Interesting Year EndIt’s an interesting year end. Last week the dryer quit and we used insurance to get a replacement. That took a week to get a new dryer. Two days ago the main refrigerator quit and Dale went out and bought the replacement which arrived yesterday. I got up at 4:00 this morning and started filling it from the back-up frig. It’s always interesting to find out what’s in your frig! ScammersAdding to this, on about the 22nd I got scammed and the scammer had everything. We never got to the purpose of his call. I said I couldn’t talk with the commotion behind me. “Call back.” He never did. My banker said to cancel all credit cards…just before Christmas. We had house guests and company coming. Except for Chase, when the replacements arrived, the paperwork didn’t say which card corresponds to which account. You get to guess. As I’m writing this, I’m on the phone on hold with Citibank to find out what card goes with what account. It’s 4:21 and I can start writing my blog while on wait. I bet I’m one of very few people who can find something to do while sitting ‘on hold’! Sketching ChangesHave you noticed how your sketching changes? Sometimes great and sometimes yukky, sometimes strange and new? We’ve just had a lot of rain and no really cold weather here in Tucson. I have a favorite place which is wooded, no cactus. The cottonwood trees are finally turning yellow and the desert willows are orange. The grass is tall and brilliant green. Here are two sketches from a few days ago.
Of course, they are sketched with the water soluble Pilot Razor Point pen. This is what I think I saw. Now, for contrast and a fresh view, I want you to see another way of working. Permanent Pen SketchingCarolyn O’Bagy Davis Is a good friend who also sketches a lot. She uses a permanent pen, the Micron, does the sketch which dries as a line drawing, and then adds the color. The color is not diluted and it sparkles! She has agreed to let me show you her technique. Here are two of her sketches. I absolutely love her work and can’t do the same thing! We are all different. And we are each different on different days. What fun!
Carolyn primarily writes books. She wrote Willard J. Page, Artist on the Southwest Road. Page traveled in a home-made van with his wife, Ethel, sketching “suitcase souvenir paintings” (3.5 x 3.5 inches) which he sold as a livelihood. Carolyn did amazing research and the book is fascinating and inspiring. Workshop Enrollments - Openings Available In July we are booked once again at the Pacific Northwest Art Center in Coupeville, Washington. Amazingly, this is the first place ever to call me to book a workshop! I have solicited every workshop I have taught for 15 years. How could I turn down Lisa Bernhardt? I couldn’t. This is a gorgeous place on Whidbey Island west of Seattle right on Penn Cove with fresh mussels everywhere. Comeonup! July 10, 11, 12 Basic Workshop Pacific Northwest Art Center July 20, 21, 22 Refresher Workshop Pacific Northwest Art Center On a practical note...We need to raise our prices as shipping (and some of our costs) is eating us alive. Ten percent should do it. New prices go into effect January 2, 2026.  Arizona Inn UpdateIt’s been a year and we finished it with a flourish by booking rooms at The Arizona Inn in Tucson. This fabled garden inn was up for sale. Everyone was concerned it might be trashed by new owners. (We are safe: new owners will be improving it.) With the help of Linda Fugate, a group of 11 sketchers got a great deal and stayed, relaxed and sketched for three days. I’ve always wanted to sketch the interior of the library.
Holiday TravelsDale and I were in Savannah, Georgia for Thanksgiving with family. You’d think I would have beautiful sketches of gorgeous old buildings. It didn’t work that way. Driving through town, watching traffic, went way too fast. However, sitting in airports does provide plenty of opportunities, as shown below. TipPeople ask where I start on a sketch. Anywhere! Make a mark on the paper and progress. I usually start with my focal point which is what caught my attention in the first place. If I don’t catch that, why bother?!!
The woman with the hat was started with the hat. Notice that the hat is white so the lines are pulled away to make a darker background. The man with the red patches in his jeans sleeping behind his suitcase was started with the left corner red hole in his jeans. The sitting man was started with his brow and hair. Don't try to extrapolate what you can't see. Instead, include what is blocking your view (the suitcase). WorkshopsWorkshops are back! In January are two. January 9. 10, 11 is a Basic Workshop live in our home/studio. It is limited to 7 people and there are spaces available. Next we have a Basic Workshop ONLINE, Jan. 16, 19, 22, 25 and 28. Enrollment is limited to 13 people because the evaluations take personal time. Each session is recorded and the recordings are available for two weeks so you don’t miss anything. I’m amazed at how well people learn in this format. We may continue these. We may announce live workshops in March and April as both months are reliably wonderful weather. This is our 'Season' in Tucson. In July we are booked once again at the Pacific Northwest Art Center in Coupeville, Washington. Amazingly, this is the first place ever to call me to book a workshop! I have solicited every workshop I have taught for 15 years. How could I turn down Lisa Bernhardt? I couldn’t. This is a gorgeous place on Whidbey Island west of Seattle right on Penn Cove with fresh mussels everywhere. Comeonup! July 10, 11, 12 Basic Workshop Pacific Northwest Art Center July 20, 21, 22 Refresher Workshop Pacific Northwest Art Center HOLIDAY SPECIALS - HUGE SAVINGS
Thankful!
