went with mice & pumpkins. One day I’ll improve my inking technique
Two cards featuring a small mouse sitting atop a stack of three stylised pumpkins done as a lino print. The one of the left is Kraft card stock with the print done in black, the one on the right is on white card stock & the print is in cyan blue. I don’t use the fancy oil based inks which would give better coverage & I don’t have a fancy roller press either, so it’s just brute force with a nice little A5 press by luna press which is a thousand times better than burnishing with a spoon!
November 1, 2025 at 1:21 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Spotted an unexpected rabbit on a column yesterday
It’s one of those things where you see shapes in things & the brain tries to make sense - one of the sections of a column has some darker splodges, natural to the stone, which give the appearance of a rabbit
October 29, 2025 at 8:33 AM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Found some good dogs at Salisbury Cathedral & one dead rat in a box
Wooden relief carving of two hounds where the posh clergy sit A stone carving of a good dog being used as a foot rest for an effigy. The whole thing is covered in graffiti & the dog is looking worried Dead (mummified?) rat anyone? Apparently this rat was found in the skull of William Longspee when they opened his tomb at some point in the dim & distant past. By all accounts William was thought to have been poisoned after dying unexpectedly. Turns out the rat was full of arsenic… (that’s the gist of what’s written on the outside of the box containing the rat)
October 28, 2025 at 5:03 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
I’m not one for religion but I do love architecture with history
Arty farty shot of Salisbury cathedral framed by trees backlit by the morning sun Another arty farty shot of the cloisters part (I think that’s what it is, it’s like a covered walkway with lots of embossed ceiling arches & the like). The far end is lit up by the morning sun Oooh look another arty farty shot. From the far end of the cathedral looking back towards the entrance past all the chairs. The ceiling is reflected in the highly polished black glass that’s been put there to create a beautiful reflection of the ceiling, arches & columns. It’s gives the effect of a huge vaulted tunnel type thing, sort of, ish Last arty farty shot, this is of the ceiling where they keep the Magna Carta. Lots of stained glass in the eight arches & it’s very round. The morning sun is streaming in
October 28, 2025 at 3:03 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Was a bit of a grockle this morning at Salisbury Cathedral & couldn’t help but think of @skullsandsheets.bsky.social whilst I was there
I think this is a misericord - the tiniest of ledges one can perch a bottom on in a church. A Scottish themed kneeler with thistles & birds Not so much a kneeler as a big cushion that seems to be dedicated to St Francis that features flowers, a butterfly & rabbit
October 28, 2025 at 2:52 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
More fungi…
More fungi, still no idea what species, but the one growing out of the fallen trunk is almost suggestive of the classically anatomically incorrect drawing that teenage boys are fond of doodling into school textbooks
October 27, 2025 at 3:44 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Some autumnal gems on today’s lunchtime dog walk
Lots of fungi growing up a decaying tree trunk against a backdrop of green leaves & blue sky. Ivy is also growing up the trunk. I’ve no idea what the fungi are called Small pink cyclamen growing amongst the fallen autumn leaves & ivy More small pink cyclamen growing amongst the fallen autumn leaves & brambles A single red toadstool/mushroom with a white stem - might be fly agaric, who knows (not me) - nestled amongst the ivy & fallen autumn leaves
October 27, 2025 at 3:40 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
It does! It was too high up for me to get a decent pic but then I think the eye wouldn’t have been quite so obvious
Large branch of a tree that has been broken to reveal an ‘eye’ above a protrusion that gives the appearance of a snout. It almost looks like a creature, possibly a dragon, gazing skyward
October 26, 2025 at 6:17 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
Autumnal dog walks also provide an excellent opportunity for taking random reference pics… that last pic makes me think of @dragonsofwales.bsky.social dragons
A dandelion that’s not a dandelion but still looks like a dandelion. I forget what this plant is called but it’s even prettier than a traditional dandelion seed head Not sure if this is wild carrot but it’s still in flower - some of the flower heads are green seeds & the rest are dried seedheads, all on the same plant. Once the seeds have abandoned the plant, what’s left tends to look like a firework I’m not sure if this stem is hazel or something else but the leaves are dark green along the veins, surrounded by golden yellow which is also starting to go bright red. It’s almost like stained glass except you can’t see through it A decaying tree that’s still upright but look closely, there’s a branch there that almost suggests it may be something else & it’s watching you…
October 26, 2025 at 3:34 PM
jenillustrates.bsky.social
I enjoy the change of seasons & I love it when spring arrives with its burst of green but I really love autumn for all of the colours. Made all the more enjoyable when walking the dog.
A trackway surrounded both sides by hedgerows & trees wearing their autumn colours. If you squint, you can see a black blob running off into the distance. That black blob is my idiot spaniel Not much fungi to find today but there was this gem hiding on the end of a felled tree. It’s a lovely rich orange colour which stands out amongst the dark green birds foot ivy. I have no idea what the fungi is but it’s pretty On the other end of the same felled trunk is some black fungi that looks like its past its sell by date as it’s also falling to pieces. It’s also in amongst the dark green birds foot ivy Beech leaves changing colour on the branches - copper, yellow & green. Empty husks that used to contain beech nuts are also on the branches
October 26, 2025 at 3:25 PM