Illustration + Nature Sketching
A common problem in landscape sketches is that they can end up looking flat, like there is no depth to them and it’s hard to see what’s in the foreground and what’s in the distance. This is because we need to consciously place cues for depth and volume on our two-dimensional paper to create the …
Sketching the delicate cherry tree blossoms in early spring is a highlight for me each year, it’s the sign that the landscape and the botanical world are coming to life again. I like exploring the delicate and soft blossoms in the sketchbook very much – the only thing I maybe like sketching even more are …
In the middle of all the landscape sketching I’m doing, it’s nice to change things once in a while and return to other subjects. Since spring is finally around the corner, I thought it’s a great time for some botanical sketching. I’ve chosen a pitcher plant, which feels a bit like cheating, since it’s further …
Today I wanted to share a very cool event that’s special to me and that’s happening soon: The Sketchbook Revival Challenge 2026.It’s taking place between Saturday, April 11 – Monday, April 21st, 2026, and I’m really looking forward to being part of it again! I met a lot of you during the past incarnations of …
Some of you have asked me what kind of brushes I prefer, so here’s an overview of the brushes I use most for my everyday sketching and especially landscape painting. Since I do not create huge paintings in my sketchbook, I mainly use smaller sizes, often mop brushes around 0-3, and classic round brushes up …
Today I have an idea for a pressure-free exercise for you to practice your color mixing and wet on wet skills with small color compositions. I like to create these small grids or stripes with artist tape (or washi tape), and explore a different color combination in each one. This helps me to learn how …
I’m excited to announce my new class “Loose & Luminous Watercolor: Create Atmospheric Mini Landscapes” is now published! In this playful class, we are going to explore how to create atmospheric mini landscapes in a loose watercolor technique, with a touch of detail added with colored pencil. Sunrise, fog and backlight create a unique mood …
When we think about landscape painting, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer variety of colors out there. Today I just want to share a little bit of “behind the scenes” fun that shows my different landscape sketching palettes, and I want to talk about how downsizing your selection of colors can actually lead …
Yellow is a useful part of any landscape painting palette, whether it’s as a pure, bright color or a more muted earth yellow. I personally like to have one from each group so that I can decide if I need a slightly more saturated or less intense yellow. For a very minimal palette of 3-5 …
Skies aren’t just blue. They constantly change colors over time and with weather conditions. Capturing that complexity in your landscape sketches can feel less daunting if you have a few go-to color combinations that can be used for a variety of atmospheric effects and moods, like sunrise, clouds, overcast weather, fog. Here are some of …
Hey everyone, you haven’t heard from me in quite a while. I hope you all have landed well in the new year. Thank you for your kind messages, I’ve read them all. A few personal notes about my absence first:My life has been on hold in the last two months. I’m very sorry I didn’t …
Today I have another quick sketching tutorial of a café scene in a park. Just wanted to mention before the tutorial starts: I realize I haven’t posted in a while. My life is a bit chaotic right now, and I miss writing and making art a lot. I’m still working on finishing the landscape course, …
Neutral colors play a very important role in painting, the give our more saturated colors meaning and a bit of room to breathe. If you create a sketch with only the intense, candy-colored saturated versions of colors, you’ll quickly overwhelm the sketch, and your viewer. Neutrals colors can help with that. A lot of the …
Here’s a landscape sketch of a calm lake scene in a park, I thought it might be fun to see what my process for this was. Currently I don’t sketch directly on location, but I know the area well, and how I approach these sketches would be very similar to my process when sketching outside. …
Photo references can be a good tool for sketchers if you know how to use them.I had planned this as a part of my post about bird sketching, but I find it’s important enough for a separate post. The usefulness of internet image searches has massively gone down in recent years due to AI-generated nonsense, …