Season 5 FilmingA short reflection on the just-finished Season Five filmed in Grand Rapids. The crew was excellent. The weather and the locations were perfect, It was such fun staying with Jan and Norm and having Eva and Tom help us on both ends of the travel. Some of the sketches turned out marvelously. Then there were others. Not every sketch is a jewel. In fact three were so unfortunate, Zack let me add to them after the shoot in hopes of improving them. One got better, two stayed just as poor as before. We all get some bombs! The sketch with the stream had one good part. By darkening the rocks in front and adding dark branches above the good part, you are forced to see it. The Japanese pond just didn’t do well before or after! Often, when you ‘fix em’, it’s obvious what’s wrong (color, contrast or focal point), and you get a great result. Sometimes nothing works. I get these too. I can say I wish they weren’t part of a public TV program, but that’s reality. Perhaps that’s part of the excitement of plein air.
REMINDERDo you remember that I taught you to neither talk nor listen to your language while sketching? I'm talking through every sketch. You automatically flip into the left side of your brain (the logic language side) and away from the meditative creative side. Here you see some of the results.
Tip
Upcoming EventsBASIC WORKSHOPJanuary 9, 10, 11, Tucson, AZ live in our ‘home-studio’. This is limited to 7 or 8 people. Come learn enough to play for a lifetime. Hours are 10:00 to 4:00 each day. Price is $400 plus supplies, if you don’t already have them. Ask us about hotels. CONTACT [email protected] 520.318.9291 MORE INFO https://www.pocketsketching.com/basic-workshop1-178342.html ONLINE BASIC WORKSHOPJan 16, 19, 22, 25, 28. Online Basic Workshop via ZOOM Each session is 2 hours, interactive with demonstration, you work, evaluation, homework and recorded for two weeks. These are amazingly effective for learning. The price is $290 plus $65 for supplies. CONTACT [email protected] 520.318.9291 MORE INFO https://www.pocketsketching.com/basic-workshop.html COUPEVILLE BASIC WORKSHOPJuly 10, 11, 12 Coupeville Washington. Basic Workshop. https://pacificnorthwestartschool.org/product/macaulay-6642-july-10/ COUPEVILLE REFRESHER WORKSHOPJuly 20, 21, 22 Coupeville, Washington, Refresher Workshop (This is advanced and totally in your grasp; just more fun techniques with a bit of review of basics). https://pacificnorthwestartschool.org/product/macaulay-6643-july-20/ Both are at the very well-run Pacific Northwest Art School, on gorgeous Whidbey Island west of Seattle. The town is darling, right on the water with shopping and restaurants: perfect to chill out and relax. Happy Sketching & Happy Thanksgiving
Grand Rapids, MichiganIn Grand Rapids we stayed with Jan and Norm for a few days before filming. She’s the person who had me go to WGVU to film Pocket Sketching in the first place. Because I felt very rusty and the entire Season Five was to be filmed plein air, I sketched in their yard. Norm is a gardener. This was all safe and delightful. The frog’s book is ‘Good Night Moon’. We chose his yard for the first three episodes when we filmed.
Filming Day 2The second day we filmed in the Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park where we were joined by our “Mystery Donor” for a day of live shooting. She is delightful and I think she really enjoyed the experience of filming. Sketching plein air does not necessarily go as planned. With pressure and an exact time frame of 26 minutes, the sketches leave a bit to be desired. However, I talk all the way through with all the decisions. One particular location involved looking through a fence to get the sketch with a live person sitting on the fence providing my shade. Not the best sketch. I will love to hear your reactions when you see Season Five. Filming Days 3 & 4 The next day was at the lovely Franciscan Life Process Center in the country near Lowell, Michigan. It is a perfect, meditative retreat location. The last day was on the Allendale campus of GVSU. The crew was wonderful. Filming was exhausting. We had fun with friends. And on the flight home we both caught Covid. And after that was over, I taught a Teacher’s course here in Tucson for five days. I am ready for a break! Upcoming EventsAs they say in the theater business, November and December will be ‘dark’. I plan a live Basic Workshop here in our ‘home studio’ January 9, 10 and 11 and an Online Workshop January 16, 19, 22, 25 and 28. The online sessions are each 1 ½ hours long. They are limited in enrollment to 12 people. They are interactive and recorded with the recordings available for review for two weeks for each class. I have been very impressed with how well people learn from this format. In both cases, contact me to enroll. [email protected] 520-318-9291 Happy Sketching! PBS Pocket Sketching ShowWe did it! All $30,000 is in to fund Season Five. Thanks to all of you and to the anonymous donor who gave the $20,000 matching gift, we are funded. I absolutely hate asking for funding!!! This is the last Season on PBS so I won't have to do it again. Hanging up my fundraising shirt!!! Another Season, Another ShowI stole that from Cole Porter who wrote so much music I love. One of his songs is named "Experiment" and I often remind you so you'll sketch away from limitations. Speaking of which, is there anything you would like me to include in this coming PBS Season? We leave for Grand Rapids, Michigan September 29th to set up filming locations and we will have internet. Email me your interests for the plein air season. If you are in the Grand Rapids area and want to see some actual filming, that may be a possibility. Amusing fact: I'm used to be totally obscure when I'm sketching for myself. Can't do that with a camera crew hovering. So, do I take my 'obscure-you'll-never-see-me' wardrobe or the fun flashy clothes I've worn on the studio set? And what about rain? Tip for This SessionIf your first sketch is disappointing, do two (2) more of the same thing. I must practice to be ready for Grand Rapids. Dale watches football on TV. He gets to be the model. Here are the first sketch and the third sketch. STAY WITH IT!!!
