How many colours does a sketcher need?
That’s a good question. How many colours does a sketcher need?
If you’re a Travel Sketcher like us - three. What colours would you choose for the food setting above!
You’ll see how our classes this week certainly used the three combo extremely well and some did their best work. Loose and layered. Every colour gets a chance to bloom.
Read MoreThe best thing about being a sketcher? The places it takes you.
That sketchbook and pen transports you - to anywhere - real or imagined.
You could be in a park under a tree, on an island looking back, under a gazebo, on a bridge, in a great cafe, down by the wharf, at the beach, in a cosy studio, on a street corner and oh so many more locations.
Meanwhile we can’t travel to overseas places but we certainly can in our own neighbourhood.
Not only are we in a beautiful serene park listening to the birds and the surf, but then……
all that gorgeous morning tea and French lunch comes courtesy of Maurice our very attentive butler. One feels very spoiled but we do love a bit of indulgence. Well quite a lot if we can get it.
This rusty old truck is an incredibly creative use of an old vehicle - and I mean completely rusted - with the tray up and hundreds of tiny chrysanthemums flowers spilling out. It’s art in itself. Definitely a sketch for us. Finished our works and felt pretty pleased. It’s so rewarding to sketch subjects like this. I was saying that this sets one up for sketching poppies, sunflowers and lavender en masse as you would in Southern France. It’s all practice for something.
Read MoreFor one of our classes studying lights and darks on citrus fruit - we have a mantra.
”White tops and sides - dark down the centre”. No more worry about where the light comes from because we have decided that already. Sketching is that quick impression so this works well. When you see the sketches - note how we push our darks in behind light edges. Pretty jolly effective don’t you think!
Finding the focal point is the first thing we need to find in creating a sketch. Where is our eye being lead. We often need to play up an area and give it more interest, move things about a bit even. Or it can be done with detail, texture and colour.
Read MoreWhat a gorgeous time we had studying beach sculptures. It’s quite a new thing for sketchers to look at the displays with an eye to getting it into a sketch book. Shapes are odd but fascinating so it’s not important to be precise. We all felt pretty good at the end of the day with a book full of memories and sketches.
Read MoreSet up a flower still life and follow the steps. Always loose. Big strokes of colour and as few strokes as possible. Hold the book up let the colours ‘bloom’. Loose is the idea. It’s an impression only. Tell us how you get on.
Read MoreWe’ve been looking deeply into the designs we see in nature. The flowers and leaves we sketched were roadside specimens which you often don’t notice. When one takes time to study these leaves, or flowers or buds it blows your mind. These are things we so take for granted but everything around us is extraordinary. Coffee and Cake helps a lot.
Read MoreThe journey begins. We’d be away from Australia for close to 6 mammoth months. That’s the marvellous life I lead and to be able to sketch and to teach others is an absolute privilege. The places we will go, the people we will meet, the things we will learn and discover, all ahead of us on this very early morning.
Read MoreWe had some fun with memory and a lot of laughs. ! Sketch a bicycle without looking at one. Such a well known shape but oh dear. Where do all the bits go. Aha then we bring out the real one. Mmm. Well we got the wheels and seat - bit of a blank after that.
Read MoreSome of us were up to the other terrifying ‘P’ word - PEOPLE.
Like everything we learn to see as shape, people are just that. A bunch of shapes connected. Sausage people help with seeing those shapes.
Faces and heads are the same. Features placed on an egg! Who’d have thought!
It’s fascinating how much we begin to relate to our little ‘sausages’ once we add colour and some clothes. We do get so many laughs out of this.
What a good week we had. Here in Australia the weather seems more settled and we can get out on location - in small groups. For some - this week was a rather tricky one - eye level perspective. Not that it’s so difficult once you start with the basics. Best to start at the bottom of the ladder and work your way up. Foundations first. Works every time.
Read MoreHaving Tibs the cat watching on can bring out the best in our sketchers as he likes everything you do!
We take what we see and simplify it. An impression in fact. Tibs will see to that.
It’s been 4 long months since we could sketch in class together. Take a look at the new student works.
Read MoreWhat we didn’t know at the time was that this would be our last Workshop before Covid-19 stopped everything!!
What a wonderful weekend Sketch Workshop we had in country NSW, the town of Forbes. Such a great group of very keen sketchers and some very good bonding time. Everyone feels how much more than just sketching happens over the time together.
Read MoreSadly we’ve postponed this glorious Workshop till the world is safe again. Do let me know if you’d like to be on the priority list for next time.
’Under the Tuscan Sun- Sketch Lucca’. Lets spend a week in one of the most historical and gorgeous Italian cities, sketching everything that we are attracted to - that’s everything! Lucca is a walkable city and we’ll soon feel like part of the neighbourhood. Join me and sketch your unforgettable journey.
Join me on a 2 Day Travel Sketching Workshop in London. 2021.
Learn to sketch the simple shapes as you plan your page, without the extra detail. Day 2 will be our ‘Getting Loose with watercolour’ day. keeping to just 8 colours we’ll learn the layering trick which gives you the freshest and brightest watercolour.
Take a look at the very enjoyable 3 days of our Sketchfest went. Full Workshops and very enthusiastic sketchers, keen to learn how to ’Bang it in’ and ‘Get loose’ And the Block Arcade want to feature our sketches as framed work. We can take it!
Read MoreWhat better way to spend the last Sketch Holiday of the year at the beautiful relaxed Daku Resort Fiji. Four tours over the years and one of our favourites. We laughed and sketched, talked and snorkelled, drank and dined, shopped and joined in with the locals. So proud of everyone who were willing to get loose and throw a bit of paint around. Nothing can wrong remember. We’ll do it again in 2021.
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