Uncategorized

2027 Mushroom Ladies Calendar is almost here!

| Dïne

Kia Ora my lovely tribe!


I am super excited to let you know that I almost finished my calendar on time this year!

Only a couple of weeks out of schedule. Which means that maybe next year will be The Year, the year when I will not end up super stressed about running late.

Who knows, miracle exists (maybe?).

ANYWAY!

This year winning illustrations are the Mushroom ladies.

They are back! Last Shroomy calendar what 3 years ago if I remember right?
I am so very happy to show you the one I chose out of my Flash Tattoo Collection.

I picked 13 of them, plus one for the cover.

They are all badass, generous and powerful ladies. I added some colors, a wee bit of a background and I triple checked if my dates were right. (Yes we all remember the Fiasco of my very first Calendar, from another Era, when I got literally ALL THE DATES wrong. But the illustrations were cool?😅)

Each year, I choose a cause to donate to. This year, powered by the unfortunately very eventful year it has been for several of my dear friends, I chose to donate to the Women’s Refuge.

WHAT’S THE WOMEN’S REFUGE??

This is an organization which as for purpose to liberate women, children, families and whānau from family violence. They also work with 41 affiliated Refuges throughout New Zealand. They are providing women with a warm bed, a safe, secure place to rest, and the wrap-around support they need to rebuild their life.

Find out more about them HERE and about the safe nights program HERE..

HOW IS THE CALENDAR GOING TO HELP??

By buying some cool and powerful artwork for your wall, you will also participate to a donation to the safe nights program. For each calendar sold, 5nzd will go towards the donation.

(the rest of it will pay for the production of the calendar itself, as well as a wage for the time I worked on the project)

The more calendars sold, the more safe nights we can help to provide. So feel free to talk to your friends about the project, to spoil your besties and to cover your friend’s walls for the new year!

Ngā mihi, thank you for your support, and I hope you will love this year’s illustrations!


Dïne

(actually, it’s 13 + the cover huhu)

Little story of a tattoo cover

can you cover my old tattoo title
| Dïne

Did you ever want to cover an old tattoo that you got a while ago, but that does not feel quite right anymore?

This is what happened to one of my friends. Twice.
And it ended up creating a little family… which I secretly hope will keep growing, because they are fun, cute, and colourful.

I thought I would share this one because it has been such a fun project.

A few years ago (or was it just a year ago?), they messaged me with a photo of an existing tattoo (not by me). It was getting a bit blurry and pale, so they wanted to refresh it and add something a little silly on top.
It was a teacup, with what looked like the remains of a mountain inside. Luckily for us, the mountain was made with coloured lines only, no black, which meant I could probably cover it.

Their idea was a kākāpō, a wonderfully goofy local bird, drinking a glass of wine. Perfect.

So we went for it. I tattooed this little silly guy while refreshing the teacup at the same time.

And not long ago… they came back. Same story, other arm.

This time it was a teacup with a big wave. And just like the mountains, no black lining. Great news for a cover-up!

So, to keep our little bird company, we created a takahē (another iconic local bird), holding a big glass of beer. Living its best life. Takahē have these amazing deep blue and green tones, with a bold red beak. It worked perfectly over the faded tattoo underneath.

And just like that… a little bird party was born.

Cheers to our local birds 🍻

blurry tattoo to cover
Blurry tattoo of a teacup with a mountain in it
tattoo covered with another tattoo of a bird
Long live Kevin the Kakapo!
blurry tattoo to cover
blurry photo of a blurry tattoo #2
covered tattoo
Our freshly done Takahe! cheers!
old tattoos covered with native birds
Friends having a little party

This was originaly posted on my patreon.
join the forest: HERE

Mermay illustration Process

mermaid watercolor painting process
| Dïne

We are in May already!

In the little illustration world, May is the month of mermaids and sea creatures. If you are on social media, have a look at #mermay to discover new artists and get inspired by all things mermaidy.

For the occasion, I did my homework too.

I dived into an A3 mermaid painting. It has been a bit of a journey, and even if I did not fully enjoy every step, I still had fun and, most importantly, I learned a lot.

I wanted to make another feathered mermaid (remember my “Mother of Chicks” from last year’s Mermay?), and this time using a kea as a model.

I also really love the underwater aesthetic. I am myself quite scared on a boat, even though I grew up between a lake and the ocean. Despite that fear, the mystery of it always draws me back to painting it.

