Sketching Through The Seasons
Autumn to winter and the weather gradually gets colder but the joy is there to be had through sketching no matter what the season.
I Conducted An Urban Sketching Course At The Best Art School In Ireland! (Part Two)
Part Two of my account of sketching in Artform, Co. Waterford
Urban Sketching in Watercolour for Beginners Course – The Schedule!
My urban sketching course for beginners starts this week, but don’t delay – only a few places left.
Texaco Art Competition – and Lent Starts Today
Today was the last day the kids I teach could submit the paintings they had done for the Texaco Art Competition. This competition has been going for decades in Ireland: many Irish adults still bear the scars. When this year’s competition was announced back in January, a few people were talking about it on Twitter.…
Getting Attention Will Make You A Better Artist
I saw this TED Talk the other night, and I had a few thoughts that I’d like to share with you. Joseph G-L seems like a very nice person, and showing the vulnerability in the talk that he did was admirable, but while on the whole I agree with his fundamental point, we disagree in…
He’s Just Not That Interested In Me (I Need A Nice Stick)
I was telling my girl Liv about my book sales. “Is it a bestseller?” she asked. She knows it is, but she also knows I like to say it over and over again. She’s kind. “Why yes,” I said in an animated, interview voice. “”Now that you happen to ask, it is.” The little terrier,…
The Journey Is Everything
At Taekwon-Do last night, the instructor took us though kicking moves. He explained the stance we should be taking and the part of the foot we needed to deliver maximum impact. We are beginners, so he found fault with one or other aspect of our moves. “You’re focusing on the destination,” he said. “Focus instead…
No Idle Hands
“Hands up whose hair drives them mad when it needs a cut,” I said, showing the kids I teach my latest sketch of a barbershop. I had explained that I had been there for two and a half hours, and they had asked why my son needed to go to the barbershop when it was…
No Sugar, Thanks – Day 1
I am so fed up being fat. After the awful winter we’ve had, I feel like this most days, but yesterday it was worse than usual. I had spent a couple of days with my dad, who is a demon for sugar. He has broken his ankle and isn’t driving so I went to the…
Sketching On Holiday: Now It’s Me Time!
PREMIUM Lots of us would love to capture a few memories on holiday in a sketch, but what do we bring with us, and how do we keep everyone happy?