Getting back to my morning cafe sessions

March 13, 2018 | 6 Comments


So far this year I have only been to my local cafe a handful of times, rather than my usual frequency of 5 times a week. This is mainly because I was completely swamped by the work involved in my SketchingNow Watercolour course up until mid-February. Swamped in a good way – there is nothing I love more than running a ‘live’ version of my online courses!

However starting the year with an all-consuming project has left me a little unsure of what to do now that it’s over. I normally spend a lot of my cafe time planning my week, month and year but I haven’t done that at all. I started 2018 with one goal in mind – get through the Watercolour course!

So today, along with sketching my latte, I finally got around to looking ahead at the rest of the year and planning out what projects I should work on. One of the things that I love the most about my current job is the freedom I have to carve out my own projects. I have one huge overseas trip this year and a number of back of house updates that I must finally get around to doing. But apart from those two, I have a big goal to revive my daily sketching and blogging habit and a new project, which is just around the corner, will help with that.

I have been really struck by how important it is for me to carve out time for planning sessions and keep up the regular use of my bullet journal. I have not been feeling in control lately but I’m sure that getting back to my normal routine will do the trick.

Here are a few other articles about my approach to planning and to-do lists. (There are really interesting comments to both articles as well)


So it seems that I’ve missed the boat in terms of writing an article about my goals for 2018 and asking you about yours. So instead I want to know how you are going this year with the projects/goals that you want to achieve.


 

6 Comments

  • It is such a relief to know that even the stupendous Liz Steel feels adrift sometimes. I just moved across the country to a new city and am trying to get myself back in order too. Thanks for all your lovely posts, encouragement and sharing!!

    • Liz Steel says:

      Hi Caroline. I’m just like everyone! Ups and downs. All the best for getting back into the groove.

  • Flory says:

    Last week’s challenge fell on exactly the days when I was traveling, so there were many opportunities to sketch live people! This was great fun and good practice. I simplified my kit to a pocket sketchbook and a fineliner, and was pleased to complete the challenge. Some friends and I are continuing this week with 50 people. Is there a place in the SketchingNow community where we could post our sketches? It would be great to share them with other SkNers and with you! Cheers!

    • Liz Steel says:

      Hi flory. Glad you enjoyed the challenge. There is a thread in the watercolour forum about it. Check it out.

  • pbass wil says:

    Hi Liz,

    Colour questions:
    I don’t know if it’s ‘cuz of its harmony with the browny green on top of it, but the blue of your saucer is so delicious!
    a) Did you get that colour by mixing some CerBlueCh with something to tone it down??
    b) When you represent the same colour but in shadow, do you darken it by adding something dark & transparent on top? Or do you actually mix a darker shaded version of the same colour on your palette?
    TIA :^), – pbass

    • Liz Steel says:

      Hi
      1. I think in this case the cup is mainly CerBlueC.
      2. I do both depending on circumstance and my mood. I talk about this a lot in my SketchingNow Watercolour

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