Sunday 10 March 2024

SketchingNow – Watercolour

 

River Arrow
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album

Since January, I’ve been participating in a Live Version of Liz Steel’s SketchingNow Watercolour course.  I've taken the course previously in 2019. You can see some of my sketches from then in these posts:

House Plant
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album

Liz doesn't teach a traditional approach to watercolor. She uses it in a quicker and more spontaneous way, which lends itself to sketching on location. The course is structured so you can work through it at your own pace, but this year she ran a live version in which you work through the lessons with a group and Liz hosts a weekly live stream. 

Vegetables
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album

Working through the course with a group has been motivating and adds an extra bit of encouragement to do the exercises. Seeing other people's work and hearing about what they've learned and found challenging is also helpful. 

Butcher Hill’s Lane
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album

I'm building up some sketching momentum and this has encouraged me to join a group run through of Liz's Edges course which starts in mid-March. This is in preparation for her Watercolor on Location course which starts in June.

Still Life
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album

I am studying Ian Roberts' YouTube videos (Ian Roberts Mastering Composition) in parallel to working on Liz's exercises. Most of these sketches have been influenced by his teaching on composition and shadows.

You can see a few more sketches and hear a bit more about my experiences with the course and my plans to develop my sketching skills on my YouTube channel SketchingNow Watercolour - What Have I Learnt?.