classwork – Jamie's Sketchbook

Third Time’s the Charm: Travel Sketching is Back

A watercolor pencil sketch of a back yard garden bed, showing a row of tall weeds and trees against a grey wall, with orange-red flowering plants at the left, golden weeds in the centre, and two decomposing barrel planters rendered as dark rounded shapes on the rocky ground. A shepherd's hook curves up between the plantings.

Liz Steel’s Sketching Now Travel Sketching live run, begins later this month and I am jumping back in for my third attempt. I did finish the first run. The second run, I started but let’s just say life had other plans. I have tagged the whole archive of my posts if you want to see the full saga. The official start date is May 13th, but I’m getting a head start on the Introduction lessons.

The “Before” Sketch

The Introduction includes a “current sketch” exercise. Your sketching where you are right now, before the course begins. Since I’ve done this before, I decided to sketch my back yard again. This is the same view I did as my first before sketch. Not only has the yard changed, but so has my sketching.

Naturally, I also had to document the fact that after seven months of delays in the landscaping (It’s been a whole drama!) the yard has finally been weeded. Those prickly lettuce plants had grown over six feet tall. Six feet! They were taller than me. I have photographic evidence. I think they were starting to develop permanent occupation plans. So the timing of this sketch gets to commemorate both that drama and its blissful conclusion on the day I did these. A dramatic before and after set of sketches for the yard.

The before sketch, with weeds, is in the Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils, The after sketch is GoldFaber Aqua Markers. You can see the difference in the mediums, since I used the same color palette for both sketches. The marker version is noticeably brighter and more saturated; it’s the same scene, same composition, same palette, but a different medium. I really want to see how different mediums behave, and comparing the same color palette is a great way to do that.

A watercolor marker sketch of the back yard, with a large orange-topped shrub at the left rendered in bright saturated colour, a grey wall wash behind, and two decomposing barrel planters in deep burgundy and purple tones at centre and right. I bold and saturated color. — Back yard, freshly weeded, in GoldFaber Aqua Markers.

The yard features some very photogenic old barrel planters that are in the process of dramatically decomposing. They show up in both sketches as dark, slightly melancholy blobs surrounded by splaying lines. Less moody than the photographs of them!

full sketchbook spread dated Thursday 30 April 2026, showing two watercolour sketches of the same back yard garden bed side by side — the left in softer watercolour pencil tones, the right in brighter, more saturated marker colours. Handwritten weather notes show 92°F and 67°F. A note in the upper right reads that the yard has finally been weeded after seven months, and that the before sketch was done in Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils and the after in GoldFaber Aqua Markers. Decorative illustrated borders from a Coloring Book of Shadows frame both sides of the spread with Beltane-themed botanical imagery. — Back yard sketches, before and after weeding. 30 April 2026.

The Kit

Part of the Introduction is also assembling materials for the travel sketching kit and doing a color/material chart. I wrote about my obsession with testing multiple media in this limited palette.

A two-page spread showing a travel sketching kit chart. The left page tests various pens and pencils with line and swatch samples, labelled with tool names including Isograph, TWSBI Urban Gray, Tombow Fudenosuke Hard, Copic BS, Pentel Brush Sepia, and Derwent Inktense pencils in Charcoal, Neutral, and Sepia Ink. The right page shows rows of colour swatches for multiple media including Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencils, Derwent Inktense, GoldFaber Aqua Dual Markers, Albrecht Dürer Pitt WC Markers, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush, and Neocolor II, with a bottom row of watercolour paint swatches. A teal banner at the bottom reads "Travel Sketching Kit." — Travel Sketching Kit, April/May 2026.

Here’s what I’ll be working with for this run:

For line work, I have an Isograph 005 and 0.30, a TWSBI Urban Gray (F nib), a Copic BS, a Pentel Brush Sepia, and a Tombow WB-HB Fudenosuke Hard.

