plastic | Wendy Booth: Portrait Artist

Today, I mailed out my first newsletter with news about the updated prices, my new studio and even a DISCOUNT CODE. Please take a look below and see what you think. I hope to keep you up-to-date with what’s going in a quarterly letter like this. If you’d like to be added to the mailing list then please just let me know your email address – over on the right of this text, or if you’re on a smartphone then you can subscribe down at the bottom of this page.

Spring Forward

Spring has arrived and finally we’ve seen the back of the snow. The only downside to this time of year is the hour of sleep we’ll lose on Sunday morning as the clocks shift forward for British Summer Time. Thankfully, I don’t need to stand by a muddy rugby pitch at 9am these days, but I’ll be thinking of all those parents who do – from my nice warm bed!

So much of this time of year puts a ‘spring’ in my step, but apart from the new shoots, the extra sunlight and the hope of warmer days, the absolute best part has to be the new life. I am so lucky to live very close to woodland and have already spotted young deer out and about. I am looking forward to drawing some of this gorgeous British wildlife in the very near future.

New Shoots, New Prices In addition to the sanguine portraits I have been drawing for the last few years, I can now offer colour portraits. I’ve had so much fun drawing these and look forward to many happy hours creating pink-nosed pugs, brown-eyed boys and grey grannies! All prices have been updated, and if you’ve been hoping to commission a portrait but were deterred by costs then you may be pleasantly surprised. Find out more
	The Bare Essentials If you’ve been following my posts you’ll know that we’ve spent the last few months – in fact a year and a half – debating a home extension versus moving house and many other options, to find the space we need. A fair chunk of this fantasy was to include a studio. I won’t traumatise you with the ins and outs of why we eventually opted to move. But we’d made the decision and so our journey began…. My new studio
Keeping Down Waste We have all watched in horror, the recent news reports of our oceans slowly filling with plastic bags floating like jelly fish, and seahorses trying to mate with cotton-buds. According to EcoWatch 50% of sea turtles have already consumed plastic and the amount of plastic in the oceans is set to increase ten fold in the next decade. Governments would have us believe the solution is complicated. So, it seems that as long as the laws allow industries to continue making plastics, the responsibility for reducing demand has to lie with individuals. Read about my commitment
	Discount Code Many of my drawings are available to buy as prints, tote bags, cushions etc. Just for spring (until 21st June) and for newsletter readers only I am offering a special discount. The products are printed by Fine Art America and so the discount applies only to my commission and will vary with each item. The code is STLLTN and should be applied at the checkout. Apply your discount now

Keep in Touch

We have all watched in horror, the recent news reports of our oceans slowly filling with plastic bags floating like jelly fish, and seahorses trying to mate with cotton-buds. According to EcoWatch 50% of sea turtles have already consumed plastic and the amount of plastic in the oceans is set to increase ten fold in the next decade. Governments would have us believe the solution is complicated. So, it seems that as long as the laws allow industries to continue making plastics, the responsibility for reducing demand has to lie with individuals.

[custom_headline type=”left” level=”h2″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”true”]Packaging of my Drawings[/custom_headline]

	Recyclable	Reused	Degradable
No-Bend Envelope	✔		✔
Cardboard Insert	✔	✔	✔
Glassine Sheet	✔		✔
Cellophane Packet			✔

Plastics themselves fall into four categories: Non-recyclable, recyclable, recycled, degradable. Degradable plastics are far superior to those which may be or have been recycled. Recycling gives the product another use before it spends the next two hundred years in landfill. Degradable plastics will be reduced back into the ground within a matter of months or even weeks.

I avoid the use of plastics wherever I can, but where I do buy them, they will be degradable. Sometimes I may use bubblewrap. This will always be in the interest of re-using it as I receive a lot of this with the supplies I buy.

The packaging I use most often is cardboard. The beauty of card and paper is that whether or not you recycle it, it will soon enough break down and can be composted easily. Reusing cardboard is an ideal first step in turning the tide, and reduces production costs. I would encourage you to re-use my packaging wherever you can.