January was a productive month filled with much painting and planning, let me tell you more.

Studio News

With it being wintery and grey outside in our neck of the woods I enjoyed getting into a state of creative flow in my cosy studio, I worked on a collection of seven still life paintings destined for an exhibition at Red Rag Gallery later in February. I’m also working on landscape paintings for exhibitions in the coming months and I made time for doing experiments with mixed media water based techniques and processes to be used in my next online course.

New Work

Thank you for everyone who’ve bought small paintings from my store towards the end of 2023, I appreciate your interest and custom. A few more pieces have now been added to my online store. Paintings are shipped globally, securely with FedEx.

New Prints

My online store has been updated. Click here to see new still life and fantasy images. February is my birthday month, so I have a special 20% offer on all prints and scarves valid until 14 February. Use code BIRTHDAY20.

Hint… prints and scarves make great Valentine gifts!

New Projects

Colour as Catalyst for Creativity

Coloricombo is now in its third year! There are over 6,500 subscribers who get the weekly colour prompt in an email along with a backstory of the featured artist every Monday. The dedicated Facebook group has almost twelve thousand members.

In addition to the prompts I have been adding colour mixing demo videos and some painting processes on the Substack platform. This added content is now accessible with a monthly subscription fee of $8 which also gets you exclusive discounts on my courses and regular giveaways of art materials.

Full Disclosure

Coloricombo developed from occasional creative month long challenges on Instagram that started in 2019. It turned into an ongoing program of weekly colour focussed prompts combined with live Instagram demos. Curating these prompts really is a labour of love for me as a curious creative, but it takes a large chunk of my time to research and put together content every week. I decided to add an optional payment option of $8 per month or $80 per annum to help cover time spent on Coloricombo. If you get the prompts and find them valuable in fostering a regular creative habit please consider subscribing here.

Thank you to everyone who’ve already pledged your support, I appreciate it. Curious about what Coloricombo entails? Click here for info.

Other ways to support the program: the previous two years of Coloricombo colour prompts (2022 and 2023) can be purchased here for £15 per year. Thank you for your support.

New Retreat Date added!

I am so excited about the retreat plans for 2024! It is going to be a year filled with much travelling and art making in special and exotic locations. The Morocco and Greece dates sold out quickly. Thank you for your interest in them. Another date have been now been added for a second retreat in Hydra from 17 September to 5 October. This retreat is already half full so be quick to ensure your place.

There are a few places still open for the retreat in East Bali in July. This destination is perfect for a dreamy tropical escape where we will be making art in a beautiful villa right next to the ocean. I love incorporating inspiration from each destination along with a variety of techniques, materials and processes in my teaching program, and this year a variety of printmaking processes will be included.

Creative Collaborations

Something new and fun. I am one of the teachers on Collage Makers Summit 2024 This two week long program is dedicated to collage as creative process, and is curated by Drew Steinbrecher. Fourteen artists will be sharing a collage art lesson over a two week period. In my lesson I'll be doing a house themed collage project using layered painted paper.

CMS 2024 runs from 17-24 March and Early Bird registration opens on 19 February.

Floral Fusion

Love florals, colour and experimenting with materials and processes? I have something in store for you this spring. A course dedicated to florals and botanical forms have been on my agenda for some time. The option of offering a longer term program consisting of a project per month was the plan originally, but the practical implications don’t fit with my 2024 schedule.

Instead I have put together a three week long course all about flowers and botanical forms with fifteen projects built around different genres and design influences. This course will run from 10-31 May with twelve months’ access afterwards to do projects in your own time.

Join the priority list here to be first to hear about the course when Early Bird registration opens.

Dip your toes with a mini course - in April I will be offering a free mini course dedicated to florals as a taster of what’s to come. More on this later.

Use code BIRTHDAY20 for 20% off all my courses until 14 February,

New Fabric

In the Pink is the name of my latest quilt fabric collection with Freespirit Fabrics. These have shipped to stores at the start of 2024 and are now available to buy in the USA and abroad. You can find USA and Canadian stockists on their website

New Wallpaper and Upholstery Fabric

Robin Sprong is the license holder of my designs on wallpaper since 2018 and more recently a selection of luxurious upholstery fabrics has been added to their Esté MacLeod collection. Wallpaper is made according to client specification and shipped globally with wallpaper installed in boutique hotels, corporate interiors, restaurants and private homes.

If you are in the USA check out the Sarza store in New York who distribute the wallpapers.

If you would like to stay updated on what I do, follow me on Instagram where I post regularly.

With colourful greetings,

Esté