Sharing My Sketch Journal Process

 

An enthusiastic, open-minded group of students!

While the pet portrait workshops I taught last spring were more about developing drawing skills and learning brush pen or colored pencil techniques, the one I taught on Saturday was about a process that’s near and dear to my heart: Keeping a daily sketch journal.

Regular blog readers know that it’s a process I’ve been developing for myself for many years, but it’s only been the last three years that my practice finally  “stuck.” Eager to share that process in person, I was rewarded by enthusiastic, open-minded students who were willing to try things that may have been outside their comfort zone. Some were sheer beginners, and many had not sketched on location before.

8/1/26 Here's my own sketch journal page from our first exercise, which turned out to be a spontaneous demo when a student asked how I sketch people.

We started the workshop at the ArtSpot store (the workshop’s sponsor), where I passed around several of my own sketch journals and talked about my many failed tries – and the one successful one. After explaining my plan for the morning and discussing recommended art supplies (of course), we headed out for the first sketch location. Our first stop, though, was to get a beverage or (you guessed it) a pastry to start our sketching out right!

Lacking a café where 14 people (including myself and one class assistant) could sit together, I chose a location I was familiar with from the sketch walk I had led during Sketcher Fest. Using the plentiful benches of the Veterans’ Plaza, we stayed together to try the process I had described: Sketch our food or beverage first as an easy “entry” to the page spread, then sketch whatever grabbed our attention around us.

Students hard at work at Edmonds' Veterans' Plaza.

I was happy to observe relaxed conversations among students. This plaza is better than any classroom... plenty of benches for all.

After giving individual feedback, I knew they were ready for the next step. This time we all scattered out to the Edmonds Summer Market, which was in full swing by then. Their assignment was to make a series of sketches with written comments that would tell a story in answer to the question: What did you experience at the market? I encouraged everyone to observe with all their senses, not just sight. The market is full of sounds, scents and weather to feel!

After we all scattered through the market, I lost sight of most students, so I didn't get more photos. But I caught these two sketching from one of my own favorite spots at this market: It's a great view from behind a flower vendor's booth. 

About an hour later, we regrouped at Veterans’ Plaza to share our sketches and takeaways from the process. It was gratifying and rewarding to hear that students had been encouraged and excited by their first try at a daily sketch journaling practice.

Check out our colorful throwdown! ArtSpot carries Uglybooks. It's possible I may be an "influencer." Ha-ha!!

Here's my own answer to the question: "What did you experience at the market?"

Photo courtesy of ArtSpot

Photo courtesy of ArtSpot

A Larger Demo

 

A practice demo I did at home using markers on 9x12 paper.

My second in-classroom workshop for ArtSpot was on drawing animals with colored pencils. Since the brush pen workshop had focused on pets, I broadened the second one to include any animal, but the chosen subjects were all pets anyway. As I’ve found with my own commissions, pets are always an endearing subject!

After my first workshop, I thought hard about how I could improve my demos. The issue was that since I typically work on small paper, it’s difficult for the students to see my work in progress. Yet trying to use colored pencils on a larger scale would be time-consuming. I decided to use a 9-by-12-inch sketchbook at an easel to demonstrate the drawing methods (scaling, measuring, the drawing sequence) using bold markers. I felt that students could grasp the concepts that way, then apply them to colored pencils.

I think it worked out better, and the students all did really well. It’s always rewarding to interact with hard-working, motivated students!

Demo sketch on how I might use bright yellow to imply highlights that are
difficult to see in the reference photo.

An urban sketching-style group selfie!

Photo courtesy of ArtSpot

Photo courtesy of ArtSpot (I'm holding the demo I did with markers at the easel)

Getting My Teaching Chops Back

 

4/12/26 

4/12/26 Dexter

After being away from teaching for 15 years, I was feeling rusty going into my ArtSpot workshop last Sunday. As soon as I sat down with my enthusiastic students (a full class), though, my confidence returned and anxiety vanished. It was good to be reminded of the pleasure of interacting with creative, motivated students, which I had enjoyed for many years in my previous life.

Drawing pets with a brush pen was the topic of the day. In my supply list and in the email I sent to students several days prior, I reminded them that the single-most important thing they must bring to class was a high-quality reference photo (several to choose from, if possible). Drawing from a tiny phone screen is less than ideal, so I encouraged them to bring a tablet or iPad or, even better, large prints of images. I was relieved that everyone heeded my recommendations.

