The Sun makes a few appearances in this post, it feels very much like it is front and centre in all of our minds lately - whether you are suffering from a touch of climate anxiety (me) You got swept up in the eclipse event (also me) or you’re also enjoying basking out in the rays (definitely somewhat me) it feels like a strange, sunny and slightly worrying time - the fact it is actually OF NOTE that it’s currently drizzling outside is madness…

Did you guys enjoy the eclipse? We watched it through a sieve like all the most chic people did… it was super cool!

I have seen online some folks saying they found it underwhelming, which I understand if you were comparing to some of the footage from Spain, but also, it was still so cool! Sure, where we were it wasn’t dramatic, but the hazy strange light was super eery, and the local horses, including new arrival Mildred seemed a bit spooked, and it was a weird and wonderful way to spend an hour or so.

Anyway, staying on the sun theme, and re-visiting more of the art I enjoyed in London last month, The Sun & The Moon Exhibition at The Saatchi Gallery ended up being an art highlight of my year!

Here are some of the highlights from 3 floors of stunning art, some artists of which I recognised, and some new to me - the format of the exhibition was genius - you start in a pink walled sunrise room and ended in a black midnight room, with an incredible array of art celebrating celestial bodies and all of the folky traditions we humans have built around them.

Right from this strangely modern and goofy looking 1st Century Bust, all the way through to contemporary artists like folk artist Ben Edge, the diversity of art was stunning, and I left feeling super inspired. This live ticker clock by Katie Paterson showed all the sunrises earth has ever experienced - so simple and it blew my mind.

The exhibition is on until 8th September, and it really is worth a visit. Honestly I booked this last minute planning to just fill time before seeing the Frida Kahlo exhibition, but in the end the Saatchi wowed me with this one. 10/10 goodness.

So what of Frida - The Making of an Icon. I am not going to share too many pictures because I wonder if any of you might be planning to go see it, and honestly I myself avoided any spoilers haha. But suffice it to say, the exhibition was fantastic, and as a lifelong fan, seeing her work, her clothing, her jewellery, and a collection of home videos and photos, was as close as it gets to a religious experience for me. Just seeing some of Frida’s dresses, complete with paint stains(?) was kind of magical.

The exhibition explores how Frida became such an icon, how not only her art became so influential, but also how her image became a commercial zeitgeist, and a cultural phenomenon. Sometimes I think the over commercialisation of her image has meant people actually forget who Frida really was. The exhibition dealt with what they called ‘Fridamania’ but also began by sharing the real side of her - what she was all about - a feminist, an intellectual, a political activist, a passionate artist, friend and lover, and wife to Diego Rivera.

A home video of Frida and husband Diego Rivera hanging out at home was not only captivating because I have literally never seen moving images of Frida, but also, knowing how tumultuous their relationship was, interesting to see this tender footage of them actually just seeming simply in love. Yep, definitely a somewhat unconventional couple at first glance, especially if you know the details of their romance (she called him The Toad) But hey who are we to judge.

I also particularly loved the highlighting of her sexuality (a bisexual icon!) and how she played with gender, dressing not only in her trademark traditional Tehuana dresses, but also in photos like this, in men’s suits. Iconic indeed.

As a queer woman, who always admired Fridas’ ability to be unapologetically herself, it was quite emotional. Over the years I have noticed peoples tendency to casually suggest that Frida was strange or scary or even ugly?! because of her striking eyebrows and ‘moustache’ ? Or was it the intensity of her style and artwork that makes some people uncomfy ? Either way I don’t get it - and have always found her to be beautiful, inspiring and validating, from being a young angsty artist studying Frida at school, to now, I can honestly say she’s always been such an inspiration. It’s cool to be in a room of people who are equally fascinated by her, and not just the commercial image of her, but the real woman who lived a short but wholly authentic life.

Not that I am comparing myself to Frida, (lol) but I think another link that always made me love Frida was the fact that like me (A recovered scoliosis sufferer) she had spine stuff! (A pre-Jimothy spinal icon?!) Frida was sadly severely injured in a tram accident when she was young, so seeing her back braces (some of which she painted herself) was really moving. I myself was lucky I had scoliosis surgery before I ever had to wear a back brace - my spinal problems were too far along and I needed the op - but who knows, If I had worn one, maybe I’d have painted it or got my school friends to draw on it? Anyway, Frida most definitely had a more traumatic time with it all, but maybe this little connection adds to why I am so drawn in by her story.

Anyway, I could go on about Frida all day - the exhibition is well worth a visit, even if you’re not a Frida nerd like me, its super interesting and the Tate Modern did a great job at explaining her story, as well as highlighting all the artists and makers who have been inspired by her along the way.

This painting by Frida is one of my favourites, it’s super small but something about the colours and decoration around it feels lighter and more joyful than some of her other self portraits. Viva La Frida <3 This exhibition is on until January 2027.

That is all I’m going to share from my London trip for now, it all seems ages ago now, so it’s been good to revisit some of the art I saw. I haven’t even touched on the tattooing I did while there- here is a piece I did at my guest spot at Noka - the trip was a big success, which feels fitting as the last time I will tattoo there (it’s now closed!) Thanks for all the good times Noka, and London customers don’t despair, I will find new places to visit and tattoo…

And on that news, the news you have possibly, hopefully, been waiting for (thanks for sticking with me while I rambled) My NEXT GUEST SPOT ANNOUNCEMENT!

This time, I’m gonna be closer to home, and, excitingly, on the doorstep of my art studio home (the wonderful Sunny Bank Mills) Yes that’s right, I will be guesting at the fabulous Raze Tattoo Studio, within Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley. Join me on September 24th & 25th - spaces are pretty limited.

I met Scott who runs Raze the other day and he has created a super, super nice space which I can’t wait to share with you - You guys get first dibs on this (along with anyone who emailed me in the past few months looking for a Leeds booking) then I will advertise the guest on insta next week. Go go go!!

Email me on tattoos@nathues.com to book in.

Thanks again for reading, big love x

I started at The Whitechapel Gallery where I saw this print by William Kentridge (whose exhibit at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is still very much a highlight of my art year) The phrase Poetry is Elsewhere struck me in the chest - sometimes I feel super restless - I live a beautiful, busy but fulfilling life, but sometimes I still need to go far away and look at loads of STUFF to fill my brain up with art, and despite it seeming like a paradox, weirdly, it calms and settles me.

Sometimes I feel bad for feeling this restless energy, like I can't just be where my feet are…I feel like the dog with the balloons in that mural, my head in the clouds. Maybe the phrase in this print can also be taken positively - maybe there's beauty in hitting the reset button, and letting in a bit of the poetry of someplace else. Honestly, often London tires me out, but a few days in and I find myself swept up in it all, and appreciating all the good and tiring bits that comes with it.

I felt completely swept away some place else when I entered the Archaeology of Memory exhibit by Argentinian artist Gabriel Chaile at Whitechapel Gallery. A circular room, with a floor covered in reddish earth, it was warm, glowing, inviting and otherworldly. Flanked by several large smooth animal-like forms made from adobe clay (adobe is a type of clay made from organic materials) the floor was scattered with a collection of ceramic objects which the artist has both sourced from the local area, as well as found items he's collected from his travels around the world.

Chaile is interested in how gathered objects can tell stories about the diverse lives human beings lead, and how displaying these objects can connect us to these lives. I love this so much, and as someone who collects trinkets a-plenty, I was so intrigued by what stories might be behind the artefacts. Did these items bring someone joy? Were they treasured keepsakes to help remember someone? Or were they just ordinary, functional objects someone used in their daily life?

I felt like I wanted to reach down and excavate more things from the clay - like we’d stumbled upon some archaeological dig site. It was strangely comforting. The info boards told me the artist wanted us to feel the sense of the movement of objects and how that reflects the movement of the lives of migrants, and he very much achieved that. This is maybe an obvious thing to say, but seeing this exhibition smack bang in such a particularly diverse part of London, felt like a perfect start to a really culturally interesting art trip, one which I now realise has been dominated by Spanish and/or Latin American art and artists..

The archaeological theme continued after I stumbled out onto the hot, busy streets and walked into the V&A Storehouse, where they store all the sort-of-non-displayed, catalogued items - it was so different to any museum I've been to, and I guess it reminded me of that storeroom at the end of Indiana Jones…except mostly the items weren't in nailed shut boxes, but carefully stored on open shelves for all to see.

It was surreal. And weirdly, the setting, the bare metal shelves, the lack of "dressing up" the artefacts in a fancy museum display, brought into focus how uncomfortable museums can feel when they're filled with centuries old artefacts from other countries and cultures. I suppose if we were being fair to the V&A, like some other museums these days, they do seem to be at least acknowledging this fact in their information boards, but, it’s still a thing isn’t it? And as an art-lover and museum visitor, I’m still trying to work out how to feel about it all.

