Getting Ready For Urban Sketchers Symposium: Part 1

I am two weeks away from being in Toulouse, France (I hope the weather will get a little better), and am in full swing of making lists for my personal sketching adventure as well as for the workshops and a demo that I will be leading. Not much is packed yet, but everyone I asked about what to bring to the Urban Sketchers Symposium said stickers. So I ordered some - they are not here yet, but here are images of what to expect:

Alstroemerias and Reproof for Dynamic Pricing

My local farmer's market used to have a large flower stand, which I quietly (or not so quietly) did not like much. Mostly because there were no prices anywhere, so one had to ask about pricing for every single flower, and I witnessed how the number was going up or down based on who was asking. I am not in favor of dynamic pricing and do not hide it. End of reproof.

But now that the flower stand is gone, and I missed them because even if buying there was not something I frequented, looking at flowers is always a part of my "why" for going to the market :) And then one of the local farms started bringing some flowers - these alstroemerias survived on my table for almost 3 weeks - so this post will have two parts - this is part one. 

Reading Notes: Draw Stronger by Kriota Willberg

Recently, I complained that all the pencil sharpening put me in a position to buy an electric pencil sharpener. Despite the fact that I am enjoying my new toy, this situation brought me back to a book I love and gift and recommend often: 

Draw Stronger: Self-Care For Cartoonists and Other Visual Artists

by Kriota Willberg

Firstly, this book contains actionable things that help me keep my hands working. Stretches, strengthening exercises, and a list of things to check in my work environment/habits.

Secondly, this is a book that is drawn from the first page to the last, and I appreciate it as an illustrator, and as a reader and connoisseur of large projects! 

Thirdly, while writing about all this I went down the rabbit hole and learned about graphic medicine, comics in palliative care, embroidery, and history of sutures and ligatures, and... well, it was a rabbit hole! 

Forced Time Limit on First Sketch (or my trick of Ten-Minute Warm-Up)

Despite the fact that I have been sketching daily for many years now, I know that the first sketch of the day is always somewhat an interesting snapshot of where I am at the moment on many layers of my life. It is usually an attempt to do all at once, and it is simultaneously filled with many emotions and a wish to step away from them and just look intently. It is usually overworked and rushed at the same time. In short, it is often a disaster - which is exactly why I keep my first sketches. Because they are raw and telling, and because it is a record of that day for me, and sometimes there are gems that only I know about in that first sketch. But if I know that I will have time to sketch for a longer stretch of time, it is very useful for me to get the very first sketch out of the way so that I can actually go past being greedy and throwing everything into "my one chance" and actually take time to look and make choices and change my mind and be ok with that all.

On a recent sketching outing with friends, I declared that the first sketch would be 10 minutes only, and I did it with whatever materials I touched first in my sketching bag, which really helped me to get to some very different sketches later. Scroll for process photos (I knew that my sketching companions would have a hard time sticking to 10 minutes so I had time to take photos - with this post in mind - it is possible that stopping earlier would be good idea:).

On My June Sketching Calendar: Egret Rookery

I keep a sketching calendar - it is a simple table where each cell is dedicated to a month and where I keep a list of things I might enjoy sketching that month. My June so far was not how I envisioned it, and I missed a bunch of things, but here is what I did not: an Egret Rookery! It is a very strange place where egrets of all kinds put a few odd sticks between branches of sycamore trees and call them nests. There are snowy and great Egrets, and night and blue herons (though I've seen only one blue heron so far). They walk around the area on the ground and fly around the trees, all this is accompanied by hilarious sounds and growing evidence of the presence of wildlife: remains of uneaten fish and such. I recommend wearing a hat, stretching your neck, being OK with constantly moving subjects, and getting a low ground position if you want to sketch.

I took my friends to see it for the first time, and we sketched for a bit. I am hoping to go again soon - before all the younglings are off the trees. 

Pencil Sharpener Revolution: Introducing Henry

I've been using colored pencils and sharpening them with various sharpeners. (A search on this blog shows that I mentioned my favorite sharpeners several times). And I am sure you know that graphite pencils and color pencils need slightly different approaches to sharpening. 

