The who, what, when, how and why of Bramble & Olive
WHO/ I thought it was probably about time that I said hello properly. I am not so keen on being this side of the camera but I always love #meetthemaker posts and getting to know the personalities behind the products, I’m making the sacrifice! ⠀ ⠀ This year has given me the opportunity to grow my business from a pipe dream into a reality so I thought it’d be fun do a short series of posts to explain the who, the what, the when, the how and the why behind it all. ⠀ ⠀ So here we go…the who…I’m Olivia, and I am the face, creator and dreamer behind Bramble & Olive. From as early as I can remember, I have always loved crafting and painting. My love of art blossomed at school and it has shaped my studies and career ever since. I am never happier than with a paintbrush in my hand (or cuddling dogs!). ⠀ ⠀ I am currently based in Surrey, and sometimes in Oxfordshire. This year has been a year of change for many of us and one big one for me is moving in with my other half. I am not sure he was quite prepared for all the art stuff and packaging that clutters the flat up! ⠀ ⠀ When I am not whiling away the hours painting, I love visiting heritage sites, going for long walks, baking, learning Swedish, travelling (in more normal years), good food, obsessing over cute animals, wine, spending time with my family, coffee, and watching films (l am currently making my way through as many Christmas films as possible!).⠀ ⠀ I cannot thank everyone enough for all your support so far, the community of small crafters and supporters is unbelievable and has kept me very motivated. I have a long way to go on this journey to get where I want to be, but in the meantime I look forward to delving into background and inspiration behind my little business a bit more in other posts!
WHAT/ ‘If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere’ ~ Vincent Van Gogh.
I thought this quote was a good place to start in terms of what I paint.
At the heart of my art is nature. I create original artworks in different mediums from pencil drawings to oil paintings. The subject can be anything from a pet portrait or floral bouquet to coastal landscapes.
Having spent half my childhood on the North Norfolk coast you’ll see that its big sweeping skies and beaches feature in my work a lot. It’s probably the place I feel happiest, and it makes me so joyful to paint it. For me, happiness is a key part of what I choose to paint and it’s my hope that I can share that feeling through my art.
As a strong mental health advocate, I know nature has huge benefits for our wellbeing, and try to celebrate this in my art. What I do allows me to absorb myself in things I truly believe in, art and nature.
I take commissions and one of my favourite things about these paintings is discovering the personal meaning behind the artwork. I hope that through my paintings I am injecting some beauty into the world, but either way I feel content every minute when I am creating.
WHEN/ I would paint all day every day if I could. However, I actually have a full time job which consumes a lot of my time.
I work in marketing for a National Trust property in Buckinghamshire. I adore my job as it is a perfect combination of creativity and analysis, and I am learning every day. I also get to talk all day long about things I feel passionate about: art, heritage, wildlife, nature and protecting all these invaluable things. It also helps that when I am in the office it’s a pretty spectacular place to work.
So in the daytime I promote festivals, art exhibitions and gardens (although this past year it’s been more about COVID messaging) and come the evenings I pull out my paints and get cracking. It’s unusual, but when I am feeling particularly virtuous or I have a deadline for a commission I have been known to get up early and paint before I sit down at my desk! I’m not really a morning person!
For all the challenges and sadness of the last year, there have been some unexpected opportunities for me which I feel very grateful for. Having been furloughed on and off for much of last year it gave me the time to paint more and the head space to really move my Etsy shop along.
Working from home has also opened up so much more time to dedicate to things that I love, including art and walking. My other half and I recently added a rather splendid, fluffy member to our gang, our cockapoo Noodle, so she now takes up a fair chunk of my attention playing and walking, so I am now trying to carve a new routine out to fit in everything that I adore! Feeling very lucky to have her and my art during this very hard time.
HOW/ So I need to work on my technical skills and get involved with time lapse videos. But for now this short video of stills shows the process of this shark watercolour painting.
Every artist works differently and I definitely work differently depending on my materials, the type of piece and the subject. This was a process of simple layering and gradually building colour and depth and the painting itself was fairly loose and did not take long. My oil paintings on the other hand usually take me months to complete and there is a long process of colour blocking, blending, layering, texture and adding details.
As a self-taught artist I have found my way with what works best for me (with a lot of fails along the way!), but mood and instinct also play a huge part in how I approach a piece.
The process of painting, whether a short study or a detailed painting brings me so much joy and seeing it develop the way I envisaged is incredibly satisfying.
WHY / It’s a simple question – why do I paint? Harder to answer as there are just so many reasons…
As I have mentioned before, arts and crafting have been a passion from a very young age. However painting provides me with a sense of escapism I’ve found with nothing else.
The process of building up a piece is all consuming and most of the time, incredibly satisfying (it can be frustrating if it doesn’t quite go to plan though!). Over the years I have learnt to experiment more and really absorb myself in what I am looking at. When I am working, nothing else matters. Painting is not only a passion for me, it’s also a therapy.
But it’s not just about me. It’s about the fact that in the last year or two people have really started to engage with my art and that is the best feeling in the world. I posted a review on my grid earlier this week and it’s the comments, messages, feedback and continuous support that always gives me a reason to pick up that paintbrush. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being here with me on my creative journey. It’s exciting!