This Week's Visual Journal

Hi Friends,

Along with commissioned work and busy end of term family fun, this week I’ve tried sketching a cat on a fence.

I first saw the cat on one of those days when I was tired and nothing was working in the studio. I was also felt a little sad. So I went for a walk and saw it. You could say that it was a very normal moment but it was the perfect subject to try various methods with, colour combinations and just play! So I quickly took a snap with my phone (wasn’t sure how long I’d have before the cat left) and then drew the cat on location with whatever I had in my bag. This way I could have two references.

Here’s the process from the moment I saw the cat and first sketch to the canvas as it is today.

The cat on the fence (de-saturated to see value) and my very first sketch (2mins)

This is a drawing I did from memory the next day in my sketchbook. I’m playing a lot more here with colour combinations.

This one I did pretty much straight after I came home with the initial sketch and wrote down some words reminding me of what I could hear and smell during that walk (above this Pith sketchbook is Ezra’s art work which he brought to me as a gift).

This is my studio floor on Tuesday. I posted this image in my Substack Notes as I was having so much fun trying different approaches to this same subject. The birds of prey were a warm up (which I ended up really loving) - I found the reference images on Emma Carpendale’s Substack. The very large sketchbook spread at the top was fun too - I love how the greenery turned out in this one (the cat is a bit scary!!).

This is the canvas as it stands this morning. It’s unfinished but I’m liking the direction it’s taking and I’ve enjoyed the process so much, that in itself is a real win! For this I’ve mainly used a combination of Liquitex acrylics, Holbein gouache and Caran D’Ache neocolor pastels.

Finally, this is the spread of my visual journals of the week (the process video is at the top) which is honestly a bit stiff and lacks freshness compared to everything else I did this week but I’m glad to have a note in my journal. In this I’ve used mainly Caran D’Ache neocolor pastels and Prismacolor pencils. I journaled with a Kaweco fountain pen.

Other highlights:

• botanical gardens in Sheffield

• the sweet scent of sweet-peas

• a dinner with friends in the museum garden in town

• being in the studio with Ezra

I’ve also painted the cover of my Pith sketchbook which I’ll share with my paid subscribers in coming days.

Hope you’ve had a good week. xx