I liked how there were small galleries tucked in amongst the archives. There was a reconstructed medieval (1490!) Islamic-style roof from a palace in Spain, positioned over some bright wall-hangings by contemporary artist Shahed Saleem - the combination was stunning. The tapestries are a study of anti-immigration policies from 2012, and how ‘present-day racist rhetorics echo the ethnic purity of Spains colonial empire’ - something I know little or nothing about. I love how art, for me, can be a way into a subject that otherwise feels intimidating. I guess I just have a visual brain. These tapestries were perfect storytelling pieces, as was the ceiling in its day I guess?!

I also was fascinated to see the whole construction from outside the exhibition, with the bare bones of the mediaeval roof reconstruction for everyone to see. Insanely impressive how such old, precious artefacts can be moved, remade and displayed like this. How does someone even start to piece it together?

There was actually a room where you could look down on genuine restoration staff working away to restore, document and protect items - I hate to keep comparing this place to movies (specifically Spielberg) but it did feel like looking in on the scientists at the lab on the Jurassic Park tour (before it all goes wrong) This person was very carefully stitching a very old looking garment, what a cool job!

Anyway, it was very interesting and I’d recommend it, as well as the V&A East, just up the road. At the storehouse you can actually pre-book to look up-close at an item, with their archive library system, which would be super cool if you were researching something super niche and beautiful!? Collection of dolls-houses anyone? Ancient wood-block set? Genuine vintage 90s Lesbian protest t-shirt?

Talking of niche and beautiful…and just to balance out the kinda serious art chat with something somewhat less high-brow (but no less important) Here’s a photo of a Salted Caramel Banana French Toast Brown Butter Pecan ice cream from super trendy, super East London ice cream parlour Chunk, in Leytonstone. Phenomenal. This is also art.

Best ice cream I’ve ever eaten (outside of Italy).

I’m going to sign off from this slightly chaotic post - Can you tell I-am-over-stimulated-by-all-the-good-art? More rambling soon - some of the tattoos I did while in London, and even more Latin American art in the form of Frida AND a new discovery for me - another Argentinian artist, Julio Le Parc.

Anyway, poetry is elsewhere, it’s everywhere. But for me right now, I can’t think of anything more poetic and lovely than arriving home to my fiancé, having a cup of tea on my sofa, and basically doing a nerdy show ‘n’ tell of my trip to her and my dog 😁

Thanks for being part of the show ‘n’ tell x

I’ll be back at Lemonhead in Norwich on Sunday 20th and Monday 21st June, yay!

Then I’ll be heading back to Noka in London late July for a few days - dates not totally locked in yet but it’ll be between the 18th-25th July, if you’re interested please do shout and let me know, with the name of the city in your email title to - tattoos@nathues.com

xx

Just hopping on to share some new flash - as promised you do get first look, but since I’ll also be sharing it on insta later today (since I’m a bit behind!) I’m ALSO offering you a tenner off bookings on these, exclusive to my substack readers, and you can use that discount on any bookings today - flash, freehand or custom.

Send me an email with CHICKEN to tattoos@nathues.com with what size and placement you would like - As mentioned my next guest spot is 28th May at Elysium Tattoo in Sheffield. I have a couple of spots left, hope to see you there x

I actually don’t know how a month has passed since I last wrote, but looking back it has been a busy one to be fair…I don’t wanna brag but, much like the Proclaimers, but not quite as impressive, I walked 100 miles!!! Thanks to everyone who sponsored my RSPCA 50 miles in March walk. Chuffed to have doubled my miles target, and raised some cash. Walking is also super good for my mental health, so, win win innit.

My first guest spot at Lemon Head Tattoo in Norwich was a big success, and a super lovely start to this new way of tattooing… and breathe. This was my happy, tired face after two days of intense but joyful tattooing:

Seriously gorgeous studio and equally gorgeous people - both the folks who run it and my clients who booked with me. Even saw some familiar faces, who I’d tattooed up here in Leeds previously. The studio itself is super cute - in a really old bit of the city with some insanely sweet historical buildings about - check out this dragon guy at the very medieval National Centre for Writing down the road.

Inside the studio itself there’s an abundant collection of cute kitchness - including an insane hat collection, some snoopy memorabilia, and a very cool collection of vintage VHS and video games for clients to enjoy while they wait. We chose to (naturally) have an Isle of Wight Tourism VHS from the 90s playing, because, why not?

I did a bunch of really fun tattoos, including some favourite subjects of mine - a whale, a sunfish, and a stag, plus some others I will share another time.

All in all it was such a great couple of days. If you’re in the area I’d really recommend this space, and the resident artists Teal, Harry, Kirsty, Jayke, Jazz and Phoebe are all fab. Looking forward to visiting again, hopefully in the summer. Feel free to email tattoos@nathues.com to get yourself on the waiting list for when I announce the next date. On the subject of dates, I have my next new guest spot location to announce, but you’ll have to read to the end to find out where (sorry haha)

Where else have I been lately? A very fun trip to Manchester to see my favourite, David Byrne performing his latest live greatness - ‘Who Is The Sky?’ Absolutely joyful as always. His troop of roaming musicians and dancers were quite literally electric (but wire free) in their electric blue suits. As always, he balanced the political ( a video of montage of ICE raids footage during the crescendo of Life During Wartime was especially powerful) with a hopeful, party atmosphere. It was so great to have a dance. I love that guy.

While in Manchester I also stopped by The Whitworth Gallery to see some art, and I particularly loved these pieces by painter Lisa Brice, and mid-century textile designer Lucienne Day. (I must have had this blue colour in my head since seeing David Byrne, but also, I’ve recently been going to life drawing, so this jumped out at me)

Back in Leeds, and at my job as Ceramics Coordinator at Craft Leeds (have I told you about that? I can’t remember…if I didn’t, heres an intro to me and my role there) Clearly with blue still on the brain, I honed in on this bold new necklace which came in from jeweller Frances Stunt. She makes these stunning pieces from twisted, knotted electrical wire paired with silver. I want one!

Despite being a jewellery coveter, with an ambition to be one of those old ladies with multiple silver rings on every finger, at Craft I’m currently responsible for ceramics! It is not a medium I’ve worked in, but I absolutely love, and avidly collect ceramic things. I am really enjoying the role, particularly the curation side of things. It’s a struggle not to buy all the work in the gallery - we’ve got such a good range of ceramics, print, jewellery, cards and textiles. Have a little browse here.

Lately I’m loving these budgie busts by Charlotte Miller. So fun.

Honestly I guess I particularly love these, because…I have just adopted two actual real life budgies!! We have named them Broccoli and Stilton, and they are settling into our little home perfectly. I adore them. They have so much character. I will keep you updated with how they’re getting on, whether you like it or not. Here they are in all their glory. Broccoli is a shy, sweet gal, who kind of resembles a green potato, and Stilton is a more confident, cocky little lad who is already brave enough to climb onto my hand.

FYI, speaking of Craft Leeds, you should definitely head there and check out the current showcase exhibition by my friend and coworker, Jas Lewis Henman. It’s a beautiful display of folk-inspired felt art, much of it wearable, and inspired by their love of Mother Nature, history and whimsy. It’s on until May 16th, and is soooo good.

I am ridiculously lucky to be surrounded by cool creative people in my life, and at work. My great pal Spindle Printer also has an amazing print show on at Craft Leeds, running until June 9th. Gareths work is also folk inspired, but in the form of gorgeously detailed lino prints and intricate wood engravings.

Gareths work is so imaginative and fantastical, and he’s created his own super recognisable style that speaks to his passion for history, archaeology and mediaeval creatures. You should go have a look in person, because the detail is immense, and needs to be seen with your real eye-balls. The two exhibitions really compliment each other too.

Spindle also kindly joined me on my recent workshop at Left Bank, on part 2 of my series of seasonal nature workshops funded by Love Leeds Parks, during which I lead participants on a guided walk through Burley Park, collecting nature objects (depending on what’s seasonally available - leaves, feathers, seeds etc) and then back to Left Bank to create a communal Cabinet of Curiosities.

We then created art using the multitude of art materials and equipment I brought along. This includes a small lino printing press, a vintage type writer for writing labels, and loads of sample bottles for collecting the specimens. It’s a super nice way to slow down, be curious about your surroundings, and appreciate the beauty in nature found even in urban parks. The pieces made were so beautiful. Look at this leaf print on bark! And this gorgeous collage of the London Plane Tree seed collected by another participant who fully educated me on a species of tree I knew nothing about.

I really enjoyed the result of printing from this plant, the print was nice but even more interesting was the pressed plant complete with tiny, spindly roots. Noiice. The workshops are free, and the next workshop is 18th of May - sign up for a free ticket here . Then there’s another 3rd August. At the end of these seasonal workshops volunteers will compile a digital archive of all the art made, so you and your art can be part of this.

