Thank you all for being part of our third year together. More than 80 artists joined our challenges each month, from over 20 countries around the world. As the year draws to a close, here’s to a 2020 filled with continued joy, creativity, and connection!
Spanning 23 countries on six continents, our November sketching challenge had to be one of our most diverse weekends yet! From Chile and Latvia to Hong Kong and Kenya, I can’t quite believe the amazing mix of places you sketched from this month.
Our October challenge featured sketches from Russia and Réunion Island to India, Indonesia, and Israel — and for me, they all served a singular purpose: Your sketches remind us of just how vast the world is, and of the myriad stories it holds.
While I always love to celebrate our global tribe and the amazing sketches you share from all across the world, this month I was especially moved by the moments you captured at home — the beauty you found right in your very own backyard.
From the moment our August sketching challenge kicked off, I was blown away by where our community was joining in from around the world this month: from Alan sketching in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to Lois at a colorful local market in East Timor.
“In Japanese painting, you always try to keep the feeling of a beginner…It’s this kind of forward-looking attitude: You can always grow and you can always improve, and the practice of today is the practice of the day and it will always bring you forward.”
In the more than 100 sketches you created this month, there were mountains and meadows of wildflowers; there were winding coastal paths and cascading waterfalls. Thank you for sharing the inspiration you found in the natural landscapes around you.
Our June challenge celebrates the verdant arrival of summer, and the beautiful moments you captured in nature this month. You found beauty in meadows and mountains, in quiet country lanes and rolling farmland, and right in your very own backyards.
This month’s theme was inspired by a quote from poet Fernando Pessoa. To me, his words perfectly sum up the essence of our challenges: that each moment is the moment it is, and that sketching helps us capture more singular moments from our lives.
“Sketching outdoors is like an experience. I have to be out in the elements and use all my senses: What can I hear, what can I see, what can I smell? That’s all part of it. I love the wind on my face, the wind taking the paint, or the rain going onto the page.”