The course calls for graphite, but I’m skipping it since I find graphite too smudgy. I do have the one 3H pencil. For pencil sketches, however, I’m substituting three Derwent Inktense pencils: Charcoal (2100), Neutral (2120), and Sepia Ink (2010). I also have the class palette in Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils, Derwent Inktense pencils, plus GoldFaber Aqua Dual Markers, Albrecht Dürer Pitt WC Markers, Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush pens, and Neocolor II water-soluble crayons.

For watercolor, my palette is: Hansa Yellow Light, Hansa Yellow Medium, Monte Amiata Natural Sienna, Quinacridone Gold, Transparent Pyrrol Orange, Quinacridone Rose, Potter’s Pink, Sap Green, Cobalt Turquoise Light, Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine, Transparent Red Oxide, Van Dyke Brown, and Shadow Violet. There are also two Caput Mortuum swatches at the side, because I’m currently infatuated with that color.

The Sketchbook

I’ll be starting in my current 6×9 inch Stillman & Birn Alpha, even though I only have a few pages left in it. Shortly I’ll be moving to a 7.5×7.5 inch softcover Alpha. Both are Stillman & Birn, both are the Alpha series, just slightly different proportions. It’ll be interesting to see how the square format feels for travel sketching.

The weeds are gone, the kit is ready, and the barrel planters have been immortalized in watercolor. What more could I need? I’m ready!

Bathtime at the Reflection Pool

Three watercolour lovebirds painted in bright greens, orange and yellow, sitting along a grey perch with soft reflected colour below, on white paper

Concluding The Messy Middle from last week, you saw a sketchbook in progress — pages waiting, spaces held open, intentions taped into place. This is the update. The pages are filled. Titles are added.

A dual page sketchbook spread — three sketches of the Frank Lloyd Wright Spire at Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd on the left with handwritten location notes and journaling on a teal colour block wash, and a painted watercolour study of the spire with Edges course notes on the right — Frank Lloyd Wright Spire, three sketches

This is my Edges Lesson One outdoor outing — the Frank Lloyd Wright Spire at the little commemorative park at Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd, sketched on location. I knew it was going to be the last good weather day for a while, so there was no hesitation — I had to get out there while I could.

The sketches are chaotic in the best way — three poses of the spire, which also happens to tie in perfectly with Liz Steel’s Patreon March Challenge of three things. The outing felt messy and alive, and I wrote all of it down right there on the page while I was still sitting in the shade. I finished this page by adding the date and the Title to it. I also tried to lift the wet paint transfer that the wind had put on the ink sketches.

A dual page sketchbook spread — handwritten journaling in black ink on a teal colour block wash on the left describing the Edges outdoor outing and the surprise lovebird sighting at the reflection pool, and three watercolour lovebirds painted in greens, oranges and yellows with the header Bathtime at the Reflection Pool on the right — Bathtime at the Reflection Pool — 15 grackles and 1 lovebird

But this is the page that made the whole outing. I’d gone to sketch the spire, and I found a lovebird.

Fifteen grackles and one lovebird, bathing at the reflection pool. A few escaped from a pet store years ago, apparently, and they’ve been surviving in the wild ever since. I spotted it, grabbed some photos, and left the blank page so I could paint these birds at home.

Three lovebirds — one lovebird in three poses, because it was there taking a bath. They’re green and orange and yellow and absolutely full of personality. The journaling on the left is written in that teal colour block wash, and it holds the whole story of the outing: the victory of getting outside, the chaos of the spire, the unexpected gift of the birds.

A dual page sketchbook spread — twenty watercolour portrait studies in small numbered grid squares on green and blue washes on the left, and ten loose ink figure studies in sepia on the right, labelled One Week 100 People, 30 including the children — One Week 100 People — 30 done, faces and figures

The One Week 100 People page got its finishing touches too — thirty people including the children, faces in watercolour on the left, ink figures on the right. I added the numbers and the titles to finish off this page.

