Sketchbook Tour

Recently I realized just how much I have been missing my daily sketchbook challenge. While I have been painting and designing things I love, I found a lot of time was spent on the tech end of my design process and business. I discovered that there is a weight to creating things that are always shared and reviewed, and I missed having work that I created just for me, just for the joy of it.

I decided to take the first 15-20 minutes of every day to paint while I listen to a devotional, and it has made such a difference in my day. For one, I just love painting without the pressure of creating something beautiful, and for two, starting the day with God’s word is the best way to begin. I keep myself open to a line or scripture that sticks with me and then I paint that as well.

Here are the first few pages of my current sketchbook. There are pages that I truly love and think are beautiful, and other pages I choose to love for the reflection of my dedication if nothing else, for the experience and the building of a habit. What I paint depends on what I feel like painting in that moment. I haven't painted plants in a while so I knew I would spend some time painting flowers in this sketchbook. I also let myself be inspired by pattern collection ideas and just see where it leads.

I am currently using a Speedball Travel Watercolour journal in 300gsm and 5.25x8.38" (the perfect size in my opinion), but have a mini 230gsm Funto watercolour journal that I will try out next. I am also interested in trying the Strathmore Soft Cover Watercolour journal at 300gsm. It is a little more cost effective than the Speedball one: at about $7 cheaper for the same size, weight, and tooth, it provides 48 pages instead of 30...that's three months of daily painting instead of two if it's also double sided! Except, I am not sure if it is double sided. I will have to experiment.

As always, I used my three favourite brushes: the Raphael SoftAqua round brush most of all, and my two Winsor & Newton round brushes in size 7 and 1. 

And my most reached for paint has without a doubt been Daniel Smith's Olive Green. It is creamy and rich and just the perfect blend of gold and green. I recommend it to anybody who loves green or who loves painting nature or who loves granulating watercolour.

 

If you’d like to join in and develop a habit of art and worship, I have a great blog post about how to create your own sketchbook (it's so easy!), and where to begin if you're just starting watercolour. Here is the link to the devotionals I listen to if you'd like to listen with me. As always, thanks for being here!