Hi lovely members 👋 Last weekend it was pouring in Manchester, so we ducked into Mackie Mayor, a big old market hall turned food hall. We got a corner table, ordered some nice food and a glass or two of wine, and spent a couple of hours drawing the people around us. 🍷 The best bit? My husband joined in. [ He won't let me show his drawings, though, sadly. Even though they were great ❤️ ] He has no background in drawing, but he has his own sketchbook now, and this is the second time we've gone off to a city together just to draw what we see. We both loved it. - - - - - ✏️ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲-𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 People don't stay still, so you can't fuss over anything. You catch a pair of glasses or the curve of a shoulder, and move on. Nobody expects a finished portrait. My pages are a few little faces and one couple deep in conversation, with "Faces of Mackie Mayor" written underneath, and that page now holds the whole afternoon for me. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘕𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 (𝘚𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘺) 𝘈𝘳𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵. - - - - - ☕ 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗮𝘆 A café, a library, a train station or a park bench all work. Find a seat with a view, take one pen and a small sketchbook, order something nice and settle in. Let people walk out of your drawings and just start the next one. 💛 Bring a partner or friend along if you like. They don't need to be "arty". Or go on your own and enjoy the quiet company of your sketchbook. - - - - - 💬 Where would you go for your sketching day, and who would you bring along, if anyone? Have you tried this before? Would you like to try it? Tell me in the comments, and share a page if you've tried it. I'd love to see it. 👇

As a warm up exercise I often close my eyes and let the pen go wild on the page. Then I try to find something among the scribbles. These guys emerged this morning

🎥 This one just dropped into my YouTube suggestions and I had to share it What Happens When You Stop Trying to Draw Properly? With illustrator Shoo Rayner It's just really lovely. He takes his sketchbook for a walk along the canal and talks about embracing the flaws, and how sketching isn't supposed to be perfect. It's there to help you look at what's around you and maybe jog your memory later. He draws the same swan over and over, puts a dog next to a slice of cake, and draws a coffee cup from two angles at once, and he's completely happy with all of it. He's basically giving you permission for things not to be perfect, and to just enjoy it. 🦢 Well worth 5 minutes of your time. ☕ 💬 Once you've watched it, tell me what stayed with you. Has it changed how you think about your own sketchbook?

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 ✨ 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿. 👉 Head to the classroom here for more info: 👉 Watch the short video ❤️ Then share what you can below 👇 The whole image, a tiny piece of it, or just type "done" if you're not ready to share ❤️. ❤️ All count. ------- ------- ------- @Joseph Zairo @Martii Gudim @Kelly Dummettt @Vitina Porrett @Iris Van der Pol @Zoe Dawes @Richard Winn @S C @Amy Storch @Karla Hampton @Vesta Masion @Kate Korinkova @Mette Nielsen @Juana Abregú @Hanna Bandana @Martha Murdaca @Christopher Kelf @Lyn Hunter @Karen Newing @Maxine Taylor @Kim Vollmerhausen @Emelie Karin Larsdotter Backman @Rachel McMullin @Jemma Richmond-Murray @April Garcia @Wayne H Hilliard @Flip Cook @Deborah Indorf @John Estock @Art Maker @Steph Steph @Christine Vella @Sharon Waite