Learn to Sketch with Andy Walker
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One of the best things that you can ever do as an artist is to go outside and sketch the world around you.
Sketching outdoors helps us to see the world with fresh eyes, it sharpens our ability to capture the essentials of any scene quickly, and increases our awareness of our subject. And we also get fresh air and exercise into the bargain!
This website is designed to help you sketch outdoors. It is packed full of helpful and practical hints and tips to get you started and to improve your drawing. Whether you are planning to capture a few quick impressions while on holiday, or want to collect information for painting in the studio or at home, then you will find plenty of information here to help you.
My name is Andy Walker and you can find out more about me and my online painting courses at www.artclasspro.com
I am constantly adding material to this site so please come back again to see what's new. And I'd love to hear from you if you have any hints and tips of your own that I could include! Just email me here.
To use this site, either click on the headings in the menu on the left, or on any of the pictures below.
Equipment and Materials
Find out what equipment and materials you will need to go sketching. I always make sure mine are lightweight, versatile and kept to a minimum, and some of my ideas may surprise you!
What shall I sketch?
Learn what makes a good subject to sketch, and how to capture the landscape in various ways. I'll also show you how to find exciting compositions in the most unusual places.
Drawing Ideas
I'll show you how to draw quickly and accurately with pencils and pens.
Tonal Values
The relationship between light and dark areas on a picture is essential to getting a good painting, so I'll show you how to do this, along with some neat tricks to help you catch the contrasts.
Colour
Find out how to see colours and then paint the colour you see.
Watercolour
See how to quickly and easily paint the landscape, with the minimum of equipment and fuss!
Oils
Follow the impressionists by sketching in oils outside. I'll show you just how little equipment you need and how to make quick paintings that capture the scene.
Coloured Pencils
Learn to use coloured pencils and water-soluble pencils to make fast sketches, and even to produce a watercolour palette.