Revamped! 2025 kit for urban sketching

Revamped! 2025 kit for urban sketching

by | Jul 15, 2025 | Fine Art & Sketching

To Kaleb, who asked me on YouTube if I’d ever updated my urban sketch kit: I SHRUNK IT!

I’d always been trying to peel things back more. But then added more. Agh! I still do USE those other things, like my sketchbook easel. But I save that for a dedicated outing – when I know I’ll be going out, when I have a plan, etc. But I’ve found that for day-to-day sketching, I am doing more since I have cut back on the kit. Let’s talk about what’s in it!

Tutorial: Revamped! 2025 kit for urban sketching

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

SUPPLIES

Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art

Sketchbook for wash and ink:

  1. Pentalic Aqua Journal 5×8 BLICK  AMZ
  2. Pentalic Aqua Journal 8.5×11 BLICK   AMZ 

Brushes:

  1. Tintoretto Cat’s tongue pocket brush 1315 size 6 A GALLO
  2. Silver Brush Black Velvet Round 4 Travel Brush BLICK   AMZ  

Drawin gPencil:

  1. Staedtler Mars Lumograph 2B BLICK   AMZ JACKSONS

Pencil eraser:

  1. Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS

Pencil sharpener:

  1. Staedtler Mars Pencil Grip One-Hole Pencil Sharpener AMZ

Drawing pen:

  1. Sakura Micron Pigma Pen Set BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS
  2. Sakura Micron Pigma Pen 08 AMZ 

Palette

  1. Whiskey Painters Mini palette
  2. Full size pans Full pans BLICK   AMZ

Watercolors:

  1. Daniel Smith Essentials Set BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS
  2. Daniel Smith Lunar Black BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS 
  3. Daniel Smith Burnt Sienna BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS
  4. Daniel Smith Cobalt Teal Blue BLICK   AMZ   JACKSONS
  5. Daniel Smith Sap Green BLICK   AMZ   JACKSONS 

Folding camp chair

My kit really IS small.

The 5×8 sketchbook is the largest item! The case is about 7″ long. My cup is oversized for the need. But hey, I can carry ALL of this in one hand. Chair in the other. Easy peasy!

Advantages of a small kit are myriad!

  1. Easy to transport. No excuses.
  2. Tucks into a backpack, purse, car glove box……
  3. Eliminates hemming and hawing over which of 5 sketchbooks to pull from a stuffed backpack.
  4. Color choices are limited – so forces practice mixing. Always good.
  5. Very little maintenance to keep it sketch-ready.
  6. Not expensive since you don’t need to buy all the colors or all the sketchbooks.

Sketchbook idea

Have you tried sketching your kits as you change out items? It’d be great to date them and see how your supplies changed over time. Make notes about what you swapped out and why so you don’t revert back in 20 years when you forgot why you didn’t like an item back then.

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Styles of sketching

I have so mannnny styles, depending on my mood. Lately I’ve been trying to practice editing ruthlessly to get down to simple basics. This sketchbook is dedicated to that style – and that’s what’s in the new class too! Going through the planning and filming, I realized if I keep my brain focused on that, I don’t tend to try to stuff in all the details.

Urban Sketching Jumpstart Class

The new class is in pre-registration period right now! That means a deeper discount than normal; I like to reward the early adopters! I’ve got everything filmed but it takes lots to edit, process photos, write up lessons….so the Preclass lesson is done now, and has the first 2 pages for you to work on in your own book, plus elements you can set up for future lessons. Along with, of course, the supply list. 

I plan on having everything fully ready for Saturday the 19th, I’m so excited to see people sketching!!

Register
Keep tiny watercolor flowers bright on a background

Keep tiny watercolor flowers bright on a background

by | Jul 12, 2025 | Watercolor, Watercolor Flowers Series

For World Watercolor Month, Hahnemuhle sent a bunch of the Ambassadors a little care package with a bookmark kit – which is perfect for me since I’m making lots of bookmarks this month! (For the fundraiser. If you’ve missed that, go see more info here!) We appreciate their support in getting the word out about ICAF!

The kit came with a pad of watercolor bookmark paper, three half-pans of Schminke watercolors, and a DaVinci brush.

 

Tutorial: Keep tiny watercolor flowers bright on a background

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

SUPPLIES

Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art

The kit

  1. Hahnemuhle Bookmark Watercolor Painting Set AMAZON or FIND A RETAILER

Masking fluid

    1. Used: Pebeo Drawing gum BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS
    2. Preferred: Grumbacher Miskit masking fluid BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS 

The bookmark pad

The pad is a different size than I’m making to fit the sleeves I bought – but I can trim these down easily. But for the demo I worked at full size.

