Explaining my self studying method to prepare myself for painting animals from life this year. I share my process and thinking by talking through a recent pencil and watercolour sketch I did of the polar bear Hamish. The goal-focused method involves considering the materials, conditions, time constraints, and approaches required when painting a moving animal on location.

After a surprise visit to the Ruskin Collection in Sheffield, and taking my sketchbook out to draw there, I ponder the benefits of observational sketching, developing and artists eye, and creating our own collections of oddities and curiosities for still life studies.