Saturday, January 17th, 1:30pm - 4:00pm
with Richard Sheppard
The best souvenirs are not the things you buy or the photos you take while traveling, but drawings you create in a sketchbook. Sketching allows the artist to slow down enough to get acquainted with surroundings that are often overlooked while framing the world through a lens. This class will discuss materials, styles and techniques that are best suited for travel sketching. Through the use of pencil, ink and watercolor, we'll learn to draw and paint subjects that are both memorable and meaningful.
Class outline:
A brief history of sketching
Getting familiar with tools
Sketching in pencil
Subjects worth sketching
Sketching in ink
Simple perspective
Sketching in ink and watercolor
Simplifying shapes and subjects
Pitfalls of travel sketching
Pulling it all together
Registration and Fees
Become a member of the Oak Park Art League and save on class registration.
Members: $125.00; after 1/12/2026: $145.00
Non-Members: $145.00; after 1/12/2026: $165.00
Advanced Registration Required.
Registration and Code of Conduct Policy
Materials:
All materials provided.
About the instructor:
Sketching out-of-doors is one of my favorite activities. Whether I’m traveling locally or abroad, I’m always on the lookout for good places to sketch.
Although most of my weekdays are spent illustrating books for publishers, I enjoy spending my free time sketching and recording my travel experiences. At the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, I studied under sketch artists Barbara Bradley, Barron Storey, and Howard Brodie, whom I thank for passing on to me their love of sketchbooking.
In the fall of 2009 I spent three weeks drawing and painting in Greece. Upon my return, I illustrated, wrote, designed, and published the book “The Artist on the Road: Impressions of Greece.”
In the fall of 2015 I published my second book, “Impressions of Wine Country,” about discovering California’s world class wine industry.