Classes – Page 8 – Jamie's Sketchbook

Sketch Kit and Color Blocks

Things are moving a bit slow around here this past week. I’m back to a tighter lockdown situation as COVID-19 cases are on the rise and I’m in an “extreme high risk” area. I have lots of unfinished pages but a few finished ones.

Some random sketches and collage, little bits and pieces from my days. My current sketchbook is the Stillman and Birn Alpha softcover 8×10″ so that’s what I sketched for my assignment in Sketchbook Design.

I do love the Alpha books, they are great for pen and ink, and watercolor. I’ve never had a page bleed, no matter how wet I get it. But I do begin to wonder if some of the wet in wet techniques I’m seeming to want to achieve need a paper with some cotton content? I will have to experiment in the future, but for now this is the sketchbook I have, so this is the very best sketchbook! (The best sketchbook is the one you have with you. Ha!)

Continuing on, I sketched the most basic version of my current sketch kit. I haven’t really settled on which pens, or which brushes, so when in doubt I reach for the pocket brushes, my Lamy pens, and my current watercolor palette. The bag is the amazing Walkit bag, which is fantastic, with many loops for pens. I’m currently carrying too many pens! Really. I am.

I haven’t done a food sketch in a very long time, and I just had to document this delicious pesto pasta I had!

Hmmm, could that food sketch layout be improved with a border? Class has me thinking these things!

Speaking of class, did someone say color blocks? I was documenting the mix of things I had been researching that day, and decided to jazz up what would be fairly basic line diagrams and descriptions with some color blocks. I used washi tape to make crisp edges, and aimed to make these have a parchment look by using Daniel Smith’s Goethite watercolor. Apparently I should really learn to sketch larger since I ended up with a lot of unused color blocks. I thought about sketching in them a few random things, but in the end I’m moving on. The unfilled blocks tell even more the story of the day (and the week) than filling them in! Besides, it also celebrates how great that parchment effect was, and I’m pretty pleased about that!

Sketchbook Design is back

Sketchbook Design class by Liz Steel is back and I’m so excited! I find it so much easier to actually get my sketching into a habit and routine when I know or can build on the fly better sketchbook pages!

My first two intro lessons for the week, and a little collage since I’m currently obsessed with sunflowers. I painted some live sunflowers I have in a vase, too. Its my flower of the season!

Time to get back to class and see if I can bang out the next Intro lesson! Sketching my kit for the class, I always love sketching my art supplies!

Watercolor 2021

I began this year’s watercolor course, but did not get very far. However, I like to show my progress, especially as I can compare this to what I did in Watercolor 2018. For this year I worked with Jane Blundell’s Ultimate Mixing palette.

I did the intro lessons, and lesson one.

Foundations Begins

Once again I’m starting Liz Steel’s Sketching Now Foundations course. It’s getting embarrassing how often I begin but never start! However, I always learn something, even when my participation is a bit disappointing. Hopefully this time will be better and I’ll actually do the whole course?

I must note, I am challenged to finish because of my own distractions, because I absolutely love the class!

I get better each time when I do the exercises again! Since I took her Sketchbook Design course, I’m even better at making full pages that look pretty in terms of design, even when it is fairly random things!

As sketched recently, my palette was nearly empty, so I decided to put together a new palette for this course and work some mixing magic. This palette is based almost entirely on Jane Blundell’s book, The Ultimate Mixing Palette.

A number of these pigments are new to me, particularly the Phthalo shades. Of course this means playing with them!

That cupcake was supposed to be a light mint color. Got a bit heavy handed though, didn’t I? Greens! They are my challenge, and I love them so much!

I decided to just mix my class exercises right in with my regular every day sketching, and I find I really like it. Capturing memories is my ultimate goal.