Illustration + Nature Sketching
I’ve started to sketch more birds again recently which is very enjoyable. Today I have a video of my process for a detailed bird painting. I’ve decided to do some sketches of the birds in my sketchbook first, and a detailed painting in watercolor later. It’s winter time, and in many places in middle Europe …
Before I get into today’s topic, I just wanted to let you know I’ve been active on my Youtube channel a bit more recently, I’ve put out a few videos: a bird painting demo, a quick tip for mixing (complementing today’s topic), and also a video about my shopping ban experiment (read the post here). …
I’m excited to announce I’ve released a quick little class about setting up custom watercolor palette for sketching. If you want to get to know your paints and their properties better, or if you’re new to watercolor and are wondering what’s important to look for in a sketching palette, or if you’re an experienced painter …
Before I continue with today’s topic, I just wanted to thank everyone who left a comment and added to the discussion of last week’s post about my shopping ban for 2020. I did not expect such a massive resonance, and I’m grateful you all shared your own stories and thoughts about having less stuff (or …
I’ve recently embarked on an experiment that I originally didn’t plan to share publicly, but I’ve decided to talk about it. Maybe it will be of interest to some of you. The start of the year also seems like a good time. Welcome to 2020. Read on why I’ve stopped buying art supplies (and other …
At the end of the year, I always look back and think about the things that have defined the last year – what happened, what went well, what helped me to grow as an artist. I also look at what needs a bit of course correction. Looking at the good sides helps me to appreciate …
I recently saw a wonderful documentary about the Japanese calligrapher Kazuaki Tanahashi – he is a brush master (and zen teacher) specialized in one-stroke paintings of Japanese letters. Each brushstroke is simple, made consciously and the brush strokes are ranging from barely visible whispers waving across the page, to powerful decisive strokes. All of the …
Earlier this year I painted a lot of local birds, and I filmed some of my sketching sessions, as I recently rediscovered. This tutorial has been sitting on my computer for quite a while, but I thought it would be fun to share how I approach sketching birds. Eurasian blue tits are small, quite acrobatic …
Today I’m going to show you how to make your own sketchbook. I’ve made a little video about this, since several people asked me about this. These are relatively easy to make sketchbooks that you don’t need any special tools for. They have a beautiful cross-binding on the back (at least sometimes), and I use …
I’ve been asked how I do color studies and how I generally use my sketchbook to test color mixes. I don’t have a fixed system behind color mixing, but I like to test new paints whenever I get them to see how they react with other colors, and I often explore new mixes when I …
I haven’t shared what I’m sketching and illustrating in a while so I wanted to do that today. I’ve been painting a lot of different animals, objects from nature but also food and veggies lately, partly to loosen up and partly for my portfolio. I’m enjoying the different subjects a lot, particularly drawing animals is …
When it comes to learning about all the different art supplies and tools out there, the internet is a great place. There are so many blogs (like mine, thank you for being here!), videos and resources where you can inform yourself about all the wonderful supplies that exist and how you can use them. There …
Sometimes nature journaling seems to come to you, and you feel inspired and have lots of ideas and fill your pages quickly. But there are other times when just nothing happens. It can be a bit difficult standing in the field with your sketching kit and not knowing where you start, and not feel inspired. …
It’s been a while since I’ve taught an online class about nature sketching, but since the autumn colors are so beautiful outside I couldn’t let the opportunity pass to collect a few ideas (as well as berries, leaves and mushrooms) and make a class full of sketching demos and drawing tips for you. I’ve been …
I have made a few updates to my palette recently that I will share in this post. I’m also happy to report that I’ve slowly started drawing and painting again after a few months of dealing with a hand injury that prevented me from sketching altogether. Currently I’m exploring painting more loosely and with a …