Niki Jackson Art & Illustration - Hadleigh Suffolk Artist (formerly The Vintage Artist)

Winter Angel Painting Time Lapse Video

2014-10-29T18:03:00.001+00:00

Sorry about the wobbly parts, hopefully I will improve with my filming skills the more I do these. I hope you enjoy seeing me paint. x

New video Series - Episode 1

2014-10-24T15:16:00.000+01:00

My plan was to show you how I painted my Winter Angel hanging heart but the recording messed up so that will be a time lapse video, which I will put up next.

This first episode of my new video series shares what's been happening with me and plans for the future. I'm working on a snowman painting as I talk to you.

For future videos it would be great to answer your art questions and share with you what I can, so if you have a question or something you would like me to talk about next, please leave me a comment or send me a message.

I'm back making videos!

2014-10-20T17:09:00.002+01:00

It's been a long while since I made an art video for you all, but here I am back with an update and a peek into my book 'The Adventures of Snuggle Bunny' and some of my latest paintings.

I'm hoping to do regular videos and maybe some Google Hangouts too in the future. Stay tuned :) x

Trying something new

2014-08-28T17:16:00.000+01:00

I've been itching to do some more realistic work for a long time but whenever I tried it just didn't click for me, until last week when I decided to do some new little paintings of birds. Here is my first one called 'House Sparrow', I think you would call this style more impressionistic, which I am really pleased with.

There are little spots of shimmering glitter on the birdie and the tree branch, so I still got to add my little mixed media accents to it.

Original now available at my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/200673394/sparrow-painting-original-painting-4-x-4

Do You Need Cheering Up?

2013-07-30T14:39:00.000+01:00

Is the Summer weather getting you down? Too hot, too wet or just wishing you were on holiday? Come and cheer yourself up with a £5 voucher off your order at my website or Etsy shop, the Summer sale has begun! *Coupon code: 'summerrain', min order £15.

Most items one of a kind or limited stock, so don’t let your favourites get away, shop now

Blessings

x

-->

New Website Launch!

2013-07-26T16:38:00.000+01:00

I am very excited to bring to you my new website! I’m making all my art work available on this site not just the originals and I have a new feature for local customers. Now if you are in the Suffolk, UK area you can order online and collect from me in person. No shipping fees will be charged and you can pay by credit or debit card securely online.

www.thevintageartist.co.uk

I’m still adding products but please do come on over and check it out and if you see any blips, please do let me know.

I hope you will enjoy using my new site which is here to stay. {I will still be on Etsy too, so don’t worry. Now you get to choose where you order from }

Blessings

x

Stitchery Fun!

2013-07-17T18:27:00.000+01:00

As you may already know, I recently released my first embroidery pattern in my Etsy shop.

Well I’ve had some very talented ladies join my stitching team and have beautifully stitched up this pattern and I couldn’t wait to show you their results!

The above is by Hannah from SpansStudio, you can read all about her experience of stitching this pattern on her blog.

Then we have Nelly’s beautiful version. Nelly chose to make a wall hanging and I think it turned out great! You can see more photos here.

I love the different stitches that have been used in both versions. My team used pastels to fit in with my vintage/country style but you can use any colours you like.

Nelly is now working on a ‘bright’ version for herself, which I cannot wait to see!

The patterns can be used for many different things such as; pillows, wall hangings, hoop art, table cloths, hankies, tea towels, bedding. You choose.

I have more team stitcheries to come, so stay tuned for those. I’ll also be adding more designs to my pattern collection very soon.

If you have photos to share of what you’ve made with my patterns come on over to our Flickr group and upload them, I’d love to see.

Blessings

x

Celebrating 8 years of Blogging!

2013-06-19T14:18:00.000+01:00

Wow it's been 8 years since I started blogging, sharing all the creative parts of my life and the antics of Ellie. It's hard to believe it's been that long, but it has!

I still really enjoy it and plan to continue, I hope you will join me?

To celebrate I'm offering free shipping worldwide until Saturday midnight GMT, just enter coupon code: birthday

http://www.thevintageartist.etsy.com

Thank you for all your comments and for reading my blog.

