Urban Sketch Blog

Guide, Landscape16 September 20266 min read

Why Your Landscape Sketches Look Flat (And The Fix)

Perspective does most of the work in a street and almost none of it in a field. Here is what Ian does instead, and the four ways he separates a foreground from a background.

Guide15 September 202611 min read

Our 4 Week Urban Sketching Experience: What Riomaggiore Taught Us

The lessons that came back again and again from the hardest scene we have set.

Guide10 September 202610 min read

Why Sketching the Same Scene Twice Teaches You More Than Moving On

Most sketchers move straight to a new subject. Here is what the second attempt gives you that the first cannot.

Guide7 September 20268 min read

Is Sketching from Photos Still Urban Sketching?

Urban sketching is about what you notice, not where you sketch. A photograph takes some of that out, and you can put it back.

Guide17 August 20263 min read

Why a Quick Sketch Has More Life

Why your quickest sketches often have the most life, and how to loosen up.

Village14 August 20265 min read

Inside Our Cheshire Villages Retreat

Five days, five villages and sketchers from around the world. Here is what we took from the Cheshire retreat.

Guide9 August 20266 min read

How to Sketch an Animal That Won't Hold a Pose

Animals move, and for a lot of sketchers that is where the sketchbook closes. Here is how Ian catches the life of a subject that won't hold a pose.

Guide5 August 20265 min read

How to Sketch a Bridge Without Getting Lost in the Cables

All that steel, stone and perspective can make a bridge feel impossible to draw. It isn't. Here's how Ian approaches any bridge, from a local footbridge to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Guide29 July 20267 min read

When to Mix Watercolour on the Page vs in the Palette

Learn when to mix watercolour on the page for life and when to mix in the palette for control, with real examples from our urban sketching courses.

Materials25 July 20267 min read

Ian Fennelly's 8-Colour Starter Palette

The Only Watercolours a Beginner Really Needs

Guide17 July 20265 min read

How to draw a complicated scene without drowning in the detail

How to find the big shapes hiding beneath all the detail.

Guide27 June 20264 min read

How to Draw with Paint Using a Rigger

Most of us draw with a pen and colour with a brush. Here is how Ian draws with the brush too, the rigger he reaches for, and why it loosens everything up

Guide25 June 20265 min read

Why watercolour goes muddy (and how to keep it fresh)

Muddy watercolour is rarely about your paints. Here is why it really happens, and how to keep your colour fresh.

Guide17 June 20266 min read

Capturing the Light in a Landscape

How to Sketch a Scene That Won't Sit Still

Guide9 June 20267 min read

The Cobbles That Taught Us Perspective

Flat drawings usually have one thing missing: perspective. Here's how Ian teaches it on a steep cobbled slipway in an old smuggling village.

Guide3 June 20268 min read

What Happens After a Sketching Retreat (And How to Keep the Momentum Going)

A sketching retreat ends and the hard part begins: keeping it going at home. Real takeaways from Urban Sketch Course members, plus a simple way to make the lessons stick.

Blog13 May 202611 min read

Inside Our First Urban Sketching Cruise

Seven Days of Colour, Community, and Confidence Across the Mediterranean

Guide2 May 20266 min read

How Ian Found 5 Different Workshops Within 30 Seconds' Walk

You don't need to travel far to find five completely different subjects. You need to know how to look.

Blog30 April 202610 min read

Sketch Italy: Complex Scenes, Simple Steps

What Makes Sketch Italy Different from Any Course We Have Done Before

Guide27 April 20265 min read

What Urban Sketchers Get Wrong About Colour

Why tonal value, not hue, is the secret to sketches that actually hold together – and how three colours can do the work of fifteen.

Guide21 April 20268 min read

How to Choose What to Sketch (And What to Walk Away From)

Learn how to pick the right scene and avoid overwhelming subjects with practical urban sketching composition tips.

Guide16 April 202610 min read

How to Choose the Right Urban Sketching Course for You

Wales or New York? Beginners or Quick Sketch? A friendly guide to choosing the urban sketching course that suits you.

Blog2 April 20267 min read

The Most Extraordinary Subject You'll Ever Sketch Is the One You Drive Past Every Day

Your high street is full of extraordinary sketching subjects hiding in plain sight. Learn how urban sketching transforms the ordinary into something gorgeous.

Guide14 March 202611 min read

Why Old Pubs Make Perfect Sketching Subjects

This article reveals why the very things that make old pubs charming – the sagging timbers, faded signs, hanging baskets, and chalkboards – are exactly what make them such forgiving and satisfying sketching subjects that are perfect for beginners.

Guide11 March 20269 min read

The Signpost and the Junction Box: How to Know What Belongs in Your Sketch

Every building you walk past is full of signposts and junction boxes. The only difference between them is whether you have learned to tell which is which.*

Guide6 March 20266 min read

Perspective Drawing for Beginners

One Point, Two Point and Three Point Perspective Explained

Materials24 February 20269 min read

Urban Sketching Brush Guide: Rigger, Flat and Round Made Simple

A simple guide to the rigger, flat and round brushes used in urban sketching, and how each supports washes, detail and water control.

Guide19 February 20266 min read

How Critiques Help You Improve Faster in Urban Sketching

A sketch critique helps because it shows you what you cannot easily see for yourself while you are drawing. A fresh set of eyes can spot the small adjustment that makes the whole sketch feel clearer, calmer, and more convincing.

Guide12 February 20269 min read

Two Colours, One Sketch: Why a Limited Palette Builds Better Tonal Values

Using just two colours and white might sound limiting, but it can transform your sketches. A limited palette helps you focus on tonal values, create better neutrals, and reduce perfectionism by simplifying your colour choices.

Blog27 January 20267 min read

Sketching Animals in Context: How Safari Sketch Differs from Urban Zoo

Learn how the Safari Sketch Course differs from Urban Zoo by placing animals within their landscapes, not in isolation.

Blog27 January 20266 min read

Sketch Safari

How each workshop builds better sketching decisions through control, context, and character.

Blog19 January 20268 min read

Our 4 Week Urban Sketching Experience: The Process and the Progress

Four weeks, one plan. Outline, colour, tone, detail. Key lessons and student insights from our live sketching experience.

Guide16 January 20266 min read

How to Stop Tombow Brush Pens Streaking

Why do my Tombow brush pens leave streaks? There is a familiar moment when you reach for a grey brush pen. The drawing feels settled. The lines are behaving. The watercolour has dried nicely. You are only trying to add a little weight, a little calm. Then the tone does not behave as expected. Instea

Guide12 January 20268 min read

Warm Greys vs Cool Greys in Urban Sketching

Using Tone, Temperature, and Visual Variety

Wellbeing29 December 20254 min read

Showing Up to Sketch: Why Small Moments Matter More Than Big Plans

Struggling to make time for urban sketching? Learn how even 10 minutes a week can boost confidence, build habits, and reconnect you with your creativity.

Guide23 December 20253 min read

The Watercolour Brush Technique That Might Be Holding You Back

Struggling with muddy or overworked watercolours? Learn a softer watercolour brush technique inspired by Ian Fennelly and practise it step-by-step with support inside Urban Sketch+.

How to Draw Signs and Lettering in Your Urban Sketches