I’ve been pondering about cruising and my art tutoring experience onboard. Facebook memories have been reminding me of my first Art Tutor cruise with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines which went all around Iceland

I’ve also been thinking about how to make my art and craft classes more environmentally friendly, I already use watercolour sets, in fixed, wipeable sets for minimum wastage and have been exploring painting on recycled card

Which got me thinking, could we make our own postcards? Something you could either pop into a little frame at home or actually post to a loved one as you stop in Port. And I did have some really easy whales that anyone could paint, who doesn’t love whale watching in Iceland

I love quirky little illustrations and did a couple of maps on this cruise. They were a really popular class and it’s a great way to document some cruise memories. Again they can be painted on recycled card as a postcard

I also love skylines, but I want to show a very special skyline, from my design but painted by a disabled guest, who was very popular on the cruise. He had help with outlines, but all the work was his own

That’s his at the bottom, beside the work of another very special lady who didn’t want to paint, as her eyesight isn’t the best, but just wanted to sit in the company of arty folk. I’m very proud to say that not only did she pick up the sharpie and paper I’d ‘casually’ left beside her, but she remains a friend to this day, one of life’s absolute ladies!

I do hope I get to go back to sea some day and share my quirky, fun ideas onboard. But in the meantime I’ve lots of memories and photos to paint…