summer in central otago - out and about in january

30 January 2022

Vipers Bugloss and Californian Poppies, Gladstone Gap, Lake Hawea

We've had a lovely start to the year with absolutely gorgeous weather - sunny days and no wind. Perfect for local outings with my sketchbook and sketching buddies. Here's a few snaps from January.

All of these sketches are done in The Perfect Sketchbook from Etchr Lab. They're pen and watercolour. Pen is a Lamy Safari with either DeAtrementis Document Ink or Rohrer & Klinger Sketch Ink. Waterclour is Daniel Smith. Brushes are Escoda Perla and Versatil.

View towards Mt Gold from Waimana Beach on Lake Wanaka on a hot, muggy day.

Little boats on the shores of Lake Wanaka, just waiting to go out and play.

Historic Bannockburn Sluicings - totally man-made, but stunning anyway.

As always, you can follow me on Instagram if you want to see more of my sketchbook outings.

watercolour 2022 paintings in my sketchbook out and about urban sketching new zealand watercolour landscapes

A free lesson for you!

One of my all-time favourite paintings of a stormy day in a ruined Roman town in Spain.

You can do this! Let me show you how. Join my community to receive this free video tutorial.

Join here

premixed greens for watercolours

9 September 2026

I'm off to Italy next week for my last retreat of 2026 and I'm getting all sorts of things ready. One of them is, of course, my palettes. One of the questions I get asked a lot is how I decide which c...

from plein air sketch to finished painting

1 September 2026

A couple of weeks ago, while hiking with friends in Val Ferret on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif, I made a decision that will surprise no one who knows me. An hour in, we stopped to shed ou...

sketching retreat in spain : sept 2027

11 August 2026

My first watercolour retreat in Spain — Cabo de Gata, September 2027. Four years ago I moved to Spain. I've been painting here ever since — and quietly planning the day I could share it with you. ...