Finally, while we are looking ahead to stuff coming up this Spring, I am finally going to tell you where my next tattoo guest spot is (thanks for being patient and reading my waffle first) I will be guesting at the lovely Elysium Tattoo in the beautiful Sheffield on May 28th. Hurray!

You, my loyal newsletter readers, are the first to hear it, and I won’t be announcing it on socials for another week…so you are officially first in line. I will be releasing some flash, which you’ll also get exclusive look at in the coming weeks. Drop me a message if you have any ideas of what you’d like to see flash wise!

Super excited for this one, it looks like a fantastic studio, and I am a big fan of Sheffield in general. I knooow I have clients who live there, so hoping to see some of your faces. Tell your Yorkshire friends and be first on the list to book by emailing tattoos@nathues.com.

Thanks again for reading, and see you soon, be well x

If you’re getting this for the first time it’s because you once ticked a box on my tattoo consent form to be added to my mailing list, and I’ve finally got my act together - If I’m mistaken, or you’ve changed your mind feel free to unsubscribe, no judgement! If you do want to stay, then yay, welcome! and thanks for giving a tiny bit of your precious time & brain-space to me.

If you’re new, you’ll see that while this is where I share my tattoo news, it’s also where I ramble about other people’s art and nice things I’ve seen. Don’t worry though, I’ll always mention tattoo stuff first, so you can zone out if you’re just here for that. As you’ll see, it’s been a while since I’ve written, life got busy and other things took over, but I’m back and I’ve got news (handy for a newsletter)

Last week was my last week tattooing at the lovely Aviary studio in Headingley - from now on I’ll be trying my hand at being a travelling tattooist, guesting in various studios. Floating tattooist might be a more accurate description, as while I do plan to travel regularly for guests, I’ll also be floatin’ around in the Yorkshire area and tattooing locally. If you recommend anywhere you would like to see me guest, get in touch!

My first stop is at the glorious Lemon Head tattoo studio down in Norwich - they’ll be hosting me on March 29th & 30th and I can’t wait. I’ve popped into the studio ages ago to see what the vibe is (I have family down that way so visit often) and can confirm it’s a beautiful little studio. Please tell your friends/followers/random strangers that I’ll be there and that they should book in, or if you happen to be that direction come see me! Here’s some fruity flash I’ve drawn especially, and I’ll be doing custom/freehand too. I actually only have two spaces left, so hop to it!

In other me-related art news, Last week was Open Studios at Sunny Bank Mills (where I have my lovely little wood workshop/studio space for tinkering) It was so nice to spend the day with all the other amazing creatives at Spinning Mills (above SCRAP) and there was also the wonderful print festival on. I am gonna highlight some of my studio pals and their work soon!

If you visited me you may have seen my newly built “desk house” which has 100% been a strangely satisfying, silly project which has given me lots of joy. It started as a way to block out some of the harsher lights, make myself feel cosy and comfortable while I draw, and basically become a way to hibernate at the same time as creating around others. Some call it ‘nesting’, whatever it is, It ended up a labour of love and almost installation-like piece which seems to have amused and bemused my studio pals, as well as inspired me to make more home-themed artwork.

Life has been very busy of late, and feels like it’s in flux a little - but one big, beautiful piece of news I can share is that I asked my favourite person to marry me, under our favourite big old juniper tree in Lisbon, and she said yes. I literally couldn’t feel luckier.

In-between being all engaged and making art I have also been squeezing in seeing as much art as possible. While in Sheffield the other day I saw the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize at Millennium Gallery, direct from the National Portrait Gallery. It featured 50 portraits and was stunning, definitely go if you can! Maybe it’a the gay romance in my bones right now but I especially loved this piece ‘We Dare To Hug’ By Luan Davide.

Next door, and very much worth a visit also, is Artworks Together International 2026, an exhibit of art by people with autism and /or a learning disability. The work was so diverse and gave me so much joy, and reminded me I’m not alone in making from-the-heart art to regulate myself in this crazy world. (see earlier desk-house project)

I plan writing more soon, as I’ve got other updates as well as other art I want to share, but for now can I just say thanks for sticking with me, and joining me on this journey as I venture out as a travelling tattooist. I am also going to be travelling in other ways -namely on my actual feet - as I’ve signed up to do the 50 Miles in March challenge to raise money for the RSPCA. I have become obsessed with walking canals, and so I’ll be doing some fairly long canal walks to reach my 50 mile target. If you fancy sponsoring me you can do so here. Thanks again for being awesome x

Just me, checking in with some pretty standard ramblings, and a lil’ summary of the summer as we enter autumn (boo). I am a lover of autumn as a thing, the cosiness, the colours, the halloweeny aspect BUT the fact it means winter is next, no, just NO. It does seem to have appeared very suddenly. So what have I been up to?

As summer began to rush past I snuck in a trip to Pool Bridge Farm (aka the best wild swimming spot in Yorkshire) with some lovely pals, and made pals with this picnic duck.

Managed a trip finally to Chester Zoo where I spotted a gay elephant (or at least an ally, look at those flags) and beautiful snoozing Tamandua, who is my new favourite animal…

Apparently I like animals with long faces?! Speaking of which, there’s some new horse residents in the field behind my house - I've set up my camera to capture them (and have been feeding them wonky carrots whenever I’ve had a stressful day) The foal is beautiful, and I’ve named the grey horse Grandad, cus, grey.

She appears to be due to give birth anytime I think, you can even see the baby kicking (oof, hooves!) She is starting to look like one of those medieval drawings of a horse from the front..

I’m not exactly turning into a ‘horse girl’ but it’s definitely in-line with my passion for all things cowboy related, feels like my very own ranch? My actual previously bonafide ‘horse girl’ friend informs me Grandad is possibly an Appaloosa horse, with those spots…which led me down a rabbit-hole of looking at spotty horses on insta, like this one snapped by handatextiles over on slow_roads.

Anyway, also a big fan of this fella in the field with a lovely two-tone moustache! I’ll keep you updated on Grandad’s progress…

I rounded off my summer with some cracking live music - two nights seeing the wonderful The Magnetic Fields play their full 69 Love Songs album, in Manchester’s beautiful Albert Hall. Got some good wanderings in, went vintage shopping at the emporium of my former-mosher dreams - Afflecks Palace, and did some street art/ paste-ups spotting. I’m keeping my beady eye on street art at the moment and doing as much as research as possible, because I’ve got some exciting news in that area, will announce soon!

The next evening I saw New Zealand folk singer Nadia Reid play a tiny 30 or so capacity gig in Bishops House- a unique 15 Century tudor house in a park in Sheffield. It’s both a museum and a events space, and soooo atmospheric, highly recommend!

So, what other art have I been inspired by lately? A lot of pigeon based art apparently, because, well, they're great aren't they! Absolutely love this Japanese mother-of-pearl piece from 1880, wow.

Also really enjoyed this charming watercolour pidge by Yumi Kimura aka Yumk86 . Pigeons just have such universal appeal, well, to me they do, but I know lots of people (strangely) hate or fear them.

I heard there's a giant 16 foot pigeon sculpture coming to New York City, which frankly I would travel for - it’s going to be sat perched above the streets on the famous Highline, and Artist Iván Argote hopes the artwork, titled “Dinosaur,” will inspire “attraction, seduction and fear”.

Finally, still kinda on the pigeon theme, I love this tattooist I've discovered, Koblindeadman - thier gnomes are sublime. Would get a tattoo by them any day of the week, if they weren't so far away (Seoul).

In equally cute but slightly weird vibes, I really enjoyed this vintage ‘Saucy Shrimp’ poster from 1904, over on Prawn_cocktail. Impeccable. Those shoes.

Then the next day I then saw this post about this similarly wiggly guy, how adorable is the velvet worm? Please someone ask me to tattoo one. Please.

Anyway, finally, I was floored by this illustration by Winsorkinkade_ and the message in it. It feels very much how I want to be. Might tattoo these words on me…

Speaking of tattoos, I myself have done a few hand tattoos lately, and really enjoyed them! Especially this freehand marine piece for regular Jamie (which maybe I’ve shared before?!)

It’s given me more ideas for more hand based tattoos, and now I’m confident doing them, I’m suddenly seeing them everywhere. Look at this beauty by Bemuti_tattoos.

This also reminded me of these ceramic pieces by a_zama_ceramics. Pottery is defo back on my list for an autumn/winter pursuit.

So as the new ‘school term’ vibes kick in, I'm quite busy with lots of things - like I said, some mural news to come, making large-scale wooden bits for friends weddings, and finishing off the summers round of pet portraits (I’ll be doing another round of these for winter, news soon) But despite all this, and more, I’ve of course, like every freelancer, got the fear of a quiet winter period. I started re-reading The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry, to calm my mind:

Then, with the title of this book and it’s title poem in my mind, it was kinda funny the next day when I saw this misspelt sign for a pea frittata, and I chose to see it as a sign.

