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Creative Journaling , Foundational Course , Watercoloring ,

How To Play, Experiment, & Plan With A Watercolor Sketchbook

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Shelby Abrahamsen (Foxsy)

Class Description:

Welcome to How To Play, Experiment, And Plan With A Watercolor Sketchbook! Over the last fifteen years, Shelby Abrahamsen has learned A LOT about working with watercolors. The most important lesson? Understanding the importance of just playing with her paints!

There is so much possibility when it comes to painting loosely and experimenting with watercolors. In this course, Shelby will guide you through getting in the correct mindset, overcoming first-page fear, using your sketchbook to develop your confidence and style, and how to plan paintings with rough sketches and thumbnails.

So stick around to see how a watercolor sketchbook can unlock your painting skills and launch you forward leaps and bounds!

What You Will Learn:

  • How to get in the right mindset for artistic experimentation and play
  • How to conquer first-page fear and make your mark on your page
  • How to plan a painting with rough sketches and thumbnails

Supplies You'll Need:

  • Mixed media sketchbook
  • Watercolor paints
  • Watercolor brushes
  • Two jars of water
  • Cotton rag or paper towel
  • Masking tape (optional)
  • Heat tool (optional)

Class Content

About Instructor

Shelby Abrahamsen (Foxsy)

Shelby is the co-founder of Foxsy and the creator at Little Coffee Fox. She is a professional watercolorist, letterer, and artist with a passion for teaching others to reintroduce creativity back into their lives. Shelby lives in Chicago, IL with her husband Jon and her pets Summer, Basil, and Korra.

217 Classes

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Class Details:

  • 📺On-Demand Course
  • 📊Level: Beginner
  • ⏰Time: 31 Minutes

Class Pass includes:

  • ✓Lifetime Access To Class

Foxsy Membership includes:

Access everything on foxsy, Weekly Live Classes,
and 250+ On-Demand Classes With Foxsy

Plus Academies:

Lettering Academy

15 Courses designed to help you become the letterer of your dreams!

Learn More

Watercolor Academy

You won't find a more comprehensive resource than this!

Learn More

Drawing Bootcamp

6 sections to teach anyone to draw, no matter their skill level!

Learn More
Access Everything With A Foxsy Membership
$29 Monthly or $164 Annually

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Join a thriving community of over 2,300 students, all united by a shared love for creativity. Together, let's paint a brighter, more creative future.

  • Access 299 courses with 350+ hours of content.
  • Work through over 400 lessons and 70+ projects.
  • Access the Watercolor Academy, Drawing Bootcamp, & Modern Lettering Academies.
  • Join weekly live classes.
  • Get personalized feedback on all projects.
  • Get real answers to your questions with Creative Support.
Access Everything Foxsy Has To Offer

Be Part of the Foxsy Revolution

Join a thriving community of over 2,300 students, all united by a shared love for creativity. Together, let's paint a brighter, more creative future.

  • Access 299 classes with 250+ hours of content.
  • Work through over 400 lessons and 70+ projects.
  • Access the Watercolor Academy, Drawing Bootcamp, & Modern Lettering Academies.
  • Join weekly live classes.
  • Get personalized feedback on all projects.
  • Get real answers to your questions with Creative Support.
Access Everything Foxsy Has To Offer

Our Students Love Us

Trusted By Over 2,300 Students Like You

  • “As a total beginner when I started, I’m amazed at the amount of skill and knowledge I gained. There’s a wide variety of courses so you can’t get bored.

    There’s always another challenge in the next class. Really appreciated the personal feedback when I submitted projects.
    Janet G
  • “I loved the Watercolor Academy I learned so much and have developed self-confidence in my ability as a budding "artist "

    (I 'm still getting used to this lol)”
    Gail P
  • "This is excellent.

    As a chronic copier of other people's art, the tips offered here will help me with my own creative process and prevent the block that I feel with "what next"."
    Carol R
  • “The Watercolor Academy was a great experience. I learned so much and was able to get feedback on my projects along the way. I feel like I accomplished something when all was completed.

    I would recommend (and I have) the Foxsy Watercolor Academy to others wanting to try out watercolors or improve on their skills.”
    D Carson
  • "Very fun and informative courses.

    The projects turn out very pretty, and the instructor feedback is quick and helpful."
    Vera C
  • “Very good and useful courses for those that want to start or improve their watercolor skills”
    Boryana
  • "This was so helpful! I loved the way Shelby broke down the basics in a succinct way and tips to use while practicing. Lastly, I appreciated Shelby mentioning that everyone is going to have a unique bounce lettering style.

    As someone who is new to brush lettering in general, I've been copying a lot of what I see. I need that consistent reminder to avoid potential frustration, especially as a beginner!"
    Kelsey
  • "I loved this course. I loved how it showed the lesson and then a project that corresponded with that project.

    The explanations were amazing and helpful and I really felt confident in doing the project. This was probably the best watercolor lesson I've ever taken and enjoyed."
    LG Woods
  • "I really enjoyed this course. Instructions and examples were clear and practical and the feedback was really kind and helpful.

    It has improved my lettering knowledge and given me confidence to keep practicing."
    Nic

Take Advantage of Everything Foxsy Has To Offer

All plans come with a 30-day Money Back Guarantee. Cancel anytime in your dashboard.

Join a thriving community of over 24,000 students, all united by a shared love for creativity. Together, let’s paint a brighter, more creative future.

