A quick people sketch at the cafe, and swatching a muted shade of green, that morphed into a beautiful skin tone shade using natural sienna, cobalt turquoise light, and opera pink. I also ruminate on how I sketch people and how they see themselves, and how those are two very different things when I sketch my version of reality.

Day 91 of urban sketching people at the cafe. Sketched onto a watercolour paper background of coffee stains. I also prepped some page for my next cafe sketching trip, experimenting with different ways to apply the coffee and vary the patterns created.

Day 86 of sketching people. The calm of sketching people at the cafe when you know they’re not going to move much vs. the urgency of sketching people on a bench when you fear they may get up to walk at any minute means you create different line styles. Tight vs. loose.

Urban Sketch of a local washing line I walked back from Conceição to Cabanas on my way back from an…

Day 82, 83, and 84 of sketching people at the cafe, garage, and on the boardwalk. Not a huge output, but took the opportunity of sketching in the cracks of life. Making the most of time I spent waiting around. Better than doom-scrolling.

Day 72 of sketching people. Urban Sketching people at the cafe at the end of the street. Playing around with compositions to leave enough negative space so my sketches can breathe. Also added text, social commentary, and overheard conversations to turn these urban sketches into reportage.

Day 68 of sketching people. Urban Sketching at a local cafe at the end of the street. Combining people sitting in different parts of the cafe together at a table, and experimenting with compositions for a reportage post.

Day 61 of sketching people. Urban Sketching at a cafe, I used a comparison between objects to build a composition and plan the story I want my sketches to tell. Then Urban Sketching at a Pétanque game, where I had to rely on capturing a scene that developed organically into a pleasing composition. On this sketch I also used a collage element to fill some negative space.

Day 36 of sketching people. This sketch is from a photo I took of the water taxi ride from Cabanas Beach to the mainland. I used a continuous line style, and evaluated how I could add more depth to this sketch with colour and line variation.

My practice sketches for creating ink and wash bougainvillea in vibrant watercolour.

Come along with me to Cabanas fishing boat jetty as I explore how to simplify some complex shapes in ink and watercolour.

Sketching seagulls from life isn’t easy. So I think it’s best to capture their character with a loose sketching style. I sketched them walking on the sand at low tide, and dive-bombing the fish that the fisherman were throwing into the water. All Sketching in ink and watercolour.

Doug Jackson boat tutorial exploring the use of different weights of ink lines to create depth.

First attempts at capturing the Cabanas fishing jetty and local seagulls in a fast and loose sketching style.

Sketching our local delivery man transporting potatoes to a local restaurant in Cabanas.

40 days into my 100 day Project and I’m putting what I’ve learnt so far, into my 15-minute building sketches.

30 days into my 100 day Project and I’m putting what I’ve learnt so far, into my 15-minute building sketches.

I keep capturing this little street with different sketching styles. Probably more to come…!

Different approaches I’ve taken to sketching Portuguese boats.

20 days into my 100 day Project and I’m learning how to improve my 15-minute building sketches.

So good to break my people-sketching drought. I much prefer capturing people to buildings, and these people were sketched in local restaurants and cafes.

15 days into my 100 day Project and I’m learning how to improve my 15-minute building sketches.

10 days into my 100 day Project and I’m learning how to improve my 15-minute building sketches.

5 days into my 100 day Project and I’m learning how to improve my 15-minute building sketches.