Newsletter
16th November, 2025
From the Studio…
Welcome to the November edition of In the Studio. In this edition I will share some stories and inspiration from my fabulous trip to Mexico - what a feast for the senses! There is also an Artwork in Focus (created in Mexico of course), a report on some Seasonal Noticing and a gentle reminder of my online shop brimming with gift ideas for the upcoming festive season. Step into my studio… Let’s get to it!
Marvellous Mexico
I have just returned from a truly magnificent adventure in Mexico. I feel so lucky and grateful that I was able to finally do this trip that I have been wistfully eyeing for a number of years now.
I spent a week in the incredible Mexico City with a couple of friends (Museums! Art! Ballet Folklorico de Mexico! The Pyramids of Teotihuacan! Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul! Alebrijes - that’s me with one of these fantastical mythical creatures in the first photo) before joining the Art Travel Adventures gang to explore Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Patzcuaro.
This is my fourth trip with Art Travel Adventures - Kerri Ainsworth’s beautifully-curated immersive creative trips which combine culture, sightseeing and art-making (my kind of travel!) Mexico remains a favourite destination for the well-travelled Kerri and I can see why… There is inspiration, colour and a sense of joy everywhere.
We were lucky enough to be in Mexico for two major festivals - the International Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato and the Dia de Los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) in San Miguel de Allende. You can see us in our makeup and outfits in the header photo on our way to take part in the parade.
We were also there to make some art and this trip we attended a quite mind-blowing printing workshop with master printmaker Hugo Anaya. He is such a positive, inspiring teacher who was so encouraging. We all learnt so much and loved learning in his beautiful rooftop studio.
Later in Patzcuaro, we met up in Hugo again and he and Kerri took us through ideas and exercises to create travel sketchbooks - the perfect way to document a truly magical trip.
I have so many ideas for future artworks (and like my lovely new friends - many ideas for sprucing up my home to add more colour and life to it - a little bit of Mexico!) Who wouldn’t want a dining room like this one below from the Villa Refugio in Patzcuaro?!
Spring continues in Sydney - the air full of the scent of flowers, plants recklessly sending out shoots and magpies getting all territorial. I haven’t been dive-bombed, but others I know have. (At this time of the year, cyclists are known to decorate their helmets with jaunty spikes made of coloured zip ties to ward off incoming swoops). I have started swimming in the harbour again - the water is joltingly refreshing and the sunsets are breath-taking. The Jacaranda trees are getting ready to bloom too…
Seasonal Noticing
During a Covid Lockdown, I discovered Artist and Author Sarah Jane Axleby’s wonderful Instagram account Room Portrait Club. Most weeks, she posts a photo prompt for artists to interpret however they would like. She choses a selection of entries to repost and share. Responses come in all kinds of media from all around the world. I love to take part when I can. This is a recent effort for Week 202 featuring a room from @marinmontagut shot by photographer @dean.hearne. I was lucky enough to be chosen by SJ to have my work reposted with this entry. I used a fine nib pen to map out the outlines then one of my all time favourite mediums - graphic markers. I love the effects you can get with graphic markers. They remind me of drawing with textas as a kid, but there is something painterly about them too. They come with two tips - a narrow, rounded one and my preferred thicker, chisel tip. You can work in a fast, splashy way which is very joyful and fun!
Artwork in Focus - My version of @RoomPortraitClub Week 202
If you are starting to think about special end of year gifts, why not check out my Limited Edition prints? These are available in a range of sizes from A4 to A0 so they fit standard frames. If you like the graphic marker effects, there are three prints available of artworks I made which incorporated this medium.
I am travelling soon but Digital Downloads and Limited Edition prints are still available with systems setup to ensure that orders are filled in a timely manner. Original Artworks will not be available until I return in mid November.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of From the Studio. Please follow along with my travels on Instagram @ellahollandcreative.
Until next time,
XX Ella