Here is my process and the final painting!

painting researches process

As I do not like working with a screen, I printed my references: kea birds and under the ocean elements.

watercolor painting process rough colors thumbnail

After exploring a few composition ideas, I picked one and moved on to the colour palette.

watercolor painting process drawing each scale mermaid

I used a blue pencil for the drawing, which I realize I didn’t like that much. I will remember for next time. It was A LOT of scales to draw

mermaid watercolor painting using masking gum

I often use drawing gum to cover areas that I do not want to paint yet. I have a dedicated paintbrush for this specific use.

watercolor painting mermaid creating texture background

To have an interesting background texture, I use a paper towel and pat on the fresh paint.

FULL PROCESS ON THE ORIGINAL POST ON PATREON JUST HERE 👇👇

to see the full article and photos check out the patreon original post!

My first pottery. And no surprise here, I made it a quail haha

| Dïne

Hello my favourite forest people, I need to tell you about this little adventure.

We went to a kids pottery session.
The plan was simple. Let the kids play with clay.

But then… the parents got invited to have a go too!!

And you know me: give me a creative tool and a bad idea, and I will run with it.

So of course… I decided to make a quail bowl. There are a few families living in my garden, and I watch them all the time. Tiny, round, chaotic little creatures. Absolute perfection. I’m so in love with their silly military march in the lawn. Even got a couple tattooed on my arm haha.

Now. Important detail.
I have almost no experience with pottery.

And I had a very specific vision.
I wanted the bowl shape… but with the quail’s head popping out of it. Including the tiny feather on top. At this point, it already felt like a questionable life choice.

I was not sure it would hold.
I was not sure it would survive.
I was not sure it would not just collapse into a sad clay pancake.

When the kiln time arrived, my potter friend warned me: things can crack, things can fall… Things can betray you.

So when she put it in for the first firing… I was slightly stressed! but somehow it survived. 😆

Then came the painting stage.

We had these special ceramic paints, and I had so much fun bringing it to life. Colours, patterns, tiny details…

And then… the varnish. If you have never used ceramic glaze before, let me tell you: it is terrifying. You carefully paint your piece. You love it. You are proud.
And then you cover it entirely with this thick, milky, slightly fluo-looking varnish that hides EVERYTHING!!!!!! 😬😬😬

Hours of work gone invisible: I had a small internal panic. But we trusted the process (or at least tried not to show the panic)

And after the final firing… magic! The colours came back! And my little quail bowl turned out so, so good.

I am honestly so happy with it.

Also, my son made an incredible lion bowl. Truly iconic. (Already eating his autumn soup in it. look at this tiny lion’s tail going out of it!)
And all the kids’ pieces were absolutely stunning. So much creativity 😍

I already cannot wait for the next session.

Let me know what you think of this little quail 🐦✨

The goat skull secrets

| Dïne

You might have seen this little video I shared recently (yes… I followed a trend, it happens once in a blue moon).

It features a skull I worked on a while ago, and I thought I would tell you a bit more about it.

This is a foraged skull of a wild mountain goat.
My son actually found it during one of our hikes a few years ago, which already makes it very special to me.

It spent quite some time in a bleach bath (a glamorous spa moment), and then I started transforming it.

I spray painted the whole skull white to avoid that yellowy ageing tone, and gave the horns a warm golden autumn colour. Very seasonal. Very dramatic.

Then came the fun part.

I sculpted little mushrooms with clay, growing around the skull. Of course. You know me. If I can add fungi, I will.
And I painted delicate herbs across the surface to keep that soft, autumn forest feeling.

A mix of wild, decay, and new life. I love that balance.

At the time, I simply varnished it and called it done.

But since then… something has been growing in my brain.

I visited an artist friend in France who works with transparent resin, and her pieces had this incredible glossy, almost magical finish. It made everything feel more alive. More precious.

And now I cannot stop thinking about it.

So yesterday, I finally ordered the tools to try adding a resin layer to my skulls.

Yes… skulls, plural. I do have a few more hiding around the studio.

I am very excited about this next step. Slightly nervous. But mostly excited.

Let me know if you would like to see the other skulls… and follow along for the resin experiments.

Have a cosy autumn day my friend 🍂

PS: my friend wonderfull work on instagram @givre.ttt