Arty Walks!

 Autumn, when the light gets soft, and the air sweet, and

my favourite word is COSY..

I have a new Adventure which I hope will bring you

as much inspiration as it does to me!

ARTY WALKS

is a combination of walking in the stunning nature of the Isle of Wight,

sketching the landscape to inspire our best memories and get creative,

and wild foraging to know all the treasures that Nature offers us in this colourful season.

I lived on this magical Island for almost 9 years, and I always felt intimidated to draw its beauty,

until I discovered that I could take my imagination with me.

Yes, I can look what is in front of me, and make it mine.

If I want, I can add my favourite animals, colours and stories to my drawings outside, 

just as I do when I am inventing them in the studio. 

And by allowing creativity to step in, the landscape become suddenly a different setting, 

full of magic.

Even in cinema they do it a lot: many movies have a colour filter applied to them, 

to better convey emotions and suggest atmosphere and drama. 

When I draw what I see, I feel I am talking with "IT", I feel I learn about it,

and the challenge of making sense of it on the page is like a childlike game.

Once you start, you are part of a discussion between the material and the place. It's so interesting.

And sometimes, I think speding hours in the same place, outside, 

gives me the chance to listen, to see, to experience

things that I normally wouldn't notice 

in the everyday rush.

I feel very inspired by the Walk to see community.

#walktosee is an hashtag that people use on Instagram when they draw from location and it is so varied

 and interesting... you can really see that every personality has its own way to see life!

I thought to share all the good energy I get from these sketching walks,

together with what I learnt in these years about Wild foraging

(here, here  and here I talk a bit about it)

Autumn gives us a lot of treasures: berries, mushrooms and seeds, 

all full of minerals and nutrients, plus many more treasures to discover!

Given the actual guidelines about Covid, spaces on the Arty Walks are limited 

and booking will be essential.

Price is £15 for each person.

The walk will take about 2 hours, and all you need to take with you are

basic art materials ( few sketchbooks and pencil, or watercolours, or your favourite drawing material)

and forager kit ( a cloth bag or wicker basket, secateurs and gloves).

If you are interested in joining in, please send me a message through Facebook.

It's gonna be MAGIC.

First walk: Sat 26th September, 11 am/13pm, Niton

Second walk: Sat 17th October, 11 am to 13 pm, Newchurch

2021 Calendar

 Hi everyone!

I have the best news for you: my 2021 Calendar is out!

This is my third calendar and, in my opinion, is the best product I have created so far!

Along side my illustrations, that will feature a quirky bunch of cute woodland creatures,

I have put together 12 original and delicious vegetarian recipes,

to keep you in good health and tasty mood

all through the year.

And of course, I kept the tradition of marking 

all the interesting world days.

This calendar goes out to the world today 19th August,

and already I have orders from many places around the globe:

Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Italy, Holland..

and I couldn't be happier.

The quality of this product, I believe is very high.

You will be able to find it here.

I have a great interest in cookery, and when I don't paint, cooking is probably 

where my creativity finds its way.

To create these 12 recipes, I did a good amount of research and testing. 

I wanted plant based recipes, just because in general, i love them, and I tried to keep them varied, including starters, soups, snacks and main dishes.

If you try them , let me know what you think!

To a tasty and zesty 2021!

Summer vibes

Hey Folks,

hope you are well!

Here is an update on how my summer is flowing!

I have been super busy with my 

new Calendar 2021 

which is already available for Pre order..

A true labour of love, 

that features not only my sweet art,

but my love for cookery

and healthy food.

There is a recipe for every month of the year, 

curated by me, and all vegetarian!

Being Italian , cookery has always been one my dearest interests!

In the spring I started some Arty videos

about cookery and storytelling, and in the calendar 

you will find some of the characters I take with my 

on wild foraging walks

You can find more sneak peeks on 

my Etsy shop

I finally took a much needed holiday break in July

and went on a wild camping holiday

in the Scottish Lochs

It was much colder than where I live, in the South of the Country,

but it was truly magical to be alone in nature

without electricity, people and wi-fi around.

