Next Saturday I have a Nature Sketching with Watercolour Pencil class at the beautiful Dromkeen homestead, just outside of Melbourne. (there is still one ticket left !! book here )

Today, on a glorious autumnal day I walked to the local Fitzroy Gardens for a trial sketch for the class. I draw the gardens and nature objects often. However, to explain my process to other people requires a bit of thought, as I don’t actually think about how I draw, i just do it.

I also wanted to use the Faber Castell pencils that the students use. They are “student grade” colours (as opposed to the Faber Castell Albrecht Durer grade pencils that I use everyday) and include fewer colours that I have in my sketchkit. I also used the same sketch book that is included in the sketchkit that is provided if they purchase kit through me. Many bring their own gear. You can get an amazing range of colour with just a few colours. I did not even go to the stage of blending colours to get a larger range of colours from five pencils

I sketched with a friend, who is also doing the class next Saturday. While I learnt a lot about what I need to spend more time explaining and focusing on, Anita received a lesson.

My class will still focus on sketching and capturing the moment on the page, I will spend more time on:

• deciding what to sketch
• what to include and leave out
• simplifying shapes
• choosing line, colour, texture to give the impression of detail and depth
• measuring relative distances and sizes
• when and where to add the waterbrush to the page

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Weather permitting (a cold, wet change is coming through at the end of the week) I plan to take the class to sketch outside at Dromkeen, as well as collecting object from the grounds and sketching it inside. Either way, it is going to be a great day and I am looking forward to it.