Frequently Asked Questions

Watercolour is fluid, expressive, and full of happy accidents. It's the medium I return to again and again, and I love how accessible it really is once you get comfortable letting go of control a little. We also explore watercolour often in the Sketchbook Circle live classes. My personal favourites are Winsor & Newton and Daler-Rowney paints, along with Paul Rubens paints, and I paint with Fuumuui brushes, though I own brushes from other brands too. This is not an exclusive list. Any watercolour set and round brush will work beautifully, and I always encourage using what you already have first before buying anything new. If you'd like to go deeper, Mindful Watercolours is my dedicated watercolour course.

Colour pencil work is small, calming, mindful mark making. I fell completely in love with this medium early on, and it's still one of the most soothing ways I know to create. We also explore colour pencil often in the Sketchbook Circle live classes. My personal favourites are Faber-Castell Polychromos and Derwent pencils, along with smooth paper. This is not an exclusive list. Any good quality coloured pencils will work beautifully, and I always encourage using what you already have first before buying anything new. If you'd like to go deeper, Colourful Pencil Portraits is my dedicated colour pencil course.

Charcoal is a forgiving, powerful medium for building depth and expression quickly. I use a mix of willow charcoal and compressed charcoal, often combined with coloured pencil, and I rely on a Tombow Mono eraser a lot for lifting highlights. We also explore charcoal in the Sketchbook Circle live classes. This is not an exclusive list, just what I personally reach for, and I always encourage using what you already have first before buying anything new. If you'd like to go deeper, Charcoal Expressions Portrait Drawing is my dedicated charcoal course.

Ink and wash combines a waterproof ink drawing, the line, with watercolour layered over the top, the wash. It gives you the structure of a drawing alongside the softness and movement of paint. We also explore ink and wash in the Sketchbook Circle live classes. For the ink line I use Staedtler waterproof fineliners. This is not an exclusive list. Any waterproof fineliner will work, and I always encourage using what you already have first before buying anything new. If you'd like to go deeper, Line and Wash Painting is my dedicated course in this technique.

Alcohol markers are blendable, vibrant, and great for detailed, layered work, especially combined with coloured pencil. I'm not loyal to one brand and love testing different materials, I use a mix of Ohuhu and Arrtx, among others. We also explore alcohol markers in the Sketchbook Circle live classes. This is not an exclusive list. Any alcohol based marker will work, and I always encourage using what you already have first before buying anything new. If you'd like to go deeper, Draw a Pet Portrait combines alcohol marker with coloured pencil.

Acrylic paint pens are perfect for bold, opaque, colourful mark making and playful pattern work. I use a mix of Ohuhu and Arrtx, among others. We also explore acrylic paint pens in the Sketchbook Circle live classes. This is not an exclusive list. Any acrylic paint marker will work, and I always encourage using what you already have first before buying anything new. If you'd like to go deeper, Paint Pen Patterns is my dedicated course using them.

Oil pastels come up occasionally in my live classes, they're bold, blendable, and quite forgiving for beginners, which makes them a fun change of pace from paint or pencil. A basic student grade set is a great place to start, and as always, I encourage using what you already have first before buying anything new.

In the Sketchbook Circle we sketchbook together every week, and we use a genuinely wide range of materials. The recordings library covers colour pencil, charcoal, mixed media, line and wash, and more, so there's real variety to explore. My honest recommendation is to join in, have a look around, and see what materials you're drawn to before buying lots of new supplies. A few basics cover most sessions: watercolour, colour pencil, a waterproof fineliner, and a sketch pencil. Some sessions explore other mediums too, like oil pastels, alcohol markers, or acrylic paint markers, depending on that week's theme.

Gouache is bold and opaque, great for building strong shapes first before adding detail, and it sits nicely between watercolour and acrylic. We also explore gouache in the Sketchbook Circle live classes. This is not an exclusive list of materials, and I always encourage using what you already have first before buying anything new. If you'd like to go deeper, Paint Birds in Gouache is my dedicated gouache course.

I use oil paints in my own personal art practice, but I don't currently have a course built around them. Their slow drying time makes them tricky to teach well in a fast paced or live class format, so it's a medium I love for my own work rather than one I currently teach. I may explore it in the future if I find a format that suits it.