Just dropping watercolour into water

In reverse order of execution. Done on different papers, some really smooth and thin, some more textured.

Some days, I know that I can't paint "a painting".  There can be many reasons, too busy, too tired. Or just energy sucked out of me. But I want to turn up anyway. That's who I am. I always turn up for myself. And I'm always glad I do, particularly when I would rather take to the bed and distract myself with doom-scrolling or dark thoughts. So, on those days, I might just scribble. On this occasion, I painted big water shapes on the page and dropped watercolour in, no thinking, no judging. So happy I did.

Just off Capel Street

Still lots to sketch on Capel street. This time we were looking at some old shops that are just a façade at this stage, probably awaiting demolition. You'd think we would try to preserve some of our heritage! I had brought a tiny tin with 6 half pans of watercolour and it was lovely to play with this reduced set. Then I returned to my inktense pencils and Ecoline markers. I wanted to capture the people on the street. That's a whole other journey! But removing cars and adding benches has certainly brought people back on the streets, including urban sketchers of course! 

Freemasons Dublin Grand Lodge

Another great location for USk Week - Louise contacted the Freemasons and got us access to the Grand Lodge. Such a treat! And yes, I sketched the same room again! Worked in inktense and markers. I added some acrylic markers when I got home, including some gold which seemed appropriate - although I was probably a bit heavy-handed. We had lunch there afterwards. It felt very special!

Previous times I sketched there, in 2020 and 2018!

• https://mhbd.blogspot.com/2020/03/freemasons-hall.html
•  https://mhbd.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-freemasons-hall.html

Urban Sketchers Week - Dublin Sketchers' special sketchwalk

Loved our sketchwalk with Dublin Sketchers on Sunday 3rd May, in celebration of International Urban Sketchers Week. We had a map of locations, starting at 11 am and finishing at 4pm (in the pub), with about 45 minutes at each location. It can be challenging, but also exhilarating, to sketch quickly and then move and settle and start all over again! All while chatting to sketchers from Dublin, and also Galway, Gorey, Northern Ireland and other parts. You could say it was our first National event for Ireland! 

As the International logo for this year was green, I tried to incorporated green in all my sketches. Worked mostly with pen, inktense and ecoline. Some watercolour when I had more time. I enjoyed the fast pace, and the chats along the way. Text added at home, everything else done on location. Was completely exhausted the next day! And Brendan took some photos and put a video together.  A great memory of the day.

 

Around our neighbourhood. It's lilac time

Tried some more flowers and leaves from our neighbourhood walks. I love the smell of lilacs. I need to add some gouache to this one to catch the soft light of it. The red leaves, I don't know what they are. I might cut it up.

Everyday joys

I have been in avoidance mode in the last few weeks (it's about 2 months actually! - I don't really know why, nothing in particular, maybe an accumulation of distractions and stresses, maybe I'm more tired than I would care to admit? I also have a stye that's stubbornly troubling my vision!). I can't seem to continue on the path I was on. So I'm trying other things. Rather than confront the problem straight on, I'm looking at other nudges, other things that have been catching my attention lately. The reality is that I live in the city, in the suburbs of Dublin. And I do love my life here. And I do notice all the beautiful little things that we spend most of our lives ignoring, like the song of a blackbird in the afternoon, the Spring light and shadows from the trees, the big bubbly clouds in the sky. None of it as dramatic as the Atlantic crashing on the West coast, but I'm appreciating these little daily joys all the same. And if I look at the photos on my phone, there's plenty that catches my eye, so why not try and paint some of it.

So, I started with cherry blossoms on cheap cartridge paper, buckling lots with the amount of water I use in my watercolours. It doesn't look quite so buckled in reality. Moved to heavy cartridge paper, more cherry blossoms from down the road on our afternoon walk. Third one is an attempt at shadows on the footpath. Didn't work out. But I really enjoyed painting the first two pieces, finding ways to express the pinkness of a cherry blossom at its peak!

Pencils4Tea 30 April 2026

I missed last week as I was in Belgium, so I was glad to participate in this session.

 

Top of Capel street

Don't be foold by the lovely sunshine. It was still not that warm in the shade and wind. Which is why I picked a seat in the sun, even if it meant that I wasn't going to sketch the designated building. Does that sound familiar? I'm not great at following instructions, or even just suggestions. Not anymore. I used to be such a good girl, doing what was expected of me. It took me long enough to get to this stage.

What really caught my eye wasn't the jewellers/pawn shop, but the shop at the top of the road, still far enough that I couldn't really see the details. Perfectly framed by street planting and other buildings. Then I decided I wanted to sketch the sketchers, and the spectacular lilies. Not sure about the overall result, but I'm glad I experimented. 

Fude pen (Platinum Carbon ink), Inktense and Ecoline markers.