The paper worked nicely – though supersoft papers aren’t always my jam. I do a lot more fussing around and soft papers can get a little pilly with overworking, so I did have one spot that pulled up while removing the masking fluid. But other than that – no warping from the paper at all. You might be able to paint directly on the pad without warping? If you’re not splashing on gobs of water, I bet that would work out great.

The paints and brush

Let’s talk about that teeny tiny brush first – it’s a DaVinci, one of my fave brands, and a synthetic. It worked fully as expected, it achieved all those tiny floral details…..except my hands are too big for that tiny brush, I think! I did try putting it into a pencil extender – and if you try that you’ll likely have to put some tape on it too, since the handle isn’t as thick as a pencil. 

While the brush can make lovely flower petal marks and points very nicely – it doesn’t do much to add large washes. I was trying to ONLY use the kit, but would recommend pairing it with your other brushes.

The Schminke paints were interesting. Lemon Yellow (cool) Helio Cerulean (cool) and Cad Red Light (warm) was an interesting choice – I wasn’t able to make a nice purple from these since the red was so warm. to make a warm green you can add a dot of the red to a cool green mix, though, so that’s a nice option if only having three colors.

I’ll have to paint more with these to decide if I like them. They felt more….chalky? Creamy? I’m not sure the word for it, but they reminded me more of Gansai Tambi than regular watercolors. Maybe those who use Schminke can weigh in and make some suggestions for me! I’ll try them with my other normal supplies and see what they can do.

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The redo!

I spent a little time revamping the red flowers, making them more flower-shaped in many cases, bigger in most, and collecting some in groupings. I think the scale helped make them not look so much the same size as the daisies. I mixed the red, blue, and yellow together to make a dark center color. And got out some white gouache to add tinier flower dots all over, which I think made me happiest of all.

So what do you think? Did I ruin it? Or nah?

Watercolor bookmarks

The Wednesday Zoom calls have been fun so far – an hour each, lots of painting going on! If you missed out on them, or if you know you’ll be missing a future one, then hop over to the class and sign up. This month, your entire $25 goes to ICAF – I’m covering the Paypal fees myself! So you’re doing a good deed AND getting some watercolor instruction you’ll be able to learn from for  years to come as you revisit the lessons!

SIGN UP
Making traditional watercolor jealous: watercolor pencil yawning cat

Making traditional watercolor jealous: watercolor pencil yawning cat

by | Jul 8, 2025 | Watercolor

Even as an artist who loves traditional watercolor – sometimes there’s techniques that watercolor could never do. Maybe something similar, but there are some ways that watercolor pencil can kick traditional painting in the behind! Let’s look at some ways you can use the power of 14 techniques to create a unique piece of art,whatever your subject will be.

Tutorial: Making traditional watercolor jealous

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

SUPPLIES

Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art

Watercolor pencils

  1. Caran d’Ache Supracolor BLICK  AMZ   JACKSONS 

Watercolor paper

  1. Arches Bright White CP 22×30 sheet  BLICK   JACKSONS

Brushes

  1. Winsor & Newton Kolinsky Sable Series 7 Round #8   BLICK  AMZ JACKSONS 
  2. Da Vinci Maestro Kolinsky Sable Round 4  BLICK   AMZ   JACKSONS 
  3. Da Vinci Maestro  Kolinsky Sable Round 2   BLICK  AMZ
  4. Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin Brush (Mottler) – Flat Wash, Short Handle, Size 30 BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS 

Brushes

  1. Jokari Tea strainer

14 techniques with watercolor pencils

Powder painting on wet paper: lay down an area of water and create pencil powder by grating it on a tea strainer, nail file, or sandpaper. (each provides a different result)