Upcoming EventsTHE TEACHERS WORKSHOP There are still two openings. The dates are October 26 (half-day) through the 31st (full days) at my home studio in Tucson. This workshop is limited to five (5) people. It includes everything I know about teaching and doing Pocket Sketching. If you have considered the fun of teaching Pocket Sketching in your town (or on cruises, retreats, resorts or as a fundraiser for your favorite not-for-profit, this is your chance to have a lot of fun, purpose and even an income. THE BASIC WORKSHOP November 7-9 is filled. I will probably do a few over the winter here in Tucson, including the Basic and the Refresher (live) and some onlines through Zoom. Nothing is scheduled yet.
ZOOM CLASSESWould you be interested in a regular ZOOM class where I demonstrate some piece(s) of technique that you want to learn? That could also include Q & A's. Send me an email with your interests: [email protected] Happy Sketching! Fall in TucsonOur Fall doesn’t begin until October which is why all things social begin sometime in October. Today and yesterday have been below 100 degrees after weeks well above 100. We do what most of you do: stay indoors. I bought a few roses and baby’s breath. and sketched them. Here are two of the sketches and your TIP: The more exciting sketch has a white line of wax straight up the middle, dividing the picture in half. Very bad design. It’s high contrast and you can’t hide it, remove it, paint over it. It’s the first thing you see because of the contrast. I can enhance the weak sketch.
Foodie
ApologySome of you bought copies of my sketches while I was using Art Store Fronts. I hate being bombarded with email advertising from anyone! It was an expensive experiment in marketing. It’s also over. I’m sorry if you were bombed with ads. The website and prints remain available until November 1, 2025. https://art.pocketsketching.com Upcoming EventsWorkshops & Holiday Sketching Both workshops here in Tucson are almost full. (Teacher's Workshop October 26-31 and Basic Workshop November 7-9. I will plan something in January. Click here to join us: https://www.pocketsketching.com/workshops.html
PBS Season 5And last, Season Five of Pocket Sketching. I’m scared because I’ve never sketched in public places with a camera crew! Sort of like you when you first go out to sketch in public. I’m used to being totally, happily invisible when sketching plein air. The crew will attract attention. As for the funding, we are currently at $6440 with only $3560 to go, thanks to your help and the very generous anonymous donor who donated $20,000 in a matching grant, making your tax deductible gifts three times bigger. Extra TipThis sketch was done in Margie Beckett’s back yard on our July trip. It’s mostly green. Look what happens when you add the complimentary color and a tiny bit more color at the focal point. Focal point is that important!
Happy Sketching and Happy Labor Day.  WorkshopsAs the Pacific Northwest Art School workshop was a success and I re-found what fun it is to teach, I’m announcing coming workshops in Tucson at my home/studio. If these work well, there will be more! October 26 (half day) through 31: Teachers Workshop, (limit 5 people) https://www.pocketsketching.com/teachers.html November 7 - 9: Basic Workshop, (limit 7 people) https://www.pocketsketching.com/basic-workshop1-178342.html Arizona Inn A fun outing: The Arizona Inn is up for sale. They are booking rooms through December. We have a quoted room rate of $239.00 a night. Several of us are getting together December 3, 4, 5 for the fun of sketching together in this elaborate, 1930s property while we can and while they have their Christmas decorations up. I need to notify my travel pro who has pull with the Inn by Wednesday, if possible. Wanna join us? Email me, [email protected]. PBS Pocket Sketching Show Season Five for PBS is alive and well, thanks to the anonymous donor and you. The dates are October 6 through 10 for filming. Your donations to make this possible are coming in. They are matched 3:1 so 100 becomes $300. So far WGVU has received $6440.00! (The matching gift is $20,000 if we can raise the rest of $30K.) This PBS show will be totally challenging! I’ve always been able to sketch totally incognito. How do you do that in public with a camera crew??? This will be like being King Charles painting plein air with security guards all around.  Nehalem Bay, Oregon Happy Sketching!  Heading HomeWe have left the North end of the trip to head back to Tucson. The Basic Workshop at the Pacific Northwest Art School in Coupeville was a success! This was a big question: after time off, basically a sabbatical, could we still deliver a good experience? (Might add we're not kids anymore.) The plan was, if this workshop 'worked' we could consider doing others. I'm planning a Basic Workshop late in October: dates to be announced after I contact the people who have already asked. Here are two sketches from our 'plein air' morning in Coupeville.
On the way to Coupeville we stopped on the Oregon coast for some practice sketching, as I had been painting in watercolor and acrylics and was a tad stale. THIS IS YOUR TIP FOR AUGUST. Here are Sketch 1 and Sketch 6 of the same subject. You may have quit for a while, but if you will just practice, you’ll be right back where you left off. It’s truly fun to see very fast improvement because you have already learned once and re-learning is easy!
Most amusing of the trip was Mister T's Family Cafe in Mt. Vernon, WA where we had the 'Inmate Special.' A local jail inmate broke through the ceiling of the jail and announced he wouldn't come down until they brought him 'biscuits and gravy' from Mister T's. A cop ran into the restaurant and demanded the order, took it to the escaped prisoner and he came down to eat it and be re-jailed. It is really good!