I gave the students an opportunity to try drawing from an upside-down
reference image, an exercise I learned from Betty Edwards' Drawing on the
Right Side of the Brain. I drew Teddy upside-down along with my students.

In fact, although I had come prepared with my own images to use for demos, some students had such great photos that I used them to demo with (and gave away the results). Each demo was in response to questions that came up. For example, the mom of the grumpy cat (the only cat! Whaaat??! Of course, I have a preference for dogs, at least to draw, but I was certain more would want to draw cats) asked about how to show the catchlight in light-colored eyes and shading on very pale-colored fur. Although I feel strongly about showing the catchlight, in this case, I concurred that it was difficult to do with a brush pen. Instead, I showed her how to subtly shade the fur on one side.

I sketched Roxy from life as she rested in a sling.

My favorite sketch wasn’t a demo at all: It was a live sketch of Roxy (at left), who spent the class time in a sling around the neck of shop staff member Viani. What a sweet, quiet model she turned out to be.

My learning for the day was to figure out how to do future demos that will be easier to see. I’m not sure I know how to demo on a large scale using an easel, but maybe I need to learn.

Overall, I had a blast, and I hope my students found it rewarding, too.

The Daily Sketch Journal Process

 

2/24/26 Alexa's Cafe, Bothell

I’ve already mentioned two animal portrait workshops I’ll be offering at ArtSpot this spring (one with brush pen and the second with colored pencils). I’m also teaching one this summer called Keeping a Daily Sketch Journal. After years of sporadic sketch journaling attempts that eventually lapsed, I finally figured out a process that “stuck,” and I’m excited to share it.

2/25/26

As I began pulling together a variety of sketch journal pages to show in the class handout, I started thinking about which types of pages might make the best examples. Developing a sketch journaling process is very personal; I don’t know which of my pages, if any, would resonate with others.

3/4/26 Cloudy Cafe, Ballard neighborhood

The main message I want to convey is simply this: What I’m showing here is just the way I do it – not the way it should be done. The only thing matters is finding one’s own way of doing it, and that only happens by trying different things.

3/20/26 documenting new glasses

9/28/25 photo reference

I’m in the ArtSpot Window!

 

What a thrill to see my sketches displayed in ArtSpot's window!

What fun it was to participate as an artist during Art Walk Edmonds! ArtSpot, the art supply store where I’ll be offering workshops this year, invited me to be their featured artist in March by displaying my work in their window all month. As part of that, I was at the store March 19 during Art Walk to chat with customers, promote the workshops, and give casual demos. I sketched a few pets and had a wonderful time meeting people, seeing friends who came by, and of course, talking about art supplies.

(Image from ArtSpot)

Using Derwent Drawing pencils! (Image from ArtSpot)

Some sketches I made as I chatted and "demo'd" (which means trying to talk while I draw!)

My colored pencil workshop promotion next to the 
colored pencil section!

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

 

Last year was all about figuring out what my life’s “normal” setting is, learning to live in that new normal, and downsizing. Finally settled in 2025, I began looking ahead – to something that has been on my mind, unfulfilled for years.

Twenty years ago, a significant portion of my freelance income came from teaching – work that I genuinely enjoyed. In early 2020, I had been planning and looking forward to begin teaching in the Urban Sketchers workshop program – and then 2020 happened (my blog post announcing it was literally only a month before the world shut down for COVID). The workshop program never resumed when the world reopened, and by then, my full attention was on Greg. Some part of me, though, kept the idea of teaching tucked away for another time.

That time is finally here, and I’m excited to announce that I’ll be teaching in 2026! Prompted by the pet portraits I drew for ArtSpot’s fundraiser last summer, the Edmonds art supply store invited me to offer workshops related to animal portraiture. I’ll be offering two this spring: Pet Portraits in Brush Pen and Animal Portraits in Colored Pencil.

All the practice I did during InkTober and Pencilvember this year was, in fact, not just practice; I was also refining techniques so that I could articulate them to students. I’m looking forward to getting back into the creative process of helping others to learn.

Although we all like the neatness of closing an old year and beginning a fresh one, I’m more of the mind that life is a perpetual continuum.  To honor the unfinished continuity of life, shown here are sketches that got interrupted and were never finished. Life goes on, whether the sketch gets finished or not, and I’m looking forward to it.

Happy New Year!