Niki x

New Dog Portrait Series

2013-06-10T16:47:00.000+01:00

I am so excited, I decided to start a new series of paintings in a impressionist type style and work my way through the different breeds of dogs.

My first is a ‘Labradoodle’, get her out here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/153620077/labradoodle-dog-portrait-folk-art?ref=v1_other_2

x

Baking Days

2013-05-29T15:56:00.000+01:00

Lately I have been baking a lot, it started because I've had to make some major adjustments in my diet and faced with having nothing sweet and yummy, I took to baking. At first I found it annoying that I would now have to make things if I wanted to eat nice food, but then I discovered some great recipes that actually made baking fun and rewarding.

Now don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed baking in the past and definitely watch 'The Great British Bake Off' every year but now it was a necessity.

Well fast forward several months and now baking has become therapeutic and fun!

So after many baking days and getting quite a thing for it, I had this crazy idea... 'Wouldn't it be fun to do a Julie and Julia!' ie: work my way through a recipe book, one bake at a time.

The idea has kept coming back to me and I thought it would a fun blog post series. So I introduce to you 'Baking Days', where I will be making as many of the dishes from this book Grandma's Best Recipes (new Collection) as my diet allows. Some things won't be possible like anything chocolate or cream filled but I can do most of the book and will adjust the recipes with alternate ingredients where need be.

So first up are ‘Classic Oatmeal Cookies’.

This recipe uses way more ingredients than I was used to, (in terms of grams) make sure you have a big bowl! I substituted Pure Sunflower spread for butter, all the other ingredients the same.

The wet mixture is pretty sloppy but it does go smooth after a while. I found once it was time to combine the wet and dry ingredients that using my hands was a lot easier since there was a lot of mixture and I wanted it to be properly combined. If I had used my kitchen aid it would have been a lot easier and quicker.

I broke the mixture up and rolled it into little balls and put on the baking tray spaced out. Then baked for 17 mins.

I'm really pleased with the results, they are vanillary, buttery, flap-jacky in taste and texture. Lovely just out the oven. Once left to fully cool they still tasted fantastic.

My rating for this bake is: 10/10 for ease of baking and taste.

I hope to do a recipe per week when I can, so I do hope you will follow along with me. This book is one I received as a Christmas pressie and had yet to use, this is entirely my own choice to do and not a sponsored post. {If you wanted to purchase the book, if you click my link above I will get a little percentage, if you wanted to help me out}

Let me know if you have this book and if you've made anything from it, I’d love to hear! To find all ‘Baking Days’ posts, I’m setting up a category so they will be easy to find on the right sidebar.

Blessings

P.S I have changed my blog design back to the old one, it just seems to fit 'me' so much better :) x

Birthday Celebrations

2013-05-01T12:19:00.000+01:00

It's a totally beautiful day out today and it's my birthday! I got up extra early to receive my pressie from Hubby before he had to dash to work and then Ellie enjoyed helping with with others :)

I'm looking forward to a home baked birthday cake from my Mum tonight and seeing my family.

Have a blessed day

x

Spring Inspired New Paintings

2013-04-24T15:04:00.000+01:00

It took me a while to get 'in the mood' for some Spring time paintings since it seemed Spring would never arrive here, but hurray it finally has!

This is 'Birdie and Blossom', I love how the colours look quite vintagey and you can just about see the little blue bird snuggled in the tree.

This is 'Blackbird Song', I had this image in my head and couldn't wait to paint the pink roses climbing up the bird house, so pretty.

Both new paintings are now available in my Etsy shop.

New Growth

2013-04-17T16:08:00.000+01:00

I've been busy in the garden lately sowing lot's of seeds ready for Summer. Most of what I grow are flowers for our front and back gardens and I usually grow too many and give some away to friends and family which I love to do.

I have sown some veggie seeds, this year we are growing runner beans again, here they are just starting to come up. We also have cabbages already in our raised beds which I hope will turn out ok, and some raspberries which I can't eat now but Hubby can. I've yet to sow my parsnips and carrots but nows it's warming up I'm going to get those planted.

