Hello dear readers, I know it’s been a long time since I posted a blog: it’s just over a month since I wrote. It’s a case of being up to my eyeballs in work and life. I love writing my blog and I love sharing what I do with you, and so many of you…
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Tuesday 22nd April I am heading to Greece to spend a week with nine students from all over the world. They, like me, are keen sketchers, and I will share some of my techniques with them as we explore the hills, valleys and coast of the hidden part of Greece where we’ll be staying. I’ve…
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This post is about my current mania for sketching tulips, my attempts to capture their beauty and the pros and cons of each approach. At the end, you’ll find details of my summer teaching schedule. 1. Ink and watercolour on 100% cotton cold pressed 250g A6 Portrait Hahnemühle sketchbook Pros: Cons: 2. Gouache on Fabriano…
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Thursday 13th March Dublin Airport. So happy to be heading off to Barcelona for a weekend of sketching. Even happier to be spouse-free in Dublin Airport. My husband Marcel has a different style from me when it comes to air travel: I consider myself relaxed, he considers me reckless; I consider him overanxious and rude,…
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We are well into March. Yesterday was International Women’s Day. My cousin, a kind and clever man, sends a greeting into the family whatsapp group to mark the day, saying something about the amazing women in our wider family. I have thoughts on naming a day to shout out half the world’s population, and usually…
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Monday 3rd March It’s morning and we’re heading east shortly. “We” is me, my husband Marcel, our son Paddy (23) and Reuben the terrier. The car is packed, the dog’s sleeping crate has been collapsed and thrown into the boot and I have just over half an hour to paint a birthday card for my…
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This piece will have very few illustrations. That’s because I don’t have many. I left my home in the Wicklow Mountains long before I started a regular sketching habit. I include two sketches that are nearly the same, both done in Enniskerry Village, three miles from the clearing in the woods where I grew up.…
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Wednesday 22nd January I am an hour and a half early for my train back to Galway, and I am full of blissful anticipation of an afternoon’s sketch, but where will I go? I decide you can’t go wrong with the National Gallery. Before I launch into the description of my afternoon, I have a…
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The year: sometime in the late Noughties. The place: the road outside my kids’ primary school. The occasion: pick-up time. I park up and get out of my car to collect my little ones, and as soon as I step out of the car I realise I have made a terrible mistake, and the pick-up…
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Just in case you don’t get past this line, if you’ve pre-ordered a SketchPocket and received an email from me, it’s just an automated one for all pre-orders to tell you they’re due to arrive in Ireland today to be sent to you over the next few days. I’ve had a few quizzical messages and…
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