Direct drawing on dry paper: the way most people use watercolor pencils, just draw with it and use a brush to melt the pigment into watercolor.
Color mixing by direct drawing: Add multiple colors while drawing – being aware that following color theory rules counts especially if you’ll add water!
Fur – powder onto wet paper: lay down water in the area you want fur, and create as much or little pencil powder as you desire.
Fur – painting onto dry powder: create the powder dust first – then use a brush to paint through them to create brushstroke fur.
Deepening values: concentrate darker values in shadow areas by creating different values of pencil in each section.
Controlling varied value placements: practice targeting exactly where you’ll drop a particular color to create a shadow area vs a soft blended section.
Layering for texture: in a first pass, create light color, then dry it and add powder to paint another layer for the texture of something like the carpet covering on the cat tree.
Masking fluid to preserve whites: paint whiskers and other small areas of whites to be sure no pigment touches them. Let it dry completely before adding color!
Powdered background with mix of colors: add water to the background and create powdered pigment of hues of your choice – test on scrap paper if you’re not confident how they’ll mix.
Lifting bokeh: with a finger wrapped in a baby wipe, lift soft dots of a variety of sizes and values out of the background. Keep them soft — and uneven in placement too.
Lifting masking fluid: remove the dry masking fluid with a rubber cement pickup. Be careful as the masking fluid will have powdered pigment on it and can get pushed into white areas.
Thinning out lines: if whiskers are too thick, you can try pencil to thin them out, or just use a damp brush to soften the value. Create a blob of pigment to “dip” the brush into if that helps.
Direct drawing final details: the last thing to check: are your darks the darkest things in the drawing? Add those pops of contrast before calling it done!

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Kitty needs a nap!

I think I need one, too. But isn’t she sweet? If she looks like your baby, she’s in my shop for sale – and 10% of the sale will be donated to ICAF for our fundraiser!

Unfettered Play: wet in wet watercolor (painting a vintage key)

Unfettered Play: wet in wet watercolor (painting a vintage key)

by | Jul 5, 2025 | Watercolor

Welcome to another post in which I actually follow the World Watercolor Prompt for the day: LOCK! Well, I follow lock if a key is automatically associated with a lock, of course. I do tend to streeeeetch the prompts just a little bit! 

Today’s project started out as something just for me, but as I was painting, I realized – some of YOU might like to paint this as well for YOUR studio. And learn a little something about watercolor painting along the way! So  it’s not only a YouTube speed tutorial for part of it, but I cooked up a little something for you to join in on. More on that after the video!

Tutorial: Wet in wet watercolor (painting a vintage key)

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

SUPPLIES

Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art

Daniel Smith Watercolors

  1. New Gamboge BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS
  2. Yellow Ochre BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS
  3. Transparent Red Oxide BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS 
  4. French Ultramarine BLICK  AMZ JACKSONS 

Paper

  1. Arches Bright White CP 22×30 sheet BLICK   JACKSONS 

Brushes

  1. Da Vinci Maestro Kolinsky Sable Round 2 BLICK AMZ 
  2. Da Vinci Maestro Kolinsky Sable Round 4 BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS 

Wet in wet watercolor

One of the most fun moments for me in watercolor is watching paint flow — how one color moves into another, merging and blending, combining the effects of one color with those of its neighbor. It invents all sorts of new colors along the way – and creates a loose-looking watercolor painting, while in control within a specific area.

That’s why I decided on that technique for this piece – the wet areas would be within shapes, a key and some words, and the looseness is there while also the controlled detail within the drawing. Kind of the best of both worlds, right?

 

Unfettered plans vs play

According to Merriam Webster, the definition of “unfettered” is

Unfettered: not controlled or restricted : free, unrestrained

But didn’t I just say in this painting, the wet in wet techniques are within defined areas? Yes. But, dear reader, dear artist….I know you. I know that freeform unfettered wet in wet freaks people out. (Yes I am one of them!)

So one step towards truly unfettered – no outlines, no definition, just go wild – is getting free and unrestrained within an area we can control.

Did you know you can plan that section of a painting?

Sometimes it’ll be the dress of a person in a painting. Or the canopy of a tree. The rest of the painting can be in different techniques, but you can plan to specifically let colors get loose and blend into each other in one particular area without changing what’s happening elsewhere.

 

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Newbie painter phase

And when it comes to figuring out the plan for a painting, I know newer artists need a few guardrails around the wildness of watercolor! When I spoke with the painter that I mentioned in the video, he told me the stress he had over watercolor doing what it wanted. As I asked him more about his watercolor experience, I realized he quit watercolor before he’d even done it very long! So he never got out of the “newbie” phase of his work before jumping ship to another medium.

That’s not to say that someone who made the jump to oils from watercolor is doing something bad at all. Some people are built for oils – and his work is lovely! But it’s left him with a feeling that he can “only” paint in a controlled way, that he’s not a good enough artist to be able to watercolor. Even though he’s doing wonderful work, he carries the defeat he experienced when he gave up too soon.

So now it’s a class

As I worked on this piece I thought about my friend. He just needed someone to help him find some controlled ways to let go….and that there are a lot of artists like this out there!

I realized this piece could be a good step for newer painters in how to let watercolor do its thing while ALSO staying under control, I decided to only show part of this painting on YouTube, then walk through it much more slowly, in realtime, in a class. While you don’t need to take the class in order to paint wet in wet, it may well be just what the doctor ordered to help you get looser and to find the joy in wet-in-wet techniques. 