A handwritten weather log for Wednesday 11 March through Thursday 19 March 2026, with hand drawn weather symbols in yellow and red, noting temperatures rising from 84 degrees Fahrenheit to 103 degrees, with annotations reading Extreme Heat Watch, Record Breaking, and Extreme Heat Warning to 22nd — Weather log 11–19 March 2026 — record breaking heat in March

I knew my outing day was the last cooler day for awhile, but wow has the heat spiked! Breaking records by a mile! And it’s just going to get hotter, if you can believe that. I don’t usually see these kind of temperatures until May. We went from a warm pleasant 84°F on Wednesday the 11th to 103°F — record breaking — by Wednesday the 18th, with an Extreme Heat Warning extending through the 22nd. In March. The thermometer icon I drew in red says everything. And it’s only getting hotter!

Titles and notes help complete pages, and aid in telling the story of the everyday life I’m documenting with my sketchbook. This mini series of posts has shown a bit of the process for what is usually only shown completed. It’s easy to think I should complete pages in just one sitting, all perfect, but the truth is that isn’t how it’s done, really, if you are going to add a little sketchbook design to your pages.

Sketching the Spire

A loose, luminous watercolour of the Frank Lloyd Wright spire in cobalt turquoise, sap green, and transparent pyrrol orange, with the architectural geometry dissolving into fluid washes of colour above a softly painted garden bed.

Sketching the Spire (A Chaotic Victory)

Yesterday, I went out and sketched on location, which I rarely do

This was Lesson One of my Edges sketching course — the outdoor assignment. I picked the Frank Lloyd Wright spire in Scottsdale. I’ve photographed it many times, but never tried to sketch it. The assignment was to sketch a monument, and this spire came to mind. I had no idea how complicated that thing actually is.

The base and lower section of the Frank Lloyd Wright spire, showing the angular architectural details, with desert cactus landscaping at its base, Frank Lloyd Wright Commemorative Park, Scottsdale, Arizona.

I picked the best possible day for it, keeping a sharp eye on the swings in temperature lately. Clouds were big and plentiful, temperatures a gorgeous 74°F, with plenty of shade. I knew I had to grab it — next week is forecast to hit 100°F, which would be the earliest I’ve ever seen it that high. So Tuesday it was.

I did two ink sketches first — the assignment was to sketch edges where planes change, so I did one thumbnail of the whole spire and one attempting a closer view. I liked how the plants came out. The angles on the spire itself? Not so much. It is genuinely, mercilessly complex and I had completely missed that fact until I was sitting in front of it with a pen in my hand.

Ink and line sketches of the Frank Lloyd Wright spire — a thumbnail of the full spire and a closer view of the lower section with cactus, with paint smudges.

Then I moved on to a direct watercolor sketch to do the changes is color assignment. This became a wet, blobby situation. And then the wind caught the wet page, flipped it over, and smeared wet paint all over the ink sketches on the other side. Ack!

Of course it did.

A loose direct watercolor sketch of the base of the Frank Lloyd Wright spire, painted on location, in sage green and turquoise, Frank Lloyd Wright Commemorative Park, Scottsdale, Arizona.

A dual page sketchbook spread showing ink and line sketches of the Frank Lloyd Wright spire on the left page, and a loose direct watercolor sketch of the spire base on the right, painted on location in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The wind had danced with my page, and I had a puddle of water in my palette because I forgot a water container, but I had water. Oh yeah, I also forgot to refill my fountain pen, so I ran out of ink and had to use a fineliner. I was lucky I had my paint! I wrote my notes for next time right there on the page, on location, because some lessons need to be recorded immediately:

Don’t run out of ink — good thing I carry many pens
Do carry a water container — I was using a well in my palette
Do bring a clip — even a little wind will flip a wet page and ruin everything
Do think about page design a little first
Do enjoy the birds

That last one is important.

