I bought some new, good paint and enjoyed using it for parts of this sketch.

I kept it simple on a recent weekend in NYC: a compact A5 sketchbook (Cachet by Daler-Rooney, recycled paper), pencil and pen (colour and white pencil added at home) that I could carry in my handbag and easily pull out at the many brewpubs on our itinerary.

I was about to take a photo of the truly “crazy” milkshake menu, then decided on a quick sketch instead. Next time I’ll order a shake to sketch.It was also handy at the airport when our flight got delayed. Lots of people not moving much.

I loved the colour of these pears in this McCoy dish, so I did a larger watercolour on good paper.

Well, I have a lot to learn when it comes to handling watercolour. The lessons in Wil Freeborn’s Book are helping. After more than one attempt, these are the results for lessons 15 and 16.

After an afternoon spent on landscape exercises from Wil Freeborn’s Book (Learn to Paint in Watercolor with 50 paintings) I needed to just draw something. And it was not an option to go outside — -20C + 35km winds! So I turned to a corner of my kitchen, a bit complicated to tackle, but fun nonetheless.

A couple of small sketches to fill the last pages of this 5.5 inch square HandBook sketchbook.

By coincidence, both sketches feature pieces from my collection of McCoy pots.

Had a technical glitch with my first attempt at posting this, so, take two…

I’ve had this basket of eggs on my desk for weeks now, for sketching only, not to be scrambled.

As I looked out over the snow-covered front lawn, on a bitterly cold New Year’s Day, it was nice to imagine sitting around the campfire again … in about four months.