May 5

May 5 This Awkward Sketchbook Taught Me a Lot

New sketchbook tour!

Not every page in this sketchbook made me happy, but I finished it anyway, and want to flip through its pages with you.
The book is a Hahnemühle Watercolor sketchbook, size A6. The 200gsm paper is lightly textured.

To be honest, I didn't love the landscape format at first. It felt a bit awkward and I things got messy here and there because of it. But I kept showing up, and at some point of course it started to grow on me, sort of. That's the fun thing about varying sketchbook formats. You learn!

Like always, I captured everyday drawing moments: my husband, people gathering in a theater while I waited for a show to start, friends on video calls. And a cafe sketch in Amsterdam that ended up earning me a free coffee when the barista saw what I'd been doing!
Some pages I'm happy with. Some I'm not so enthusiastic about. It's how it goes. Of course I'm showing you all, because I think that's more useful than only showing the good ones.

I picked up some challenges: like filling a whole page of drawing hands (following along with Nathalia Velasquez on her Patreon). And limiting myself to just two colors for a cafe sketch: Ultramarine Blue and Transparent Orange, which mixed into the most beautiful range of grays and purples!

There are also drawings I made during one of my live online Mini-Workshops.
I host these every month, 90 minutes of drawing together with a small group. It's relaxed, inspiring, and a great way to actually sit down and draw with others who love it just as much as you do. If you enjoy these videos, I think you'd really like the sessions too.
I hope to see you at the next one!