Getting started with mixed media sketching can feel intimidating, but prepping your backgrounds first is my secret weapon for loosening up and inviting creativity. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating playful, layered surfaces for your sketches.

This month we took our paints out to the stunning @stemandgreen flower field, where dahlias stole the show. With their flamboyant shapes, endless colours and playful textures, they were the perfect subject to explore in paint.

There’s something irresistible about painting root vegetables — the colours, the textures, the earthy beauty of what grows underground. My beloved beetroot series celebrates all of that, using playful mixed-media techniques with collage, acrylic, ink and print. Join me in Winchester to discover your own unique style and bring these vibrant forms to life!

Think you can’t draw? Perfect — that makes you the ideal person to try outdoor sketching. With a few simple mixed media tools and a playful approach, you’ll discover how freeing, joyful, and creative sketching outdoors can really be.