Fantastic News!I had planned to end PBS shows, not doing Season Five. An anonymous donor has promised $20,000 to WGVU as matching money toward the $30,000 needed to finance the Season (13 Episodes). Because some wonderful person has huge faith in us, I plan to film Season Five in October. Any donation will be tripled, as in $100 becomes $300 until they have the $30,000. This Season will be filmed ‘on location’ as in plein air. I have always wanted to film on location where you typically sketch. WGVU has agreed. Thanks in advance for your support of Season Five of the Pocket Sketching Show on PBS! YOU make it happen! Happy Sketching! YOU DON'T ALWAYS WIN!You’ve heard me say this and here’s an example. (‘This has three tips’).
Below there are three sketches showing the progress of today’s sketch so you can see how I went at it. (If you like this approach, let me know, and I’ll photograph progression in the future.)
First, the drawing, using a very heavy line on the outside to have a source of grey to pull away. Add veridian green as the green-grey will make the rose color pop out. Then do the background, including some leaves. Then start the flower with thin washes of color (quinacridone red or alizarin with touches of cerulean blue). I don’t like the result. If I had time, I would do this over probably two more times to see if I can get it better. The concept is good, the result makes me appreciate the one I did two days ago. Time My lack of time is because we are going on a real vacation trip to Pinetop, Arizona (no teaching), and I plan to paint there so have to load tons of painting stuff (along with cooking stuff and clothing stuff which will wait to the end). I’m actually taking oils, acrylics, gouache and watercolors plus pocket sketching poo. What will get used? We’ll see! FugitiveRemember I’ve mentioned the Pilot Razor Point pen is fugitive? I have found no better pen to teach wash drawing, the precursor to watercolor. It’s invaluable! However, I want you to be aware. For 7 years I have had a group of sketches framed in our dining area, which walls get sun every afternoon and light all day. There also is a sketch of an Airedale terrier framed in an always dark hallway for the same amount of time. Here they are for comparison with the scanned copies I made when they were new.
What am I telling you? Scan the good ones so you can always make copies. Or keep the original in a file and frame a good copy. Once scanned, you will never lose the intensity. Note the watercolor doesn’t fade. It probably fades in 100 years or so. But your lovely washes? When you get a good sketch, put it in your computer before you put it on the wall. Upcoming EventsWe are going to and showing at Sketcherfest in Edmonds, Washington July 19 and 20. This is an event for and by sketchers put together by Gabi Campanario, the founder of Urban Sketchers which is a world-wide sketching movement. Edmonds is north of Seattle, on the waterfront, home also to Rick Steves of travel fame. Wonderful scenery, hiking, fishing, sketching, seafood and wine. Here’s the link for the event. If you go, I can suggest many places to see, as I have been up there many early summers. Also, we have a workshop at the Pacific Northwest Art Center in Coupeville, WA on Whidbey Island. I have taught there for years. It is the only distant workshop I have planned. Again, we love this area and can suggest many places for food, lodging, sightseeing, hiking, sauntering, etc.  You AskedTony Couch is still teaching. I have said I’d teach as long as he does. We will schedule a Basic workshop late in October in Tucson. We may be filming PBS Season Five early in October, so that effects that month’s plans. In November and December we may do a Teacher’s Workshop and a Refresher (one a month), if there is interest. Let me know if you would like a reservation. Happy Sketching! Sketching With SketchersLast week I went sketching at our Tucson Botanical Garden with Carolyn Davis. I love Carolyn’s sketch! Then Suzanne Pronovost sent me a watercolor sketch of me. How can I stop teaching! You guys get fantastic results.
WorkshopsAfter my long sabbatical, I’m back in the saddle again! We have two Basic Workshops scheduled and one event. The first workshop will be in Showlow, Arizona June 9, 10, 11. Why Showlow? For the first time ever we’ve rented a house for a month to escape the June heat in Tucson. Showlow is at 6400 ft and cool in the summer. How better to meet wonderful local people than an art workshop? Delightful people take art workshops! I’m very rusty, so it’s priced accordingly. If you're interested CLICK the button below then SCROLL DOWN to POCKET SKETCHING WITH KATH MACAULAY or call 928.532.2296 The second workshop is in Coupeville, Washington where I’ve had the fun of teaching several times. Why Coupeville? We are going to Sketcher Fest in Edmonds, WA July 19 and 20. It’s a major event for Urban Sketchers (and other sketchers), and I’ve never been. That puts us across from Whidbey Island and Coupeville. We love Coupeville and Pacific Northwest Art School! CLICK the button below. When on their website SCROLL DOWN TO POCKET SKETCHING or call 360.678.3396 We plan to do another Basic Workshop and a Teachers’ Workshop probably in October (no dates yet), here in Tucson. I found total retirement a tad too boring and really miss you wonderful, excited, learning people. Road Scholar won’t respond, so guess I’ll have to put on my own workshops! Call or email me if you're interested: https://www.pocketsketching.com/contact.html Email: [email protected] Phone: 520-318-9291 Great News!I said I would film Season Five for PBS if we can film it on location (plein air), as it’s perfect for anywhere you go. WGVU has agreed. Now, I have a question for you: WGVU is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a location like where many of you live. I’m in Tucson, which is desert. Would you rather have it filmed in Tucson or in Grand Rapids? Which would help you learn more? We can find gorgeous places in either locale. Any preference? Yes, you can influence where we film: let me know if you have a preference. Email: [email protected] TipIf you paint, have you tried painting from your pocket sketch? I’m re-learning oil painting as I have tons of equipment I need to either use or give away. This week I have done 6 oils from one pocket sketch. The oils are getting good. You can get tons from one pocket sketch! Especially if you did the sketch recently while it jogs your memory. This sketch is at least 5 years old. I have few memories and look what can be done! Give it a go!  Deer Park, Parck City, Utah Original Sketch
Happy Sketching! TRAVEL SKETCHING...A WONDERFUL WAY TO REMEMBERRetreatsA year ago I held my first Pocket Sketching Retreat. I’d never been to a retreat, much less hosted one. I’d read about them. That was as close as I’d been. A friend is a travel agent and she did the work of making reservations…for everything. The Arizona Inn here in Tucson was our base. It was marvelously fun! So several of the group decided to do a repeat, this time at Tubac, a cute, artsy village south of Tucson. Last week we stayed at the Tubac Golf Resort and visited Tubac, the village, with a good dose of sketching, lots of joyous chatting and some shopping. The easiest way to show it, is to include sketches. There were nine of us and the conclusion is that they all want to do it again, next time near San Luis Obispo in California. I am amazed: this is fun!!! Will this be the new form of Pocket Sketching?