A handwritten journal page describing a sketching outing to the Frank Lloyd Wright Commemorative Park, with a list of notes for next time, from the Edges sketching course outdoor assignment.

There were fifteen grackles at the reflecting pool while I was sketching. And then — a lovebird. A few escaped from a local pet store years ago and a small flock has somehow survived in Scottsdale ever since. It came and went so fast I barely registered it. I thought I’d missed my chance.

It came back. I got a photo.

A lovebird perched on the edge of the reflecting pool at Frank Lloyd Wright Commemorative Park, Scottsdale, Arizona, one of a small flock of escaped pet store lovebirds that have survived in the wild locally.

I have a spot waiting on the page next to my journal notes for a proper lovebird sketch. That’s a whole other post.

A sketchbook held open to show ink sketches and a direct watercolor painting of the Frank Lloyd Wright spire, with the actual spire visible in the background — Frank Lloyd Wright Commemorative Park, Scottsdale, Arizona.

My sketches are a mess. The watercolor is blobby, the angles on the spire are wrong, the wind made a disaster of my pages. And I sat there on location and wrote in my sketchbook that it felt chaotic, and also that it felt great.

Both are true. That’s the joy of sketching on location, isn’t it?

I will have many chances to improve my rate of on location sketching this year. Not only do I have the four outdoor assignments for the Edges course. but this year is rich with Sketching Now courses that are outdoor. The Travel Sketching course is running in May, and the Watercolor On Location will run this summer. In the heat. Oh dear. I’ll need some strategies for that!

Watercolor 2026

This is my 6th run through this course! Sketching Now Watercolor was my very first Sketching Now course, back in 2018. I also did it in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024

Here are all the exercises I did this year for it. I used a handmade paper for some of the assignments that was so very different to work with. Colors are luminous on it, and it is highly absorbent. It takes forever to dry, and so colors really merge and blend. Detail is lost and I was too impatient to go back and try to add more details after it had dried, so my work has a very soft, and blended look. It has taught me a lot about the paper, and how much of impact paper really does have on watercolor. With each new practice I’m getting better and better at it.

My biggest takeaway this time through was the effect of paper on how watercolor performs. I think if I use that handmade paper my sketches will need some lines to bring out the subjects, but for class, I enjoyed experimenting with direct watercolor, no lines.

Next up with be Edges and I’ve never done that course. I think I did the first half of lesson one the last time it was run live, in 2021. I’m really looking forward to shifting my focus from watercolor, to line and practicing my drawing.

Mid-January and Inktense Explorations

January is moving by so fast! I did work on Alex Boon’s Inktense course in his Nature Journaling Circle. He offers a recommended set of 12, and an optional 12 he recommends to make it 24 set.

These swatching exercises were extremely helpful in learning how to work with these, and how they color mix.

For the watercolor course, I did one of my favorite exercises, the wardrobe. My wardrobe is mostly black, but for this winter I did add this festive plaid shirt that was so fun to paint!

Here are the spreads:

Early January 2026

The first days of January. Still working with inks, especially those that explode so beautifully when dropped into water, like Noodler’s Rome Burning. This is an exercise from Nick Stewart’s Udemy course on Fountain Pen Ink.

Lupine and Laughter continues each Friday and I had more inks to test.

The new live round of the watercolor course started, and I did some of exercises in my S&B Alpha sketchbook. I also did the exercises on a handmade watercolor paper that is turning out very interesting to work with.

I am always fascinated by mixing greys and how varied they can be with different colors.

A collage page, with printed stickers, for the end of the Lupine and Laughter series.

Sketchbook Design 2025

My very favorite of all of the Sketching Now classes! I’m so excited to be starting this group run, and return to these lessons. Every time I go through this class, my sketchbook and sketching level up significantly. Every time!

This is the spread I used as my “Current Sketch” starting point for Intro Week.

