Sketchbook Habits
A Beginner's Checklist for Sketching on Location
What to pack, where to sit and how to approach your first outdoor sketch, with a simple checklist that keeps you comfortable and focused.
Latest posts · Page 7
Painting Techniques
Rescuing Muddy Watercolour: Causes, Fixes and Prevention
Why watercolours turn dull and muddy, how to rescue a tired painting, and simple habits that keep your colours clean and bright.
Art History
How the Paint Tube Helped Create Impressionism
A look at how portable tube paint, new pigments and a changing art world made it possible for the Impressionists to paint outdoors.
Materials and Tools
Canvas, Board or Paper? Choosing a Painting Surface
Compare stretched canvas, canvas boards, wooden panels and paper for painting, with notes on priming, cost, storage and suitability.
Design Basics
Pairing Typefaces Simply: A Beginner's Guide to Two Fonts
How to choose and combine two typefaces for posters, covers and pages, using contrast, restraint and a few easy checks.
Colour Theory
Complementary Colours: Contrast Without the Clash
Complementary colours can sing or shout. Learn how to balance them with value, saturation and proportion for harmonious contrast.
Painting Techniques
Dry Brush and Scumbling: Adding Texture With Little Paint
Two simple techniques for broken, textured colour: how to load the brush, which surfaces suit them, and when to use dry brush or scumbling.
Art History
The Story of Ultramarine: From Lapis Lazuli to the Tube
Explore how ultramarine went from a precious stone ground by hand to a synthetic pigment, and why this deep blue shaped painting history.
Sketchbook Habits
Blank Page Fear: Gentle Ways to Start a Sketchbook Page
Staring at an empty page? These practical, low-pressure prompts help you make the first mark and keep a sketchbook habit going.
Design Basics
Using Negative Space to Make Stronger Drawings and Designs
Negative space is the shape around and between things. Learn how to see it, draw with it and use it to make clearer, calmer compositions.
Colour Theory
Warm and Cool Colours: Using Temperature to Create Depth
Understand colour temperature, why every hue has a warm and cool version, and how to use it to suggest light, distance and form.
Painting Techniques
Watercolour Washes Explained: Flat, Graded and Variegated
Master the three basic watercolour washes with simple steps on paper tilt, mixing enough paint and timing, plus fixes for common problems.