It’s spring, the season when everything blooms and I finally remember to cut some flowers and bring them in to draw… I’m rarely interested in a straight-forward interpretation of them, though sometimes I work in quick succession on multiples, which start more realistic and veer off from there…
I’m enjoying these explorations in color, mark-making, texture and design, and I know there will be lots more before spring is gone!
Here are a few recent sketches that make strange bedfellows. These first two are from the always-green Pleasanton hills. The first is watercolor with neocolor and ink . This was at the start of a hike with my sketch buddies, Nina and Srivani.
By this next one, I moved on to a mixed media book and less realistic color.
And by the time I headed back to the Bay Area, most semblance of realistic color was out the window.
Working with markers has allowed me to be more free with color: Since I wil never have the exact shade of color I need, I am more inclined to switch up color.
If you are (or know someone) new to watercolor or to drawing, or if you just want ot enjoy a new technique in watercolor, come join mefor STILL LIFE WITH STUFF: a watercolor workshop hosted by FOUND*SJ
This workshop is inspired by all the gorgeous treasures at Found SJ. You will draw and paint a still life in watercolor while learning the basics of drawing from observation. The workshop focuses on using a technique called grisaille, which helps you understand form and create dimension. If you are a more advanced artist who still struggles with working with tonal values , then this technique is really valuable for you!
Bring your watercolor supplies if you have some, but if you don’t, there will be palettes and brushes you can borrow and pigments for your use.
Details:
Sunday, April 26th 10am-1pm
Found SJ Rummage & Reuse Hub
57 Barack Obama Blvd, San Jose CA 95110
$50 (Special Pricing for this inaugural workshop only, and a chance to browse the treasures at this wonderful location!)
Silicon Valley’s average income is more twice the national average but extreme income inequality means a significant percentage of the population lives with food security. Second Harvest Silicon Valley is not only a food bank, they also work with specialists like Diane Garcia to reach out to communities, create culturally relevant recipes from the staples that are readily available at food banks, and encourage building more vegetables and fruit they distribute into diets.
This week, I had the privilege of accompanying Diane to a session she ran with ALAS in Half Moon Bay. Diane doesn’t build boundaries between food and wellness. They are intertwined for her. She started this session with breathing exercises, followed by movement, working on stretches and balance.
Then, she turned to creating the recipes of the day:
– a chicken salad where she crushed a packet of ramen noodles, (a food bank staple) over the salad for the crunchy bits.
– And, zucchini pancakes, which used California’s most readily available summertime vegetable.
The women’s group, Reinas de Corazones, brought in delicious chile relleno and rice, and the dishes Diane made complemented them beautifully. We all shared in the meal before calling it a night.
This isn’t the first time I watched Diane work with food and tailor her sessions to be informal, interactive sessions that are relevant to her audience. Years ago, (sketch below) I watched her lead a class called “From Food Bank to Table” for the members of Recovery Cafe, many of who are unhoused or in temporary housing. She brought in fresh and canned food that you could pick up at the bank, and participants used their imagination (no recipe provided!) to put together a nutritious dish.
Speaking of Recovery Cafe, I attended their annual fundraising breakfast just yesterday, and it is always such an inspiring event, where their members share stories of recovery, and the community steps forward to share the time and resources it takes to run this incredible place of belonging. Jean-Marie White of Naglee Park blog describes in this post why Recovery Cafe’s model works so well.
If you are new to this blog, you might have missed this series of sketched portraits and stories of members of Recovery Cafe.
With four Gateway to India workshops under our belt, we are announcing the 5th year of our sketch adventure! We’ve incorporated all the best bits of what we learned over the years to design a workshop that is rich in learning, in sketching subjects, in cultural context, and an all-around fantastic way to experience India with a sketchbook in hand.
This year, we offer two modules, with a week’s break between them.
Start with our classic workshop in Mumbai (Module 1), take a break for a week, and, if you choose, add on a second workshop in Ahmedabad, a UNESCO World Heritage City (Module 2).
Module 1: A Sketching Adventure in Mumbai
Jan 12th- Jan 20th, 2027
Includes
• 3 Zoom sessions before traveling to India (sketching lessons, travel tips, and cultural background)
• Workshops led by two instructors (great instructor-to-participant ratio for individual attention and varied demos and techniques)
• Historical, cultural, and market tours included
• Welcome and farewell dinners included
• Transportation in a private air-conditioned bus during the workshop
• Two in-depth indoor sessions during the workshop to deep-dive into watercolor sketching and people sketching
Module 2: A Sketching Adventure in Ahmedabad
Jan 27th- Jan 31st, 2027
Note: You can only sign up for Module 2 in conjunction with Module 1.
You cannot take it on its own. Includes
• 1 Zoom session focussing on Ahmedabad (overview, travel tips, and itinerary)
• Workshops led by two instructors
• Farewell dinner included
• Transportation during the workshop
I run this workshop once a year. Join live OR via a recording each week.4 Thursdays From May 21st to June 11th, 2026, 9am to 11am California time.
* you do not need to attend live. Recording of session will reach you by end of the day so you can watch it and do the homework.
This 4-week online workshop will move you from a fear of drawing people to feeling confident and excited about sketching people-centric stories.
What does this workshop cover?
