This is some catnip spray that we bought in the UK to try and revive a few cat toys and attract our cats to scratch something other than our couch (which is looking hairy and battered). However they seem totally uninterested in the smell! We also bought some cat “off” – to deter them from scratching everything – we haven’t tried that yet.
Fri-28-Aug-2026
These flippers are one of my wife’s birthday presents that we brought back from the UK.
Thu-27-Aug-2026
These are the pencils and crayons I bought from Fred Aldous (the fantastic art shop in Manchester, which we said goodbye to, for now, because our daughter is moving). Of course I tried them out immediately afterwards.
Tue-25-Aug-2026
Here is a sketch I did when my wife and I had breakfast in the local coffee shop after a morning walk.
Sun-23-Aug-2026
Here is a sketch of the new paper I bought from my favourite shops in the UK. I’ve already started using the Cass art paper (300gsm cold press not)…but so far I don’t think I’ll be trying it again.
Sat-22-Aug-2026
These are the paints that I bought in the UK from Jackson’s in Hove and Cass Art in Brighton. The colours (from the left) are Aureoline (Rosa), Sap Green (Cass), undersea green (Daniel Smith), Opera pink (DS) and Lemon Yellow (Cass). From the label I thought the Aureoline was going to be browner…turns out it is just another yellow. I should have googled it beforehand.
Fri-21-Aug-2026
Finally I have finished posting all my sketches from our holiday. This is the first sketch I did when we got back home and spent a good long week adjusting to the different time zone… in more ways than one. Having busted my watch in Kotor I am back to using my old analogue Pulsar watch!
Thu-20-Aug-2026
After wandering around the old town and eating a nice felafel sandwich from Amigos Gyros, we wandered along the marina and sat down to sketch. After I did the ink work for this, another boat offering tours pulled up in front, blocking my view. I tried to continue but did most of the colour work from a photo.
Mon-17-Aug-2026
After we made another trip to the airport in Tivat to drop off our youngest daughter we decided to chill in Budva before going to Podgorica and our flight home. The day before this before we did boat ride (which turned out to be a bit disappointing and expensive), followed by some souvenir shopping and overheating in the old town. We enjoyed the old town in Budva more than in Kotor (less crowded and less touristy) and we sat in a little square listening to a busker while I sketched this. According to one website this church was built in the 7th century.
Mon-17-Aug-2026