But recently I realized that if I need to sharpen a bunch pf pencils at the same time, the strain on my wrist is getting to a point of concern. Granted, this is a reason to work on my wrist strength - but on the other hand, having a backup that sharpens various thicknesses of color pencils well and does not send me to the icepack is a sensible parallel solution. Hence - recent purchase - introducing Henry the Pencil Sharpener. 

p.s. I am aware that my pencils might live longer if I skip the electric sharpener, but part of that long life comes from the fact that I would use them less, and my goal is to use them more - and enjoy it. 

Peony Season

I am hoping to find another bouquet of peonies (dare I hope for some late bloomers at Trader Joe's??) but the one I got this year yielded a bunch of sketches:

Drawing Pottery Made By Others and Making Holes in My Sketchbook

I've been sharing my own pottery experiments, but here are some sketches that I made with a very lovely shaped vase and a perfect little bowl - they have a similar color scheme, and I've been enjoying putting them into my still lifes when there is space on my table. I gift all pieces that I make - but these stay with me :) Both of these are sketchbook paintings created mainly with gouache, but also with many little experimental materials - so much that there were some holes in the paper, and I was repairing pages with tape. 

Little Walks That Make Me Happy

Just a few little sketches from little walks here and there:

As California Hills Turn in Summer

California spring is spectacular but quick to pass. What comes after is not less spectacular but much slower changing: the colors grow in complexity and texture, the heat becomes hard to survive, the sounds of insects get louder, birds are quieter, and fragrances envelop you as you walk. This was probably my first summer outing to sketch, and I enjoyed my gouache adventures and great company immensely! 

I Made a Set of Two Vases

I made a set of two vases. It was harder than I thought because at first I thought I made them, and then I had to make them again - they were not a set! And I wanted them to be close relatives. But very different. And these two are :) And they were a gift to two friends of mine - from two different generations, and having these friendships is a gift by itself!

On My Table: Beginning of June 2026

My preparation for my teaching trip to Toulouse for the 14th International Urban Sketchers Symposium is in full swing! Kits for participants of my workshop are ready (I have now started assembling a prayer to the Travel Gods so that my bag will not be lost). My handout is basically ready (though one cannot stop tweaking things, can one?). I am getting my stickers printed and selecting colors for my palette to paint in my free time (I am making bets with myself as to how many sketches I would actually make in between three days of workshops and a demo!).  The rest of the stuff on my table is a story about me drawing people more in May and enjoying a little pouch that has an elastic band and was very helpful for the "quick daw" sketching on the go. I am afraid till the end of July I will be all: Toulouse, Toulouse Toulouse" - apologies in advance - I am so excited for this trip!

Sketchbook as a Reminding Tool

As you know, I enjoy layering things in my sketchbooks - because I like to keep my notes and drawings in chronological order and also because it is a nice way to revisit things. Speaking of revisiting - I realized that I rarely flip through my old sketchbooks, but when I do, it is a lot of fun! I was planning a video flip-through of my winter sketchbook and found these pages. They were little experiments that were happening at a large table filled with beer glasses, teacups, snacks, art supplies, and sketchbooks, bunch of friends talking and working next to each other.
I kept some parts of the larger pages showing to share my joy from all the color conversations that are happening on this page. It reminded me that I have this ochre ink I wanted to play with more, that I am still working on mixing a dark purple, and I promised my friend a gouache stick and I find sculls challenging, macabre but also fun to draw!

 

Spring Garden In a Pot (Table Gardening) - Part 2

This is the second part of the visual story of the table garden (here is the first). 

Despite the fact that I was fascinated by the number of flowers and their day-to-day progress, there was a surprising amount of frustration with this little garden for me! First - it changes so often that you need to allocate a significant part of your day to document it all (which is impossible :) And it is always a tricky thing for me to choose which flowers to paint when there are so many in one bouquet. I hoped to make one large painting with "everything," but did not get to it. My only hope is to find a similar garden-in-a-pot next year :)