Lesley McLean

It’s the last Friday of the month, so it’s Talk and Draw time with @nationalgallery This month it’s Rosa Bonheur and her painting The Horse Fair. We ran through l a few drawing exercises, from not lifting pencils to abstraction, and it turns out horses are still bloody impossible to draw 🙈 #drawing

Thought an allsorts cushion (still to be backed) needs some liquorice allsorts rug mugs. Punch needle coasters (backed with felt) & cushion cover, my designs, acrylic wool on monks cloth.
#punchneedle #needlepunch #handmade #allsorts #crafting

…The Original - Nell Stevens ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Laws of Love & Logic - Debra Curtis ⭐️⭐️
Lost Lambs - Madeline Cash ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pachinko - Min Jin Lee ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Night Watcher - Tariq Ashkanani ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
When Will There Be Good News - Kate Atkinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#books #crimefiction #horrorbooks #historicfiction #familysaga

I’ve kicked off the year with extra-variety, purposefully. I read a lot of crime, which is in no way a bad thing, but December was top-heavy with it, so here we are… and it resulted in some excellent reads!
The Midwinter Martyr - SJ Parris ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Buffalo Hunter Hunter- Stephen Graham Jones ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
…

…letting us think we’ve sussed it when actually we haven’t got a scooby.

Extra points for giving one of the bad lads the same name as one of my former boyfriends (and giving him a messy comeuppance).
@tariqashkanani
@amazonpublishing #crimefiction #scottishfiction #thriller #edinburgh #mystery

Tariq Ashkanani’s Callie Munro series is addictive from the get go. The Night Watcher introduces us to a gutsy Edinburgh PI who ends up unexpectedly hunting a serial killer.

Ashkanani is brilliant at setting us up with credible suspects, then switching us down a different alley…

New year, new project #punchneedleart #needlepunch #wool #yarn #craft

…because of cold and starvation, illness and depression. How will they continue? This is an atmospheric story mixing folklore with modern life. For a small book it raises some big questions. It also introduced me to the wendigo 😱

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice - When a small Anishinaabe community loses all power and communication with the wider world, they band together to survive the winter. Then an unexpected visitor arrives. Should he be allowed to join them? The death toll rises…

Today I am channeling two festivals. No way I’m waiting until Halloween to wear my new Shining cardigan 🤷🏻‍♀️🙈😂 @stephenking.bsky.social #christmas #halloween #horror #Shining #stephenking

My Editorial team built a little book Xmas tree 🤩 Sophie was chief book collector, I made the decorations, Seherish did lighting & Pete took the photo.
So many colleagues have stopped to talk about reading. It’s small but mighty and I’ve got a funny feeling it might turn into a tradition! #christmas

Last Friday in the month, must be Talk and Draw with the NationalGallery. Our painting was the pointillist masterpiece Coastal Scene by Théo van Rysselberghe. We rubbed out to show light areas, made a palette, and focused on some speedy mark-making! #nationalgallery #pointillism #art #landscape

…just dm me. £20 each, plus £5 UK p&p or you can collect, Methley.

Now, who to make next 🤔

#punchneedle #handmade #handcrafted #hobby #freddiemercury #queen #christmasdecoration #christmastreetopper #christmas

(Radio) ga ga over my latest Christmas tree topper! Meet Freddie - he’s a legend and a gingerbread man made from punch needle, then he’s stuffed, and backed with felt. He has a handy loop to hang over the top of the tree.

If you fancy Fred or one of my other legends for the top of your tree…

I Laika Bolik…

We hope you have a fab-BOO-lous Halloween! Don’t forget to share your themed ideas with us @TheColourCoop on Insta #fabboolous👻 #halloween #halloweenvibes #halloweenart #design #illustration #fun #funny #pun #wordplay #ghoul #ghost #spell #eye #pumpkin #writer #halloweenfun

Have a holly Jolene Christmas! Here’s my latest punch needle, a gingerbread Dolly for the top of the tree. A Xmas tree-topper, punched with embroidery thread, finished with sparkly (fake) gems and stuffed with love. The back is felt with a loop to go over the top of that lonesome pine #punchneedle

Wee tea time walk since I’ve been in all day doing ‘stuff’. Could hardly see for the lowering sun but there were some pretty fluffy clouds #littlefluffyclouds #autumnsky #methley #eveningwalks

Love being back doing National Gallery Talk and Draw sessions. This month we concentrated on Millet’s The Winnower. Quick shape sketch, drawing the figure out with a rubber, & finally using colour to add life. #nationalgallery #nationalgallerylondon #sketch #draw #art #pencilsketches #mentalhealth

Our prompt is toadstools - it won’t be long until a forest of fungus pushes up through the ground to say hello. Check out more @thecolourcoop on Insta. Share yours and tag us 🍄 #toadstool #mushrooms #mushroom #fungi #fungus #toadstools #chanterelles #foraging #autumn #september #penart #illustration

Little bit of Sunday sketching - Edinburgh’s old buildings stepped up the hill. Not sure if I’m done - need to live with it a little bit 🤔 #edinburgh #scotland #sketching #drawing #blackpen #buildings #architecture #historicbuildings

Thanks @goodhousekeeping.bsky.social for using my teeny tiny book review in your October issue!

The Raging Storm - Ann Cleeves ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ship of Thieves - Douglas Skelton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#bookrecommendations #books #goodreads #reading #crimethriller #historicfiction #goldrush

Guess that’s why they call it the blues… inadvertently only read books with blue covers this month. So many 4-star reads - I must be feeling the book love!

In photo, book covers for:

The Rush - Beth Lewis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cover Her Face - PD James ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dead of Winter - Stuart MacBride ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What says Christmas more than a Tina Turner tree topper?! 😂 My punch needle music legends all start off with a gingerbread template. So, who’s next? I’m thinking maybe Freddie Mercury, or Amy Winehouse? 🤔 #punchneedle #needlepunch #handcrafted #christmas #treetopper #decoration #legend #tinaturner

Saturday morning was brought to you by the letter P for Pilates, plus Pirates in a chapter or two of @dougskelton.bsky.social Ship of Thieves, and Pastel de Nata at De Oliveira’s - aaaaargh! #pilates #pirates #piecesofeight #jonasflynt #historicfiction #pasteldenata #potuguesepastry

Such a lovely day at Globe Arts experimenting with folk art and learning about pattern with @lindsay_loves_to_draw (on Insta). Happily recommend! #folkart #pattern #painting #gouache #watercolour #art #GlobeArts #Marsden #chicken #rooster #cockerel #hen

I remember seeing it at the cinema and thinking the Star Wars stories had found their way back to their original glory (almost).

…I was sucked up into these characters’ lives. It’s not a perfect book, but it’s not far off. Rip-roaring, pacy, historical fiction!

@bethlewis.bsky.social @viperbooks.bsky.social
#historicfiction #crimebook #TheRush #yukon