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
All tagged urban sketching
A short urban sketching video about starting anyway. Sketching in Paris on a busy square with an overwhelming view. The trick: use negative space to capture the shapes around the building rather than getting lost in the details. Then it starts to rain, which forces quick decisions and adds its own texture to the page.
Sketchbook tour through Paris, the Netherlands, and Germany. Lots of experiments with mixed media. Different approaches to the same subject. And a favorite page captured at a cafe in Germany. Flip through a filled Hahnemühle Nostalgie sketchbook and get inspired to fill your own!
I'm celebrating 5 years on Patreon with a free tutorial on drawing trees and greens using fountain pen, waterproof ink, and watercolor. I show how to capture foliage without overworking your sketchbook page, inspired by a discussion in our Discord community on urban sketching and nature drawing.
Grab a pen and your sketchbook next time you're on the go. No desk, no plan, no overthinking. See how a 35-minute commute can turn into a full spread of life around you, and learn why limiting your time and tools might just make your sketches better.
July and August are travel moths for many people. Are you going somewhere? This post gives you some fun ideas and inspiration, plus tips on how to pack light for your sketching trip!
A Paris café, a blank page, and no plan. Watch a sketchbook drawing unfold step by step, from a coffee on the table to the street life outside. Learn how drawing in layers, foreground to background, creates depth and tells a story. Includes a drawing assignment to try yourself.
Your sketchbook might just be the best souvenir you ever bring home. Learn why travel sketching beats photos, how to make it work with non-sketching travel companions, and why you don't need hours to fit it in. Plus: Drawing doesn't need to be something you fit in around the trip. It can BE the trip!
Traveling and feel like there's no time to draw? There always is! In this video I sketch my Paris view in just 15 minutes, sharing tips on how to fit sketching into any trip. Your sketchbook is the best travel companion.
Drawing and Urban sketching while traveling is one of the best ways to truly capture a place, way more than any photograph ever could.
Sketchbook flip-through time! This Hahnemühle Nostalgie A6 started as a backup in Spain, filled up with everyday life in the Netherlands, and made it all the way to Paris. Watch along as I experiment with color and come back to my go-to tools. No rules, just drawing and keeping it regular.
A visual storytelling project inspired by an 8-week course with Rita Sabler. I sketched the central train station in Amersfoort, found my story at the kiosk, and navigated the creative process in real time. Proof that creativity is not linear and drawing on location leads to unexpected places!
Location sketching, in a café: ochre watercolor shapes, loose fountain-pen lines, and soft black pencil textures. The page gets overworked and the inner critic shows up, but the focus stays on mindfulness, play, and connection as strangers notice the sketch.
Five easy tips to grow your sketchbook practice: limit your palette, always carry your sketchbook, and stack drawing with daily habits. Plus a free Sketchbook Revival challenge in April, a great book for inspiration, and two open spots in upcoming workshop retreats in Germany and Italy. Sketch more, stress less!
Let's visit a Parisian street corner using Google Street View.
Today I tackle drawing buildings, people passing by, mixing grey tones, and using some bright color accents. I'll also give you an assignment for a virtual urban sketch in your own sketchbook.
If you’re curious about trying a different sketchbook format, or experimenting with limited tools, you'll enjoy this sketchbook tour. And I hope you'll try something new too!
Let's flip through the pages I filled: urban sketches of a snowy city, experiments with negative space and foreshortening. Quick café drawings, experiments with water‑soluble ink, brush pen and watercolors. Plus the wonderfully messy process behind some favorite spreads.
Sketchbook flip through filled in October and November 2025, showing the seasonal shift from outdoor to indoor drawing. I share pages with washes, negative space, limited tools, café sketches, people, nature, and everyday moments, plus practical sketchbook tips and inspiration to keep your drawing practice going.
I filmed a beach drawing session in Thailand where I sketched the view with a brush pen, added quick figures and palm trees, then used wax crayons, watercolor, and colored pencils for texture and depth. A relaxed urban sketching moment and a free peek of my Patreon style content.
Take a look inside my Hahnemühle watercolor sketchbook. I share how the textured paper influenced my drawing process and how I filled most of this book while teaching in Paris. You will see experiments, fun memories with friends, and urban sketches.
Sketching a metro entrance on location and starting with loose color to beat the blank page. I share tips for drawing people, proportions, decision making, and drawing lettering by observing shapes. A look at playful urban sketching and letting the sketchbook surprise you.
Drawing in nature can boost your mood, calm your mind, and bring joy back into your sketchbook practice. In this post I share how I find peace and creativity outdoors, and how you can try it too. Plus info on my upcoming small group nature sketching workshop in the Eifel in June 2026.
In today's Draw Tip Tuesday I take you sketching on location with just a few simple tools. Limiting materials helps keep your drawing playful, loose, and alive. I start with messy marks in color, layer shapes, and then add pen lines to bring clarity and energy. Along the way I share pro tips for drawing in public, for staying mindful of your stuff, and for trusting your inner artist. It is not about perfection but about capturing the moment in your own way. Materials: Strathmore Mixed Media sketchbook, Neocolor crayons, fountain pen, water brush.
