Morning coffee sketches..

One of the popular subjects for sketch artist Liz Steel is her teacups and coffees.  She does amazing sketches and even though she does a lot of them they never get old.  There's always something new to them.  So I tried my hand at it.  My sketches today were done way early in my watercoloring beginnings and I can see how how far I've come in nearly a year.  

 I have learned to look more closely when I draw and get better proportions.

 I have learned a ton about values and color although I do love this mug of coffee.

 Here I took some more time to sketch my subject in pencil.

 You see on the bottom left that much of that wonderful was lost when I added the watercolor.  My painting looks pretty flat.  I've since learned how to layer some colors and that if I can, I start my sketch with a waterproof pen.  It just saves time and that spontaneous drawing is the look I'm going for.

Two great additions to my sketchbook.  It's really fun looking back on this journey.  For those who haven't seen any of my journey on Instagram, should I catch up with all the back sketches.....or would it be fun to see some of my current work mixed in?  Just curious...

Sweet peach jam..

Maybe I got back into my art just so I could stare at the beautiful colors...

 It was a double page watercolor sketch of a packaged up jar of sweet peach jam.

 Practicing some hand lettering, sketching and watercolor all at the same time. 

 I think it would be so awesome to have the lettering talents to design posters and the like.

If you like this type of travel watercolor palette, they are a fun investment.  You purchase the palette, the little plastic pans and tubes of watercolors.  I purchase most of my supplies at Blick Art Supply online.

My first daffodils..

Last year I grew my first daffodils, such a beautiful flower.  They were the first flowers to pop up in my flower beds and boy were they a welcome sight.  Right about now I get cabin fever and start dreaming of my flowers and gardens.  It's dreary and wet outside right now so I thought today we could use some sunshine in the form of bright yellow daffodils.  

 I love to photograph picked flowers because you never know when you might want to paint or draw them.

 About this time last year I was gathering up some art supplies.  I kept them in this old tool box which I've outgrown now.

 This was one of the very first entries in my moleskin journal. I wasn't quite sure to go about it so I just started.  Such a concept.  Just start. I had to tell myself that for years and whaddya know, it clicked for me last year.

 Those first sketches are scary and probably not my best. But I'm so glad I can look back on these first pages of my art.

 Any art is good practice.  Practice is art.  I have to keep remembering that.  Those first wobbly sketches were part of my journey and I've come a good, long way since then.

Happy Friday everyone!  Some have asked about my Instagram.  My username is Mish Wooderson if you want to look me up.

You can sketch anywhere and everywhere...and should.

Looking back on my 2015 art journey, one of my best discoveries is that you can sketch and make art anywhere and everywhere....and the more you do it the better.  

My brand new Moleskine watercolor journal, my shiny new Lamy Safari fountain pen and a few other art supplies. 

So anxious to try them out, I used a cardboard box to practice. 

It's art.  It was fun.  The more you just let go, the better your art becomes.  

 Take your sketchbook with you everywhere.  Fix up a little travel pouch, even if it's just to transport your art supplies from the kitchen table to the couch.  It's all good.

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see that I use the hashtag #practiceisart.  Practice is art.  Every little mark you make and every paint stroke is art.  Maybe good, maybe bad but who cares.  Just start.  That's what I did.

Art Supply Sketch

So it all started by digging out my old art supplies...and I'll admit I've had fun shopping for new tools too.  This watercolor palette is one of my favorite things, purchased at Blick Art Supply online.  The sketchbook is a Moleskin. 

Just some quick sketches of my drawing and painting tools with a watercolor wash.

My paint palette that I can take with me when I'm painting outdoors or while doing some urban sketching.  You can see how I set mine up in this blog post. I've since changed out a lot of colors for professional grade watercolors but the principal is the same as to how to set up the palette.

One of my favorite sketching bloggers is Liz Steel.  She does fantastic watercolor sketches and travels around the world, teaching and sketching.  She shares a lot of great information and has two classes that I'm sure are very informative.  It's fun to take a look at her current sketching tools section which is across the top of her blog.