Low Stakes: Lovely Pages
Make room for fun in your sketchbook
A fun beginner friendly one-hour sketchbook class to loosen up, lower the pressure and enjoy making for fun again.
A fun accessible sketchbook class to help lower the stakes and make creating fun.
Relaxed and fun
Low Stakes: Lovely Pages is a relaxed, short session which invites you to make two fun pages in your sketchbook, each featuring a vase or jug of blooms. We’ll start with just two pens and expand into playful, mixed-media layering. It’s light. It’s playful. It’s doable. And it’s designed to help you reconnect with your sketchbook, without any pressure.
You’ll work from reference photos (I’ll supply some but you are also invited to use your own), not to copy. Instead, you’ll explore how to follow what feels good, not what looks perfect.
This isn’t about mastering florals or finishing perfect pages. It’s about getting back into rhythm with small decisions, loose layers, and pages that unfold as you go.
You’ll Make:
A bold, limited-palette sketchbook page with just two pens
A second, more layered page using watercolour and your favourite mixed media
Both inspired by simple plant or flower photographs used as springboards, not templates
This is a class for experimenting. For responding. For loosening the grip of your inner critic and making a couple of pages just for fun.
You’ll learn:
Why repetition builds creative confidence
How reference images can support intuition, not stifle it
Simple ways to balance a page without overworking
How to tune into your creative rhythm and follow it
This class is simple.
On purpose.
We begin with just two pens one light, one dark. That’s enough to get started.
Then, once the pressure has dropped and the page has begun to take shape, we expand to play with watercolour paint, pencils or whatever mixed media you enjoy using.
You don’t need specific materials. You don’t need advanced techniques. You don’t need lots of experience.
This class is for you, if…
You want to re-enter your sketchbook gently
You crave more joy, less pressure in your art
You’re ready to make without overthinking the outcome
You’d love to follow clear, calm video guidance at your own pace
Suggested materials
A sketchbook or even two pieces of paper
A couple of water-based pens or felt tips (one light, one dark)
Mixed media of your choosing: watercolour, pencils, pens
A selection of plant, flower, or vase photos (or use the ones provided)
Now Available as a Standalone Session
This class was first created as part of a limited-time curated art bundle last autumn, where it received wonderfully warm feedback. I’m delighted to now offer it as a standalone session so you can experience it at your own pace.
New!A fun accessible sketchbook class to help lower the stakes and make creating fun.
Access duration:
Students have two full years of access from the date of purchase, plenty of time to revisit, rewatch, and keep exploring at your own pace.
How it works:
Once you sign up, you’ll get instant access to the class hosted right here on my website. You’ll set your own password and can return to the classroom anytime via the login page.
Watch the whole thing in one go or dip in whenever you need a gentle creative nudge. It’s fully self-paced and designed to flex with you.
Payment + currency info:
The class costs £20
You can pay via credit card, debit card, or PayPal.
All payments are in British Pounds (GBP), but the class is open to students worldwide.
If you're paying in a different currency, your payment provider will handle the conversion. I’ve been lucky enough to welcome students from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and beyond.
Money-back guarantee:
If for any reason this class isn’t right for you, you’re covered by my 14-day, no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. I want you to feel completely confident in joining.
About your teacher
I’m Helen Wells, an award-winning full-time artist and author of Expressive Sketchbooks: Developing Creative Skills, Courage and Confidence (Quarry Books, 2020). I’ve taught thousands of students, and my work has appeared in exhibitions, books, magazines and creative spaces around the world.
I believe that sketchbooks are one of the most powerful tools for finding creative confidence. I love helping people return to art-making with more trust, more joy and more of their own voice.