Here in Sydney at the moment, we are back in lockdown and so to add a little something distinctive to my daily routine I’m drinking out of a different teacup each day. And of course, sketching them!

I normally drink my tea from a fancy cup anyway but it’s usually the same cup for a number of days at a time. So a different one each day feels like it’s a special occasion and even more so when I’m getting my good cups out.

My good cups are the expensive bone china cups – Royal Albert, Coalport, Royal Daulton, etc and the older vintage cups. My everyday collection includes all my T2 teacups (often very complex patterns) plus some of the other local brands (such as Ashdene) which are either stoneware or bone china. In the early days T2 cups were not generally bone china but in recent years I only buy their china cups. Ashdene cups are my favourite to drink from (their china seems to keep my tea warmer for longer) but are generally plainer in design.

I’ve not been in such a teacup sketching mood for a long time. Last year when I was doing the project of sketching all my teacups it became a little bit of a chore… but this time I feel motivated. And it feels great!

There is a lot of stuff happening in the background at the moment, so all of these sketches are done very quickly. I have a brief break in my workday and do the sketch in its entirety while drinking my tea. I’m not trying to create a masterpiece, just simply record the little moment in my day. But, I’m hoping that by doing one of these each day, I’ll start doing something different with my teacup sketches soon.

Here are the first five of my lockdown teacups…

  T2 Eleganza Flamingo tall cup and saucer. This is one of the more complex patterns, so this was a very loose interpretation.

My first Ashdene cup which I use for green or herbal tea. This was a cup of Lemon Myrtle tea drunk and sketched in the evening.

T2 Peacock cup which has the most unusual saucer shape. It was a gift from Emmanuel School in Hobart after teaching a number of workshops back in 2014. BTW I have a separate tag for Peacock Teacups 🙂

Another Ashdene cup – Jardin Peony design – done with a little watercolour pencil for something different.

Royal Albert 100 years set – 1920s Spring Meadow. This sketch is a very strong interpretation of the very delicate cup pattern

As for lockdown, it’s the first time since the initial period (March-May 2020) that we’ve had stay-at-home orders (in my part of Sydney) so I’m not complaining. I’m very thankful for all the freedom that we’ve had and that my apartment gets lots of wonderful winter sun! And for my amazing teacup collection which brings delightful colour and pattern into my everyday life.

BTW, I’m also sketching my morning coffees (in a cup and saucer) but that’s another story!