In this workshop we will consider many aspects of people sketching: We will start with shape and contour drawing. Adding an understanding of simplified proportions will help take those sketches to the next level. We’ll explore gesture drawing to capture drama and action and will take a closer look at drawing the head. Lastly, we’ll move to principles and strategies that help bring people and places together for a sketch that tells a complex, layered story.
Each weekly session will be taught in a 2-hour Zoom session which will be available recorded so you do not have to join live and can rewatch a session. We will work from photographic references and videos in our Zoom sessions. The focus will be on being able to translate these ways of seeing and drawing to drawing on location. Each week will include a homework assignment where you will use the concepts we learn in your own work and share if you would like personal feedback.
Details:
Date, Time, Price, Registration Link
The workshop will be held online, once a week for 4 weeks. The dates and times are below: (All dates and times are Pacific Time). You can attend live OR watch a recording of a session and do the exercises and turn them in for feedback.
MY strong recommendation: it is less important to join live than it is to watch the recording of the workshop each week, and do the homework and send it in on time so I can review it and give you feedback! I recommend setting aside 1-2 hours each week for homework.
• Thursday, May 21st, 2026: 9 am to 11 am
• Thursday, May 28th, 2026: 9 am to 11 am
• Thursday, June 4th, 2026: 9 am to 11 am
Thursday, June 11th, 2026: 9 am to 11 am
Sign up here: https://buy.stripe.com/aFa8wPgIf3YK5rz88M4ko03
Free Demo and Sketch- Along session coming up next week.
Save the Date, set yourself a reminder and join me for a free online people-sketching demo I’m co-hosting with Art Toolkit on Wednesday, February 25th at noon California Time, as we prep for my favorite challenge of the year, the #OneWeek100People Challenge.
• I’ll share tips on how to complete this sketching challenge without it taking over your week. The challenge is hosted by Liz Steel and Marc Holmes and takes place in March; dates should be announced this week!
• I’ll demo one of my speed-sketch techniques for sketching crowds.
• You can work with whatever tools suit you. I’ll probably work with my favorite drawing tool, the Sailor Fude de Mannen pen. (You can now buy that pen right here. Use the code SUHITASKETCH10 for 10% off the pen or anything in the store.)
You are invited to join in and sketch this bustling scene full of people.
• First, download the reference image at this link.
• Grab some simple sketching tools: 2-3 different colored pencils or pens, or simply a pencil and a pen.
• On Wednesday, February 25th at noon Pacific, go to this link and join me live through Art Toolkit’s YouTube channel. I’ll do a short demo and answer questions too!
Christmas 2024, my daughter hunted down and gave me a daily calendar I had been wanting and couldn’t find: The Muji Daily Calendar. And I drew faces on it all year round during weekly sessions with Drawing is Free and Pencils 4 Tea.
The calendar is filled, all the pages are torn out and on my wall. Here is a 4-minute film of them all:
And is a closeup of a few. I tried different things all year round. It was a lot of fun. It never felt like a lot of work (average sketch time? About 4 minutes).
I think I will work on more projects this year where little bits add up to bigger stuff.
I’m just back from a week away in Arizona. I loved traveling with the kids when they were little and love it even more now: it’s great ot have co-travelers who remember stuff I forget, keep tabs of luggage and flight times and carry the heavier bags! Also, they are great company!
The Sonoran Desert in winter is beautiful: the light mutes colors, diffuses shadows and turns the distant mountains a beautiful purple.
The bright green Palo Verde trees really stood out for me. You can see that they figure quite prominently in the sketch above and below. ( Above: near Tuscon and Below: near Phoenix)
The Museum of Musical Instruments in Phoenix is truly superb. I joined an introductory tour of the museum and sketched these snippets that caught my eye. There is so much to look at and hear that the museum offers a two-day ticket because it’s easy to get overwhelmed by everything you want to see! ( I think this is a great idea: wouldn’t it be great if museums like the Met in New York let you buy a multi-day ticket? )
In the town of Mesa, not far from Phoenix, we visited the Natural History Museum because the kids still enjoy “dinosaur museums”.
Just north of Sedona is an intriguing project called “Biosphere 2” (look it up and visit if you are in that part of the world). While the original mission was to test the idea of living in independent biospheres on the moon or Mars, this is now a place where many research experiments run, including ones in regenerating landscapes that get destroyed by volcanoes and regrowing coral reefs damaged by humans and climate change. I sketched a bit as I walked around, but you can see I didn’t get far…
In Tuscon, we joined a lot of people hiking up a local favorite trail on Tumamoc Hill. On the way down, I stopped to sketch the saguaro and the purple hills around.
This last sketch is from Sedona, where the hills are so orange, they make the vegetation look blue.
I’m back now, just in time to bring in the New Year at home in San Jose. Thank you for another year of following me here on the blog. I hope you enjoy seeing the world through my sketches. Wishing you health, happiness and many creative adventures this year.
I really like this drawing because it has something I have a hard time capturing in a sketch: the feeling of a slow, lazy day. Done on a lazy Sunday morning in Oakland, before the neighborhood woke up and got busy.
These next two pieces have a very different feel. The persimmon combines some of my favorite stuff to play with in my studio: printmaking and collage. And of course, color and texture.
And above, some experimental drawings made in charcoal, pastel, ink and acrylic in a session exploring light and darkness.
Sketch Away: Travels with my sketchbook