I sketched my art supplies for the urban sketcher’s symposium in Toulouse. I like ink lines and watercolour, but I’ve had to pack a few extra supplies because of the workshops I’m attending.

Exploring an interesting colour triad for Toulouse buildings and street scenes. The Manganese Blue Hue provides a bright and vivid contrast to the opaque mixes created by the Indian Red and Buff Titanium.

Putting my Noodler’s Ahab Flex Nib pen through its paces to see if it’s ready for the Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse. I created a variety of different line weight by adjusting the pressure, and the angle of the nib. Then I used it to test the writing and sketching capabilities.

I’ve created a set of small watercolour canvases for portraits I do on location. They’re only 8cm x 6cm, and ideal for doing loose quick sketches to give to the subjects I sketch. On the back is a linocut self portrait I created last year.

I’ve been prepping these three books for my trip to Toulouse to attend the Urban Sketcher’s Symposium next week. Three are Hahnemühle watercolour books, and one is a hand-made matchbook swatch book that I made to consolidate some of my colour swatching ideas for painting the Pink City. I also made a spiral bound sketchbook for notes during my workshops and making thumbnail sketches.

Daniel Smith published their suggestions for painting Toulouse street scenes during the Urban Sketches Symposium. So I experimented with how to mix these from the colours I already have in my watercolour palette.

Exploring Toulouse, the pink city in January. A French cultural immersion and welcome hospitality from the locals.

We weren’t going to let a French Rail Strike get in the way of our plans to travel around France for three months.