I washed my clothes in a stream ( with eco friendly soap!),

 had showers using a bucket with water heated on the fire, 

did long paddling meditation sessions, 

and walking to see waterfalls and magical landscapes.

I cooked the most tasty meals on the fire,

and enjoyed wild swimming in the Lochs,

(the water was super cold, but with a wetsuit it was bearable, 

even nice I say!)

One thing I said to myself

coming back from this epic trip,

is that I live in a wonderful part of the Country,

the Isle of Wight, 

which is also full of nature and sunshine...

and it is worth enjoying it more!

Hullabaloo Art and Science Festival 2020

Good news!

Lucy and her woodland chef's crew

has been selected

to take part in this year AT HOME edition

of Hullabaloo Festival,

a colourful event that happens every year on the Isle of Wight

and this year will celebrate 

the Island as the Unesco Biosphere Reserve

Many creative workshops will be free for everyone to attend online,

and we will explore the Island more stunning landscapes

to discover with my animal friends,

 some summer edible wild food,

 and the colourful magic gifts of plants!

I will host a live demo on making colour as well,

on Saturday 20th June at 1 pm (Uk time).

Find all the makers here

Join us for a celebration of nature and its gifts!

Elderflower risotto

I have been diving deep into nature lately,

as in Britain we are having a wonderful weather..

Thanks to a course on natural ink making with Flora Arbuthnott

I have been inspired to start wild foraging, 

and to discover even more the magic of plants!

In this post I want to share with you a recipe that

I literally invented out of inspiration..

yes, because cooking is an art,

and it lives on inspiration too!

ELDELFLOWER RISOTTO

Ingredients for 2 serves:
4/7 elder flower heads, picked in a dry day
1 leek
200 gr risotto rice (Arborio, Carnaroli, or similar)
500 ml Veg stock
half cup of cream
A pinch of grated Parmesan cheese to finish
Organic lemon zest (just a bit)

First, wash the elder flower, cut away the thicker stalks,

and dry it on a natural fabric cloth.
Wash and slice the leek, cook it gently until soft,
add the rice and toast it a bit,
then start adding the veg stock ( not all at once).
While stirring, check that the rice doesn't stick to the pan.
Add a bit of cream (I use soya cream)
At about 10 minutes in,
add the elder flower,
continue adding the stock every now and then.
Taste the rice and when is nearly "al dente",
add the lemon zest (less than half a lemon is enough for
this quantity of rice, as it is very strong flavour ).
When ready, if you wish,
sprinkle the cheese on top
and decorate with one fresh elderflower head and few lemon zest swirls.

ENJOY!

Lucy's Magical Woodland

Lucy's Magical Woodland
is my new project
where I  share with children and young at heart,
my love for cookery, art and storytelling!

This is my woodland chefs crew,
they are experts in natural and tasty food!

The videos are free , published on
a dedicated Youtube channel
(here)
and all updates are also posted in the Facebook Page 

In the first episode we made a nettle risotto , and
homemade hedgehogs.
It makes me so happy to teach kids what I know
about food and its beauty, qualities and arty uses !

I hope you will enjoy,
 and experiment along with me!

Stay at home ...cake!

At the time of writing this post,

all the world is stuck at home.

Plenty of positive sides of this, 

including more time for creativity!

I have been experimenting with more food illustration, and new recipes, 

in particular I fell in love with this vegan cake

that can be made not vegan too

( just swap agave for sugar, coconut oil for butter, et voila' !)
You can find the all recipe here

Also, I have been creating pencil cases, 

with hand painted illustrations,

and they are very popular on my Etsy shop

Last news, but the biggest probably!

I am creating some free video tutorial for kids,

about food, stories and art,

soon I will share the details, but for now

I leave you with the introduction of these series, which will happen...

in Lucy's magical woodland!