Monday 18th May At long last my face masks are available for sale. Forgive me, I know masks are a symbol of this awful time, but I wanted them to be completely perfect. Black elastic with a navy, red, yellow and white patterned fabric? Are you crazy? Only navy elastic will do! That took a…
Saturday 16th May Today in my Zoom class I show some great students the benefits of a limited palette. I really enjoy spending time with them, albeit through a fibre optic cable connection. It is great to be with other adults after all this time – especially adults who like sketching and all things art,…
I say “loosely” locked down, because we can travel 5km from our home now, and by next Monday certain shops will be open. I might be able to buy a vital piece of plumbing paraphernalia, which would mean I would be able to commission my en-suite bathroom (all the white ceramic bits – the sink,…
Every week, the Urban Sketching organisation hosts an hour of talks with some favourite sketchers from around the world. This Sunday gone was the turn of Mário Linhares and Hugo Costa, bot from Portugal. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for Hugo’s talk, but I will catch up with it on You Tube. Mário spoke to Rob…
I am Lounging In Lockdown, because I handed in my latest book for publication the other day. Yes, I know I have mentioned this before now but I am going to milk it for a while longer! My dear husband Marcel came home with a bottle of Blanc de Blancs. “My mother loved this,” he…
Wednesday 6th May I give my zoom class to a group of engaged and dedicated students. It is a taster class and I have nearly 30 participants. The only drawback is that there are too many people to get to know properly. The subject that we draw is a sketch of a pot plant in…
I am exceedingly excited to tell you that my new book is available for pre-order from Amazon. It’s one of the next books in the Urban Sketchers Handbook series, and it’s called Drawing Expressive People. I have always loved drawing people, ever since I was tiny and was a slave to Asterix and Obelix and…
Sunday 3rd May A hundred and fifteen years ago, the last person to live in Tyrone House packed up and left. Actually, that’s not quite true: the caretaker stayed there for another few years, and was carried out in his bed when Republicans set the house on fire. I’ve heard many stories about the unpopularity…
Sunday 3rd May Lockdown trends I have done: sourdough (can’t open the jar anymore because the lid is now glued on with starter); baking (my daughter does it all now); yoga (every day I do ten or twenty minutes and I hope this is one craze I won’t drop); zoom classes (fun!); made masks (they…
Saturday 2nd May Plants Sketching your houseplants of not as hard as it might seem. I am going to show you how I did mine. You start by looking for a plant you think would make a suitable contender. You want one with some broad leaves, or you’ll get frustrated when things get fiddly. Then…