Day 60 of sketching people. An erratic collection of people sketching today, including speed portraits from the Drawing is Free zoom event online, with collage and using my photo booth format. A timed portrait from a YouTube video. And a sketch from a photo of a fellow sketcher, using a distorted perspective to make the sketch more dynamic.

Day 59 of sketching people. A reportage sketch with a restaurant bill as some collage fodder, and a Valentine’s Day Poem to develop a story around a scene I only saw for a couple of minutes. Sometimes you need to invent your own story, when you have no idea what’s going on.

Day 58 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. A visit to the Tavira Municipal Museum with the Urban Sketchers Algarve chapter of the Urban Sketchers Org. A warm-up sketch of Tavira rooftops and washing line, and while other sketchers were sketching the Tile Exhibition, I focused on sketching my fellow sketchers.

Day 57 of sketching people. Pencil Sketches during the Pencils4tea speed sketching event on zoom, where every pose is the length of a music track.

Day 57 of sketching people. A visit to a local bar in Cabanas to sketch in the sunshine to sketch groups of people, to practice compositions with a group of people. And also try out a new sketchbook format in the shape of a photo booth strip of images.

Day 54 of sketching people. Drawing is Free speed sketching event on zoom. Sketched a series of portraits, where every pose is the length of a music track. Experimenting with pencil gesture sketch, ink, and tonal shading. Also sketched urban sketchers who are hosting workshops at Toulouse in July.

Day 53 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. A quick jaunt down to a neighbourhood bar to urban sketch a couple sitting outside, huddled up against the weather on a chilly Sunday afternoon. This sketch taught me a couple of valuable lessons about ink lines and the use of colour.

A blind contour sketch of Urban Sketcher and Illustrator Lis Watkins, to illustrate this post about her sketchbook Tour of Toulouse, where she uses bright and vibrant colours to capture the essence of this French city that’s hosting the new Urban Sketchers Symposium in 2026

Day 52 of 365 Days of Sketching People. A couple of urban sketches of people in Tavira, and the sketches I did while attending two tutorials about sketching people with distorted proportions and perspectives.

Day 51 of sketching people and portraits at a local clinic. Using gesture sketches, and added ink lines and watercolour. Created colour harmony with a vivid colour triad opera pink, hansa yellow light, and phthalo blue. Used the colour to create a visual hierarchy within the page layout.

Day 49 of sketching people. Drawing is Free 8am speed sketching event on zoom. Sketched a series of portraits, where every pose is the length of a music track. Experimenting with colour pencil and biro sketches, as well as fineliner and watercolour. Simple lines, gesture sketches, and loose watercolour.

Day 48 of sketching people. Used the daily prompt from Urban Sketchers Org to sketch a couple of Toulouse-inspired sketches to minimise being overwhelmed by sketching complex buildings. Also a selection of ink sketches with tonal shading.

Day 47 of sketching people, a busy day at the Tavira second hand market, municipal market, and at a nearby café. Also sketched my uber driver going there and coming back. Different people sketching styles, and some interesting perspectives and colour choices.

Day 46 of sketching people. A visit to the Tavira Plaza to sketch groups of people in the cafe, to practice gestural sketching in pencil, before adding ink and watercolour. I also sketched portraits at the weekly Pencils4tea speed sketching event on zoom. Experimenting with ink lines with bleed.

Day 45 of sketching people. Sketches of Suhita Shirodkar, an urban sketchers who is presenting a lecture and demo at the next Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse.

Day 42 of Sketching people in ink and watercolour. Three urban sketches capturing daily observation commentary at Faro Airport in Portugal. Experimenting with reportage by adding text to two of the sketches, and a short poem about my urban sketching experience at the airport.

Day 41 of sketching people. Sketches of Delphine Zigoni, Len Grant, and Rita Sabler, three urban sketchers who are presenting a lecture at the next Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse.

Day 40b A collection of portraits sketched at the weekly Pencils4tea speed sketching live zoom event, using colourful backgrounds with tonal sketched portraits.

Day 40a of sketching people. A collection of sketches of instructors who are hosting workshops at the next Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse. Sketched from their promo videos

Day 38 of sketching people in ink and watercolour consisted or drawing portraits. A speed sketching session with Dylan Sara on zoom, and a Drawing Earthsworld Challenge on Facebook. I experimented with adding colour backgrounds to the portraits.

The output for Day 37 of sketching people was a trio of portraits. A Dylan Sara 10 minute live stream on YouTube, a Drawing Earthsworld Challenge on Facebook, and a small sad self-portrait because I missed my speed sketching event tonight. I also look at the Envelope Method of sketching portraits.

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.

Day 35 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. Sketched from a travel photo from El Rompido, and from a couple of video freeze frames to create blind contour portraits. I also sketched along to a Dylan Sara Faces tutorial and captured some useful notes to bear in mind when sketching anything.

Despite finalising my urban sketching watercolour palette in 2025, and vowing not to change it. I needed a replacement for New Gamboge, and did a pigment assessment of the other yellows I have on hand, to see if one of them would be a good replacement. Turns out Permanent Yellow Deep is a much better warm yellow to have in my palette, and here’s why.