Sketchloose – June 2026, Mevagissey

I signed up for another of Toby from Sketchloose’s workshops, this time in Mevagissey, sketching boats. Boats are difficult. I knew they would be difficult but in real life they are frightening.
Mevagissey is also a lifetime away when driving — over eight hours from Conwy. The dog loved it: eight hours lying on his bed on the back seat in a temperature-controlled environment, interrupted only by the occasional toilet and treat break.
Back to the course. Toby and Colin were on form as usual and introduced us to some new techniques, including painting with Indian ink using a broken piece of stick. Not for me, as it turned out, but definitely part of the process of trying things and finding out what works. It was an enjoyable weekend with a good group of people, and I continued my good rapport with Clive and Kevin, whom I’d met at the Grantchester workshop. Inevitably, much of our conversation returned to pens and art materials.
I liked some of the work I produced and some of it rather less. More importantly, I discovered that I really liked working in monotone and particularly enjoyed using an ArtGraf water-soluble graphite stick. That was probably the most useful thing I brought home from Mevagissey.