Teresa Watts

Charcoal portrait

2026-08-02T00:00:00Z

Charcoal on paper. Started and finished at Stephanie Sheppard's studio in our one-on-one art class. She's a great teacher!

Those hands nearly broke me though. At first they reminded me of the hotdog hands in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

First hour of progress

At this point I realised I'd have to erase half the face and a hand because it was all too wide.

Reference comparison - not a perfect likeness, but I don't mind it

Similar work:

Letters 19

2026-08-02T00:00:00Z

Hi there,

Another letter so soon! Maybe this will become a monthly thing? We shall see.

Just a quick on to say that I have a painting in an exhibition for the first time! The Piccolo community exhibition is running from 29 July to 15 August at Inglewood Arts Hub, where I will also doing some volunteer work on the website and hanging out in the gallery. Although my painting is small (all of the 163 artworks in this exhibition are under 20x20cm), it's still a big step up from working in my tiny sketchbooks and feels like a big step up as an artist. I'll be on gallery attendant duty the mornings of Fridays 7 and 14 August if you want to drop by when I'm there.

All the artworks are displayed anonymously until sold, but since mine was sold on the opening day (!!!) I can share it with you here.

Watercolour quinces *20x20cm Watercolour on Laquarelle paper*

Now that I've had a taste of this and some more conversations with exhibiting artists, I want to do more! I haven't figured out where this will go yet, but that's never really stopped me.

Sort of relatedly, I've been having such great conversations and shared experiences with other creative people in my life recently - away from any screens. It feels to me like this is very necessary at this point in time, where digital and frictionless experiences seem to dominate, to do something real and tactile and with other people. Again I haven't figured out where to go with this - back to running art workshops maybe? Making a zine? Maybe just a community crafternoon? Let me know if any of this is resonating!

Other things

I knitted most of a top and then realised that because I improved in the process, the top (where I started) is quite visibly worse than the bottom. I'm pulling it apart to try again. Still yet to knit anything wearable, but still enjoying the process.
I made some changes to the website, most of which will be invisible to visitors except that navigating between posts is a little easier. I want to write more about Obsidian even though I assume it's quite niche - let me know if that's how you found me and there's something you want to read about.
I did end up erasing half of that Charcoal portrait with hands I sent in the last letter and it's much better for it. Gotta love a medium that allows a do-over (unlike watercolour).

Teresa

P.S. You might also be interested in what I’m up to Now.

Letters 18

2026-07-01T00:00:00Z

Hi there,

I hope you're keeping warm (or cool, if you're one of the few people subscribed who don't live near me!) this season. Here we've just passed the winter solstice and the days are mostly cold and rainy. My courtyard plants are loving life though, and I'm spending as much time as possible working out there when the sun comes through and there isn't enough rain to drip through my pergola and land on my head.

After working intensely on watercolour paintings and a sketchbook from photos of a trip to Singapore, this winter weather has me looking for even cosier hobbies. Every few years I decide to take up knitting or crocheting when the weather is like this - there's just something cosy about sitting on the couch under a blanket, yarn flowing through fingers. This time it's knitting I've returned to, and because it's been so long I've had to buy and learn everything from scratch again.

Every time I pick up knitting again, I'm reminded of why I put it down previously - I'm slow, undisciplined, terrible at keeping count or following instructions. It's kind of freeing being really shit at something though - I have zero expectation of being able to create something usable at this point, and everything is an experiment. So far I have painstakingly made and frogged (pulled apart) two scarves, each of which I started and pulled apart multiple times in the process. I suppose you could consider these failed projects, but I chose to treat these as experiments with the purpose of learning rather than a wearable outcome, so I don't feel bad about the hours "wasted".

So far I have learned continental style knitting/purling, knitting in the round, increases, decreases, casting on and off. I can rescue a dropped stitch, join a new ball of wool yarn just by rubbing the ends together, do wet blocking, and sort of read knitting patterns. I still have yet to make anything that is actually wearable, but it's been a fun journey and a nice way to keep my hands busy whilst thinking. The thinking part is making it worth it, even if I never do manage to finish a project.

