Getting started

I am starting off May with a sketch of lilac blossoms. I was so happy to see my lilac bush survived the recent snowy cold snaps and is now full of blossoms. Spring is just beginning to awaken here in our mountains, a wonderful time of the year.

This is the sketching kit I put together for my Every Day in May project. I have decided to stick with watercolor pencils. I have also included a walnut brown colored pencil, a graphite pencil, eraser, water brush, and of course a pencil sharpener. I keep the pencil sharpener in a plastic sandwich bag so the shavings will be contained no matter where I am. I also have one of those re-usable, disposable cloths for cleaning my water brush. All of these supplies fit into this lovely pencil case from Peru that a dear friend gave to me last fall.

I was thinking that I would work in just one sketchbook for these May drawings. So I tried out a small Cachet watercolor sketchbook for the lilacs shown above. Although the texture of the paper will be nice for watercolor I don't think I will be happy using it for watercolor pencils. I may explore other journal options. My goal is to develop the habit of keeping a sketch journal and to become more comfortable with watercolor, particularly watercolor pencils, since they are so portable. We'll see how that goes.