As a summer lover, rather than seeing the colder/darker period as a sadder time, I’m going to try and see it as a more peaceful time? I’ll try anyway. That, and consuming lots of soup. After all this potentially mystical, probably slightly too sincere attempt at sharing inspirational quotes, I’d like to offer one final one, which my friend alerted me to being printed on a charity shop hoodie. I bought it, of course. What does it mean? Noone knows. But it feels both LGBT+, and very me :)

I'll be back with news soon, in the meantime I’m taking tattoo bookings for October/ November, and always excited to hear your ideas: tattoos@nathues.com

‘Til then,be well, and remember soft belly, strong back, and, save the lady ocean!

Nat x

It's been a minute - June (my birthday month) went by in a flash. Apparently it’s already mid July.

So what's been happening?

Well I started the month with a few trips - a camping trip with friends to Scarborough where we played arcades, pool and Lola barked at all the dogs in the entire campsite - but a lovely time was had. 

Then my love took me on the loveliest adventure to Anglesey, Wales, where we stayed in an incredible treehouse (we love a treehouse!!) It was such a nice setting to unwind - I actually turned my phone OFF for a few days - can you imagine?

We were surrounded by wildlife, including the owner's pet peacocks, who tried to get in the treehouse and occasionally woke us up with their slightly alarming but very mysterious call. They also had babies. After sitting on the balcony and reading, with a peacock sitting on the other side of the glass door looking in, I have a new found love for peacocks. These disco chickens are more than just fancy show-offs, this one felt like a dog or something - it actually sat with me and then settled down to sleep.

The nicest of times was had exploring Newborough beach, where I topped off my Birthday by seeing a dolphin, a red squirrel and swimming in the sea below a lighthouse. Dreamy AF… it actually does feel like a dream, now that I'm sat looking out at the rainiest of July's.

Back to reality and I've since been working hard - tattooing, and doing various workshops and sessions for a Leeds LGBTQI+ Community Consortium. I had a particularly lovely collage session - here are the results. 

I’ve also been busy putting the finishing touches on some applications for art funding and personal projects. I also made this whale for my friends birthday. Please commission me to make more wooden cutout art, it’s so much fun.

Despite the rain there’s still been some nice summery sights - sunsets, foals, dragonflies aplenty, and the emergence of my radish crop which has been even better than last year…nothing else has grown but I'm happy! We made a bangin’ nutty cheesy radish salad. 

I did get some future inspo for growing wildflowers - at the walled garden at Hillsborough Park in Sheffield. Loved these weird jazzy/stringy Daisies (?). It never ceases to amaze me how much beauty you can find even in a built-up area.

I did a double take at this plastic heron in the pond…you ok hun?!?

Speaking of herons, I stopped and actually ooohed at the photographs of Joe Hart and his gorgeous captures of wildlife in London.

And y'know, sometimes in cities, alongside the wildlife, comes graffiti, and sometimes it's well worth a read when it speaks truths like this…

Speaking of snakes, I enjoyed this stop motion artwork by Gianlucabagnsco

Moving version here

and I also liked this etching by Leonora Carrington found on mepaintsme

I seem to be honing in on long necked creatures, from snakes (is it one big neck? Let's say yes) to herons to swans. I saw some gorgeous swans and their signets, on Leeds canal, and this artwork by Elise Mattaliano reminded me of them. I love it.

My own long necked beauty Lola is doing well - here she is at the Scarborough pub, just being cosy. I think that colour really suits her. Jumper by Conor Nolan

Speaking of colour, I started tattooing my new colour flash - ok yes it's still very limited colour but I loved making this, and the yellow accent is so fun. What do you think? I've got plenty of colour flash left…

So while we are thinking about colour, and nature, I spotted these satisfying tomatoes

and this interesting post about how a natural history book kinda invented the colour pantone swatches. Wutttt.

It's the time of year where colours are everywhere, but honestly, I'm just feeling a little blue/grey. I just want to be by the sea. And live in this little seaside cottage with this mussels shell wreath. Must make one of these for when I’m a lighthouse keeper #goals

Anyway, coming up I've got a guest spot back at Noka in London - 26 & 27 July, I have one space I need to fill so tell your friends - it'll be discounted😉

I hope you're doing well. Just a reminder, not that I suspect my readers need it, that though the Tories are out, there's still much to do… last week's election was traumatic for many queer folk, and it was hard witnessing the anxiety this caused for people I love -  seeing their mere existence, safety and lives thrown around as “debate" - it's not ok. It wasn't all celebrations, even if you hate the Tories and are as relieved as I am that they're out. What can we do? I guess try to help protect Trans lives by writing to your MP,  If, like me, you are unhappy with our new government's stance on LGBTQ+ rights. 

It’s a bit tough out there, but I really love my community and I’m so lucky.

Here's a picture that celebrate that (from my collage session). And that’s me signing off for another few weeks, thanks for reading x

Sorry for radio silence, I've been dealing with some life stuff, and this fell off a little. I didn’t want to write until I felt inspired to either. I hope you're all doing well.

I’ve been mostly just tattooing and adventuring a little, or sitting out the back of my house and urging summer to kick in. Everything is looking very green anyways.

I just got back from a trip to Edinburgh, for some family stuff, but managed to also see some nice bits and pieces around the city. Here are some highlights:

Since we spoke I facilitated my first collage workshop at the wonderful Leftbank, for the Leeds LGBTQ+ Community Consortium - it was a real success and the attendees asked for more sessions, so if you're LGBTQ+ and fancy exploring identity through collage, keep an eye out for the next sessions (and others)

Here's some examples of the work people made - I had collected a bunch of found materials, magazine cuttings, and photos I liked of famous queer folk, and the results are ace. The main point though was it was a nice way for people to meet new folks while doing something creative.

I’ve been looking at collage artists for inspiration, and have been really enjoying the work of Elbetoval. These are digital collages, and he calls himself a surrealist vintage collage creator.

I looked back through the art I've been favouriting on Instagram and found a common theme - frogs and toads! Not sure what that's about, but perhaps because Spring alway makes me look out for em. Love those guys. Here’s an assortment of frog related art for your pleasure…

…

I had also collected some cloud related art, perhaps reflecting the frustration, or trying to find beauty, in the cloudy skies we seem to have constantly…

Despite the cloudy skies, I’m still trying to get outside plenty, and it feels good to reconnect with some of the things that feed my soul, because sometimes as a self-employed person there is very little balance.

I've had a few wild swims - one at a lake swimming campsite in York, one in a beautiful river in Northumberland. I love Northumberland so much.

I also stayed in an wee shepherds hut up there where you could hear curlews constantly, a cuckoo too, and we could see hares in the fields behind our hut. A barn owl visited too.

Curlew are my favourite birds, and it was wild that at the same time as seeing them there, I happened to be reading this beautiful book by Kerri ní Dochartaigh, where this passage about Curlew stood out. I love the symbolism of birds, and would like to read more about their folklore.

Would really recommend this book actually - it’s a mixture of memoir, history and nature writing - about the authors childhood growing up during the The Troubles, and the healing nature of well, nature. It's very beautiful.

I really do need to lean into reading as a way of soothing myself when things are tough, even just being around books helps - we spent a very happy hour or so browsing Edinburghs bookshop Topping & Company, and I could've bought the whole place. I ended up adding another Mary Oliver collection to my bookshelf.

This one is my fave so far…

If anyone has any recommendations, particularly poetry or nature writing, please do drop a comment below? So while I've been a little bit ‘away’ I also left my wildlife camera for an entire month without checking it. The results are lovely - the grass has grown up so much and the light has been beautiful. The pictures of the deer gave me so much life.  Hope you like them too.

In other news, I'll be announcing a London guest spot for summer soon, so if you're keen or know of anyone, keep your eyes peeled. It would be great to see you.

I've been tattooing plenty more flash from my flash sale, and soon start doing my new colour flash, which is exciting! If you'd like to book some while it's at a lower introductory price get in touch (booking July and August)

I'm off to do some tattooing - a nice chance to look up and away from my screen, which is full of horrific images coming out of Gaza. I feel helpless, but I know there’s plenty of small, meaningful things we can do? If you'd like to join me in donating to this fund I’d be really grateful. My sister-in-law has a friend who lost her son Isa, and is raising funds for Palestine in his honour.

https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/isas_play_space_for_gaza

It's been a while. I've been busy under a mountain of chocolate, as well as preparing for some upcoming print fairs, and enjoying the start of SPRING! We made it, thank goodness. Here’s a fluffy calf to celebrate.