Oil PaintingI’ve been trying to re-learn oil painting. It is possible to forget a lot! Bit by bit some technique is coming back. I understand you when you say you’ve put down art for years and are re-learning. I think we have an advantage by having known before. At least we know we could do it in the past. With oil painting I am amazed at how much equipment is involved compared to the ‘grab it and go’ of Pocket Sketching. Like many of you, I have tons of equipment and have said for years all I want is to be free to use all this stuff. ‘Someday’ is now. I have no workshops booked. Maybe it’s time to make a huge donation of oil, watercolor, and acrylic supplies, then just go sketching. Here are two oils I rather like.
TeachingCourt is still out as to the future of teaching Pocket Sketching. I really miss your enthusiasm and joy in learning. Dale and I are getting ancient and there are so many possibilities! Stay tuned for my “trout story” in the next blog. It set up my life. PBSIf you are not receiving Season Four of Pocket Sketching on PBS in your area, contact your local station and request it. The Season is running nationally. We are actually discussing a Season Five…if it can be filmed on location and not in a studio. This whole technique is meant to go anywhere you can go. Click the button below for PBS. Then Click (Change your local station) then click (See more stations) and enter your Zip Code to access your local station. Online GalleryYou can still order 4 x 6 reproductions of my sketches for $3.00 each (larger cost more). We will raise the price on May 1, 2025 but I wanted to keep it low a little longer so our supporters could order good model sketches inexpensively. Happy Sketching! WE DID IT! THANKSYou have no idea how much I hate soliciting gifts from companies. After all your donations and purchases of ‘Fix’Em’ came in, I thought I still owed between $8000 and $10,000 to get Season Four of Pocket Sketching at PBS out. I had paid for a local studio to film two Episodes here so there would be some plein air included. Then there was money left over from a previous season. When Phil at WGVU checked with the station's accountant, it was done. Then NETA approved. IT HAS BEEN SENT to every station in the US!!! SEASON 4 IS OUT and AVAILABLE IN YOUR TOWN. Bug your local station to see it and keep sketching. Thanks for Making this Happen!!!Your names aren’t on the credits, unfortunately. I had no idea the funding was complete and they did the usual “Brought to you by viewers like you” or however that goes. Please know it wouldn’t have happened without your support. WorkshopsIn Tucson we have just finished a live workshop with a small enrollment. Much less stress and really fun. We are currently teaching two Basic Workshops online. We’ve forgotten a lot about the technical end so we get to re-learn. The students are delightedly learning and happy. Here are your chances to join the fun! February 13, 16, 19, 22, 25 I have scheduled a morning and an afternoon Refresher Workshop online. This may well be the last of our online workshops. It’s amazing to me how well people learn in an online. When people do the homework, it’s obvious they caught the lesson. It also helps that the recording is available for two weeks. Come join us for a review. February 28, March 1 and 2 is a live Refresher Workshop in our home here in Tucson. The weather should be excellent. The nearby Sheraton gives us a special rate. There’s room to enroll. This workshop has a day of review and two days of all new stuff. It’s a great opportunity to get back sketching in case you haven’t had time, plus have fun in a group. RegistrationTo register for any of these workshops, please contact me, [email protected] or 520-318-9291. Might I say, “time is running out”? Business OpportunityWe are using these workshops to decide if we will keep teaching or not. We’ve had a wonderful ‘run’, met fabulous people, been to some great places, but we’re aging out. If you know someone who would like an exciting business with a huge upside, recommend them to us. This would be a business person, not necessarily an artist. This person would not teach, but hire staff teachers, who I could train. Those teachers teach teachers who do workshops in their local towns. This is the Bob Ross model. Bob made $11.4 million in his short time as a business, according to Wikipedia. That’s not chump change. We’ve come a long way. I do not want Pocket Sketching® to disappear! Online GalleryYou can order 4 x 6 reproductions of my sketches for $3.00 each. We will raise the price in the future, but I wanted it to be low so our supporters could order good model sketches inexpensively. I planned to recommend this system to other artists. It has been a tremendous amount of work for Susan, our webmaster and so far, an expense. When the annual contract runs out this coming summer, we will decide whether to keep it going and whether to recommend it or not. Meanwhile, you might want to check out the reproductions to have as an example. PS: Be sure to visit the 'Fine Art' section while you're there!
