Wow, what a beginning to the new year.

For me personally it started with a bang and I’m well into my wish list for 2015. However, the atrocities in Paris last week left me completely shocked and puts perspective on what’s going on in the (outside) world.

To all those affected and living in Paris and France, words cannot describe how I felt about  #jesuischarlie. It might have happened in Paris but this is a wide world complex issue which, after people have had time to grieve, will have to be discussed and tackled face on. So it was with extra proud delightfulness to see so many people come together in Paris on Sunday, all united and fighting for freedom of expression, religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence. 

One of my wishes for 2015 was to sketch more and I’m delighted I enrolled in Lisa Congdon‘s Sketchbook Explorations on Creativebug. Lisa is a very talented fine artist, illustrator and Author. One thing that stands out for me most is her work ethic and sheer passion for her craft. It’s actually infectious and I’m an avid follower of her Instagram account. Lisa is also a great teacher and this course is EXACTLY what I needed to inspire me to sketch more!

There are four parts to this course. It started on the 6th January and lasts for a month. Of course, like with many online learning platforms, once you’ve signed up you can do it in your own time.

This week it’s about Watercolor Backgrounds and Line Drawing. I’m enjoying playing around with motifs and patterns. take a look!

As you can see I’m just experimenting away to see what works and what doesn’t. I’m looking forward to the next lessons. This course has come just at the right time. I’m going to aim to do a little bit of sketching every day this year. At least I’ll give it a good try!

I don’t know about you but I find enrolling on courses a great support to get inspired and also to keep accountable to myself. Now I have to look for a course for February. Shout if you’ve got any ideas. Do you like to keep a sketchbook?

See you Thursday!