My recent sketches have been mostly made up of green, blue, and earth yellow (such as Monte Amiata Natural Sienna) with a little brown and grey. Last Friday as I reviewed my current sketchbook pages I suddenly felt an urge to sketch something with a dominant pink or red hue. So a quick direct watercolour sketch of one of my new vintage cups – a Royal Doulton – was just what was needed.

Here is the sketch in the context of the whole double spread spread.

Have you ever chosen a subject to sketch purely based on its colour, because you felt that your sketchbook needed this particular hue?

If you haven’t, why not try it today?

All you have to do is to flip through the recent pages in your sketchbook and take note of the colours you most commonly used. Are there hues that you haven’t used at all? Would it feel good to have them in your book? Can you think of a subject that uses that colour?

There is no right or wrong answer – simply listen to yourself and rely on your own colour preferences. Even if you are a beginner sketcher you have your own sense of colour. Have confidence to rely on it!

If you try this technique – I would love to know how it goes in the comment section below.
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