Using a layered watercolour approach to create a loose and interesting version of bougainvillea. My attempts resulted in a controlled version, a stylised version, and a dynamic version. Through this process I learned that dropping water into the wet watercolour helps to highlighted areas that create depth.

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.

Day 142 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. Experimenting with using a bright and a desaturated green from Manganese Blue Hue, to create some colour harmony in my cafe sketches.

Experimenting with a new Colour Triad of Burnt Sienna Light, Manganese Blue Hue, and Quin Gold, to see if this will work for the Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse in July.

Day 138 of sketching people in ink and watercolour, painted using a colour triad I’ve been exploring. As i watched MOH on the driving range, I took a photo, and then sketched the figure from the photo. But sketched the landscape from reality.

Sunday morning sketch in Cabanas capturing a street scene with bougainvillea in ink and watercolour, using a colour triad to ensure colour harmony, which is especially useful when you’re sketching lots of foliage.

A quick reference page of different colour wheel combinations organised by shade of blue, to asses the colours created when choosing a colour triad for your watercolour sketches.

A quick people sketch at the cafe, and swatching a muted shade of green, that morphed into a beautiful skin tone shade using natural sienna, cobalt turquoise light, and opera pink. I also ruminate on how I sketch people and how they see themselves, and how those are two very different things when I sketch my version of reality.

Continuing with a new week from the 2026 run through of Liz Steel’s watercolour course by doing the swatching exercises for four of our favourite colour mixing combinations.