whistle-stop round-up 🌪️

If May was all about finding my rhythm again, June was about embracing the glorious chaos that comes with saying yes and choosing myself.

There were thunderstorms, heatwaves, new phone-induced existential crises, the odd meltdown and one spectacularly failed market. But there were also beautiful weddings, live portraits, campervan adventures, paddleboarding, brilliant food, stunning sauna shifts and plenty of adventures and time with favourite faces squeezed in.

Throw in Pilates, running, swimming, admin, dog cuddles and a healthy number of "menty-b troll strolls" to keep the brain vaguely pointing in the right direction, and it's safe to say June was a proper full one.

I'd love to blame my disappearing act on soicals entirely on swapping from Apple to Google (still not convinced I've made sensible life choices there...), but if I'm honest it's probably a 50/50 split between technology-induced rage and simply enjoying real life too much to spend every minute staring at a screen.

And I reckon that's exactly how it should be.

(Although the phone rage can absolutely get in the bin!)

Anyway... here's June in all its random, sunny, slightly wonky glory...

Beefy Boys & Brilliant Company 🍔

Any excuse to catch up with lovely Rhea is a good one, but when burgers from Beefy Boys are involved it becomes filthy-good.

Excellent food, excellent company and exactly the kind of catch-up that fills your cup… and stomach!

Wedding Celebrations 💒

One of those lovely weekends spent celebrating people you care about. Good food, happy tears, questionable posing (me!) and all the reminders that life's biggest moments are always worth celebrating properly.

Supervised Portraits 🐺

A quieter work-shaped month, but still spending time painting some of my fave subjects - people and pets! I absolutely love creating these special portraits and it's always nice slowing down with a paintbrush after busier weeks of markets, events and peopling.

Even nicer to have some suPAWvision sometimes too… 👀

Seaside Wanders 🌊

There's something about being by the sea that resets absolutely everything. Add an ice cream, a bit of sunshine, swimming and a healthy dose of fish n chips on the sand and my brain starts behaving itself again.

Seeing Rei enjoying beach and van life is 💯 good for the soul too!

Thetford Forest 🌳

Fresh air, big trees and getting absolutely wet through outdoors. Oi Oi! One of those adventures where nothing particularly exciting happened... but good coffee was found, campervan naps we had and somehow that's exactly what made it so GOOD.

Sauna Days 💛

More shifts with Wild Sauna Club, which continues to be my absolute dream little side hustle. Every week I meet lovely people, spend time outdoors and come home feeling calmer than when I arrived.

I'm not entirely convinced it's a job.

SUP Adventures ⛵

The paddleboard officially came out of retirement for a long awaited outing! After dusting it off last month it was finally time to get back out on the water, and I'd forgotten quite how much I love bobbing around with nowhere particular to be.

Absolutely thrilled to discover I can still pull off a successful headstand on my board too!

Pub Stops & Coffee Pops 🍻☕

June featured several quality pub gardens, excellent coffee stops (including some local lovelies) and generally saying "yes" to spending time with good humans whenever possible.

Crafty Burger Detours 🍔

Sometimes you just need a decent burger (or two!) in the space of a fortnight. Washed down with a cheeky mocktail or two 👌🏼 oh and gelato to start… obvs!

Markets and mishaps

Not every market can be a winner, and June kindly reminded me of that. One was an absolute blinder and the other a complete flop - mostly because I never even made it, but that's part of running a creative business, navigating heatwaves and owning a camper that's older than you are!

Anywho… you dust yourself off, eat snacks, laugh about it afterwards and book the next one.

Motorbike Dates 🏍️

A sunny adventures on two wheels, exploring new little roads with my favourite person… to find far away food vans!

I'm 💯 accepting that everything is more fun when viewed through a motorcycle visor and helmet with cat ears!

Father's Day Roast 🐽

The Butchers Westgate. Excellent roast. Excellent company.

Absolutely no notes.

A moment to PAUS

Taking time out to enjoy a relaxing evening with old friends in beautiful surroundings. The hot tubs, sauna and cool pools at PAUS provide the perfect reset and place to catch up.

And the pizzas are exceptional…

Brunch life 🥔

Proper chats, good food and one of those catch-ups where you leave feeling lighter than when you arrived. Even if your stomach is most definitely fuller!

Gig in a Castle 🏰

Definitely one of the highlights of the month. Reliving the years of my yoof with fab friends at Lincoln castle - forever grateful to Cat and Darren for whisking me away for such a fun night out!

Stoney Swim 🐬

A sunny splash on the doorstep, followed by the sort of post-swim happiness that only cold water seems to create.

Costa del Cove never disappoints!

Buddy Adventures 🚌

My trusty camper made many appearances this month because life is simply better with Buddy.

A little bit of pootling an overnight camp or five, slower mornings and a reminder that adventures don't have to be big or expensive to be brilliant.

Dog Life Drawing 🐾

Possibly one of the most wholesome things I've ever done and will continue to do.

Dogs. Drawing. Lovely people. Say no more.

Also an excellent chance to catch up with one of my OG art college besties - fucking love this woman!

Looking back, June was about saying yes to lots of little moments I've genuinely been shying away from in recent years (therapy coming through in spades for me right now!)

Trusting my gut, staying in my lane and genuinely putting myself first and leaning into…

The adventures.
The conversations.
The fresh air.
The people.
The work.
The rest.

I've realised recently that the more I focus on actually living MY life instead of trying to second guess and document every second of it, the happier I seem to become. Ironically, that usually leaves me with even more lovely things worth sharing afterwards…

Funny how that works.

Anywho…

If you've made it this far, thank you for following along, even when I disappear for a week or two while wrestling with technology, my brain gremlins or simply getting on with life.

YOU LOVELY LOT KEEP ME GOING!

Stay hydrated, be kind to yourself and hopefully I'll see you a little more throughout July...

MAYBE.

If you've landed here because you're looking for a live portrait artist for your wedding, corporate event, festival or private celebration, I'd love to hear from you. I create fun, expressive watercolour live guest portraits at events across Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and throughout the UK. They're a unique keepsake for your guests and honestly one of my favourite things to paint.

hello-sunshine.co.uk/portraits

june japes