Monthly Archives: February 2020

Two upcoming watercolour pencil classes

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In March I have two watercolour pencil classes. They are so very different from each other and I am excited about both.

Travel Sketching with Watercolour Pencils

The first on Saturday 14 March is my Travel Sketching with Watercolour Pencil class held in East Melbourne. I have been running this class for a few years and am always excited to see the results. It is all about capturing the essence of your experience on the page. It is about quick sketching. I love to share my knowledge of watercolour pencils and the joy of sketching quickly on location. If you are planning a holiday or always wanted to sketch when you travel, join me in this inspirational class. It includes a walk around East Melbourne, sketching with watercolour pencils to record your experience. Learn tips and techniques for travel sketching along the way. Bookings are through my Trybooking website.

Memories and Nostalgia with Watercolour Pencil

My second class is the opposite, It is the first time I have held the class and is at the beautiful Dromkeen homestead at Riddells Creek, which is outside of Melbourne. It is called Memories and Nostalgia with Watercolour Pencil and is all about slower drawing and observation. Each student will bring along three objects that are special to them to sketch and journal about. The most ordinary household shed or garden object can have special memories and stories, For example, a teddy bear, garden tools, a cup or a piece of clothing. I often draw an object that I am discarding or does not belong to me, so that I have a memory of it. I write my own thoughts and sometimes ask family members to recall their memories to create a story on the page,

This class stems from my love of drawing objects that I feel I have a special connection with. It is not a still life class, but a collection of images and words that create a story on a page. See more of my sketches of family history drawing at my Flickr website

Bookings are through the Dromkeen Trybooking website but please contact me if you have any questions you have about the class.

Nature Sketching with Watercolour Pencil class

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Last weeks art blog was about preparing for this week’s Nature Sketching with Watercolour Pencil class. I was glad that I did all of the preparation, even though the actual examples were not used on the day. Melbourne has had unusual weather patterns. I woke up to a grey day and the weather moved between clear, drizzle and light rain.

I had a small but enthusiastic class and we had good fun. We started inside the wonderful Kere Kere Green Cafe in Fitzroy Gardens, learning about watercolour pencils. Below are some of my scribbles and explanations.

We then walked out into the Gardens (but not too far from the Cafe). We discussed deciding what to choose to draw, how and where to put those first marks on the page.

… and then it got cool and damp, so we headed back into the Cafe. I had a small selection of “nature objects” that I brought from home, just in case we got rained in. There were feathers, seashells, snails, and butterflies. We decided to end the class by drawing feathers that had a fluffy area at the end near the shaft. I discovered that it is called the ‘afterfeather’ and I love that!

It was a great day !

Preparing for a nature sketching class

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I spent most of Sunday afternoon in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne, preparing for my Nature Sketching with Watercolour Pencil class next Saturday. I was doing a ‘run through’ deciding on timings for sketching, which trees to choose and where the shade and seats are.

Below are three sketches. One is looking at the tree trunk close up, observing. The second is stepping back a bit, with the same tree, but a bit more scenery. The third sketch of the day was a large panorama, including the same tree. I remembered to take photographs along the way: one at 5 minutes, one at 15 minutes and the final at 20 minutes. It was a learning experience for me.

Sketch one- Moreton Bay Fig up close

I started by sitting close to a tree and observing the bark in the trunk. I was looking at its patterns and colours. It is a large Moreton Bay Fig and is a feature of the Gardens. If we don’t choose to sketch this tree, there are many others nearby with character.

Sketch two-stepping back

For the second sketch, I stepped back from the tree. I still wanted to include it in the sketch, but also give some background to provide context.

Sketch three – stepping back further

The final sketch to include this tree had me walking back even further to try and include some of its branches and the tops of other trees.

And to end the day, a quick unplanned sketch of magpies on a low branch in the tree next to me. My class is Nature Sketching, but there is not a lot of highly visible wildlife in the Gardens. In my class. I will ask the students to collect something off the ground to sketch. The Moreton Bay Fig has some nice interesting leaves when they have fallen on the ground, and some lovely fruit that are small, round and greenish purple).

Of course, if it rains, this may change….. but we will sketch anyway.

There are still places available if you would like to join in , book here.

drawing watermelon step by step

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At yesterday’s Travel Sketching with Watercolour Pencil class, I used an example of drawing a watermelon to demonstrate how to use watercolour pencils on the page.

We were at Dromkeen homestead, just outside of Melbourne, It happened towards the end of the three hour class, when we had returned to the (airconditioned) conference room. This was after sketching in the garden and inside the house, as we avoided rain and humidity.

There were questions about applying the watercolour pencil to the paper and spreading it on the page. Today. I drew it again, taking photos along the way. I hope that this explains the way I use pencils and achieve the final result. Let me know if you have any questions.

Step One

Waterbrush and the three watercolour pencil colours used . Alizaron Crimson, Pine Green and Grass Green

Draw the watermelon shape and outline directly with the watercolour pencil colour that is going to be used. The watermelon is red the skin is green.

Heavily and roughly add colour in the areas of of the watermelon that are darkest.

Step Three

Using the waterbrush, rest it in the coloured areas and pull the colour across the page. This adds a lighter colour to areas of the page.

Step Four

Wait to dry, then add more colour in some areas to give depth and texture, Dabbling the watercolour brush on areas of colour can give, texture, and remove any hard lines.
Add hard lines with a sharpened watercolour pencil along some of the skin and just some of the darkened areas of the watermelon.

 I have three classes that are coming up.