First up, let's talk about the fairs I have coming up… 

You can find me (and my studio mates Becci Maryanne and Lucy Blue) selling my wares at Hand of Glory market at Project House, Leeds, this Sunday from 11 -7. It's going to be a heady mix of tattooists tattooin’, selling prints, and some glorious food traders too. Entry is FREE. Tell your friends.

Secondly, the week after, on Sunday 14th, you'll find me at Northern Monk at the first Leeds based Mek Summat market. I absolutely loved being part of this last year in Saltaire, and it's sure to be a goodun. The lineup is mint, and look, you can drink beer while you browse. Entry is also FREE but you can donate to their foodbank fund. Lovely.

At both of these markets I'll be debuting some new prints, alongside these newish head/heart/hand ones, I'll also have a new bison print and a bear too. All being well I may even have some t shirts and totes! Go out and support your local independent artists cus boy it's tough out there at the minute. If you can’t make it you will be able to buy things online here. (New prints to be added soon but here’s a sneak preview of the bison) Thaaaanks hope to see you there.

While we are talking about awesome deals, I am dropping a surprise flash sale to celebrate today being my 5 year anniversary of the first tattoo I ever did! How has 5 years flown by? I'll be doing the following repeatable flash for only £55 each. Book now on tattoos@nathues.com.

Here's a lil compilation of tattoos, one a year, from the year I started (and my first ever tattoo, on the brilliant Spindle Printer) A very random selection but nice to look through the archives! Thank you so so much to everyone who supports me. It's wildly appreciated. Thank you too to my tattoo mother Becci Maryanne who showed me the way <3

I hope you're all good and have had a nice Easter. I have the wildlife cam back up and here's a cute great tit pic. If it stops raining I'll hopefully be able to share more. The squirrels decimated the bird feeder again. Rude.

This newsletter was very much about ME which, weirdly I feel the need to apologise for, even though it is literally a newsletter and thats the point. Normal service will resume next time with art and stuff from other people.

Thanks for reading, ‘til next time x

What have I got to show and tell you?

Well, after my slightly vulnerable admission that things have been a bit quieter lately in tattooing, I'm pleased to say my clients have stepped up, and things are starting to get busier. Thank you! (keep booking though!)

Here's a party sealion to celebrate this news.

Emma wanted this to commemorate the day she watched a sealion community ‘partying’ in a rockpool in Monterey, California, while her own family looked on from the pier. Yes, that is a nice crisp Californian White wine the sealion is sipping. Lovely.

Equally joyful was this unbelievable encounter while very hungover on a Sunday stroll. I thought I was still drunk, but turns out that the field near me hosts miniature pony unicorn parties for kids (and their parents, all wearing unicorn horns on their heads)

I’m not sure how I feel about these guys getting painted by a bunch of dressed-up children, but I saw the ponies during and after, and as you can tell they are non-plussed or even happy? Unicorns are real and I've seen ‘em. Special shout-out to the homing pigeons flying in the background.

On the subject of horses, and rainbows actually, you might be wondering where my wildlife camera updates are, well the field I use has recently been taken back over by these guys. They're real cute. Name suggestions welcome. I'm hopeful I can still put my wildlife cam out and capture some foxes etc ( if they co-exist happily? ) Or at least perhaps some goofy close-ups of these guys. Anyways it's nice to see them out there.

It’s moments like this - with the rainbow, the factory chimney, and these two giving eachother a sweet neck-nibble - that I feel very extra lucky to live here.

I had been meaning to also photograph my wooden pieces which I've been working on - here's some not great photos of them.

The idea is to stand them out in the field and record the wildlife interacting with them (gonna put some bird feed on them and see who shows up) Like all art projects I make, it's a bit silly and whimsical, but think it could be cool… both as objects/ interactive bird feeders/ art pieces, but also to create some interactive photos between real animals and my made-up ones. What do you think? I really enjoyed making them. I’ve invested in a jigsaw, so now I want to cut all the wood up.

What else is new? Well I've tattooed some of that recent flower flash, and really enjoyed it too. Nice to do something bold and simple!

I decided to make some mock-ups so people can see some placement and size ideas. I then went down a rabbit hole trying to find decent photos of people who look like real, actual people (decent non-cheese stock photos are hard to come by! One day I'll find some volunteers) SO I ended up finding this incredible collection of photos of gay and lesbian writers in the 1980’s, by Robert Giard. ( TW warning: Discussions of AIDS related death)

In the height of the AIDS crisis Giard set about documenting both emerging and iconic figures in the gay and lesbian literary world. The project, Particular Voices, would go on to be published and exhibited by the New York Public Library. As I said on the instagram post, I am in love with these, and, while I realise these folks wouldn't have necessarily chosen to be fake tattooed by me, I feel like I recognised some of my friends and clients in them and it had the feeling I wanted to get across? I’ve researched a little about each writer and found some interesting info, as well as creating a way to demonstrate tattoo placements.  What started as an exercise in finding some visuals, ended in an interesting, thought-provoking, deep-dive into LGBTQI+ literary history for me.

Hopefully it's not disrespectful to have used these photos this way - in my research I was saddened but not surprised to see that several lost thier lives to the AIDS crisis. It felt poignant finding the photos of the now much older, still living writers - typing in their names and finding up-to-date portraits, while other searches ended with an obituary.

Anyway, do take a look at the full original collection (without my doodles on them!)

As a ‘thank you’ to Giard and his inspiritaional writers, I made a donation to Queer Art via the The Robert Giard Foundation . His foundation supports continued scholarship about LGBTQ+ literature in America, as well as LGBTQ+ movements and activism. You can donate here too.

I feel like this post has been a rollercoaster from light to dark, rainbows to, well, here we are. I’m not sure where else to go, other than to share this photo of the first in-bloom daffodils I saw this year. It’s a really un-exciting, un-extraordinary photo, but they popped up in the exact same spot I remember first seeing daffs last year, when there was snow on the ground, and I had newly fallen in love. So this photo brings me joy, because I remember that feeling a year ago, and I feel it now, and I love Spring.

I hope you’re doing well out there x

Heyup friends,

I’ll keep this short - this week I’m having to prioritise less fun n’ frivelous things than my newsletter sadly. Real talk - tattoo wise things are a little quieter these past few weeks. Thank god it’s February, and long January is over, but as things take a little time to busy-up (thanks to the collective freak-out from the cost of living crisis) I’m doing some discounts to help y’all out and honestly, help myself fill some spaces.

I’ve got new flash, it’s pretty cute! Prices are included but I’ll discount them even further starting at £55 if you can fill some of the following gaps. There’s also juicy discounts to be had if you book multiple pieces or bring a friend. Also doing custom and freehand!

• Wednesday 14th Feb

• Thursday 15th Feb

• Friday 16th Feb

• Wednesday 21st Feb

• Thursday 22nd Feb

• Friday 29 Feb

Tell your friends and book on: tattoos@nathues.com

Did you also know that you can donate / pay for your subscription to this newsletter? It’s not mandatory (I happily do it for free) but if you enjoy it and fancy supporting me to continue, please do!

In the meantime, here’s a few pictures from my weekend, featuring a beautiful knotted tree, a cool goat head, some climbers scaling a quarry rock wall, and a miniature forest of lichen.

Thanks for your support and I’ll be back soon with a longer newsletter.

Well the big news is I joined Tiktok, hmm. I resisted it for ages, but it's another way to reach my audience, so it seemed like I should get on there. Please follow me if you're a tiktok person. My first video was a little ‘day in the life of me’, at work, tattooing my friend. We did a nice little watering-can flash, and all in all it was a very wholesome day, so nice to have a record of that, if nothing else! (Can you tell I’m a little bit nervous of tiktok…what can I say, I’m an elder millenial)

Speaking of gardening, I've started to think ahead to spring and what I might attempt to grow. Inspired by this mega-prize-winning leek - maybe I'll grow some of those? I can only dream of leeks this mighty. Credit to the incomparable Martin Parr for this epic photo of Norman Soper. Also, is it me, or does Norman look a bit like old Johnny Cash? He didn’t die, he’s just gardening.

Big fan of this leek illustration by Maria Ramos. Cute. I also found this great insta account bigtreehunters - look at this big boi. 

Anyway, I'll start small and see if I can get anything growing… mainly just excited to be outside more. Bring on spring. Not seen much wildlife lately, but did take this whippet for a run in the rain, and despite apperances, I think she loved chasing after her ball. As soon as she was soaked to the bone she retreated to this shelter, and tried to climb on top of my fleece and go to sleep. She is more adventurous than she looks. She even braved a vet checkup on the same day.

My adventures have mostly been London based since I last wrote - I packed quite a bit into a short 48 hr visit - here's what went down…

I started with a trip to Queer Britain, Britain's only LGBTQI+ museum! It was great. Sort of emotional to walk around and realise what we as a community were sorely missing before.

