I always love writing reflection articles, as they are a way to reflect on the main themes of a sketching trip. See other reflection articles here.

This time, I’m limiting myself to three points that relate to my main goals for the trip. I wanted to see if I could get okay results with a water brush and test a small palette, do some quick sketches on the go (which implies some standing up), and use the techniques from my upcoming Travel Sketching course both during the three filming days and also the other days when I was with friends.

So here are my three reflections…

1. It’s possible to get good results with a waterbrush

I’m actually very happy that I’ve worked out a way to use a waterbrush with reasonable results. For me, a water brush will never be as good as a dagger brush, but it is so convenient that it’s great to have it as an option. However, on this trip, I discovered that I get the best results when using a palette with lots of mixing areas and a good range of colours. The small palette that I started the trip with was a great size for travel sketching but did not give me the results I wanted. As soon as I switched back to my normal palette, I immediately started creating lively watercolour washes with the waterbrush.

2. Standing up for watercolour sketching is not that hard

Over the last few years, I’ve stopped sketching with watercolour when I’m standing up (I’ve always happily sketched standing up when using dry media) but I mentally thought it was too hard (especially as I don’t carry a support board with me anymore).

But this trip has revived my desire to sketch anywhere at any time and standing up is the key to that. See this article for more.

3. The new techniques I’ve developed for my upcoming Travel Sketching course work great

During this trip, I had no serious solo time for sketching, and so all my work has been done in the presence of others or when rushing to meet up with a friend. Many of the sketches I shared with you were done using the new techniques from the new course. And I’m really pleased with how effective they have been in sketching during in-between moments. Although this is a general theme of my sketching, these new ideas and techniques have made it easier to start a sketch in a limited time frame.

And as for the filming days, it was so much fun to have a fairly unplanned approach to what demos we would film. I had a loose idea of what I wanted to sketch each day but was open to other opportunities when they arose. As a result, the video demos, which I will share within the course, authentically show how to apply these techniques to a range of situations and represent real-world travel sketching. 

I can’t wait to share them with you! Find out more about my Travel Sketching course here.

And one final reflection – this trip reminded me how much I love sketching food! 🙂

Thanks for coming along with my Melbourne adventures. I hope that you have enjoyed seeing my sketches!