Mug

I've completed Andrea Joseph's class on Sketchbook Skool. And I will definitely try out more button drawings and biro drawings.

But for now, I have moved on to Liz Steel's class - Liz Steel is an Australian sketchbook artist and her two big things are cups of tea and buildings. So, I've just completed the first assignment, which I loved. Rather than jumping straight in, she recommends you hold the cup in your hand, feel it, then explore all its features, its overall shape, the details, how they all fit together. When you're done exploring, you're ready to draw and colour without having to think out every detail again.

Things that worked well for me (very different from Brenda Swenson's approach - both work, but create a very different look - I must try this mug in the Brenda Swenson style - to be added to the ToDo list):

1. Using a light-coloured watercolour pencil to do a basic shape drawing, including vertical middle line
2. Drawing with a water-resistant pen (uni-ball)
3. Going lighter on the shadows 

I'm rather pleased with how this mug turned out. It's my favourite mug. It was a Christmas present from my sister-in-law (my Irish sister-in-law, that is). It's part of a set of 4 in similar patterns, with different colours. Each one has a name. This one is called Véronique. I only use it for special occasions, as I don't want to break it. And I was reluctant to paint it, as the patterns looked too intimidating. But following Liz Steel's approach, I was ready to tackle it.

On the left side below, you can see how I explored my subject.

Next assignment is a building. I'm procrastinating.