If this month's issue has a theme, it's got to be colour, and especially the colours of the season. Linda Birch begins a look at life in her village with sketches and paintings insummer months. You don't have to live in a picturesque village in the Pennines or a busy metropolis to find inspiration in capturing your surroundings. Look in the corners of your garden, the local park or down your street to find the next subject. If you're short on inspiration this year, why not take a leaf out of Linda's book and start a series of paintings or sketchbook entries that document a year in the life of your home town? Perhaps even make it into a community or art club project. David Bellamy's second article (in his two-part series on illustrating a family history) will inspire you further with help in making maps and a variety of different techniques and effects to incorporate finished paintings, sketches, photographs and words into journals and sketchbooks.