Happy Sketching!
SabbaticalWhere has the sabbatical gone? Before I became 100% involved with Pocket Sketching, I painted in oil and watercolor, had several big shows and competed nationally. The inventory grew. In about 2010 I switched into Pocket Sketching and teaching. The inventory and supplies have been waiting. Some of you understand, as you also have a huge supply of art stuff. So, I have been relearning oil painting and hope to give painting in oil and watercolor another ‘go’ as the Brits say. As my late brother would say, “We’ll see.” AnnouncementMy question became “Is it possible to achieve a steady income from selling original sketches and original paintings plus reproductions online?” Susan, our very dedicated assistant, has done a huge amount of work to set up a website/gallery at Art Storefronts. Please go look, see if the site is interesting, navigable, worthy and let me know your reaction, good or bad. The new website is: art.pocketsketching.com where you can view both my Fine Art and my Pocket Sketches. Please share your experience with me - your input in the past was extremely helpful: [email protected]. Monthly TipHere’s a very important tip. When you have a sketch you absolutely love, consider keeping the original where it is not exposed to light. Scan it into your computer or take a photo for reproduction. The ink line is fugitive. That means if it is exposed to light on the wall it will fade…over time a lot! There is no black water-soluble pen yet that is archival. India ink is archival but very hard to work with. You’ll see my reaction in Season Four of Pocket Sketching Fundraising for Season 4And where are we on fundraising for Season Four? We are now at $14,700, all thanks to you! That leaves $11,300 for me to figure out. If you still want to send a donation for 2024 (or 2025) click the button below OR phone 866-948-8727. And a giant thank you for all your support!
Happy Sketching and a Very Happy New Year! MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANNUKAH, WHATEVER: TAKE A STEP BACK AND ENJOY FRIENDS, MUSIC, CHILDREN, COOKIES, NONSENSE
Tucson is short on Christmas decorations. So I joined Michelle, a dear friend, who has decorated for a party. The deer was on her mantle. Sketch material may come from very small places. Watch for little inspirations. (And that’s my tip this time. It works for me.) Our current travels are sparse. We went to Savannah, Georgia for Thanksgiving as my son flies from there (a pilot). The granddaughters and a delightful friend were all visiting. A wonderful family time.! Old Savannah is gorgeous with architecture, moss-covered huge live oaks, small parks with statues or fountains everywhere. It’s a major commercial ocean port so huge ships pass by on the waterfront of the Savannah River. The J.W. Marriott has a Smithsonian-quality mineral and fossil display including a full-sized brontosaurus hung below the ceiling for most of the distance of the immense lobby. I was too awestruck to even take pictures! Don’t miss it if you go there.
I’ve been on sabbatical with the intent of oil painting as I have a huge stash of unused supplies and the weather has been good to work outdoors (no studio). A whopping two paintings are finished. And I miss students. Here’s the plan:
Dale has insisted on offering Pocket Sketching® Mugs for sale on our website. I told him they's never sell. The went on the website yesterday. One sold this morning. Dale is gloating!!!! Order yours here.
Finally, THE FUNDRAISER TO BRING YOU PBS POCKET SKETCHING SEASON 4. You have corrected my sketches to a total of $13,300 earned. We have $13,900 to go. It is almost year’s end. It’s a great time for a tax-deferred donation to WGVU (a 501-c-3) and to get your name on the permanent credits for the show, as in “This show is brought to you by Jean and Thomas Doe”. Any donation of $500.00 or more will be on the main credits and smaller donations will be listed. Sort of fun to be seen as donating giants of PBS! The people who already sent gifts of $500 or more to alter my sketches will be on the main list. And Thank You All for supporting the release of Season Four. It is loaded with gems you’ll enjoy. Happy sketching! 
Another resource for ‘sketching buddies’ in your area is Urban Sketchers. Go to their map of Chapters. If your town doesn’t have a Chapter, you can start one. “If you build it, they will come”. Urban Sketchers is an international group started by one man. If you want to sketch with someone in London or Paris, contact that Chapter and find a new sketching friend who can show you where he/she likes to sketch. Last blog I said I’d tell you how I get something finished that I didn’t much want to do. Use your timer, just as you use it for sketching. I can do anything for 30 minutes. A kitchen timer is great because you can see it, and probably hear it grinding down. If the time period is short, it’s amazing how much you can get done and out of the way. Big project? Use several short time periods. Put them in your least productive time of day. Save your best energy for something fun, like sketching Every month, because of the PBS show, we have many new people subscribe to the Newsletter who don’t know what an excellent lesson ‘Fix ‘Em’ is for you to benefit from for as long as you sketch. With just minutes of ‘fixing’ mishaps in color, contrast or focal point you usually get much improvement. The exercise is excellent for having you analyze your sketches and figure out what’s wrong, then correct it. If you donate $100 to WGVU, (a 501-c-3 not for profit), you receive 5 of my ‘Fix ‘Em’ sketches, a link to my very good video explaining how to do it, and a receipt from WGVU. If you donate $200.00 or more, you get an additional 5 sketches. (This could be a gift to a sketcher, and you get a write-off.) All donations help pay for Season Four of Pocket Sketching, which is filmed, edited and ready for release. Here are two of my sketches ‘before’ and ‘after’. One was simply hiding a mistake, and keeping the repair not obvious. (Yes, you can correct mistakes in watercolor!)
