Suggested materials: sketchbook (mixed media or watercolor paper), kneaded eraser, graphite pencil (Val prefers 2B/4B), small jar of waterproof black ink (Val uses Higgins Black Magic), small inexpensive watercolor brush (Val uses a #1 round), fine liner black ink pen (Val uses Micron .03/.05), small painter’s brush (Val uses 1in), small empty container or lid for the ink. Session worksheets and reference photos can be accessed here

Click here and head on over to the Sketchbook Revival Facebook Group. Share your birds!

Val Webb

A former newspaper journalist who found her way into the art studio, Val spent 25 years carving birds, insects and botanicals to create bas-relief clay tiles. These days, she travels the nation’s back roads in a vintage camper to sketch nature (and teach other people to sketch, too). She loves combining colored pencil and gouache to capture small details – the flash of a bird’s eye, the pattern on a butterfly’s wing – but she’s always experimenting with new techniques and materials, as well.
Val’s website is valwebb.com.