I especially enjoyed this letter from 2009 Elton John to his younger self.

There was a stunning tapestry by Pierre Marie featuring “four members of a family who do not share blood but share a certain vision of life.” I also loved the incredible collection of ephemera, badges, magazines and protest material from decades past.

I saw lots of visually cool things while wandering the city, and got a little obsessed with signage and logos. Some really good ones here don't you think? I’m really enjoying the trend for bold illustration/tattoo style logos for food places.

Also some really good lights and neon signs going on…love me a neon sign. How do I get hold of this toilet one for my own loo?

Finally I popped to Lightroom, an interactive art installation/screening room, to watch The Moonwalkers, a Tom Hanks co-written/narrated documentary about space. It was visually pretty epic, especially in the way the wrap-around screens made it feel like you were actually up in space. Lightroom website writes “The show tells the stories of the Apollo missions, reflecting their gripping journeys at spectacular scale”.

Some of the footage from various moon landings seemed so eerily crisp I briefly becoming a moon landings conspiracy theorist (Jokes, not really) How did they get those images to be so clear and high definition?…we all wondered. Well Tom Hanks cleared that up - phew - The type of camera plus very thin atmosphere meant no dust or matter between the lens, and that equaled crystal clear images, even then! (check out this collection of images on Public Domain Review)

I didn't love the slightly cheesy advert-style NASA interviews with the next crew scheduled for a manned moon-landing (scheduled in a few years) I think personally, as fascinating as I find space, I think we now should pool our energies and resources into fixing the planet we are on? But what do I know? Perhaps, as the interviews implied, they really are looking for solutions to earths man-made problems out there in space? Or is space just the playground of billionaires and a place for political posturing between nations? This debate does make me think of the spoken word piece ‘Whitey on the moon’ by Gil Scott-Heron. It was a piece about social inequality, particularly in black communities, at the time of the Apollo Moon landings. It kind of speaks for itself, give it a listen.

Anyway, I’ll get off my lil soapbox - to be fair the documentary at Lightroom was quite visually inspiring and I did enjoy then listening to Public Service Broadcasting’s The Race for Space album on my train home.

Anyway, aside from adventures and work, I’ve been enjoying spending time at home with my people, watching Traitors finale (!!!) eating mushroom lasagne and planning birthday celebrations for my favourite person.

I will leave you with these beautiful fuzzy fern pictures by Juneberryjelly (found on endless__spiral) and a sweet poem by Naomi Shihab Nye to go with.

Thanks as always for listening, I appreciate you all x

Hoping this finds you well, and settling into 2024 ok.

I've just got back from a very restful week away in the Scottish Highlands. It was honestly the best tonic, and I feel so lucky -  the weather was perfect (cold, clear blue skies) and I saw and did so many things that fed my soul. I feel fully rested and ready for the year ahead, but also day-dreaming of being back there. I think I'm meant to live by the sea.

A definite highlight was Neist Point on the Isle of Skye - my favourite place ever maybe. The sun was setting over the outer Hebrides, and we saw porpoises swimming in the bay below the lighthouse - it felt like an actual dream. Sat on the rocks and sipping mushroom soup (made at a tiny local cafe) the world felt just right to me then.

I especially loved the light as we walked back to our car - here if you look really closely you can see the last two (brave) tourists hiking back from the top - it gives a proper sense of the scale of this magical place. As we drove away we stopped to look at this buzzard just chilling and seemingly also enjoying the sunset. Nice.

The pace of life up there is very, very slow, especially off season. Our village had one pub and one cafe, both of which were only open whenever the locals felt like it was worth it. We also popped our heads in a tiny gin distillery where the owners were experimenting with some new flavours. We found ourselves in a tiny, dark stone room lined with hundreds of booze bottles. Two guys were tending to giant arrangements of bubbling copper distillery equipment. It felt straight out of an old apothecary. The owners chatted and tried out their new gin botanicals on us. We left warmed from gin, and chewing on hibiscus petals and sichuan peppercorns.

I especially enjoyed being at the seaside in winter - it’s weird to be on a beach when it’s snowy. I got a bit obsessed with photographing the textures of the seashells and seaweed, and took far too many pictures of the pinkish early afternoon sunsets.

I spent a lot of time beachcombing. One of the local beaches is made up of tiny fragments of coral. Well technically it’s sand made from calcified seaweed, a.k.a. maerl. I also found lots of old sea glass (mostly, I think, from old whiskey bottles) I thought about swimming, but even a dip of the toes felt like icy daggers. Maybe next time…will definitely be back <3

On returning home I was reunited with Lola, who seemed very happy. I missed her.

This yawn reminds me of the Scottish harbour cat (who I would've brought home if I could) She ruled the harbour - climbing trees, playing with us, and desperately tried to get into our apartment, and in this case the pub…

This was taken on our last night, while we drank whiskey and played cards. Perhaps in another life she and Lola would be friends. This picture makes her look a lot fiercier than she was.

As well as returning home to Lola I have returned home to a little snow, it's actually colder here then when we were up north! But check out these absolutely perfect snowflakes I spotted this morning.

I had a much needed digital detox while in Scotland, but when I looked at the art I saved from Instagram so far this year, it was definitely sea-themed in general.

I absolutely adore the drawings of artist Duke Riley, and dream of one day being tattooed by him on his floating tattoo studio.

He is also a beachcomber, but he salvages the plastic junk he finds and turns it into art resembling sailor scrimshaw whale bone carvings from the 1800’s. This is Colossal describes his found plastic pieces like this:

“ He carves incisive allegories and ornamentation into their surfaces. Painted in a warm, grainy beige, the scavenged waste mimics the whale bones traditional to scrimshaw while the artist’s signature wit emerges through the contemporary narratives of oil barons or marine creatures carrying human trash. "

I also saved this lovely and surreal (similar in style, in that it’s also an etching, I think) David Hockney piece from Something Curated. It’s named ‘The Boy Hidden in a Fish’, and I think it sums up how I feel after a week by the sea, and the weird feeling of having to come back to my actual, land-locked life? Or maybe I’m being a bit dramatic…bring on the wild swimming season.

Honestly though I'm happy to be back, and feeling excited for all the creative projects ahead - I worked on a fun personal project while I was away, which I’ll share when finished. One thing I can share is the single artwork I was lucky enough to make for my friend Maddie Morris. Thier beautiful new single Marsha P Johnson is out on Friday on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services. The album Skin is out 24th February. You can sign up to Maddie’s newsletter here and you’ll get a little sneak preview of the track the day before release.

That’s almost it for my ramblings… thanks for listening to this extended holiday boast. I mostly just wanted to share how much better I feel having rested, read, hiked, and painted. Life can be too busy and very anxiety inducing. If you can, if you have this absolute luxury and privilege, take a break once in a while, and solidly do things that really make you happy. Here’s a poem I liked (maybe kind of on this theme?) from Poetryisnotaluxury by Malena Mörling

Nat x

Hope you're keeping well and feeling festive.

I've not posted in a while, and I thought I’d hop on and update you all before Christmas. The field next to my house has been lovely lately, especially during the snow. I took some photos of the ice crystals - it was a proper dry, cold frost, and everything looked magical. Lola kept burying her snoot in the snow. Those ladybirds huddling together (for warmth?) were so nice.

My wildlife camera has been moved about a bit and the usual suspects have been visiting - loved this one of the squirrel and magpie, the squirrel looks like it’s about to savage the magpie for daring to share the food. Check out that chonky ginger cat too…it’s like a mini lion king pride rock scene.

My camera even captured this cute (accidental) portrait of my girlfriend and I walking Lola together. With the year coming to a close and reflecting on what kind of year it’s been for me, this image feels fitting, and makes me very happy, and grateful, for the sheer queer joy I get to experience in my daily life. Thank you to the people around me who support me, not least this babe <3

While we are on the subject of queer joy, I took part in a wonderful workshop run by my friends at Leeds LGBT+ Community Consortium - Our little group wrote Christmas cards for older members of the LGBTQI+ community who reside in carehomes. Hopefully it brings a bit of christmas cheer to some folks at a time when not everyone is with their families. Check out the Consortium for other events and workshops, they’re all brilliant.

Amid all the Christmas chaos I’ve been working hard at getting all your prints out there, thank you so much if any of you bought from me! I’ll be doing another print run in the new year, so if anyone missed out on the sale, message me if you’d like a discount code and mention you’re a subscriber.

I also did some sweet tattoos including this rabbit sitting on a line for Jessica. It was based on a wee drawing her sibling did for her before she moved to Australia over 20 years ago, and Jessica has carried it around ever since. It was a lovely day as we also tattooed said sibling Beccy (I’ll share that another time). I always love when people are visiting from overseas and decide to use some of their visit to get tattooed - it feels really special when it’s the way they choose to hang out with their friends or fam.

