Apple-Pine: Workshop

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Toulouse, France 2026: Trip to the Urban Sketchers Symposium and a few days around It. Part 5: Japanese Garden

I did my demo for the Urban Sketchers Symposium at the Japanese Garden (Jardin Japonais Pierre Baudis), but since it was so close to the hub and such a wonderful place to visit and sketch, I ended up going there several times! To draw the large metal steampunk sculpture of the dragon sitting in the lovely duck-infested waters (Tholus the dragon, by Tom Petrusson), to draw in preparation for my demo (second image), and to draw with friends while being chased from the grass by the garden worker! (ducks visited us there too :)

Toulouse, France 2026: Trip to the Urban Sketchers Symposium and a few days around It. Part 4: Rooftops

After the Symposium, there were opportunities to go further from the hub and sketch in more unusual places. One of my favorite ways to see a new city is to find a good rooftop view! I had some wonderful company to sketch with in both places and used my gouache kit (see post about my trip tools) and some pencils over it.

Toulouse, France 2026: Trip to the Urban Sketchers Symposium and a few days around It. Part 2: Demo

Each of the Faculty Members at the Urban Sketchers Symposium was giving a demo on the first day of workshops. Unfortunately, all the demos were happening at the same time, so there was no chance to attend demos of the fellow symposium teachers (and there were so many I wanted to see!!). My location was in the Japanese Garden in Toulouse and I managed to find a spot with at least some shade for both myself and all who came to watch me paint.

My workshop was in black and white; however, my demo was in full color and mixed media - mostly in gouache - but with some addition of colored pencils and such. It ran a little bit over an hour. I started by explaining my tools set-up and then jumped into the scene. Painting and keeping a commentary running during each step and brushstroke is different from just painting, but I enjoyed the experience, comments, and questions from the demo participants. And I ended up with gouache-hands (see photo below), a piece that I enjoyed, and it was later auctioned at the Symposium and a dear friend got it!

Trip to Toulouse, France, 2026: Urban Sketchers Symposium and a few days around it.
Part 1: My Workshops.
Part 2: My Demo.

Toulouse, France 2026: Trip to the Urban Sketchers Symposium and a few days around It. Part 1: Workshops.

My Workshop at the USk Symposium was titled "Think Like a Printmaker: puzzle together landscapes with simple stencils and exciting textures." I found a lovely place under a bridge on the Canal De Brienne and ran this workshop three times during the Symposium. Shadow and a little bit of cool from the water were very welcome as it was HOT in Toulouse. We got to wave to occasionally passing boats and made space for bikes and runners.

Three very different and amazing groups of artists joined me in making a library of textures (made with the little printmaking kit that participants got to take home). We dove into the world os masks and stencils and how to think about any scene with a printmaking mind. And then we all took on a view of another bridge down the canal - with all the knowledge in hand. The results were very inspiring to see and learn from!

Workshop 1

Workshop 2

Workshop 3

Trip to Toulouse, France, 2026: Urban Sketchers Symposium and a few days around it.
Part 1: My Workshops.
Part 2: My Demo.

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 2 - Workshop View.

I found a perfect location for my workshop right in front of the Edmonds Waterfront Center, and then found a couple of slightly different angles, and tried to sketch it several times before doing it with all the participants. I also sketched it for the back of my name tag, as a little memento for the organizers about this year's Sketcher Fest - I do not have a scan of it. Then I sketched the same view with my group while explaining all the steps, making mistakes, and showing how to correct them. And then I sketched the same view after the event. Can you guess the order?

Seattle 2025: Sketcher Fest Edmonds - Part 1 - My Workshop.

It was my absolute pleasure to be one of the Guest Artists at the Sketcher Fest Edmonds this year!

