Urban sketching at home sketchbook part 3- easter week

A week off of online learning for the children has brought a welcome reprieve as well as increased access to my computer. I have been able to do a few natural history studies and work more in my 'urban sketching at home' sketchbook. I have quite a few pages to share this time around. Not as a result of having been extra busy but owing to the fact that I did not share them this past weekend. It has been wonderfully sunny and we have taken the opportunity to take the children to a closed parking lot to ride their bicycles which in turn gave me two lovely opportunities to sketch out of doors. What a pure delight!

1. A few supplies:

I began this sketchbook using primarily the supplies I normally carry with my in my handbag. As time progresses I have been adding in additional watercolour palettes and other items since I have everything on hand all of the time. I may soon take out a tray and put all of my watercolour pallets on it for ease of use. If that happens I will share a photo of it. Below are pictured a few of the items in my portable kit. A true favorite is the flat brush that I use for removing eraser particles from the paper.

2. The view from the stairs:

Coming down the stairs you catch a glimpse into the livingroom where I have a small shelf housing my celedon ceramic pieces. A large school map of south America (one of my special treasures) was replaced by painting by Toby Davis which arrived last week. To see more of his work check out my interview of him here.

3. The countertop by the stove:

Loving to cook and to eat means that I always have a variety of items near the stove. Here are salt, a few different olive oils from southern Italy, and fruit. There is something so beautiful and comforting about kitchens. I am glad to have such a spacious and comfortable one at the moment.

4. Easter Tree

Here in Austria it is traditional to decorate pussy willow branches with decorative eggs. becoming available right around the beginning of spring these pussy willows serve as a stand in for palm branches in this mountain climate. They are generally brought to church on Palm Sunday and often hung up on the wall or set in a corner for the rest of the year. If you are curious about them I am linking an older post here. This year there was no church service but there were pussy willows on the table in a large vase. They are up on top of the buffet again now.

5. Nest

A nest is a fun thing to paint. This is a rendition of one I collected more than 10 years ago and which has been set out every spring since. I tried out my iridescent watercolours in the background of this one.

6. A well stocked Pantry shelf:

Our pantry always plays an important role in the daily life of a large family. With the current situation limiting the number of times we visit shops it is more important than ever. an onion sprouted in the basket the other day and I decided to add the shelf to sketchbook.

7. Easter basket preperation:

Easter will be a bit different this year. We have reduced the amount of things we are adding to the Easter baskets. There will be primarily chocolate, much of which was a generous gift sent by my sister. The children helped to put the baskets together. They are waiting to be hidden.

8. Mineral Water bottle planters:

Our windows have again become small greenhouses hosting a number of upcycled mineral water bottles. Some have been planted with a variety of seeds, the others with lettuce seedlings purchased during our last food shopping outing.

9. Tulips in an abandoned planter:

In the parking lot I mentioned earlier in this post, tulips were growing. They add a beautiful touch of colour. I took one to brighten our table inside. While the children rode bicycles I quickly sketched the flowers.

10. The backs of buildings and a parking lot.

And of course the backs of the buildings provided another great opportunity for a bit of 'real' urban sketching.

11. Last night I did a quick sketch of a couple of the Easter decorations on the mantelpiece. They are a crystal egg shaped candy dish and a small glass pate terrine with a hen on the top. I was just playing with a variety of different colours and materials. Are you a sketcher? Are you documenting your time at home? I would love to know what you have been up to. And I hope that you have a happy Easter, Passover, Spring, (or Autumn) or whatever you are celebrating.