I’ve definitely tried to embrace the cosiness of winter a little more this year, and one thing I’ve enjoyed is watching the skies changing over my house. A crisp, clear day with a pink sunset feels like peak winter loveliness. I adore the chimney of the old factory near me too - it always serves as a reminder that I am very much up North. This sounds obvious, but sometimes I’m so used to being an adopted Northerner, I have to pause and remember that I’ve made it my home, and I love it.

I realise this post sounds like a love letter to my life, and I suppose, after a year in my little house, it really is. I’ve had a less-than-settled few weeks, and being grateful and reflective feels like the way out? That and mulled wine! :)

Anyway, I must have had pink skies on the mind because I collected a fair few art pieces on this theme. I loved this beautiful photo by Alex Hinson (Oregon), as well as the Durdle Door ‘sunstar’ photo by Jack Lodge . It’s a reminder to follow more photographers for inspiration I think.

Using the same dreamy colour palette Yvette Earl’s illustration reminds me of the skies over Bole Hills in Sheffield (a beautiful spot to see the peaks)

Speaking of Sheffield/ the Peak District I also liked this dramatic image from Daniel Casson, from the aptly named series ‘winter colours’.

 I must be on a landscape artist kick, because I also went down a rabbit hole looking at the work of John McAllister. These paintings are quite literally glowing. Wow.

And again, in the same glowing-warm colour scheme I also saved this from collector Jonas Frei - A collection of colourful corn seeds, also known as glass gem seeds. One day maybe I will have a little bit of land for a proper veggie garden, and I’ll grow some of these, maybe?

I’ve also decided I want goats. So many goats. A trip to Heeley city farm in Sheffield sealed the deal on this decision. Look at them. Gorgeous.

I basically just want a tiny home with a bigger bit of land, and to fill the land with animals, and the walls of my house with art? I’ve got the first bit covered (I’ll share some pics of my latest diy/art on the walls soon) The next logical step would probably be to turn the house itself into a piece of art? For fun I have been collecting images of various architectural oddities around the world - Japan is definitely the frontrunner in this field - just look at this fruit bus stop shelter (more found on Viewing Mag) Also absolutely in love with this tortoise shaped bar in Mongolia, and the Hoot Owl cafe from California (it even had rotating head and blinking eyes!) The cricket couple building is amazing also…haha how romantic. These were all found on Lostfoundartny

I’ve now decorated my tiny christmas tree, bought from the brilliant canal boat book/plant shop Holdfast. It is named Alan (I didn’t choose the name, it came with it, but shout out to my dad - the original Alan) I’ll leave you with a pretty picture of Alan (the christmas tree, not the dad)

Lastly, here’s also some cool atmospheric photos by California based John Thatcher, which made me feel all excited to be drivin’ home for Christmas at the weekend. I’ll be spending it with my family, and am wishing you all a very safe, happy and lovely time, whatever you do.

Thanks for reading my ramblings this year, I appreciate you all very much.

See you in 2024, ‘til then, take care x 

I have covid, so I’m going to keep this short as my brain is operating at a slower speed than usual. It sucks but I’m not feeling too poorly, just unable to tattoo, so on that note - please support me with my 24 hour flash print sale ! A3 prints are just £12. Click on this instagram post to see the prints on offer, then DM me there to buy.

Thanks x

Here’s some lovely deer images from my wildlife camera.

And here’s some medieval beasts flash I drew on the plane to and from Lisbon (to distract from my fear of flying) I had these on sale at the Queer Ren Fair hosted by The Hangout. The event managed to raise over £600 for the LGBTQ+ youth club, and I was glad to contribute to some of that with my small tattoo raffle.

These original drawings are also for sale - if you are interested email me - they’d make nice Christmas gifts?

Before I left for Lisbon I did these very sweet matching leaf fossil tattoos for an equally sweet couple. Always enjoy fossils.

I’m going to leave you with my Lisbon photos - I had a great time and ate a lot of custard tarts, and drank a lot of good coffee. Highlights included the Alfama flea market Feira Da Ladra , beautiful Cascais, the wonderful aquarium Oceanario Lisboa (I saw my old sunfish friend) and the totally mushroom themed restaurant Santa Clara Dos Cogumelos.

I’ll share more when I’m slightly more with it. Thanks for reading as always x

Hope you're good and survived the storm. I think I forgot to mention that the last storm stopped me getting up to Scotland and our off-grid bothy, hence no pictures. We had a nice stay-cation in Leeds though instead.

It's defo feeling very WINTER so I'm consoling myself with colourful art and delicious pastries. If you’re in Leeds try out Fat Pigeon Bakery a small pop-up bakery in the garden of a local baker.

It’s right near beautiful Bramley Baths (a reminder, details and tickets for the next LGBTQ+ swim I will facilitate are here )

Last week I did some nice tattoos…including these fun pieces on Sarah to celebrate her love for swimming (the capybara chilling in the fountain) and gardening (watering can dino) I love my job!

Lola has been keeping me cosy. Here she is experiencing the first frosty morning walk of the year. Fleece very much needed…not sure what the tongue’s about.

Since the squirrel bird-feeder theft/debacle I've moved the wildlife camera, and although not sure they’re the best photos of the foxes, I do like the way the camera lights up the trees, and the fact you can see through to the lit-up houses, and the silhouette of the local factory chimney beyond. Very atmospheric, very northern.

The best wildlife shot to be honest this week is this spider on my veggie box. What a beauty (that shadow too!) Anyone know what type of spider this is?

Some purple sprouting broccoli will be ready to be harvested soon...must work out what I’ll do with it? First though I’ve got a busy few weeks coming up, including a trip to Lisbon and I cannot wait. After that I'll be doing the Ren Fair for LGBTQI+ youth club The Hangout.

Spread the word and feel free to share this poster far and wide. I’ll be selling prints, original art, and doing a tattoo raffle to raise funds for the youth club. I've not done a fair for ages so I hope I remember what to do! I think I'll dress up in a green mediaval dress I recently got at a vintage fair for this exact occasion. Pictures to follow…perhaps.

Here's some art I've been inspired by this week. Weirdly, when I looked back at what I've been saving, I noticed not one but two gummy bear related pieces! I love these paintings and they seem like fun things to paint so maybe that’s why everyone’s at it? The first three are by Roxanne Patruznick aka thegummyempire. The last two are by Helga Stentzel .

I really enjoyed the colour and imagination of Eric Winkowski’s motion work. I got lost on his page for ages. Click on these to see them in motion…trust me it’s worth a look.

One colourful artist who has always inspired me is Lisa Congdon. I’ve been following her illustration work since I was a student. She’s a multi disciplinary artist in every sense.

Her colour palettes are always mint. This week it was her words that inspired me though. The below post really made me think about my practice as an artist, and how I shouldn't judge myself too harshly when trying new things. I’m really good at that!

Lisa is also the first person who brought my attention to poet Mary Oliver (she has loved her for ages, and even has her words tattooed on her)

I'll leave you with this Mary Oliver poem because I adore her, and she comforts me.

I love writing this newsletter, and hearing your positive feedback - so thank you for reading it. I know it's more of a visual rambly journal/diary thing than actual news, but I'm glad it still has its place. I have however decided writing it every week is a little too much - especially when I have other work on… so expect it every 2 weeks or so from now on. Gotta make time to actually make art as well as talk about it?!… and I’ve got some exciting ideas brewing…

Hope you're all okay - keep well and keep your chin up - these are crazy, dark times to be alive for sure. Mary’s poem (illustrated by Lisa Congdon also) feels very apt…If you want to write to your local MP to call for a ceasefire in Gaza follow this link or download this template letter. It’s quick, easy, and will hopefully save lives.

Speak soon, ‘til then take care x

Hope you're all doing well.

This might be a short-ish one, as I've got a lot of freelance work on at the moment and I need to focus on that - however I will always do a newsletter when I can… and hopefully can share some of those projects soon too.

I'll kick off with some pictures from my week - I visited Rufford Abbey for a walk with friends and as a bonus enjoyed the spooky Halloween display - especially this fella and his spaceship.

We also went off the path and found some mossy trees with tiny white mushrooms sprouting out of them. (They also look a little bit like flying saucers?) I'd like to live in that moss…mmm squishy.

I'm currently reading Braiding Sweetgrass - by Robin Wall Kimmerer, it's absolutely beautiful and I'd really recommend it (next I'd like to read her other book Gathering Moss) I'm not very good at describing books so I'll leave a better description written by her publisher…

Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings - asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass - offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices.

As well as the usual autumnal goodness we came across a Victorian pet cemetery -something I've never actually seen before. I thought it was quite charming and cute. Also a nice reminder that people have always loved their pets. (Donovan is a great name for a dog, might use that someday) It had an air of Stephen King about it obvs, so we didn't stay too long. Question is, is the cage there to keep us off the grave, or keep the spirit of Donovan contained?

