Urban sketching class in Bothell attracts sketchers from near and far

Three times a year, I’ve been teaching a weekend-long urban sketching workshop in downtown Bothell, WA., a charming river town 15 miles north of Seattle.

The March group included sketchers from Redmond, Seattle, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Lake Forest Park and one who traveled all the way from Alaska. In June, participants came from as far as Los Angeles, Tulsa, Houston and Quebec City!

If you’d like to join me, the last session of the year will be Oct. 4-6. Sign up soon because space is limited!

The workshop is hosted by Cloud 9, a local art school where you breath creativity the moment you step in. For my workshop, we use a spacious classroom that fills up with natural light. Shelves are full of art books and walls are decorated with original work by artists who teach at the school. It’s just the perfect space to start every day before taking our sketching tools around downtown Bothell for outdoor demos and exercises.

If you think your urban sketching could benefit from a solid review of drawing fundamentals such as composition, tonal value and color, I think you’d enjoy this workshop.

Below are some photos from the recent sessions, and you can read testimonials from past participants here.

Monochrome watercolor demo of Bothell’s historic schoolhouse, originally built in 1885.

Participants of the summer workshop hold their sketchbooks after a private “sketching tour” of the Bothell Historical Museum.

Line to color demo on my pocket sketchbook.

Participants working on their sketches on location.

Spreading sketches on the ground after each exercise helps everyone learn from each other.

Participants of the spring workshop at Bothell Country Village.

Each participant receives a complimentary Stillman and Birn sketchbook,
along with a map I personally illustrated to help you get oriented.

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