Shari Blaukopf

Brushes hold more than paint Let’s peek inside my studio. Apart from my dog Alice, sleeping beside my drawing table, you’ll see about a dozen old coffee cans bristling with brushes. I’m embarrassed to count them, so let’s not. Why so many? Because I can’t bear to part with any of them, even if they’re no longer sharp or pointy or useful. A few of the mostly newish brushes, I use all the time. But others, decades old, I hold on to the way I hold on to memories. (Remember that Streisand line,...

October 2025 LOADS OF VIEWS, REVIEWS & EVENTS As I write these words, a fat squirrel is running back and forth on the windowsill outside my office. Now he’s standing stock still, studying me through the glass. A sure sign of fall. In my neck of the woods, it’s a gorgeous season of russets, oranges, yellows and reds. Good time to be winding down from a travel-filled summer, during which I never truly unpacked: Teaching in the French Alps, and at the Urban Sketching Symposium in Poznan, Poland;...

December 2024 LOADS OF VIEWS, REVIEWS & EVENTS If you grew up in a snowy place, as I did, you can appreciate the little-kid excitement that comes with the year's first snowfall — face pressed against the window, already planning a day of snowballs, sledding and snow forts. Maybe I’ve outgrown all that, but it’s still a happy time for me when the first snow blankets my part of Montreal. First of all because it’s a refreshing change from a mostly grey November. And second, because I love to...

13 COURSES.30% OFF.FOR JUST 8 DAYS. MY BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR STARTS NOW. I’m thrilled to launch my annual Black Friday Week sale, featuring the year’s most dramatic price drop on some of my most popular online courses. During Black Friday Week, I’m offering a baker’s dozen of my most popular courses (see below) priced at 30% OFF each for a full 8 days. My Black Friday sale ends at midnight ET on Sunday, December 1, 2024. Maybe you’ve already picked up tips and techniques from one or more...

October 2024 LOADS OF VIEWS, REVIEWS & EVENTS It’s been too long between Wheelbarrows, and I apologize for that. Lots of events got in the way (see below), but the main reason? I really needed to put aside “me” time to paint, which I happily managed to do, alongside my other commitments. But now I’m back at my desk and glad to be here. You’ll notice that I’ve updated my wheelbarrow sketch (above) with a double portrait of my trusty old one and its new friend, which I inherited with the new...

50 demos. 50 artists. And it’s FREE! I’m so excited to share this! I've been invited to take part in Sketching Retreat, a free 6-day online event with 50+ workshops (mine included!) all about architectural sketching & drawing — both analog and digital techniques. This event takes place from October 22-27, 2024. I’m thrilled to be one of the 50+ amazing instructors in the event. In my online workshop, I’ll be sharing with you “Inside and Out: A Shop Facade in Ink and Watercolour”. A little...

A little more about L-E-T-T-E-R-I-N-G for your sketchbooks By this point in launch week, with less than 48 hours left to take advantage of the discounted price, you may have already bought my newest online course, “Design Ideas for Your Sketchbook.” And if you have, thank you! In this course, I’ve included a section about lettering because, as a graphic design professional and design teacher, I love letter forms. I love how words introduce another layer of pictorial information to a...

Sketches of Edgar A. Whitney What I learned from a master I have cupboards in my studio where I keep my sketchbooks. They now number over a hundred, of every size and description. Two special ones, I always keep close to hand. They're among the oldest: hardbound, dark in colour, falling to pieces. Over some 45 years, I’ve moved my growing pile of sketchbooks from one apartment to another, from house to house. Most stay in my cupboards. Except for a special pair. A week doesn’t go by that I...

Announcing “Design Ideas for Your Sketchbooks,” my new EXTENDED online course! Take advantage of my special launch price, valid this week only. Normally priced at $49 USD or $69 CDN, I’m discounting Design Ideas for Your Sketchbook to $42 USD or $59 CDN until midnight (ET) on Sunday, October 6, 2024. As a university-trained graphic designer and design teacher, I worked for years in the industry before returning to my first love: sketching and painting in watercolour. That’s why I’m thrilled...