This week in Watercolor Blooms, I’m painting a pansy with you—and the whole point of this episode is playing with the question: to sketch or not to sketch? I walk through both approaches so you can see what changes when I give myself pencil “guardrails” versus when I just let the brush lead. If sketching makes you feel calmer and more in control, I totally get it. But if sketching makes you freeze up, this is your permission slip to skip it and still get a pretty result. I’m using my Funto sketchbook and a simple pencil setup, then building the pansy with a Daniel Smith palette that’s perfect for those velvety purples and soft greens. I focus on keeping it loose, letting the water do some of the work, and not overthinking every petal edge. The biggest takeaway: both methods are valid—sketching can help placement and proportions, and no-sketch can help you loosen up and find your own flow. Pick the one that makes you want to keep painting.