If you are stuck for something to draw, sketching some art materials is always a good option. This isn’t my pencil case though – it’s my daughters.
Wed-17-Dec-2025
112-3315 – Kelly’s pencil case
ArtMaterials
109-3254 – What’s in my pencil case?
On this evening I opened my pencil case thinking “what shall I draw?” and saw my #Derwent watercolour pencils and thought “that will do”.
Sun-12-Oct-2025
107-3185 – What the heck are copying pencils
My sister disinterred these pencils when packing up my parents house. I guess they belonged to my mum? I had thought they were just ordinary pencils but it turns out they are water soluble and changed from grey to mauve when I added water. A Wikipedia page tells me they are indelible pencils with dye added to the lead (hence the dominant colour in my sketch) so that a copy could be made of a handwritten document. It seems people stopped using these in the 1930’s …so in fact they probably belonged to my grandparents!
Wed-23-Jul-2025
106-3175 – What paper next?
I bought a lot of paper while we were away: Cass Art Watercolour paper (50 A3 sheets of 300 gsm smooth), 25 A4 sheets of Daler Smooth Heavyweight 220 gsm, and in Canada 60 sheets of 160 gsm Artists Loft mixed media paper (9×24 inches). I was even given an A5 Daler sketchbook, which I’ll use next.
Fri-11-Jul-2025
106-3160 – New palette – missing pink
This is the new palette I bought in @FredAldous in Manchester. I realised when I’d filled this (with a few random left-over half and whole pans), that I’d forgotten to include opera pink! Oops! I rectified that later.
Wed-18-Jun-2025
101-3057 – What is currently in my pencil case
I am always changing and adjusting the sketching kit I carry with me everyday. Here is a sketch of what I currently carry in my pencil case (from the left, anti-clockwise): 1. W&N Squirrel brush. 2. Sailor fude fountain pen. 3. Lamy safari fountain pen. 4. TWSBI fountain pen (with black ink). 5. Uni-ball eye micro pen. 6. White Posca pen. 7. Watercolours (mix of brands but mostly Daniel Smith and Holbein Watercolours). 8. Water-brush (no brand). 9. Mechanical pencil. 10. Rosemary and Co. travel dagger brush. 11. Sakura White gelly-roll pen. 12. Wrist band for wiping brush (made out of an old airline sock). 13. Bottle of Noodlers Lexington grey ink. 14. Tissues. 15. Small bottle of water with mist sprayer. 16. Sponge. 17. Kneadable eraser.
Wed-26-Mar-2025
101-3049 – Book binding thread
For me, even the simplest of subjects is good enough to sketch. This is a reel of book binding thread that I bought on line a while back. I started my sketchbook making with a double-thread of ordinary cotton, moved on to more heavy duty cotton and after finally running out of that, I bought this. There is enough thread on this reel to last me the rest of my life!
Wed-19-Mar-2025
100-3011 – Two cups
For this sketch I was following the #DrawTipTuesday advice of @KoosjeKoene to try out some materials that you haven’t been using for a while. So I used my #MonteMarte watercolour markers to start this off and then added some ink and watercolour.
Wed-26-Feb-2025
99-2991 – Smallest palette
I’ve had this cheap little palette since I was a teenager. The plastic lid is held on with some tape but it still works. The other day I added a row of new colours – by glueing in some bits of old plastic into the part in front which used to be set aside for a paint brush. This palette is the smallest one I have…but I still can’t resist cramming in lots of colours!
Tue-11-Feb-2025