Monthly Membership

$29 / month
Go Monthly

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Yearly Membership

$164 / year
Go Yearly

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Lifetime Membership

$599 Never pay a subscription fee again.
Get Lifetime Access

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Monthly Membership

$29 / month
Go Monthly

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Yearly Membership

$164 / year
Go Yearly

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Lifetime Membership

$599 Never pay a subscription fee again.
Get Lifetime Access

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support
All plans come with a 30-day Money Back Guarantee.
Cancel anytime in your dashboard.
*All prices displayed in USD

We're getting better every day

Foxsy is an art education platform with on-demand creative courses. It’s designed so you can explore and grow your artistic skills.

The courses contain in-depth lessons and step-by-step projects to fuel your creativity and give you the skills to create your own amazing art.

Here at Foxsy, we are working to build a platform where you can have everything you need to give your creativity everything it needs to thrive.

Right now, we are working on building the best collection of online courses around, so you have everything you need to learn the new skills you've been putting off (or help you dust off some old skills).

We're doing this by working with online creators who have been where you are. Our instructors have all decided to make their creativity a focus of their lives. To devote themselves to exploring their creativity and helping others do the same, and many of them are self-taught. Basically, they get it and can help you no matter where you are.

More than that though, we want to build a space where you feel like your creativity matters. We want to give you a community where you can work to embrace your creativity and give it space in your life.

Eventually, we want to change the world though.

That's a BIG want though isn't it? Well, it's the truth. We're working to make Foxsy a place where creativity thrives not only on an individual level but also a place that helps make the world a more creative place in general.

We want to support local art projects all around the globe, expand access to art education, and show as many people as possible that no matter what they've been told, your creativity matters and should be celebrated.

If this sounds like a world, you'd like to see, sign up and help us build something amazing.

We currently have several courses on watercoloring, lettering, and creative journaling. As we grow our course library month by month, we will continue to expand the range of subjects as well.

Foxsy is adding new classes all the time to make sure you have access to a constantly growing pool of subjects and projects.

Foxsy is a paid membership platform, so you need to sign up for one of our membership plans to access everything Foxsy has to offer.

A Lifetime Membership is a one-time fee that gives you access to Foxsy for life!

No recurring payments, nothing, as long as Foxsy exists you’ll have access to everything on the platform.

Once you are a Foxsy member, you will have access to the entire library of courses, as well as any classes added to the library during your membership.

If you get a membership and decide that Foxsy just isn’t for you, then no worries!

We have a 30-day money-back guarantee. Just shoot us a message and we’ll get your refund processed right away!

Unfortunately, no. When you cancel your membership, you will lose access to any courses you have enrolled in at the end of your membership period. 

For example, if you have a yearly membership that renews on November 1st and cancel your membership on October 10th, you will lose access to all of the courses on Foxsy on November 1st.

If you have any questions, please feel free to message us at [email protected].

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Ratings and Reviews

5.0
Avg. Rating
9 Ratings
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What's your experience? We'd love to know!
Danette Toledo
Posted 3 months ago
Learn a lot about watercolor edges

I truly enjoyed this class ,can’t wait to keep doing this watercolor sketches edge ,so fun ,thank you

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akbradford
Posted 11 months ago
Permission to PLAY

I enjoyed this lesson so much. It really brought home the importance of a few steps that not only refine skills but also builds an intuitive mental space. and the planning process allows a project to grow into something more. I started following an image I was inspired by and now am visualising different ways I could use this technique and reflecting on what I don't like in my draft image.

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linda-f
Posted 2 years ago
A great course to level up

Every lesson was like a step up to the next. Shelby is great at being an ally as well as a teacher to being supportive and truthful in the process. Step by step, she takes the viewer through from general to specific and it's really bite sized information that leads onto the next, it made sense to me. It was great to see her process and her warm, reassuring manner motivates you to succeed!

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Lois
Posted 2 years ago
Plan, plan, plan!

Shelby's planning process is shown in manageable chunks. It makes so much sense and doesn't have to be completed in one sitting. Excellent course!

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fora91day
Posted 3 years ago
Now l Get lt!

I loved this course! I've bought so many sketch books, but thought l should save them for "good" work & did my planning on scraps of paper & notebooks. Thanks for your clear explaining and showing your sketch books! This seems so doable now!

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jgillis1
Posted 3 years ago
Didn't think I needed this - But I Did!

I never start a painting any more without working up a concept in a sketchbook. It also gives me an opportunity to jot down ideas and concepts to use later while I'm not able to paint immediately. You'll find a million reasons to use a sketchbook once you start.

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sailorsu
Posted 3 years ago
Planning is essential even in making art

“This course really helped me. I can't draw. I usually trace a photo then paint it. I took out my almost blank sketch book and forced myself to plan a painting of Barnegat Light. I also wanted to paint our sailboat transiting the inlet. Planning taught me that there can be only 1 focus of the painting. Perspective & proportion issues were also clarified by having to plan.

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Helpful? One person found this helpful.
sunny63
Posted 3 years ago
enjoying

I really enjoyed this course. Short and sweet, yet felt that I really learned a lot!! I agree with the person before me that maybe more time between would be of benefit, or maybe its that I am too hard on myself and a perfectionist and just not up to speed. Also being marked on these courses has me freaked out frankly if I am honest. am not going to be able to submit if I am going to keep up

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jim
Posted 3 years ago
Practice - Practice - Practice

I actually have two sketch books - one only for pencil work so I can practice drawing things and one mixed media for those “things” I need practice with color. For me, the courses are becoming more challenging and I’m feeling frustrated at falling behind. Maybe an additional week to complete the course would have been helpful but then others might get bored if things don’t move faster.

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Helpful? One person found this helpful.
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