My boatober 2025 post for the first seven days was epic and very long, so I’m switching to more frequent blog posts for this challenge.

What is Boatober?

Boatober is an annual art challenge hosted by Doug Jackson. He posts a different inspiration photo each day, and artists around the globe, sketch the scene in their own style. This is the first year I’ve participated, and I’ve already learned so much about my art technique and approach to sketching in ink and watercolour.

Boatober 2025 Day 9

Here’s my sketch of the steamboat “Gustav” for day 9.

Enjoyment Level: ****

Where To Start Your Sketch?

Up until now I’ve started with the boat (the intended focal point), and then added the foreground and background. But there was a tip on a splatter video recommending to start with the splatter area first so that if you mess it up, there isn’t so much to lose. So I did a quick main-shape pencil sketch of the boat and foliage to determine the area for the sky.

I was happy with the splattered effect for the sky, and then focused onto the foreground and background foliage. There’s a definite depth to both of these areas, and I also like the cohesion between the background foliage and the sky.

Simplifying What You Sketch

There’s a lot going on in the photo, so I omitted the background building in my sketch to simplify the scene. I used to think I had to include everything I saw in a sketch, but over time have realised that what I sketch can be my version of reality. It doesn’t have to be an exact replica. And for me, in this scene, it’s the foliage that provides the sense of place. The building is necessary.

Another omission was the majority of the water. I only painted the darker shadow areas of the water around the boat, and left the rest as untouched white of the paper. I really like this effect as the scene really does need some simplification because of all the foliage, and the large white area helps to achieve this.

My thinking was that it’s not essential to paint all the water. It’s evident from the clues that this is a river and people are riding on a boat, and the white areas I added to depict the wake indicate that it’s moving forward.

Another benefit of leaving that area white, is that it feels as if the boat is heading out of the scene towards the gap in the foreground and background foliage. I think this composition really helps to provide a sense of movement. I didn’t plan this and it wasn’t until I’d finished the sketch that I noticed it. Something to think about in future sketches.

Creating a Focal Point

Although this is boatober, and the boats are the key focal point. I didn’t think this monochromatic vessel was eye-catching enough – it seems to get lost amid the foliage. So I added a lot more people to the sketch, and painted them in primary colours to make them really stand out.

In my mind, the boat is the generic stage, and the people are the colourful characters on it. That, I think, is the story I’m trying to tell with this sketch.

Day 9 Inspiration Photo and my 15 Minute version

I did a Matt Gibbons tutorial which included a suggestion to push certain elements of the focal point to make it more dynamic. So in my 15 minute sketch today I expanded the funnel and gave the hull a bigger curve. I know it looks more like a tug boat now, or maybe a children’s illustration of a steamboat, but I think the result is playing and made me smile. I also like the foreground foliage a lot better in this quick version. It’s softer and not as distracting, and I like the addition of the pencil lines for definition.

My Limited Colour Palette for Today’s Boatober

I don’t usually track which colours I’m using on a sketch, but I recently updated my palette with some new colours, and want to finalise a robust palette for next year’s Urban Sketchers Symposium in Toulouse.

My Indian Red has been snuggled away in storage for years, but I recently added it to my main palette to use for roof tiles, but I find that I’m using it a lot to create some greys (my fave in colbalt turquoise light + indian red = a lovely soft grey).

I like this FUM and Indian Red combination to create something akin to moon glow, which I recently took out of my palette.

I also recently took out Quin Deep Gold, and replaced it with Quin Gold. Great Move! I can’t believe how many times I reach for this as a replacement for yellow in mixes.