One of our stunning tables on Canal du Midi where we drink coffee and sketch. Le Somail It’s getting warmer now in the South of France. They say it’s slower to warm up this year than it usually is. There’s also a water shortage although the canals and streams seem to have a good supply at the moment thank goodness. We’ve been having a great time with the students doing our 5 Day Sketch Tour as well as daily classes with other students. Sketches we love doing are ones that are typical of the region. We learn to pick a view we like wherever we explore and go for it. Everyone ends up with lovely ..read more

The gorgeous Flanders Poppy, growing roadside and in fields at the moment. Well, it’s been a kinda busy time, but we’re here. In Australia, Summer is ending and Autumn having it’s turn. And it’s dark by 5.30pm. We left on a Monday and arrived in our village of Trausse Minervois on a Tuesday. How did that happen! What happened to all those hours on planes and in airports. Never mind, that’s all part of traveling to the place you can’t wait to get to. Our house. For the next few months. So lovely to step inside and see everything again. We had such a pleasant afternoon putting things away and i ..read more

Pathway to the Beach This was our March 19th Taste of Sketching Sunday. 2023. Brilliant weather, rather hot but we thoroughly enjoyed our day together. Starting in the Gazebo, we begin with tea or coffee to get settled, then our first sketch of coffee mugs, water glasses and seashells. All designed to have us observing each shape and how it fits together. Aquarelle pencil for this one and using all 8 of our colours. Off to the beach to do some serious observation of the pathway leading down to the sand, and how the banks on each side come in to join it. We begin with the horizon line and deci ..read more

Week 6 Term 1 2023. Our final week was about journaling. Using lettering and type for our headings and making notes around each sketch. Plenty of those will be spread randomly across your double page spread - your own visual diary of what you saw and and noted. This is where you can carry your sketching skills out into the big world and record your impressions in this simple and effective way, wherever you are. Travel Sketching at it’s finest. Thank you all for being such dedicated students and hanging in when the going got tough. You all came out the other end as happy sketchers with a book ..read more

Week 5 Term 1 2023 A small challenge this week. Not only are you going to learn how perspective works, you’re also going to stand on the street and sketch it right there - straight in with the black pen. We have an excellent graph to help understand what happens above our eye level and what happens below. In the Gazebo we study that before we go plein air. Our graph focusses on the corner of a wood or brick building. We start with where our eye level is. Turns out they’re doing big alterations on the little Blue Church which was our subject. Concrete mixers, work trucks, ladders, scaffolding ..read more

Week 4 Term1. February. 2023 Sketching people can truly be fun. No faces required. Just shape and form. Nobody moves. Our Wednesday group asked about typefaces to use as titles on Journal notes. So before we began People, we made our own alphabets in varying ways plus some embellishments to really personalise them. Somehow I forget the ‘W’ in the Roman Serif group. Ah well. I added it on the end. The little mannequin was met with much delight along with a sheet of ‘sausage people’ to help see proportion. It was also a gorgeous sunshiney day and everything in the garden was lovely. We only had ..read more

Week 3. Wednesday February !5th, Friday February 17th 2023 Let’s take the big plunge and sketch plain air/ on location this week. A great plan starting with a sea-shell still life to warm up our sketching hand, and coffee. Wednesday’s group were all ready to go to the beach when the skies opened! it was that kinda day. Not to worry, We did step by step demos from thumbnails to braking down the elements to look for and the order they should be done in the full sketch. Everyone got that. Excellent sketches. Friday was a different day altogether. Sunshine, slight breeze and low humidity. Spot on ..read more

10 DAY PRIVATE SKETCH TOUR to TURKIYE SATURDAY JUNE 3RD - TUESDAY JUNE 13TH 2023 2 - 4 People We’ve decided to to do a Private Sketch Tour to Turkiye - for up to four people. I’m wondering if you’d like to join us. We’ll spend 5 nights in exotic Istanbul, and 5 nights in the historic coastal region of Izmir. We’re very aware of the tragedy which has occurred thousands of kilometres from where we’ll be. People in Turkey are incredibly kind and caring, helping every which way they can. By visiting, we are also showing that we will not stay away from them at this time, and continue to enjoy the ..read more

Pathway to the beach, across the road from our apartment. Hey there’s a whale out there! An offer to family and friends. Milton and I are off on our travels again very soon. If you not joining us, you may be interested in this! Our second floor 2 bedroom apartment at the quiet end of Kingscliff Beach, Tweed Rivers, NSW Australia, will be available for rent for 6 months. Late April to late September. 2023. Its fully furnished so has everything you’d need. Probably most suitable for a couple who would enjoy the cooler months (with blue days.) Perfect if you’re visiting family, or while you thin ..read more

Sketching plain air, your own choice of ‘something in the garden’ Wednesday February 8th and Friday February 10th. Glorious weather again for Week 2. Remember last week!!! Whoa the humidity was pretty hard going. But you know what we sketchers are like - bring it on - sketching is more important than a bit of discomfort!! We were looking at a garden bits and pieces still life to start our day - well after coffee of course. This one pushed you a little to really observe the shapes and how the pieces all fit together from where you are sitting. Starting with a small thumbnail helps hugely. To w ..read more