Nicky Around and About St James’s celebrates my walks around St James’s Palace and Pall Mall. A bit of hidden London where I remember walking and discovering parts of the city I’d never knew existed (even though I might have passed through them many times).
Pall Mall is a street in the St James’s area of the City of Westminster, Central London. It connects St James’s Street to Trafalgar Square. Did you know? The street’s name is derived from ‘pall-mall‘, a ball game played there during the 17th century.
The area was built up during the reign of Charles II with fashionable London residences. So it’s old with a lot of history. It became known for high-class shopping in the 18th century, and gentlemen’s clubs in the 19th. The Reform, Athenaeum and Travellers Clubs have survived to the 21st century. The War Office was based on Pall Mall during the second half of the 19th century, and the Royal Automobile Club‘s headquarters have been on the street since 1908 (Source Wikipedia). You can learn more about Pall Mall here.
I love to create deeply textured layered artwork – Around and About St James’s and Pall Mall using different artistic techniques with plenty to see. In Around and About At James’s and Pall Mall I wanted to make the most of the architecture and perspective of this street. There are many streets like this in Pall Mall with fascinating facades and fanlights, this is just one of the streets I chose for my photograph. I then applied a sketch treatment and clipped the photo to clipping masks before building the artistic background and and adding artistic elements to complement the photo. It is always a bit of trial and error to select a colour palette that I feel complements my main picture, however I loved the blue, grey and cream and white accents and the dark blue old script. So if you are a UK expat or you love all things English St James’s and Pall Mall will transport you back to experience some pleasant and stately walks the likes of which you just can’t find in North America. You can see and order this artwork as a beautiful canvas print in the store.
We are mid-way through the year! And it’s around this time when I review my goals and in some cases it’s with mixed feelings. This, by the way is a very good reason for keeping a bullet journal. I can look back at a log of my life from the beginning of the year and I can see how far I’ve come with my art and also what things still seem to be getting in my way or proving obstacles. It can be tempting to give up, however I believe it’s important to keep moving. If one thing is not panning out,perhaps move it forward and consider whether it’s really important.
I am so grateful for my art (and for my clients who purchase it and make it part of their lives – thank you so much). Not only do I get the chance to create something that wasn’t in existence before, it’s also my opportunity to dwell in the realms of my imagination and inspiration and try and bring out what’s within in the form of ever engaging artwork. Each time I create a new piece I get a million ideas for something else… and I feel I need so many more hours to explore them all.
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