I love it when there are connections between the various concurrent projects I’m working on. Sometimes it is by design (I’ve chosen the projects so that they have themes in common) but there are often synergies that I don’t expect.

This month I’ve been

• going through the second half of my Watercolour course,
• exploring Value inside my Sketching Adventure Community on Patreon
• gearing up for a Group Self-Paced Version of my Edges course.

I’ve also been continuing to explore my ‘unused supplies’ of Inktense pencils and Tombow markers. (Unused supplies was our Patreon theme from January).

In Watercolour Lesson 4 we look at working from light to dark vs starting with the darks, and this ties in with Edges Lesson 4 where we take ‘starting with the darks’ to the next level by exploring lost and found edges. I also intentionally chose the theme of Value for my Community to tie in with Watercolour Lesson 3 – using colour.

So these were known overlaps in my projects.

But what I didn’t expect is the new way in which these concepts have connected…

In the past few weeks I’ve started my value studies and pencil/marker sketches with the darks.  And this is different!

How is it different?

1. I normally start value studies with mid-tones and then add the darks before making decisions about the lighter tones. 

2. I normally work light to dark for mixed media sketches and typically focus on texture and ‘complex colour’ rather than value. I’m still thinking about value but it’s not my focus. Note: Starting with the darks is a go-to technique when I’m working with direct watercolour but not typically with other techniques.

This way of ‘starting with the darks’ is a subtle change but it has given me ideas for ways to create mixed media sketches that have lost and found edges and are more abstract.

The above image shows a recent quick morning when I realised this change. The importance of this sketch is not so much the finished result but the ideas it contains!

Starting with the darks has also helped me see how to more easily play with different coloured and varied lines. These are all concepts we explore inside my Edges course so it’s perfect timing to be going through these lessons again.

Here is an image from the Edges course that explains what I mean by Lost and Found Edges. I like to explain it as over-exposing and under-exposing your sketch at the same time and letting the viewer’s eye fill in the gaps.

And to finish this article… here are three typical examples of this technique.

The most common situation in which I use Lost and Found edges is when my subject has clear sunny and shaded sides. 

But I also use this technique on a cloudy day! These is a lot of ‘merging of details’ in this.

And finally my favourite subject to explore lost and found edges is teacups!

I’m very happy to be using lost and found edges again and excited to be going through my Edges course again starting 4 March 2026!

Will you be joining us? Find out more here.