These are Cosmos from seeds I collected from previous years, it's such a great way to grow seeds. Once the flowers are coming to an end and the heads dry up you can collect the seeds ready for next year.

This is the inside of my greenhouse, I've got Geraniums, Calendulars, Dahlias, Daisies, Dwarf Sweet Peas and regular Sweet Peas growing in here and I may add some Marigolds as well.

Are you growing anything this year?

Inspired by...

2013-04-03T14:04:00.000+01:00

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you all had a great time.

I've been enjoying church, family & friends time, snuggles with Ellie dog, sowing seeds, knitting, enjoying daffodils, teaching Ellie new tricks, baking and reading my fav magazines! How about you?

Spring hasn't really arrived here in the UK yet and I've been feeling a little creatively challenged this week so I decided to create a treasury (collection) of things that inspire me in general, to brighten my day and hopefully inspire you too!

To view the full treasury and comment on Etsy click here: https://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTExNzM1MnwyNzIxNjY3NDEz/inspired-by

What's inspiring you right now?

Goosey and the Snow

2013-03-27T14:52:00.000+00:00

Goosey doesn't seem to mind the snow, or the fact that it's been snowing for what seems like forever!

This is an original pencil drawing on cartridge paper, ACEO sized (3.5 x 2.5")

Now available in my Etsy shop.

xxx

Wild Flowers Fine Art Print

2013-03-27T13:26:00.000+00:00

'The Pink House with Wildflowers was the first of Niki's art to catch my eye. I just loved the whimsy and graceful feel of the flowers as they gently drew my eye to the cozy house in the distance. This one is waiting patiently for my new work space to be completed so that it can hang over my desk to serve as inspiration as needed on busy days.' ~ Rebecca Keeney

Original Mixed Media Paintings

2013-03-26T16:57:00.000+00:00

Fine Art Prints

2013-03-26T16:39:00.000+00:00

Bookplates

2013-03-26T16:23:00.000+00:00

New? Start Here

2013-03-26T16:12:00.000+00:00

Welcome to the online gallery site for my original artwork.

You can read more about the kinds of artwork I create by clicking these links:

Original Mixed Media Paintings

Pencil Drawings

Handmade Journals

Bookplates & Stickers

Fine Art Prints

Embroidery Patterns

Purchasing:

To purchase available works, please come over to my online shop at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheVintageArtist This shop is a secure site where you can pay by credit or debit card via a secure payment gateway called Pay Pal.

If you would prefer not to purchase there, you can also contact me directly: niki@thevintageartist.com

Finding out more:

I post an update on my blog here several times per month showing what is new in my shop, what I am working on and sometimes sharing fun things I've been up to either creatively or with my Husband and our dog Ellie. You can read the latest posts here: http://thevintageartist.com/blog/

If you are interested in more regular updates and prefer not to read blogs or just want something a bit more personal, I send out emails with new work as and when it is available and I send a monthly email sharing what's new in my shop which you can be a part of. If you would like to sign up to these, simply click here: http://eepurl.com/VaS-/

Index

2013-03-26T15:54:00.000+00:00

Handmade Journals

2013-03-26T15:44:00.000+00:00

Bunny Bookplates

2013-03-26T15:39:00.000+00:00

'Well, aren't these the cutest labels ever! They came wrapped ever so sweetly and I just love them. With four grandchildren, I now have labels to put on the inside cover from 'Nana'. They are so darling.' ~ Annette Gross

Christmas Robin Painting

2013-03-25T21:54:00.000+00:00

'My gorgeous little Christmas robin arrived in the mail this morning! It is gorgeous and I love it! It is always going to be Christmas in my house as I will display him all year round!' ~ Jean Farrar

Winter Sunset Painting

2013-03-25T21:18:00.000+00:00

"Marisa and I own Niki's 'Winter Sunset'. I have it mounted on my office wall, about 2 feet from where I do my writing. There's just something about it that gives us both an instant feeling of peace. We cherish it."

~ Sean Hogan and Marisa Cummings