urban sketch of man on Malia Beach Crete sitting under a yellow umbrella
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Crete Europe Greece

Sketching People on Malia Beach in Crete (Day 158)

Day 158 of sketching people during a trip to Malia Beach on the Greek Island of Crete. A mix of solitary figures on a page, and one compilation that takes a little bit of deciphering because one of my sketch subjects got up and walked away.

Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Athens Europe Greece Lisbon Portugal

Sketching People during our Planes, Trains and Automobiles Adventure to Greece (Day 157)

Two Trains, Two Planes, and a Taxi ride to reach our Greek destination of Crete. I managed a couple of sketches of people I encountered along the journey. I don’t think night flights are ideal for getting a lot of sketching done.

sketcher at Toulouse Airport Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Europe France Toulouse

Flying Home after the Toulouse Urban Sketcher’s Symposium (Day 156)

Flying home from the Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse was one last opportunity to add to my event sketchbook with more sketches of people at the airport and on the plane. It was also a great exploration into mixing monochromatic elements with colour.

Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch at the nail salon capturing some of the conversation I overheard
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Cabanas de Tavira Europe Faro Portugal Tavira

Urban Sketching People in Different Locations (Day 153-155)

Continuing on with day 153-155 of my #Kick365 sketching challenge to draw people in ink and watercolour. Three day’s of sketches in different locations, and different approaches for capturing the story in the sketch by capturing overheard conversations and using some poetic reportage.

Group photo of the Peter Rush demo at the USk symposium in Toulouse
Posted in Art Room Europe France Toulouse

Toulouse Urban Sketcher’s Symposium Demonstration with Peter Rush – It’s Not Beautiful Why Did You Draw That?

At the Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse I attended the Peter Rush demonstration to experience his method of capturing s street scene that includes adding in, rather than ignoring, street signs, traffic lights, posts, recycle bins, and other street furniture and urban elements that give the street it’s personality. I took inspiration for this style of sketching along onto Saturday’s Sketch Crawl in Toulouse, and have started to use it now that I’m back home.

The throw down at the Dan Archer workshop at the USk Toulouse
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Europe France Toulouse

Sketching Sketcher’s and People at the USk Symposium in Toulouse (Day 148-152)

The Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse was a four day event and I sketched people every day during the workshops, lectures, and demonstrations, as well as while I was exploring the streets of Toulouse.

Ink and Tombow speed Sketch of a page of portraits during the Drawing is Free Zoom Session with Chloe
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Speed Sketching Portraits with Drawing is Free (Day 147)

Day 147 of sketching people during a speed sketching Zoom event hosted by Chloe at Drawing is Free. Using a limited set of art materials, so that I focused on the line and shade rather than colour.

Veronica Lawlor at her workshop at the Urban Sketcher's Symposium in Toulouse
Posted in Art Room Europe France Toulouse

Toulouse Urban Sketcher’s Symposium Workshop with Veronica Lawlor – Sketching Joie de Vivre in the Pink City

My second workshop at the Toulouse Urban Sketcher’s Symposium with Veronica Lawlor which was all about reportage and capturing stories with your sketches. We did warm up exercises to familiarise ourselves with the area using vignettes and thumbnails, and let our stories evolve organically from the elements that interested and intrigued us.

Urban Sketch Throw down at the Dan Archer Workshop in Toulouse
Posted in Art Room Europe France Toulouse

Toulouse Urban Sketcher’s Symposium Workshop with Dan Archer – Mind Your (Body) Language

My first workshop at the Toulouse Urban Sketcher’s Symposium with Dan Archer which was all about sketching people. We did warm up exercises of sketching people, and then went to the Victor Hugo market to sketch people with overheard conversations.

three people waiting at the departure gate in Lisbon to board the Toulouse plane.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Europe Faro France Lisbon Portugal Toulouse

Travel Day to the 2026 Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse (Day 146)

Day 146 of sketching people during my travel day to the Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse. Including some sketches with some poetic reportage, and some using a limited colour palette.

Ink and Watercolour sped Sketch of a page of portraits during the Drawing is Free Zoom Session with Chloe
Posted in Art Room

Speed Sketching Portraits with Drawing is Free (Day 145)

Day 145 of sketching people during a speed sketching Zoom event hosted by Chloe at Drawing is Free. Using a limited palette to explore the impact of colour on feeling and mood of a portrait.

Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch of two ladies at the cafe, both on their phone.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Conceição Europe Portugal

Urban Sketches of People at the Cafe (Day 143 and 144)

Day 143 and 144 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. I seem to have a penchant for sketching people on their phones. In one sketch I added some poetic reportage, and in the other sketch I used a limited colour palette and sketched my version on the background scene.

The back of my watercolour cards with a self portrait made with a lino cut print.
Posted in Art Room Europe France Toulouse

Creating Portrait-sized Watercolour paper for sketching people in Toulouse

I’ve created a set of small watercolour canvases for portraits I do on location. They’re only 8cm x 6cm, and ideal for doing loose quick sketches to give to the subjects I sketch. On the back is a linocut self portrait I created last year.

Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch of people at the cafe.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Urban Sketches of People at the Cafe using a Limited Palette for Colour Harmony (Day 142)

Day 142 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. Experimenting with using a bright and a desaturated green from Manganese Blue Hue, to create some colour harmony in my cafe sketches.

Homage to Eddie Cool Monk's Style
Posted in Art Room

Eddie Cool Monk Sketching Self-Portraits in Comic Strip Style

Getting layout inspiration from Eddie Cool Monk’s comic strip style sketches and layout. I look at some of his different shading and colouring techniques and assess the impact they have on the page layout and feel.

Father and son on their phones at the cafe during dinner. Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Urban Sketch and Poem of People at the Cafe on their Phones (Day 141)

Day 141 of sketching people in ink and watercolour, and a short poem to add some social commentary to the scene of a father and son, sharing a meal together, but not sharing a moment of interaction with each other.

Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch of a man at a cafe on a hot day drinking beer. He has red cheeks. And there's a short poem with social commentary.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Urban Sketch and Poem of a Thirsty Man at the Café (Day 140)

Day 140 of urban sketching people, this time a man with flushed cheeks trying to hydrate with beer. I added a little bit of poetic reportage to add some additional “colour” to the sketch.

drawing is free speed sketching portraits. portraits in ink and watercolour
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Speed Sketching Portraits with Drawing is Free (Day 139)

Day 139 of sketching people during a speed sketching Zoom event hosted by Chloe at Drawing is Free. Using an unrealistic limited palette to explore the impact of colour on feeling and mood of a portrait.

Golfer on the driving range swinging a club, Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Sketch on the Driving Range using a Colour Triad (Day 138)

Day 138 of sketching people in ink and watercolour, painted using a colour triad I’ve been exploring. As i watched MOH on the driving range, I took a photo, and then sketched the figure from the photo. But sketched the landscape from reality.

Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch at the IMT in Faro. of two people dealing with a driving licence exchange
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room Europe Faro Portugal

Urban Sketch Portrait and Poetic Reportage (Day 137)

Day 137 of sketching people. Urban sketch of men at the IMT office in Faro, with some poetic reportage as social commentary to illustrate the scene, and make the story about the make-shift “Silence” sign.

urban sketch of a person on the phone with a small poem to convey the story of this Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Urban Sketch Portrait with Analogous Colour Palette and Poetry (Day 136)

Day 136 of sketching people. Urban sketch of a woman on the phone, using a bright colour triad and an analogous colour combination. Also added some poetic reportage, and sketched oversized hands to help to create a strong focal point in this composition.

Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch at the cafe using an analogous colour palette and spot complimentary colour. And a poem about the scene in handwritten text.
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Cafe Urban Sketch using Analogous Colour Palette and Speed Sketching Portraits with Pencils4Tea (Day 134)

Day 134 of sketching people. Speed sketching with Pencils4tea onto collaged paper with Portuguese text, and an urban sketch at a cafe using analogous colour palette from a bright colour triad, and a complimentary colour for balance.

Ink and Watercolour Urban Sketch at cafe of a man in a turquoise tee shirt with a pastel de nata
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Cafe Urban Sketch and Portrait Sketching using colour contrast (Day 133)

Day 133 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. Urban sketch at a local cafe of a man with a pastel de nata, and a portrait sketch of Koosje Koene using a limited colour palette inspired by Ludivine Alligier’s tutorial about creating contrast with colour and text. Both sketches with some poetic reportage.

drawing is free speed sketching portraits. portraits in ink and watercolour
Posted in 365 Days of Sketching People #3 Art Room

Speed Sketching Portraits with Drawing is Free and Drawing Earthsworld Challenge (Day 132)

Day 132 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. Continuing with a Sailor Fude pen to vary the line weight. Also did the Drawing Earthsworld daily portrait hosted on Facebook.