I could start with a humorous anecdote, maybe something self-deprecating —I’ve been doing a fair amount of that sort of self-flagellation lately. Maybe about the time I fell asleep in the library in college and was so embarrassed when I was awoken by another student that ..read more

Play Video A live recording of the Creative Goals Club Summer Challenge on July 20, 2022. This project is open to all Skool Yard Members. Further details in the Yard ..read more

Welcome to a new series from Sketchbook Skool about what making art means in our lives, as told by members of our Spark community.  “Making art gives me balance.” When life became turbulent, Catherine Youngren found stability in her sketchbooks. Art by Catherine Youngren I just retired from my work as a commercial interior designer after 50-plus years. The last 20 have been especially important to me because I specialized in senior living facilities, from what we in Canada call independent living through to long-term care and care for people living with cognitive disabilities.  ..read more

My name is Tammy Murdock, I am an enthusiastic artist who does illustration, collage and hand lettering. I love wonky lines, splatters of paint, earl grey tea, warm socks and drawing outside the lines. I live in Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island and I have been an artist since I held my first crayon. When I was a child if there was ever art involved in any project I was happily there. All throughout school I chose as many art classes and electives as I was allowed. My favourite assignments were always in art or whenever maps or title pages were needed. Then when my own children were young I w ..read more

Hot press or cold press? 300 gm? Cotton? So many weights, types, brands …. There’s loads to learn about paper! Did you know that the wrong paper can make your watercolors dull, can make your waterproof ink not waterproof, can affect your pencil smudginess, your pen’s performance, and so much more? Selecting paper and sketchbooks can be overwhelming. We have loads of questions too — so we gathered up the smartest paper experts we could find to give us some answers in an event called Q&Art Live: Paper. We discussed how paper is made and why it matters, common problems, how to select the r ..read more

This may surprise you but I only started to draw when I was in my late 30s. Until then I basically hadn’t done a drawing since I was a kid.  But in the last 20 years or so, I’ve filled over a hundred sketchbooks.  I don’t know the exact number, but there’s been a lot of them.  Let me tell you how I went from zero to 100 with a few ideas you can absolutely use yourself to draw more and better. Filling a hundred sketchbooks wasn’t my goal when I started out. I just wanted to get back to drawing and I wanted to find a  way to fit it into my life. No time. My life  was ..read more

with help from David Elliott First off, what do you mean by “creative goals”? Well, a goal is a personal objective that you’ve spent the time to clearly define. It’s more than just “I’d like to draw better.” It’s a concrete end result. There are several types of creative goals: a. Skill oriented. E.g. I want to learn to watercolor or how to draw in perspective or how to sketch feet. b. Process oriented: E.g. I want to draw every single day or get up early to paint or turn TV time into sketch hour or join three Spark sessions every week this summer c. Outcome oriented: E.g. I want to compl ..read more

  The best supplies for urban sketching help you draw on location, working quickly with a range of materials. You can draw with a simple pen or pencil, but color makes everything come alive! One of our favorite instructors, Ian Fennelly uses watercolor and a range of materials in his Sketchbook Skool urban sketching workshops. In Paint a Pub: Introduction to Urban Sketching, Ian uses watercolors, markers and fineliners to add personality and a sense of whimsy to a classic English pub. We’ll break down six essential supplies for urban sketching and tools in the Paint a Pub workshop. Want t ..read more

Helpful drawing tips in just a few minutes with Koosje Koene. Improve your skills and break out those art supplies, join us to learn drawing tips and techniques every week. Draw Tip Tuesdays are short introductions to a style, practice, or tool. From Urban Sketching to Drawing People, India Ink to Watercolors — fill your sketchbook and get creative. New videos added every Tuesday. Draw Tip Tuesday Video Roundup September 29: All About Gouache In this video, we’re highlighting gouache and what it makes the medium so unique. September 22: The First Page Starting a new sketchbook is usually exci ..read more

Navigate the plethora of palette options to watercolor at home or on-location. There are as many watercolor palette options as there are colors. It’s limitless. Whether you like to draw and paint out and about in the world or at home using photos, it can be difficult to navigate the many watercolor palette options out there.  This is a guide to help you pick a palette for every situation: arranging your go-to colors, storing your entire collection, and traveling with your supplies.  Keep reading for my favorite options with large mixing areas, portable to-go sizes, huge palettes for ..read more