I hope you’re enjoying your summer! I’ve already had loads of travel in 2026, which means much less time behind my desk. But with a few days to spare between trips, I wanted to send out this overdue issue of The Wheelbarrow.
As you probably know, my travel schedule is usually jammed with workshops. Except that, a few weeks ago, my husband Spyro and I returned from a rare event—an actual family holiday in Chania, Crete with our two adult sons. We sat on beaches, took in sights, did some hiking and visited tiny mountain villages. But mostly, we ate.
For this trip, I packed minimal sketching tools. After all, this was a family vacation. I didn’t want to miss a moment: no plans to run off to sketch, or make others wait while I finished up. This meant my kit had to be lighter and smaller than usual. This also meant that, when I did get a chance to sketch, I had challenges to overcome with my limited tools. In this issue, I thought I’d share some of what I learned during this sketching on holiday with family experience.
I hope you find lots of time to spend with family and friends this summer (and that, like me, you manage to sneak in some sketching, too).
Shari
FROM MY SKETCHBOOK
Rooftop views of Chania
The end-of-day light in Chania is pure magic. So, when the rest of the family was exercising or resting, I used that precious opportunity to paint two rooftop views.
Painted from the balcony of a hotel, where we stayed a couple of nights. My memory of that moment is auditory rather than visual—the high, thin screams of swifts as they circled and swooped between buildings.
A view from our rented apartment near Nea Chora beach. Sharp, slanting shadows on the buildings, spots of floral red, water tanks and solar panels crowding the rooftops. When most of my traveling is done, I hope to do a larger painting from this sketch.
FROM MY SKETCHBAG
Pentel Water Brush
I packed my good travel brushes for Greece, but soon realized how easily they’d get ruined if I dropped them at the beach. So, regrettably, I switched to a Pentel nylon water brush. I’ve never been keen on these—they don’t hold enough wash and their point isn’t sharp enough.
But I soldiered on and learned an obvious lesson: The more you use a tool, the more comfortable it gets, because you find ways to work around its limitations. After two weeks, I’m now a convert to the water brush.
As you can see from the dirty palette above, instead of relying on the brush to hold the wash, I used the mixing wells as a reservoir. I dropped water into the well, added lots of pigment, and grabbed the mix from there. This worked especially well when I needed gallons of sky colour for the beach and people sketching I did.
Once I gained confidence with the water brush, I wanted to see how it performs with other scenes. On a rare cloudy day, I drew the plants in a beach café (above, left), using the water brush to blend colours right on the palm fronds. I also used it in a little sketch of some shops along the beach in Nea Chora (above, right). It was perfect for adding darks and for the shadow shapes on the tall palms.
No, the water brush won’t replace my good travel brushes. But in a pinch, it does well enough and has now earned a permanent place in my kit.
Inktense Pencils
I’ve written about Inktense pencils before. These highly pigmented, water-soluble pencils are ideal for adding touches of colour to finished sketches or for drawing in museums, where wet media isn’t allowed. But here’s how I wound up using them on the beach in Crete:
I decided early on that I’d focus on people sketching on this holiday—and there’s no better place to practice than on a beach. Half-naked bodies sprawled in every direction! Plus, they hold their pose for extended periods, and there’s a range of shapes, sizes and colours to choose from.
I needed a smoother paper for my beach drawings, so I found a local art supply shop and bought a Sakura sketchbook—just right for Inktense pencils.
As you can see, I used my Orange or Burnt Earth pencils for the initial drawings. What I really love best about these pencils is how easily you can correct wayward lines. I simply go over a misaligned limb or nose, and the new line works itself into the final drawing. And, since most beach bodies range in doneness from tanned to sunburned, the warm tones are about right.
I used orange lines for chairs, umbrellas, flip-flops and towels, adding other colours to fill in.
Beach drawing became so addictive, I’m showing only a tiny sample of my output. And the best part? Sitting with my family, taking part in the conversation, never missing a joke, remark or snippet of gossip.
FROM MY BOOKSHELF
PAINTING FLOWERS IN WATERCOLOR
by Charles Reid
(North Light Books, 2001)
On a recent visit to the always astounding Strand bookstore in NYC, I spotted Painting Flowers in Watercolor with Charles Reid (2001). I already have a dog-eared copy of this master painter’s Flower Painting in Watercolor (1979), and assumed this was a revised edition. But after a quick skim, I realized that it’s an entirely different book, so I bought it.
I devoured it on the train ride home, audibly exclaiming to my husband every time I read some fresh insight about colour or value, and then reading the insight to him out loud.
Painting Flowers in Watercolor is packed with valuable exercises for brush work and colour mixing—enough to keep you busy for weeks. Reid follows these up with advanced step-by-step demos, whose subjects include a range of still life compositions, not limited to flowers. Painting Flowers in Watercolor is a real treasure, and will soon become as dog-eared as the other Charles Reid books on my shelf.
MY NEWEST ONLINE COURSE
Sunlit Harbour: Simplifying a Cretan Scene in Watercolour
Speaking of Chania, my latest course is about helping you capture the magic and elusive light of this city’s ravishing harbour in Crete. Yellow buildings, blue shutters, red roofs, and below that, bustling crowds and lapping waves. How do you even begin? I’ll show you how, and give you the confidence to break down and simplify any complex scene.
I’m booked to travel quite a lot this year, but in 2027 I will have a reduced travel schedule. I’ll be enjoying my home more, and have added time to paint in my studio.
So, if you’ve been meaning to join one of my workshops, now is the time to register, as I’ll be giving fewer in-person teaching events in 2027. A couple coming up soon:
Bar Harbor, Maine
I love Bar Harbor and its surroundings so much, I’m returning for a fourth time next fall. Beautiful in all seasons, Bar Harbor is most spectacular in its fiery autumn robes. We’ll hop around Mount Desert Island to find the most sketchable spots—scenic villages and secluded harbours, with their fishing boats at anchor, plus maritime gardens and rugged coastal scenes animated with jagged rocks and crashing waves. We’ll find a wealth of scenes to capture in your sketchbooks!
Join me next January, when I’ll once again give two workshops at Tanque Verde Ranch. I hope to introduce you to the varied and stunning Sonoran Desert, and to the many plant, animal and human friends that keep me coming back to this magical desert kingdom year after year.