Sketchbook Goals is exercise one, and since I seem to have a floral theme for this page most of the years I’ve taken this course, I painted the peonies I bought this week.

Handwriting Tips is the next lesson, and I’m not feeling like doing too much differently with my text these days, so I just kept my page simple, but focused on the overall design to match the other half of the page.

I had left over paint in my palette so I painted a simple color block later in the sketchbook, thinking that having this beautiful color show up again would create a flow within the sketchbook. It sure does!

Seven Lines Again

Travel Sketching has begun, and I’m definitely needing the practice! I recently traveled and did not sketch on location. Still working on that! It was so crowded I feared I’d be in the way too much, hogging a bench, etc. Therefore practicing very fast techniques should help in the future.

The assignment is to take some of our own scenes and use only seven lines to draw them. Here is my previous post with this exercise, when I took the course last year.

Travel Sketching Materials

My second run through Liz Steel’s Travel Sketching course and I’m excited about it. I learned so much the first time! This year I’ll be traveling one of the weeks of the course, so I hope to use the skills I learned last time, refresh the skills this time, and hopefully get some real travel sketching done on location!

Here are my materials for the class. I’m using the same palette of watercolor pencils as she recommends. I’ve been using this palette since the first run of the class, and they are excellent. I am adding the same palette in Inktense pencils, and in Neocolor II so I can learn the differences in the media, while keeping my familiarity with the colors.

I’m using my standard watercolor palette that I’ve been using for a few years now. While I want to make a few changes to this, I won’t before my trip, or before class, so I can use what I know. I’ll be using the recommended A5 book size, with a Stillman and Birn 8.5 x 5.5 inch softcover Delta Series. The paper is ivory colored, cold press surface, and 270 gsm.

Another color chart with the Travel Sketching Palette, this time on the Delta Series paper. Very interesting, and different results over the Alpha or Gamma Series papers. I’m surprised. The page did not curl when wet with paint. It developed this very interesting granulating effect. I thought the paper was disintigrating, at first, but then I realized it’s just taking on that texture when painted. It seemed my paints appeared less pigments, but the colored pencils appeared more pigmented. All three types of dry media look more vivid on this paper, it seems.

I continue to be surprised by the Neocolor II. They are so smooth and easy to work with. I have only done one sketch with them, so I look forward to learning more. They activate with water beautifully, too, as seen above.

I’m tempted to pull out this same palette of colors in the Gansai Tambi, too. That could be good fun. The same palette, many media.

Foundations 2025 Complete

Wow! I did it! I completed every single exercise. I learned a lot about why I have not been successful in the past, and it’s mostly to do with life interference, and health issues.

Here is the whole collection of exercises and I am so grateful for all I’ve learned and how much my drawing has leveled up. I’m not sure I can put what I’ve learned into three takeaways that relate to the lessons themselves, as much as to what pushing through to complete these assignments taught me. My skills certainly improved, but having taken the class five times before, I can’t say the words were new. Applying it massively helped. Pencil miles helped, as John Muir Laws calls it.

Many of my sketches still don’t have the look I really want to achieve, but I finally do understand that is about skill and practice. I need to learn and continue to improve things like depth, and dimension in my drawings. I also realize those are lifelong pursuits, not a once and one sort of learning. The learning spiral, as Liz Steel describes it in her class. I’m really proud of some of these sketches, as they definitely represent a level up of my skills. Particularly the chair, Stonehenge, and the sink.

On to the next. Travel Sketching is running as a live class in April. I will be traveling the first week of it, so I’m going to try to get those lessons done ahead of time. I will also try to apply the techniques to my travel sketches while on an actual vacation! I tend to not due to anxiety, but we shall see. I begin to realize that lots of practice in advance might be the secret to having the skills to overcome the on location challenges.

I may also do Edges as an independent study. I’ve never done that course, and I think it comes next in terms of building skill. I haven’t decided yet. If not now, I’ll certainly join it when Liz next runs it.