You have done well with the Fundraiser for Season Four on PBS. Believe it or not, we have raised $14,300!!! (We still have $11,700 to go.) Incidentally, you are more than welcome to simply donate to WGVU to fund Season Four, and not receive any ‘Fix Ems’. In either case, your form for tax-deductible contributions will arrive from WGVU in January. I can’t contribute, because if I do, NETA will not distribute the program to PBS stations, which is a bummer. ANNOUNCEMENTWithin a week I should have some very interesting news after months of working on a project. STAY TUNED!!! Happy Sketching and a Very Happy Thanksgiving!  The Teachers’ Workshop is over. It is 5 ½ days including lunch (so no one is off schedule). Two people had allergies, making it far more challenging. However, we got to everything except my posing, (so they could teach how to do people easily.) Guess what! Me posing in ghastly outfits is actually in PBS Season Four! I have never been willing to do that hideous outfit for a PBS series, but it’s so good for learning, I had to include it. It’s totally embarrassing, but it works. Here’s how the fundraising for Season Four of Pocket Sketching on PBS is going. We are at $12,000 of $30,000 with $18,000 to go. Thanks for your help! I think you’ll love Season Four! Each person who contributes $100.00 to WGVU (a 501©3 not-for-profit) receives 5 of my sketches to correct (my Fix ‘Ems), a link to my new video on how to fix them and a tax credit at the end of the year. If you send $200.00 or more, you receive 10 sketches. (There’s no upper limit, but 10 sketches to fix is a lot!) Here’s a suggestion from “The Teachers.” You get together 5 friends at $20.00 each and one person sends it in, gets the tax credit, the 5 sketches and the link. Then you get together to correct them as a group. I could not get to sending out my 'Fix Em's' to you during the Teachers' Workshop: simply exhausted every evening after we had dinner together (fun socializing)! I'll be mailing out your sketches and the link today. Coming up with great tips is not always easy, basically because I don’t get to talk with you to see what you want. Please send a suggestion: something that’s a problem for which I might have a solution. You’re welcome to send me a scan of the results. Margie Beckett is the first person to send me her corrected sketch. Look at the difference! (And send me yours!) This is a terrific exercise! The problem is almost always contrast of value, color or focal point (or any combination). By doing the correcting, you will see how important contrast, color and focal point are - and how to fix ‘em!
The Teachers group gave me this tip. When you sketch clumps of flowers, the flowers are clumps - not individual flowers. (Remember, you are capable of focusing on any pinpoint). The object here is the clump. The minute you switch to an individual flower, you take the focal point to that one flower, not the total effect. Here are three sketches: One has individual flowers (took forever to do). And two sketches with flowers in clumps as you see them (far faster and effective). 
As long as I am hounding you to help fund PBS Season Four, I'll be sending you tips. Next time my tip will be on how to get things done if you are a proscrastinator or have ADHD like me. Speaking of what works, I like to be incognito. I love teaching Pocket Sketching because it's such a breakthrough for so many people. It's meditative. It's artistic. It's creative. So many things. And I like to stay totally under the radar. This morning I was finally able to go for a hike in my favorite place for 28 years. No roads. No cars. No houses. No cactus. It has been possible to discreetly 'take a whiz' in heavy cover. Today, for the first time ever, a person recognized me from the PBS series and simply hung out. I couldn't get away! Is this what happens to Carol Burnett? New experience. Happy Sketching! Happy Escape!!!  Normally I don’t bomb you with blogs. As we’re working together on funding the final PBS Season, you need to know how it’s going. I’m finding it just as hard to write frequently as you are finding it hard to read often! I hope the included tips make it more interesting. Here’s the update. We are at $10,750 (Thank you enormously!!!!), out of $30K so that leaves only $19,250 to go. Wow! And I have sent out 170 sketches to be fixed. Where else will you get your instructor’s work to fix? One person sent back a ‘before and after’. I’d love to see more of your results. And where is Season Four in progression? I just spent three days reviewing all 13 Episodes over and over, looking for technical accidents. This Season has lessons I never planned to film. Many of you liked the striped outfits I use to pose for live workshops. They are included! Man, that outfit looks horrible on me! I can see why you laugh your way through that exercise. Zach, the engineer at WGVU, is amazingly good. Only one tiny flub and he’ll fix it. Pretty good for merging 4 cameras and one dialog, plus editing the two Episodes filmed outdoors in an uncontrolled setting in Tucson. Here’s the ‘ask’: You DONATE to WGVU $100 and I mail you five of my ‘Fix ‘Em’ sketches to correct plus email the link to the excellent video showing you how to fix color, contrast and focal point. If you send $200 or more, you receive an additional five of my sketches. I planned to fix these myself and some are really quite good. Click the link below to donate or call if you don’t want to donate via computer: 661-331-6680. WGVU is a 501-c-3 and you will receive a receipt for tax purposes. Here’s your tip for this blog. When your sketches have been working well and then they become consistently worse, invest in a new brush. It’s not you! The brushes wear down and you don’t notice until you ‘can’t sketch’. If you are planning to sketch a lot, you might keep a new brush zipped in with your credit cards. It’s quite rewarding to suddenly sketch much better! The example with the sky has no control on the buildings and truck. The stream has great control and I’m happy with it. (I did correct the color in the background rocks, adding blue to drop them back. See it work?)