The weekend spent with so many great sketchers was amazing and I will make several posts about it as there were too many wonderful meetings, overlaps, and connections. But officially for me as an Guest Artist the weekend contained one workshop on Saturday (mine was "Printmaking on the Go: Wild Textures Tamed with Stencils"), one Artist Talk - I gave a 45 minute presentation on the topic of "Extreme Travel Sketching: What to Bring and How to Survive" where I talked about how I sketch while scuba diving a lot. And there was a day at the sketchbook fair where all the guest artists had a table where they were sharing original sketchbooks with visitors. And they were available for answering questions, commenting, etc. In short, it was AMAZING and I would love to attend one of these events myself!! (Being a guest artist meant that between teaching, manning my table, and giving a talk, I could not do all the questioning, nosing, looking, and asking that was available for the attendees).

Now that you know a little bit about the event, here are some photos from my workshop. I was honored to have an amazing artist, Virginia Hein, as my class volunteer! She took all of these pictures and was a wonderful support on many levels - not to mention that she created an amazing poster for the Festival this year!

I had a fantastic group of students who enthusiastically dove with me into the world of making textures on location. We had an inspiring view, perfect weather, and shared the experience of learning a ton as we captured a view at a pier and across the Puget Sound in our sketchbooks. Would do this again in a heartbeat!

Testing Some Sketch Kit and Exercise Ideas for a Workshop

I am preparing for an upcoming workshop with wonderful Suhita and Uma in Asilomar (I will make a more detailed post with more info soon). An important thing to know about it - we ran it in 2022 and had so much fun and good feedback that we are running it again this year. Original idea was to repeat the curriculum in general - but after some conversations between us all three realized that there are so many new ideas that we could not just let it be the same! And so we are working on making a portable sketch kit to give to all participants and a bunch of new exercises to show our three different ways of mark-making, texture exploration, and the general joy of finding patterns in what we see and choose to sketch.

A few days ago we met to try some of the exercises - there was a lot of laughter, some singing, and amazingly little ink spillage but some fingers got dirty - especially when I realized that I want to add gouache to my stencils and try some things that went beyond what I planned!

We will see how much of this will stay in the final curriculum - but for now - lots and lots of experiments with different tools to add texture and make unique marks!

Deck of Textures workshop is now open!

Uma Kelkar, Suhita Shirodkar, and I are hosting a fully-immersive weekend workshop in February 2022 in Asilomar on the Pacific Coast. This breathtaking location will be the inspiration for a weekend of playing with texture, mark-making, experimental printmaking, and collage.

Everything is included - from lodging and food (with attention to dietary restrictions) to sketching materials and a schedule packed with demos and working side-by-side.

Learn more about DECK OF TEXTURES here:
https://www.umakelkar.com/shop/deck-of-textures/

Would You Like to Sketch Together in a Majestic Pacific Ocean Coast Retreat?

This will be a two-day on-location immersive sketching experience. Suhita Shirodkar, Uma Kelkar, and I are teaming up for a special workshop where you will get to experiment with lots of new materials and techniques - and all this is happening in Asilomar - in a wonderful "Refuge by the Sea" on the coast of Pacific Ocean, near Monterey, CA.

Read more about the Deck of Textures Workshop (instruction, lodging, food, and supplies included) and let us know if you are interested.

NEW CLASS (USk 10x10 series)

I am very excited to be teaching another gouache class this summer. Urban Sketchers has a wonderful series of classes (designed to introduce people to lots of techniques at a VERY affordable price) and I am honored to be part of the SF Bay Area team of instructors. Though many of the instructors are actually visiting from different parts of the USA and the world - which is even more exciting!

Here is more information about all the classes:

The 10x10 Urban Sketching Workshop Series 2020

Class: People Alive!

