Here are some of my recent sketches.

Enjoy !!!

A whole post on pencil sharpeners !? Is there really that much to say about them?

Yes!

I describe my sketching style as” the unfinished look” and “the impression of detail”. I give the impression of details by adding hard, fine lines with a sharp watercolour pencil to some areas of a drawing.

I also do longer, more studied drawings with my watercolour pencils. There is more emphasis on detail and subtle changes in texture, colour and line. A sharp pencil is needed for these.

Every day I carry a single Staedler pencil sharpener in my sketchkit and it works well.

Be aware that not every pencil will fit into every pencil sharpener. I had assumed they would until I bought one while on holidays that didn’t and now I test my pencil in the shop.

I also have a dual Staedler two pencil sharper at home. One side ie Graphite and Colour (which I use for my watercolour pencils) and the other is Graphite.

I own a pencil sharpener that can be fixed onto the bench. It is like a school pencil sharpener. It can sharpen them to a ridiculous point (which breaks as soon as I touch it to the paper with even the slightest pressure). It is best not to sharpen them that much!

With these last two closed sharpeners the pencil tip sometimes breaks off in the sharpener which means the sharpener has to be taken apart for the piece to be dislodged. A bit frustrating.

A lovely class yesterday for food and drink sketching with watercolour pencil. It was a free community engagement activity from Melbourne Library Service.

All food and sketching supplies provided in a two hour session.

A curious and engaged group of 15 had fun playing with watercolour pencils. Lots of chatting, eating and bright colours.

A few people purchased sketchkits and the following information will be emailed to them. Hopefully some are inspired and motivated to continue.

Below are a few links to some practical hints and tips from my weekly art blog.

• The 26 watercolour pencils I carry everyday http://alissaduke.com/2022/03/the-watercolour-pencils-i-use-2.html
• My top 12 http://alissaduke.com/2022/03/top-12-watercolour-pencil-colours.html
• My sketchkit https://alissaduke.com/2022/04/my-sketchkit.html
• Hints and tips  http://alissaduke.com/2014/03/five-watercolour-pencils-tips.html
• Practical hints and Tips http://alissaduke.com/2017/05/practical-blog-posts.html
• Video of sketching vegetables https://alissaduke.com/2025/03/sketching-vegetables-video.html  – not a cake ,  but colourful and the same concepts.

Happy sketching everyone !