In the course you’ll see all the different ways wet in wet can be layered, tweaked, and even fixed! Because yes I am always doing little repairs! 

The class is also a “snack” course – I began those when I created a few on Artventure years ago, budget-priced courses with less content but really concentrated on one thing. You can see them all here – it’s a great way to be able to learn something new without busting the budget in your art studies!

Unfettered Play: Watercolor

Get a taste of wet in wet watercolor and create an art piece fit for framing in this Artventure “snack” course! Trace the provided art and learn how to control the aspects of watercolor that you can, and let the rest blend and mix right before your eyes.

See the course
My Creative Philosophy
World Watercolor Month: The Rules!

World Watercolor Month: The Rules!

by | Jul 1, 2025 | Watercolor

“Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.”― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Honestly, I do not know what Fight Club is. And probably don’t want to know. But I’ve heard this so many times – and I have to laugh when folks ask about the rules for an art challenge.

Inexplicably, lots of artists are rule-followers; perhaps if there are prizes they want to know they are going to qualify. But mostly I think it’s our insecurity. We want to fit in, to do it right, to not have people judge us on what we’re doing. I get that instinct.

But every year there’s always a few of my newer followers who discover there’s a thing called World Watercolor Month, and since I’m an Ambassador, I might know what the rules are.

What’s World Watercolor Month?

Started back in 2016 – it’s basically a celebration of watercolor! Artists of all levels from all around the world paint through the month and celebrate the medium. You can join in without signing up, just go over to the World Watercolor Month site and check out the details!

What’s a World Watercolor Month Ambassador?

We’re champions for the celebration of watercolor! It’s a bunch of watercolorists who help Charlie O’Shields at Doodlewash, the organizer of WWCM, get the word out, get people excited about the month of July, and do some fundraising!

Just so you know, we don’t get paid for this. We’re volunteers just like Charlie!

Ambassadors donate a piece of our art so Charlie can get swag made from it. They’re limited to being sold just in this time period so get yours now!

World Watercolor Month: The Rules!

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

SUPPLIES

Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art

Paper:

  1. Arches Bright White CP 22×30 sheet BLICK JACKSONS 

Paints:

  1. Daniel Smith Watercolors

Brushes:

  1. Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin Brush Round 4 BLICK AMZ 
  2. Winsor & Newton Flat 1/2 sable one stroke brush BLICK 

The rules – and how to break them

The gist of the “rules” goes something like this:

“Use the prompts to create watercolor paintings every day in July while sharing online and raising funds for charity.”

But I’ve got a few caveats!

Use the prompts. Or not.

Charlie provides prompts…not just for this July celebration but all year long. (Go subscribe to his email list for more info!) But you know what? You don’t have to follow them! No one will fault you for going your own way. You do you! What inspires you right now? Paint that!

I follow some prompts and not others – sometimes (gasp) I don’t even look at the day’s prompt and I just go with what I feel like. Today was an accident since I needed to get started on my July phenology wheel (more on that in a few minutes) – the first prompt is “radiant” and my wheel has radiant lines. Check that box by accident! ha!

I will be following the prompts for my Wednesday Zoom paintalongs, though!

 

Must use watercolor?

The definition of “watercolor” is pretty expansive. Gouache counts. As do watercolor pencils and markers. And you know what? I have classes in traditional watercolor as well as these others! So if you need a start in one of those mediums, check out what’s available here.

My definition of “watercolor” has been even more expansive through the years – I call using “color” to create a drawing or painting of “water” counts! Alcohol marker drawings of the ocean, colored pencil drawings of a fish swimming in coral. Get creative – and get creating!

Oh gosh, paint every day?

Making art daily IS good for you. I’ve always encouraged people to do a little something every day in order to grow as an artist, so I won’t tell you not to aim for daily.

But you don’t have to do MASSIVE paintings daily. You don’t have to finish the art. You can work on one painting all month! Or do something like this phenology wheel above and paint something tiny every day. (You could make it a grid to be easier, just paint something in a little square!)

And if you miss a day or a few or a week, get right back to it when you can. It’s summer, don’t give up a day of snoozing under a tree with a book on your lap!

A lot of my students use the month to paint through my 30 Days to More Confident Watercolor Sketching class each July – they have a tutorial for the day, they don’t have to think about coming up with an idea, and they can track how they’re growing year by year.

I have to share my work too??

Oh heck no! There’s no rule about having to post your art. I know when I was starting with watercolor I had to swallow hard knowing someone would SEE the mess I’d just created, GASP! So I get it.

