Urban sketching is incredibly popular. It's all about connecting with the place you are in. And others love to sketch as they travel or visit new places. But it can be intimidating sketch en plein air, or to put it more simply in public. How do you get started? What happens if someone comes to look over your shoulder? Do you need lots of equipment for urban sketching? I thought I would try to answer all these questions and rather than do it from the comfort of my studio, I am inviting you to join me on location. This sketch took about 45 minutes to do. I've cut out a few little bits but it is pretty much step by step. I am sharing my process in this film. It's all about trying to capture lots of information quickly in case it rains, you freeze to death or someone parks a car in the way. The aim is not to get a perfect picture to put in a frame, but to enjoy the process and connect with the location.

Thanks to son Adam for helping with the filming. You cannot set up an overhead camera by yourself on location! He is my unofficial socialmediaintern for the summer see if you can spot his shadow.... Thanks to the guys in David Hunt Tools for offering me a bench to sit on!!

I am using a Hahnemuhle zig zag book (300gsm watercolour paper): https://tidd.ly/4eTXN3N (Jackson’s affiliate link) https://amzn.to/3RTtZKT (Amazon affiliate)
Rosa full pans: https://tidd.ly/3VWLaw8 (Jackson’s affiliate link) https://amzn.to/4bx87fd (Amazon)
Ohuhu Fineliners: https://amzn.to/3RZeSPV (Amazon affiliate link)
Tombow dual tip brush pens: https://tidd.ly/4cxnkOC or Amazon: https://amzn.to/3RYXtqy or pens from WHSmiths: www.whsmith.co.uk

I really enjoy quick sketches and it is just not the same if you work from a photo in the studio. You might also like this outside sketch I did last year:    • How to begin urban sketching  step b...  

Urban Sketching is reportage it's drawing or painting on location in the cities, towns, or villages that you live in and travel to. You are capturing a moment in time in a unique way. I saw this lovely quote from Roisin Cure "The essence of an urban sketch is that its primary function is not to be beautiful, but to capture what it feels like to be human. This could be in a manmade building, the hand of man on the landscape, or human beings in action, wherever they are or whatever they are doing."

If you want to have a go at this scene, I will put a picture on the community tab on this channel. I would love to see what you do.

Every like and comment tells YouTube to show this to more people, so please jump in. If you really, really like this content and want to support me you can donate at Kofi. I have just set it up at: https://kofi.com/lizchadertonartist

Don't forget I run a Facebook group which is a great place to meet other artists, get tips and to share your work. You can join here:   / watercolourstudiowithlizchaderton  

If you are interested in learning more about line and wash, I have a really comprehensive course over at https://www.lizchadertonstudio.co.uk/... and my book Line and Wash Painting is available from The Crowood Press and online book shops worldwide.

Of course you can use whatever materials you like to sketch with, but pen and watercolour are very popular, because of the speed you can work at and also that the kit is light and portable, so that you can do a quick sketch while waiting in the car or sitting drinking a coffee. Give it a go and you will see the world in a different light.

Going out sketching on your own can be intimidating. So maybe sitting in a coffee shop is a good place to start and having your back to a wall so no one can look over your shoulder, also helps! Most people are just impressed you are doing it. If they are a painter, they will be supportive and if they aren't an artist, well they will wish they were. So try not to care what people think! There are urban sketch groups around the world, usually organised through Facebook, so there's safety in numbers and perhaps you could go out with them just search your local area.

#sketchwithliz #urbansketching #lineandwash