A bit of this and that

I took a photo of some of my recent things that are sitting around the studio room, as it looked kind of interesting together. I edited in a couple of pics of today’s sketchbook spreads as they’re more interesting than my art tables – my studio is not a curated, instagrammable space, and I had already tidied, so it wasn’t even interestingly messy 😉

The top right image is a collage of photos from my tiny 12cm square Art Creation sketchbook. This is the sketchbook I have slotted into the zipper pouch that I have designated for my sketch walking escapades. I have collected together a wee kit, I may have mentioned this, and my intention is to go outside and sketch.

This morning Orla Stevens was hosting a Zoom workshop over on her Patreon, and she crafted the workshop as a kind of sketch walk, although we were all cosy in our homes. It was the perfect opportunity for me to test my little kit, and I came up with a couple of ideas for things to add based on my wee sketches today.

The general idea with the sketches in the workshop was to sketch the landscapes in the references without using lines, just mark-making or colour blocking. A fun exercise.

I stayed in my sketchbooks for the rest of the day, but in the larger A4 and A3 ones.

The spread in the A4 book was some fun still life work, which I also don’t do very often. The flowers are from the bunch I was presented with yesterday, and it was more about playing than trying to represent the whole bunch.

The mug was a lot of fun. I spotted it in a charity shop when we were in Orkney a couple of weeks ago, and bagged it for the princely sum of £1. I bought it because I wanted to paint it, but when I got it home I decided to see if I could find one online to make a pair. I used image search, and some bright spark is selling one on Etsy for £22, marketing it as some sort of ceramic specialty. My mug, the exact same mug, was originally from Poundstretcher. There’s no maker marks lol.

Anyway, I decided to paint it today, and what a great challenge for you brain, trying to replicate a pattern like that. I enjoy the result, tho.

Lastly, a quick portrait in my A3 portrait sketchbook, just using up paint on the palette.

A mix and match day 🙂

Til the morn,

Suzanne

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