Working from my own reference photos I was able to create 3 loose sketches using a combination of mixed media. The spontaneous inky background was tremendous fun to create and managed to fill many pages in several sketchbooks very quickly.

Starting with this butterfly I saw at Changi Singapore Airport I drew a very basic guide in colour pencil then picked out the darkest areas first using Paynes grey which allowed me to understand the main structures in this piece. I loved seeing the pop of pink underneath the butterfly wings.

Next was the pot of geraniums where I managed to incorporate the flowerheads over a lovely pinky orange area. Although there were many more flowers I had to simplify it down to pick out the main blooms so it looked less busy. I think my favourite part were the simplicity of the leaf shapes outlined in pencil so you could see the watercolour texture underneath.

Finally the sea/ landscape from coastal Provence. It was a really tricky scene to break down with many different elements in the foreground and background. But once the tree structures and watercolour washes were in place I was able to refine and add lovely textures using a few colour pencils. I think limiting the colours of the descriptive pencil lines really helped to bring this landscape together. There were moments of doubt but I got there in the end and am very pleased with the results - it might be my favourite.

I used :

Hahnmuhle watercolour sketchbook

Daler Rowney, Liquitex, Winsor & Newton inks

Winsor & Newton watercolours

White posca pen Kuretake ink

Caran d'Ache Luminance colour pencils

Derwent dagger brush