Photo: Urban Sketch at a Cafe

Day Six of my 365 Day Sketch Challenge

Continuing with day five of my #Kick365 sketching challenge to draw people in ink and watercolour. Today I ventured outside to sketch people from life at a cafe, and in a supermarket.

It was pouring down with rain, and it just felt too dim and dark to get inspired to paint in my studio, so I hopped in an Uber and went to the Tavira Plaza Mall to sketch people.

Urban Sketching People at the Mall

Sketching at the Cafe

There’s a couple of cafes in the mall, but I’m used to going to the one outside the Continente supermarket. There’s usually a good collection of people there, but enough tables that I can usually find a seat. They’ve renovated recently, and I’m not keen on the new layout. It doesn’t seem as open, or as easy to get a good view of a lot of tables at once.

But I managed to find a seat where I could sketch a couple by the coffee machine, and a couple of people sitting by themselves.

I used to feel I had to sketch all the objects near the people I was sketching, but I’ve realised that sometimes these elements don’t add much to the story, so I just leave them out.

I did sketch part of the table because it illustrates the location as a cafe. But I didn’t draw the chairs, because they’d be too distracting, and I didn’t feel they were a critical aspect to the story I was trying to convey.

Adding a Poem to my Reportage

I had some space left on the page, so added a location title, and wrote a little verse about my outing.

A rainy day and I'm stuck inside.
I need to find a place to hide.
So off I trot to a mall nearby.
Inside again, but nice and dry.
Don't go to spend without a care,
I go to sketch a stranger there.

Sketching at the Tills

After the cafe, I went and sat on the floor outside the bookshop “Note”, and did some gesture drawings of customers packing their bags and paying for their shopping.

Most of these gesture drawings didn’t come out that well, but I do love the first one I did (far left). I managed to capture her gesture, and the gentle lean of her body and she was doing battle with the card machine.

How I Approached Today’s Urban Sketching People

Sometimes I go out with a full urban sketching art kit with paints, brushes, and water etc. But when my urban sketching is in conjunction with another activity, I’ll just take a small A6 sketchbook, and a couple of pens.

• Hahnemühle A6 Sketchook (210gsm)
• Black Uni-ball eye (Fine)
• Black Staedtler pigment liner 0.05

I sketched the figures at the mall using my ink pens, and then finished them off in watercolour when I was back in my studio.

I’d sketched a couple of tables with objects on them, but left these as ink line sketches so as not to distract from the colourful figure drawings. This diversity of line drawing against colour helps to add an element to depth to a sketch.

What’s the Story in your Urban Sketch?

In urban sketching, one of the main aspects of it is to tell a story. This means capturing the scene as an experience, not just trying to sketch your photorealistic version of the it.

Sometimes a scene tells a big story, and other times it’s a focal point that conveys a small story. Your story is a way to create a connection with what you’re drawing. My approach is to look at what interests me in a scene, and that area of interest is what drives me to sketch it.

The Story in my Urban Sketches

In the sketch of the couple, the man seemed to be looking for attention, but the lady was ignoring him. I couldn’t see her, so I don’t know if she was eating or playing with her phone. She was taking up a lot of space, but he seemed to be shrinking into himself, but their knees were touching under the table.

In the sketch of the man, he looked so sad and lonely, and he was bundled up in lots of layers to keep warm. I didn’t draw an empty chair next to him, but I wanted to convey his alone-ness by showing only one glass on the table.

In the sketch of the woman, I did draw the back of the chair because I wanted to sketch her backpack. I felt like she was waiting for a friend to arrive, and had her chair on the bag to save it for her friend.

People Watching

I love people watching. Even when I don’t plan on sketching them. There’s always these little microcosms of activity happening around you, and it’s fun to invent or imagine scenarios the people are enacting. It’s a good habit to get into, so that when you are sketching, it’s easier to concoct your story before you start sketching.