Other things:

I'm not using AI for personal writing or art, here's why - I can't believe I need to say this, but everything in this letter and on my website is written/painted with my own human meat hands, not with AI.
I recently finished playing the Lego Voyagers game with my youngest son, the last leg of a whole family effort (it's a collaborative game requiring two players). I never imagined I'd get so emotionally attached to little 1x1 Lego bricks, each with one eye and able to communicate only through singing nonsense. We had a little cry at the end. Some songs of the melancholic soundtrack have earned a place in my chill beats playlist.
This well-researched video on the origins of the "lorem ipsum" filler text is entertaining with a satisfying end.
I'm in desperate need of good podcasts or audio books to listen to whilst knitting, let me know if you have any good ones to recommend! Something not too serious and not about tech.
Currently* on the easel - art homework I’m scrambling to do at the last minute. I’ve just realised I have the face much too wide and need to redo the eye and hand I’ve spent ages on

* easel can't permanently live on the kitchen counter so needs to be brought out when I want to work on this, which might also be why I kept putting it off

You might also be interested in what I’m up to Now.

Sketchbook 16

2026-07-01T00:00:00Z

I started this sketchbook in April 2026 and am almost finished. I had meant to sketch whilst on my family trip to Singapore, but found it too hard whilst travelling. These have all been painted back home based on my photos.

I didn't have high hopes for this Kmart paper that I made the sketchbook from as it's cheap, thin and not made for watercolour. It requires some adjustment (mainly using less water) but holds up impressively for the price.

📖 Homemade sketchbook using Anko (Kmart) Sketch Artist Pad 160gsm paper
🎨 Daniel Smith watercolours
✒️ Sailor Fude pen with D'Atramentis Document Ink in black

I'm not using AI for personal writing or art, here's why

2026-06-24T00:00:00Z

First, a disclaimer. I work as a Lead UX Designer, and do use LLMs and AI assisted features extensively in my day to day work. So if you're engaging with me professionally or are considering doing so - don't worry, I am keeping up with these tools.

I'm just choosing to not use them for personal writing (such as this site), personal communication, imagery or art. Every painting, illustration, page, blog post or letter you see or read on this site is written or made by me personally, without the assistance of AI.

The main reason is that when I consume any piece of media published by a person, I assume it was created by that person unless told otherwise. This was a fair assumption to make most of the time until recently. Yes plagiarism and ghost writers and brands posing as or funding individuals have all been things for a while, but there's usually not much reason to expect that a post on a person's personal blog wasn't written by them - why wouldn't it be? And whilst that means human errors and imperfect writing, it's real and that's the point. Reading a story or looking at a painting or listening to a song is entering a dialog with the author or artist, and even if it is at a distance of time and space it's still engaging with another human being at a human level.

So when I've been reading an email newsletter for a while and then find out that the author is using AI to generate most of it, I feel duped and honestly a little hurt. And although they explained their reasoning and it did make sense (the newsletter was about technology and AI after all), it made me lose interest in their writing entirely. I do read a lot of generated content at work, but I engage with it very differently to content written by humans - more extractive, mining for the useful facts to figure out the true intent behind the AI padding. I'm more likely to seek an AI summary of AI generated content, which I would never do for personal writing - what would be the point?

I hate having to always evaluate what is or isn't real anymore. And I don't want anyone to have to do that when coming to my site or receiving my email newsletters. So please be assured that it's just me behind this site, flaws and all.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

2026-05-22T00:00:00Z

‘I checked it very thoroughly,’ said the computer, ‘and that quite definitely is the answer. I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you’ve never actually known what the question is.’ ‘But it was the Great Question! The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything!’ howled Loonquawl. ‘Yes,’ said Deep Thought with the air of one who suffers fools gladly, ‘but what actually is it?’
Chapter 28

My Husband's Wife, Alice Feeney (book club)

2026-05-22T00:00:00Z

Letters 17

2026-04-24T00:00:00Z

Hi there,

How's the weather where you are? Here in Boorloo/Perth the nights and mornings are starting to get cold, and I've been mending holes in shorts before putting them away and wool knits as I bring them out. I like to paint with natural light where possible, but I've bought myself a daylight easel lamp so I can keep making art on cloudy days and in the evenings.

This year I set myself a project to submit a painting to a local community exhibition. The only criteria for this exhibition are that the artist be more than seven years old, and the painting be less than 20x20cm. This is quite small for a painting, but large compared to my Sketchbooks so it was a nice challenge to do something a bit different.

A piece of art intended for hanging on a wall or on a shelf has a very different viewing experience compared to in my sketchbook. Instead of being at that intimate scale, and mostly private to just me leafing through the pages, a more "complete" piece of art on display needs to make sense at a distance, with other things and maybe other art around it. The composition needs more thought to fit nicely within the chosen frame, and framing is a whole other bag of decisions in itself.