Instructor: Suhita Shirodkar

Date: Saturday, 30th May, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/97639017931

Class: The Dance of Line and Color

Instructor: Virginia Hein

Date: Saturday, June 6, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-dance-of-line-and-color-tickets-98859979861

Class: Sketching and Sharing Your Travel Moments

Instructor: Bill Russell

Date: Saturday, June 13, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sketching-and-sharing-your-travel-moments-tickets-98717305117

Class: Umbrella Perspective

Instructor: Paul Heaston

Date: Saturday, June 20, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/umbrella-perspective-june-20-2020-tickets-99071083277

Class: Travel sketchbook: How to tell the stories of your trips near and far

Instructor: Oliver Hoeller

Date: Saturday, June 27, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/san-francisco-travel-sketching-weekend-tickets-98590562025

Class: Watercolor Sketching in the Golden City

Instructor: Rob Carey

Date: Saturday, July 11, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/watercolor-sketching-in-the-golden-city-tickets-98814780669

Class: Hacks for Sketching Faces

Instructor: Laurie Wigham

Date: Saturday, July 18, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hacks-for-sketching-faces-tickets-98334496125

Class: Wearing Colored Lenses

Instructor: Farah Irani

Date: Saturday, July 25, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wearing-colored-lenses-tickets-98541451133

Class: Sketching With Watercolor, Outside the Lines

Instructor: Richard Sheppard

Date: Saturday, August 1, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sketching-with-watercolor-outside-the-lines-tickets-98968957817

Class: Being Transparent and Opaque: Add gouache to your watercolor sketches

Instructor: Nina Khashchina

Date: Saturday, August 15, 2020

More info and Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/being-transparent-and-opaque-add-gouache-to-your-watercolor-sketches-tickets-98700892025

And here is a PDF with all the information about all the classes in one neat package:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oorapi94s61sbrv/2020-usk-10x10%20SFBA%20FINAL5.pdf

Upcoming Workshop: Draw From History. June 10, 11, and 12, 2020 Virginia City, NV

I will be teaching a workshop with Suhita Shirodkar and Gay Kraeger again!

Sketching Trio presents:

Draw From History

June 10, 11, and 12, 2020

Virginia City, NV

Virginia City is a small historical town packed with unique colors, textures, amazing nature and filled with history.

We are bringing all the materials to make your sketchbook and fill it with people, nature, and notes.

We will work with ink, watercolor, and gouache.

Gay, Suhita and I will be teaching in the morning and afternoon. There will be instruction and work side-by-side, train rides, mine and graveyard visits, people sketching and sharing of tips and tricks to keep your joy of sketching going long after the class is over.

More details and registration are here:

https://www.watercolorjournaling.com/virginia_city.htm

Please note: there is a discount if you register before April 15th.

Sketching Trio at the Channel Islands National Park

From August 25th till 28th I had an adventure. A bunch of sketchers and some non-sketching companions came to California Channel Islands National Park with the Sketching Trio: Gaye Kraeger, Suhita Shirodkar and myself.

We spent three days on the boat with short excursions onto the islands. We hiked, learned about the history of the place, kayaked, snorkeled, made friends, observed wildlife, shared knowledge.
We sketched, drew, painted, and journaled during all three days - on the boat and the shore. And even some in the water.
The boat and crew provided us with a place to sleep, delicious food, companionship, and a unique opportunity to see the Channel Islands National Park. Our requests were met with a smile and eagerness to make it the best trip possible. I felt well taken care of.
What I try to remember most about this trip is that feeling of sharing a unique, pristine place with a bunch of people that enjoyed doing what they were doing.
The boat's name was "Conception". It was its last trip before the one that ended in tragedy on September 2nd, 2019.
Right now it feels like this trip was in a different life, in a different world. I did not know if I should post this. What for. Why. But then I did.
I would like to show you some of the sketches from this trip. Share a tiny bit of that beautiful place in a spirit of doing what I love and sharing it with others.
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Map drawn on the evening when we all gathered in Santa Barbara:

Life on the boat did not agree with me but with some medicine and care, I got better. At first, all I could do was some blind contour or very quick sketches - without taking my eyes off the horizon. Click on the image to see it larger and perhaps you might be able to read some of the blindly-written things too.

I could not paint on the boat during the first two days and only an example of my fellow sketchers and their continuing support got me to do a couple of watercolors on day three.