But you know what? There’s someone even newer than YOU out there. Someone who has always wanted to watercolor but is too embarrassed to try it. You could be their inspiration! Just think, that could be the next famous watercolorist on the scene in a few years, and they’ll say YOU were the one who encouraged them to buy some paints and get  started. Wouldn’t that be cool?

If you’re looking for a safe place to share – I can vouch for the community at Artventure over on Mighty Networks. It’s such an encouraging place! No one will shame you, they’ll give positive and constructive tips that’ll help you grow. You can see their work and know everyone is learning alongside each other. Most are my students so you’ll even see homework from classes —and you can ask people how easy or hard one is that you’re considering signing up for. You’ll get unvarnished opinions from them rather than relying on me!

Artventure’s free to join, I pay for it myself – and you can download the Mighty Networks app to participate there, or just do so on a web browser without an app. And if you’re interested in the free Zoom calls, that’s where you’ll need to go RSVP and get sketches and the zoom link. Sign up here! 

A few years ago I painted this little cart – wouldn’t that be great to have one on your street corner, filled with all the items you might need?

It’s uploaded to the site where you can have prints made of some of my work, and this is the framed version – but you can get just a print, or a canvas print, or pillows, or, well, you know. All that stuff! 

Artventure cart swag

Ooh fundraise?

Some people get intimidated by the idea of fundraising, others run towards it – and there are options for just quietly doing your part – or for shouting it from the rooftops and spreading the word.

The charity we’ve fundraised for is the International Child Art Foundation – ICAF – they work with kids in their communities and help them make ART! Next year is their every-four-years event in DC, and I’ll be going there for it and teaching!

But as for this year, ICAF saw their National Endowment for the Arts funding cut in all the chaos in DC this year – so we need ot step up so the kids know their art is important to some of us adults!

I fundraise every year, and this year the options are:

  1. 10% of EVERY class, not just watercolor, are donated to ICAF through July. (use this link to see them all in a mishmash list, or use the menu on that site to navigate to your favorite medium).
  2. 100% of several new products will be donated to ICAF through July: Animal Artist Printables, Robot Printables, and Watercolor Bookmarks Livestreams 2025. (You can attend the livestreams for free, but could also donate the $25 for the course and not only be able to miss some of the Zoom calls but to watch them over and over.)
  3. 10% of fine art purchases are donated to ICAF through July. Shop now!
  4. Donate your art! We’re collecting handmade art bookmarks to give to the kids ICAF serves in 2026, and there’s more info on that here.

The bookmarks made during the Watercolor Bookmarks Livestreams Zooms may or may not be appropriate for the kids – like Espresso, which is the them for tomorrow’s call. But you can use them, swap them, give them as gifts – and you’ll learn some fabulous techniques!

More on World Watercolor Month

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And now…what’s a phenology wheel?

All through 2025 I’ve been working on mine daily, after seeing Marion making her own. Phenology is the study of how nature changes over time, and documenting the world right around you is eye opening! 

Each month I’ve chosen a different theme, and used different mediums….in April I created a handmade round book to keep everything together and to allow me to take it with me to show people at events. I’m half a year in and it’s coming along so well, as you saw in the video!

My themes each month have been:

  1. January: all things green, watercolor
  2. February: skies, gouache
  3. March: birds, marker and pen
  4. April: spring buds and blooms, watercolor
  5. May: deciduous and flowering trees, alcohol marker
  6. June: tiny flowers on weeds, colored pencil

This month I want to try something different and follow ONE plant through the month. My hydrangeas have started coming in, and I’ll be painting from the inital bud to the full on blossom. My Mom, who passed last year, would be so happy it’s still blooming after all these years since she bought that bush for me and helped me plant it. In August it’ll be a year without her, and this is a happy memory to spend time with as my sisters and I come up on that sad anniversary.

I’ve seen lots of people starting to make phenology wheels, and that’s so great! Remember these are about the progression of nature over time – not just a random picture from your phone a few months ago. It gets you out there to look at your surroundings and notice things every day. What new birds have arrived, and which don’t you see anymore? What did the initial buds look like on a fig tree that’s now bearing fruit? I now have my eyes wide open while out walking my dogs. I used to just listen to podcasts but now I’m too busy listening for birdsongs and visiting trees I’ve sketched, just to see how they’re different now than before.

Will you be participating?

I hope my un-rules inspired you to jump in and take part in World Watercolor Month this year! I’d love to see what you’re creating, and Artventure is the only place I can count on to show me the creations all the time, so I hope you’ll join us!