Happy Sketching!  PBS SEASON 4 IS ALMOST HERESeason 4 of Pocket Sketching is fully filmed, awaiting payment, editing and release to you. It contains a bit of review and stuff I have never been willing to make public! Normally this would be paid for by my soliciting sponsors. I totally hate soliciting sponsors. Would you like to do that? You're like me: NO!!! However, I have a favorite exercise I love, you'll love, AND it will pay for Season Four. You've heard me say that I love taking out 5 bad sketches from my 'Fix Em' file to figure out what's wrong, and attempt to fix it. It's almost always contrast, color or focal point. Out of 5, two usually get worse, one stays just as bad, and two really improve and go to the 'Really Good' file.
Here's the deal: You donate $100.00 (or more) to WGVU/pocketsketching. The Station is a 501(c)(3) and they will send you a receipt for your taxes & send me your address and email. I mail you five (5) of my own sketches from my 'Fix Em' file and email you the link to my brand new 'How To Fix Em' video. You identify the problem with each sketch and have a blast fixing it. The lesson is terrific! If the sketches get better, you have a good sketch that we did together. If they get worse, at least it wasn't your own sketch. (They're pretty good or I wouldn't have kept them in the first place.) If you choose to donate $200 or more, you will receive ten (10) sketches to play with (more than that is overkill!). The amount we need is $30,000. That seems like a lot, but divide by $100 and it will take donations from 300 people: totally doable. Meanwhile, I need potentially 1500 not-perfect sketches that I can't find time to get around to. Basically, it's $100.00 for an invaluable lesson and you may end up with originals for your wall done by you and me! WGVU gets paid for Season Four, which you will be able to see on PBS, and eventually buy as downloads. You get the tax write-off donation. Come play! Click the button below to donate or phone: 520.318.9291 to send a check. I'll let you know how we're doing toward our goal with short blogs. The blogs will also contain recent sketches, news and tips. NEWSThere's still room in the Teachers' Workshop, October 20-25. Read about it on the website: pocketsketching.com/teachers. Register or get more information by contacting me: [email protected]. Because of your comments, I will teach a few more live workshops. Don't know where or when now. Watch for the coming Blogs. Happy Sketching!  I am so very honored by comments many of you have sent since I mentioned in my last blog that we may be moving into retirement. We are somehow getting older, which sort of leads to ‘The Shipping Department.’ Sorry about delivery problems while we were on our big trip. Dale, (Vice President of Shipping) shipped daily from wherever. (Did you notice the post office on the package?) He received supplies at each place we knew we’d be for two days or more. There were mistakes. If you are still missing something, let us know. If you received more than you paid for, happily keep it. [email protected] From the trip here are three sketches and a journal page, all from Victoria, BC. Journal pages have writing, usually telling more about the location of the sketch. I love food and often guess at contents so I can copy the dish at home. The fountain in ink is typical. The color sketch of the same fountain is pretty poor. However, both trigger the memory, and I can make a good sketch or even a painting from them. Once you take the time to sketch, you become immersed and you lock the memory in the computer of your mind. Your camera pictures don’t make this connection. There are more trip sketches coming: I got some good sketches and some great lessons.
At last we are showing on PBS, KAET in Phoenix and Prescott, Arizona! Could you believe it has taken over five years to get Pocket Sketching PBS shows into my hometown and state, though we show in 730 stations nationwide?! Thanks for asking them: It finally worked. In Phoenix we are showing on PBS Life which is: Cox channel 80, Century Link channel 9, Northern Arizona channel 142, Maricopa channel 211. The near times are Monday, Aug. 19, 12:00 PM, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 3:00 PM, Monday, Aug 26, 12:00 PM, Tuesday Aug. 27, 3:00 PM. Go to their schedule to find more times: obviously this is an experiment. If you like it and want to see more, please contact Lisa Sepulveda, 855-818-6613 or [email protected], and ask for more showings. We have a foot in the door! If you are in Tucson, AZPM Plus will show Pocket Sketching® at 9:30 AM each Monday on Channel 82 (Cox) and Channel 396 (Comcast). View AZPM schedule here: https://tv.azpm.org/schedules/episode/266772 Happy Sketching! 
But There Was MoreWhile we were sketching at the Empress Hotel Bar, a family was sitting next to us. They were celebrating their twelve-year-old daughter's birthday (she picked the venue). Julie began sketching the girl. The family started asking questions. Julie did a great sketch, which she gave to them. They were delighted! Then Julie, Eva and Joy did a marvelous sales pitch for Pocket Sketching.® I was the 'elder-sketcher-sitting-at-the-side-saying-nothing.' Totally amazing!!!! I couldn't have pitched Pocket Sketching batter!!! It felt strange...like it's time to bow out and find a new, younger person to take over Pocket Sketching. I am left complimented and contemplating. Below are two of my sketches from Victoria.
If you are in Tucson, AZPM Plus will show Pocketsketching® at 9:30 AM on Mondays, Channel 82 (Cox) and Channel 396 (Comcast). View AZPM schedule here: https://tv.azpm.org/schedules/episode/266772/ Happy Sketching!  |
KATH MACAULAYArtist/Creator/Owner Archives
January 2026
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