Author: Sharon M Egan

Artist and writer based in south-east Queensland, Australia

Every sketch a story

Australia is a land of birds. They are numerous and diverse, with almost half of them being found nowhere else on Earth. I could easily spend a year just painting and describing my own personal encounters with different birds, but I'll keep it to a two page spread for brevity: Left page, top left. My … Continue reading Every sketch a story

Draw, paint, repeat

It would make sense to me to fill a whole sketchbook with sketches and paintings of giraffes - I just love their ears and lumpy faces, their earthy tones and big dark eyes. Drawing them gives me joy, but I also love illustrating many other subjects, and besides, this homemade watercolour sketchbook is for all … Continue reading Draw, paint, repeat

Unnerving my inner critic

I've been creatively stagnating and unhappy about it for too long. Too many of the drawings or paintings I attempted ended up stuffed in a pile of defeat, or worse, destined for landfill, which always felt wasteful and discourteous. Worse still, so many of the sketchbooks or visual diary's I've started have fallen out of … Continue reading Unnerving my inner critic

A creative odyssey

Just for fun I decided to imagine creative projects as a landscape through which we journey. I made a map of what one journey to project completion (Fruition) might look like. Most ideas for creative projects start out as a spark, washed up or captured on the shores of the Sea of Imagination. A (not … Continue reading A creative odyssey

Crikey . . .

Last year in September the authorities in South-east Queensland, where I live, told us to prepare for water restrictions, as previous wet seasons had failed and the dam levels were getting low (under 50% for our largest dam). Two months later, the Bureau of Meteorology predicted a wet summer and Australia recorded its wettest November … Continue reading Crikey . . .

Every day is tree day

I once worked for a bush regeneration project in which I planted thousands of Australian native trees over the course of about six months. Despite the stinking heat and creature-invested dirt (including some rather deadly spiders and snakes), I loved every minute. I'll never get tired of trees. I love looking at them, being near … Continue reading Every day is tree day

Mindful doodling: Am I doing it right?

In keeping with my 2022 Intentions poster I've been putting my pens and pencils to good use and filling a sketchbook with art for fun. Ok, so these aren't exactly absent-minded scribbles, but they aren't showpieces either. This is as close to doodling as I've been able to get. It's really hard to create art … Continue reading Mindful doodling: Am I doing it right?

Impetus for creative pursuits

I've been on the look out for a new ceramic watercolour mixing palette, appropriately sized and shaped for my workspace, so I looked on Etsy and loved the handcrafted palettes I saw there. There are such clever people out there. Unfortunately all the ones I liked shipped from overseas. The postage service is understandably overwhelmed … Continue reading Impetus for creative pursuits

Creativity is not a luxury

Questions I ask myself at 2 am when I can't sleep: How much does the Earth weigh? How fast are we travelling through the Milk Way? Is it always this quiet? Why aren't my watercolours coming out as expected? Why can't I stop? The question regarding watercolour expectations versus reality is simple to answer, at … Continue reading Creativity is not a luxury