I did a few at this scale to find one that I liked enough to submit, and every single time it went through The Ugly Stage where I felt hopelessly inept and like I was attempting something way beyond my skill level. Every single time I managed to make it work, some more successfully than others. For watercolour it helps to use high quality 100% cotton watercolour paper, which I buy in large sheets and cut down to the sizes I need. This paper is more forgiving than the cheaper mixed media paper I tend to use for sketchbooks, although it takes forever to dry.

Although I started sketching and painting purely for fun, it feels good to be taking it a little more seriously. Making more complete artworks is a challenge I think I was finally ready for.

I have still been working in my sketchbooks too - here's another self portrait from Sketchbook 15.

Other things:

I completed Sketchbook 14 and Sketchbook 15 (quick ones with only a few spreads).
My Books page has been updated with what I've been reading so far in 2026.
This video on how to mend small holes in knitwear has helped me keep a merino sweater looking good for another winter.
I got hooked on Portrait Artist of the Year Australia (on ABC iView). Such a wholesome show and incredible art.

You might also be interested in what I’m up to Now.

Sketchbook 15

2026-04-24T00:00:00Z

I started this sketchbook in March 2026 and completed it in April 2026. It only has a few spreads, as the watercolour paper is quite thick! All photo references were taken by me.

📖 Homemade, using watercolour paper
🎨 Daniel Smith watercolours
✏️ Prismacolor Premier pencils
✒️ Lamy Safari

I Who Have Never Known Men, Jacqueline Harpman

2026-04-22T00:00:00Z

A young woman is raised in an underground bunker along with 39 other female prisoners, and finds her freedom after their captors flee an unknown threat. Desolate and without any satisfying answers, but also beautiful in its sparseness.

Practicing Simplicity (2022), Jodi Wilson

2026-04-22T00:00:00Z

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir (audiobook relisten)

2026-04-22T00:00:00Z

Waking up on a space ship alone with no memories, a school teacher has to figure out who he is, how he got there, and how he's supposed to save Earth, with science. Also there's an alien. And a lot of science.

I haven't had a chance to see the movie yet, so making do with a re-listen to the audiobook. This book is the example I usually give when talking about great ebooks that really use the medium well - I can't imagine how Rocky's musical communication could be captured on paper. The science sometimes gets tedious, but there's enough action and suspense to keep things interesting.

Steal Like An Artist, Austin Kleon

2026-04-22T00:00:00Z

Just a classic, still as relevant today as it was when originally published.

In this age of information abundance and overload, those who get ahead will be the folks who figure out what to leave out, so they can concentrate on what’s really important to them. Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities. The idea that you can do anything is absolutely terrifying.

The Women, Kristin Hannah (book club)

2026-04-22T00:00:00Z

A young and idealistic American nurse signs up for the Vietnam War and discovers things aren't as rosy as the reports they get back home. The war that was supposed to just last a few weeks stretches out for years.

I didn't know much about the Vietnam War, so it was interesting to read about in this historical fiction novel. The main character's experiences as a surgical nurse are horrifying, but of course they include some good times, close friendships and romance too. Things got interesting after her return home, trying to fit back into a society that doesn't respect women's expertise and vilified the veterans of a drawn out war.

Shopping

2026-04-20T00:00:00Z

Still life painted (mostly) from life, watercolour on watercolour paper.

Plant shadows

2026-03-18T00:00:00Z

20x20cm
Watercolour on Laquarelle paper

Watercolour quinces

2026-03-14T00:00:00Z

20x20cm
Watercolour on Laquarelle paper

Steps at John Forrest National Park

2026-03-13T00:00:00Z

20x20cm
Watercolour on Laquarelle paper

Sketchbook 14

2026-03-11T00:00:00Z

I started this sketchbook in October 2025 and completed it in March 2026. I unintentionally skipped doing a sketchbook number 13!

📖 Homemade using Artec Como Sketch Pad 210gsm mixed media paper (pocket sized)
🎨 Daniel Smith watercolours, Winsor & Newton gouache
✒️ Sailor Fude with permanent black ink, Kaweco Sport with permanent sepia ink
🖌️ 1/4 inch dagger brush

Ha Long Bay

2026-03-09T00:00:00Z