One of the exercises I like to do with my students is what I call a pre-painted page. I have them wet a page in their sketchbook with clean water, put plenty of paper towels behind the page to protect the rest of the book, then do a colorful wet-in-wet wash, completely covering the page […]
Leslie Fehling
Sketching in Saint-Remy-de-Provence
(This information was previously shared in my October 2024 email newsletter. I’m repeating it here for those of you who are not subscribed.) During my workshop in Provence last month, we spent a morning sketching at St. Paul de Mausole, the psychiatric hospital where Vincent van Gogh painted many of his most famous works. It […]
Sketching in Provence
Provence is full of quaint little villages where people go about their everyday lives walking the same stone paths which feet have trod for more than five hundred years. During my Provence workshop with French Escapade last month, we had the pleasure of visiting one of these hillside towns for a morning of sketching. The […]
Sketching in Paris – Sacré-Cœur
One of the places I wanted to see during my recent visit to Paris was the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur. The church stands atop Montmartre, the highest point in Paris, and is an architectural masterpiece, absolutely beautiful inside and out… From the steps of Sacré-Cœur you can see the city of Paris stretching off in all […]
Sketching in Paris – The Grand Palais
I spent a few days in Paris last month before I taught a week-long workshop in Provence. I had been there once before, in 2017, and that trip had been a whirlwind of sightseeing. (You can see my Paris & Provence travel journal in its entirety here.) This time, I took it at a slower […]
England Sketchbook: The Great Scone Debate
After spending most of our first day in Bourton-on-the-Water outside in the wind and cold, it was a relief to retreat to a cozy tea room in the late afternoon and settle in for tea and scones. Judy, Wendy, and I at A’Moore Tea House in Bourton-on-the-Water, UK Our friendly waitress chatted with us about […]
England Sketchbook: Cotswold Lavender Farm
The fields at Cotswold Lavender were just beginning to bloom the day we visited in late June. It was a breezy day, with big puffy clouds scudding across the sky, giving us alternating periods of sunshine and shadow. After moseying around awhile, we each found our favorite view, pulled out our sketchbooks, and got to […]
England Sketchbook: Bourton Model Village
The Bourton-on-the-Water Model Village was a fun addition to our first day in the Cotswolds. We all met there in the early afternoon and spent a little time walking around and marveling at the work that went into building this scale replica of the town. (Read about it here.) The model village was constructed between […]
England Sketchbook: Bourton-on-the-Water
After three days in London, it was time for my painting workshop in the Cotswolds to begin. I had been planning for this moment since 2020, and it was finally happening! I had two workshops planned, with 15 students in each. It was going to be a very full two weeks! Our first morning in […]
England Sketchbook: Victoria & Albert Museum
When I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London earlier this summer, I really enjoyed the display of women’s fashion through the centuries. I especially enjoyed looking at all the detailing and hand work on the Victorian dresses. I snapped some photos that day in the museum and later sketched some of the dresses, […]