While we are on the theme of death (eek) I also spotted this beautiful memento mori plate from 1661. I love the inscription - pure gothic romance.

I adore this post by Fossilised Flowers sharing some thoughts on November. I especially like the idea that a month could be seen as country (see Emily Dickinson describing November as the Norway of the months) It feels like a nice idea for a series of prints? Hmmm.

These all give the impression I am feeling gloomy about the time of year, but I’m actually enjoying it. The trees are starting to go very firey and orange out the back of my house, and it's lovely.

I've not captured much exciting wildlife this week, but I did discover my bird feeder has been stolen... like fully gone, and the camera evidence seems to point to a squirrel?! I'm wondering if the squirrel knocked it off and later a badger dragged it off… surely a squirrel doesn’t have the strength? Either way the crime scene photos are fun…here’s the evidence.

We are getting some beautiful sunsets, I might try setting up my GoPro to capture one someday. I am also loving the glow from the houses and roads in the distance. Sitting at my kitchen table, writing this with a cup of coffee, feels peak cosy. I'd like this blanket by Boy_knits_world to go with it.

I wish I could knit, or quilt, but alas it's not my thing. I could do some digital quilts?! Sort of like this tapestry I found by illustrator Sightstudy . Gorgeous!

December tends to quieten down on the tattoo front, so perhaps I'll have time for some other creative things, but for the time being I'm still busy at the studio. Last Friday I had one of those days where I accidentally themed my day - I did a (sexy) merman for Richard, then a (peaceful) selkie for Madeline. We also got a snap of her healed orca which I did a year or so ago. So yes, a nice ocean themed day. I'd like to do more mythological creatures like these two - hit me up if you're interested.

I plan to draw some new flash for a new year sale in January - if any of you have any suggestions of what you'd like to see, do let me know.

I’ll leave you with this 1956 painting by Maxfield Parrish which was on a great account called Dark Gloomy Art. It feels like if the Bon Iver album For Emma Forever Ago were a painting? It’s also got some Bob Ross-esque vibes, which has reminded me, that’s my favourite thing to watch on a dark, cold night…that and Married At First Sight…call me… eclectic?

Thanks for reading. Take care and I'll catch you soon x

I was out last night doing a Cluedo murder mystery at the Cardigan Arms pub. It was bloody great. We dressed up in 1920’s gear and pretended to be going to a film premiere, where, in the end, someone of course went and got murdered. The rest of the night was spent mingling with and questioning the characters/actors around the pub, and our team won! It was put together by Milk Teeth Productions, and was really well done - the gloomy setting was perfect and everyone nailed their costumes. 

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween. Thanks to my friends I also carved some pumpkins last week which was fun and reminded me what a very wholesome thing it is to do. My good friend Jess even modelled for me, thanks mate hope you liked my portrait of you <3

So this time of year is all about being cosy, and lighting all of the candles. The things that have been inspiring me this week definitely reflect that mood. I did a proper gasp at this photo taken in Oaxaca in Mexico during the day of the dead festival. It's my dream to go to this one day. Look how beautiful…

I also loved this spooky fireplace - what a vibe. It’s called the Camino di Santana, aka satans fireplace, and is from the Renaissance period 1550ca. It was designed by Venetian architect Michele Sanmicheli at Villa della Torre, Verona, Italy. I'd have one of these in my home just for how great it would make Halloween movie nights - but perhaps it's not the cosy aesthetic I need.

I'm thinking about commissioning a tiny stained glasses window for my house, and I wish I could get Soft_shapes involved. So warm… so inviting. Also check out this glass brick house I found over on Global Spaces by sibling_architecture .

Another warm and inviting image that popped out at me was this painting on art.infinitus by Patrick Saunders. I have no idea how someone captures light like this but it is lovely. That orange/grapefruit?!

And on the theme of fruit…check out Kathleen Ryan , who uses glass beads to make clay fruit look decaying and mouldy - it's both lovely, beautiful, and also a little bit gross, which makes me feel weird. I love it.

A less contemporary but no less impressive fruity glass piece that I found was this pomegranate over on museum.of.artifacts . It’s from the Greek Hellenistic period - 2nd Century BC…woah. The way it glows from the inside, it's so gorgeous. I can't believe how old it is. I want one…

Lastly, I really loved the work of Bouke de Vries ,who makes artworks and installations using broken ceramic fragments of the past. It's a really striking image, and this video about his work describes him as finding beauty in broken things and given them a new narrative.

As for my own work this week (as well as some secret illustration projects) I also did some fun tattooing - including this jay for a regular client. I loved her story for why she chose a jay - an experience of coming into her house to find a massive live jay sitting on her cactus, which her cat had caught and left for her to deal with (It was released unharmed)

I was delighted to find the very next day after tattooing this - a photo of a jay on my bird feeder. Absolutely adore their beady eyes and those blue feathers.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Speak soon, til then take care x

I rounded off last week at a Queer Rodeo, at Wharf Chambers. Wharfback Mountain was a great fundraiser for LGBT+ Youth Club The Hang Out. It was so much fun.

There were some great performers, art stalls, and of course, everyone dressed up. I love dressing up and I love cowboys so this was my chance to crack out those boots I bought earlier this year (see previous newsletters) Here I am with my very own cowgirl and Heath Ledger impersonator? (the jacket!!!) <3 My gal understood the assignment.

The event raised over £800 for The Hang Out, and it was just such a lovely evening.

A particular highlight was when the amazing billybutchdrag held up a sign saying Fuck Rishi Sunak. Indeed. And anyone else who doesn’t believe in protecting trans lives.

(In case you’re not aware, the Tories were once again spouting anti-trans rhetoric, this time at their party conference. It’s too depressing, and I’m too angry to share on my newsletter, but please do read up if you’re interested in knowing more)

Anyway, so I don’t know why I’ve always loved cowboys? To be honest more than the rootin’ tootin’ gun slinging side of it, I think it’s the romantic-lonely-desert-big-sky environment they inhabit. I played a lot of the game Red Dead Redemption in lockdown and when we weren’t allowed to go anywhere it was perfect to ride a horse out to the mountains and watch a virtual desert sunset. My living room is also basically a shrine to the brilliant trans artist Sweet Cowboy Blues, who creates beaut illustrations of “cowboys,cowgirls and cowtheys”. Their work celebrates the gender euphoria which was actually found in the wild west by many a queer or trans person back in the day. You could be yourself, you could be anyone and even entirely reinvent yourself, and I’m all for that. Yeehaw!

Another artist I love who creates beautiful western themed scenes is Coyote West. The simplicity of the scenes, along with the consistently earthy colour scheme is a recipe for loveliness. I feel like this one really gets across the thoughtful, quiet and maybe sometimes lonely nature of living that lifestyle?

Also discovered the artist Un_Loup who paints a lot of things, but quite often horses - horses are so hard to draw. I’m always interested in how other artists approach it - maybe I should do a horse drawing project and see how get on? Hmmm.

The use of colours in their work is so nice. I also loved the tones in this bird scene, and it reminded me of another creature I’ve been enjoying…budgies!

I popped to Cliffe Castle Museum, and had a lovely time photographing these guys. They’re so cheeky and characterful, and I’m obsessed with the range of colours you get. Did you know that all budgie colours originate from the wild green and yellow budgie? The first colour mutation to appear reportedly was the yellow bird with faint green colouring in 1872, and the first blue budgie appeared in 1878.

I also liked this little yellow finch. I used to have a budgie when I was a kid, I’ve always loved them and have been considering getting a rescue one perhaps… (these days I’m not sure how I feel about caging birds?) 

While we are on the subject of rescue birds - A client I tattooed last week rescues wild birds in Leeds (mainly pigeons, ducks, magpies) We had a proper lovely time talking about how to care for birds, and she even sent me a photo of one of her pigeon squabs alongside my artwork.

This is Spike the squab. Iconic.

I tattooed 3 magpies on her (3 for a girl) and 4 on her partner (4 for a boy) which I thought was an absolutely lovely way of celebrating their own individual gender transitions, as well as marking their relationship through this process together.

I’ll say it again… protect trans lives, and obviously, also pigeon lives, especially Spike.

Here’s  a cosy picture of Lola looking a little guilty, as she’d snuck into my bed. It’s getting chilly, and this week I’m off to Scotland, so preparing myself for even colder weather, eek! For this reason I’ll not be writing next week, but I’ll be sure to take some pictures while I’m up there. I’ll be staying in a cute off-grid bothy, and I’m going to attempt to record some wildlife with my camera.

I’ll leave you with this pic of a deer popping by my camera last week. Hopefully I’ll capture some of its Scottish cousins? And maybe a red squirrel? Imagine.

‘Til then, take care x