Sketching Lessons

These are the classes available for the Autumn-Winter Term through Zoom. They range from Sketch Along to fully tutored lessons, or private classes.

Saturday 9th May So…I started my new Zoom class with a group of students from all over the world. There are occasional tech issues, but somehow we get over the speedwobbles ...

One of the most satisfying things I do as an urban sketcher is to capture my family in sketches. While I’m not one for putting into words the love I ...

I am on holiday, after an extremely busy year. Indulge me while I recap. I wrote and illustrated a book, taught ten workshops at home and abroad, ran classes for ...

The 10th International USk Symposium has just wrapped up. It took place in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. The 9th USk Symposium was held in Porto, Portugal, in July 2018. One ...

I was in Porto, Portugal, last year when this year’s Urban Sketching Symposium location was announced. It would take place in Amsterdam. “You should consider staying in Haarlem,” said Anne ...

This August I would like to invite your child to join me in Ballinderreen, Co. Galway, for a very fun week of learning cartooning.

PREMIUM: Prints of Japanese Kabuki actors are masterpieces of colour and line and are a great way to practice watercolour techniques. In this article I show you how to paint ...

PREMIUM. When it comes to bringing out the beauty of watercolour, good timing is of the essence. Five easy techniques, with practice will enable the best from this beautiful medium.

PREMIUM. In the search for a spontaneous line, it’s important to walk before we can run. Ditch the pencil and follow the ABC of drawing directly in ink.

PREMIUM – Sometimes when you’re sketching you have to get it right first time. Here I share some of the tips I’ve picked up to make sure I don’t need ...

PREMIUM A colour wheel is a great way to better understand the variations available in your paint set, as I demonstrate with this Rembrandt Basic Set.

PREMIUM In this article I show you how to use negative space to make a strong drawing. It isn’t magic, but it is a useful tool when you can’t see ...

PREMIUM Drawing in a spiral is an easy way to keep control of a sketch. With time and practice you’ll do it so fast that your drawings will be loose ...

PREMIUM: Drawing with confidence is one of the holy grails of sketching. In this article I share the first of three techniques that will get you well on the road ...

PREMIUM: Getting light and shade right in a sketch goes a very long way to making a sketch believable, to give a feeling of “being there”. Here’s how I approach ...

PREMIUM Lots of us would love to capture a few memories on holiday in a sketch, but what do we bring with us, and how do we keep everyone happy? ...

PREMIUM A beautiful sky is the most effective way to add atmosphere to your sketch; all kinds of cloud conditions can be realistically depicted with the aid of a ...

PREMIUM The second and final part of my 10 Tricks for your Toolbox. Elements four through ten are some of the things to consider when planning your sketch.

PREMIUM It’s good to do some advance planning before you put pen to paper. Far from removing spontaneity, it gives you freedom to express yourself, confident that you know what ...

PREMIUM With an almost endless choice of watercolours to choose from, it can feel daunting to choose just a handful for your urban sketching paintbox. I’d like to share my ...

PREMIUM Sketchers often wonder why their watercolours don’t “pop” with bright, clear colour. The solution is really easy, and I describe it in this article in 3 simple steps.

PREMIUM article. Light and shadow can be effectively conveyed with the use of just one colour added to an ink line. Here the colour used is indigo, but Payne’s grey ...

PREMIUM article. While it’s potentially very rewarding, drawing people is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a sketcher. Get the inside track of tips and techniques to make ...

PREMIUM article. Finding you’re missing a crucial colour can be annoying at best..but choosing just twelve colours for your paintbox is hard. Here I describe mine, and why they’re ...

PREMIUM article. Sketching people moving is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face as an urban sketcher. But don’t despair – there are lots of ways to make it easier.

PREMIUM post. Children are natural cartoonists. There are a few tips I’ve learned that will make it easier for children to get more out of the comic strips they invent.

The Coconut harvesters of Mauritius risk their lives to bring us their bounty – and to let Róisín sketch them at their work.

PREMIUM. Sketching everyday life may not be glamorous, but drawing the objects around your home can be just as satisfying and rewarding as more dramatic or exciting scenes.

PREMIUM article. Painting reflections in watercolour can be challenging. Getting to know their main forms provides a short cut to learning to look well and paint faithfully.

PREMIUM. You can learn a lot by trying to forge an Old Master: in this article, I offer tutorials to download, based on the beautiful Japanese prints of Utamaro. ...

Here are 25 urban sketching tips for you to consider when you are out in the field. They include some things you should be doing and some you shouldn’t.

PREMIUM article. I show how to achieve accuracy when drawing and how to achieve good tonal values in watercolour

Painting the giant lilies in the Bassin aux Nénuphars, the Botanical Gardens, Pamplemousses, Mauritius

PREMIUM article. When you think you have no time to sketch, just draw in the cracks!. I explain.

PREMIUM article. I give a demonstration of painting a bowl of fruit in a still life in watercolour

PREMIUM article. I talk about why we should learn to draw accurately and how to approach this

Róisín Curé gives her 20 tips for urban sketching

Video of Róisín painting Tyrone House, Galway

Róisín discusses why it can be difficult to start painting in the field and how to overcome this.