pronounced "Kōsha”
I’m an artist and creative entrepreneur living in the Netherlands. I love drawing and I do it every day. On this website, I hope to inspire you to develop a drawing practice too, because it can make you feel good.
Photo by Rick Keus
I remind my students about this regularly, but need to nudge myself every now and then too: you don’t need to be accurate, when you’re drawing. Let’s allow ourselves to take artistic liberty and have some fun. Even though a building is grey or beige, that doesn’t mean you can’t paint it pink, if that’s the color that matches your mood or the vibe of the place! Play!
There is always something to draw.
I looked around, I noticed how there was a certain rhythm, a pattern, of all the chairs. The repetition in the room of all the shape and color of the chairs caught my eye, so that would be the focus of my drawing today. I used the "blob method"; big shapes of color first, then line.
When you think your calendar doesn’t allow any drawing time, THAT’s your cue to drop everything and draw. Because then you need it most. An active meditation by drawing. Getting out of your head and forgetting the to dos for just a moment. You will almost feel like a different person, having sketched away the stress you were feeling
(And let’s all be honest: you EASILY spend 15 minutes a day staring at your phone without real purpose. Swap that time out for some joyful creative time!)
In today’s video I'd like to show you how I use a brush pen.
The brushpen is a fun and playful tool, with a variety in line. It might help you to draw a little bit faster and get more spontaneity in your drawings.
I'll also add watercolour for that bright yellow splash, because Brown and yellow is just too good of a combination! It’ll also be an opportunity to play with a simple wet-in-wet technique that you might like.
Change your angle and you’ll change your view and perspective, it can be quite dramatic and exciting for drawing something seemingly mundane in your sketchbook page. These are the demo drawings that I made during the April live online Mini-Workshop. It was great to see everyone’s drawings after looking at their subject from the side view, bird’s eye view, and worm’s eye view.
How fun would it be if you and I could hang out and draw together?
We can!
You’re invited to join my next Live Online Mini-Workshop Thursday, May 11 5 - 6:30 PM CEST. (convert to your timezone here)
Wouldn't you like to be an artist in Paris? Today, let's travel virtually to Paris together, and plop down in one of the streets to draw! We'll use Google Streetview. While I draw, I am giving you tips on using negative spaces when drawing architecture and urban sketching, taking artistic liberty, not being too accurate, using repetitive patterns that you see, and finally limiting your colors. Also: how to juggle drawing time when you’re with non-drawing travel-buddies? It's all covered in this generous drawing demonstration.
Sketchbook Skool has a big sale right now: 90 days of Spark for $139. It starts today and ends May 2.
What a treat! And i get to give you 15% off your first payment on top of that.
It doesn't matter what size or format your sketchbook is - what matters is that you spend time drawing in it. I am really so happy to have this daily sketchbook practice. It is so valuable to take time to draw the things around me, empty my head, ground myself, and just BE for a little creative while. I want this for you too.
Bring that joy to your day by drawing your adventures, big and small. Mine include in this sketchbook blooming flowers as well as smelly shoes. Coffee dates with myself, and time with friends.
A while ago, I worked on a fun project outside of my regular sketchbook.
I used an accordion sketchbook to go on a virtual trip to Malta! I used reference pictures that I found on Google Images to draw, and to learn about Malta a little bit more. That's because I will be traveling there for real, in November this year, to teach an urban sketching vacation workshop. It’s hosted by Brenda Murray from Studio56boutique in Malta, an archipelago smack in the middle of the Mediterranean!
Upon request, today I am sharing my very first sketchbook! Not from when I was a kid or teenager, but the sketchbook that eventually initiated my sketchbook practice, as it is now.
I think it's valuable to show them, because it illustrates how all artists develop, grow, change course, and find their style throughout the year and through their practice.
If you ever attended one of my monthly session, then you know how fun it is to hang out and draw together.
Will you be joining the next Live Online Mini-Workshop session in April?
I'd love to see you there.
"Life Is Better When You Draw It" is an illustrated book for people who love drawing, but need inspiration to do so. It is also a tribute to drawing, and a glimpse into the world through the eyes of an artist. It is about how drawing can make you happy and mindful. As your paper soaks up the ink, you clear your head and forget about time and your to-do list.
Like in my videos, I don't provide art instruction in my book, because what you need even more when you want to draw is motivation, permission, and encouragement. No matter the outcome, the process of drawing makes you happy, and that’s what it’s all about.
Let's get out and draw - in a café today. I often get questions about how to draw people in a cafe (they move, help!), how to capture the interior, mood and vibe... how to deal with people noticing you drawing, and much more.
So today I want to show you the full process, so I went for a coffee and a sketch and filmed from beginning to end. Because I think seeing someone draw, and then try it yourself (that's the most important part!) can teach you a lot.
There aren't any rules in my sketchbook - I draw anything around me, and because of that, my sketchbook tells my personal story. My sketchbook is also my creative gym.
I filled another sketchbook, and I'll flip through it today - hopefully it'll be inspiring for you. I know seeing other people’s sketchbooks could be kind of intimidating. Or overwhelming. And getting started is really hard when you feel overwhelmed.
So - start small. Invite yourself to do a little something today.
I aim to capture the vibe and the feeling of the place, not to create a perfect representation of what I see. I like "editing" in my drawings too, meaning: when a tree is in view, but it would fall off my composition when I would stay true to all the elements that I see, then I just draw it anyway. I "move it" closer into my composition. It might be much more to the left in the street for example, but if I think it should be included in the drawing for my "story", my interpretation, I can totally decide to do that - it's a drawing after all and I can do what I want. It's all very exciting how creative you can get when drawing.
If you and I would sit together urban sketching, we would have completely different drawings because your interpretation will be so different than mine.
Every time you draw, you are paying so much attention to how you feel, what you see, what you hear, to the colors, to what really captures your attention, to the story around the place... And that's what makes you an artist. You are interpreting and you are creating something out of this, and you're creating a memory that lasts because it's in your sketchbook. Isn't that exciting?
Will you join me in the free (!) online sketchbook workshop Sketchbook revival? We’ll have fun filling up our sketchbook pages with everything from drawing and painting, to collage and mixed media, to stitching and printing so we can loosen up, develop our imaginations, practice our observation skills, express our emotions, tap into our intuition (and so much more), while also learning about color.
The workshop starts on March 20th and runs through April 1st
there is always something to draw. Especially the mundane things - they are part of your life. You don't need some grand concept or subject to enjoy filling a sketchbook page. Everything is interesting as soon as you start drawing it. And you're drawing life, how cool is that? I have a very deep believe that Life is better when you draw it.
