Moment Sketchers July
125
SKETCHES
84
ARTISTS
21
COUNTRIES
5
CONTINENTS

Dear Moment Sketchers,

I have the wonderful fortune of writing you from Singapore this month, where I’m thrilled to be back creating two new murals. Besides being an inspiring microcosm of so many different cultures from across Asia (something which makes my heart endlessly happy), Singapore also happens to be an incredibly verdant city.

Each day on my short walk to the office, I’m amazed by how much green there is around me — by the sidewalks overflowing with spider lily plants and bird’s nest ferns, and by the towering yellow flame and rain trees overhead that help create some much-needed shade.

And so as our July sketching challenge kicked off two weekends ago, I couldn’t help but smile as an unmistakable nature-inspired theme took shape — through the more than 100 sketches you created, there were mountains and meadows of wildflowers; there were winding coastal paths and cascading waterfalls. The vibrant botanical focus of your sketches felt like a fitting parallel to the lush world of Singapore I’ve been experiencing.

Even more fun, however, is that several of you not only drew inspiration from nature — you drew *with* nature. There was Katherine in Herefordshire, England, who went wandering with her inks and created a beautiful print with the help of a few bramble leaves:

sketching with leaves

There was Steve in the south of England, who after an afternoon of painting Studland Beach — in his words, “very properly and badly” — finally got his ink out, reached for a twig, and in a matter of seconds, captured the beach in the very way he’d been trying to achieve all day:

sketching with a twig

And there was Ali in Peak District National Park, who captured her view “with a single bilberry and the stem of a soft rush”:

sketching with berries

While I love Ali’s expressive sketch, what I love just as much are the words and message she shared with it — a message that feels like the perfect note to open this review on:

“Remember a sketch doesn’t have to look good to be
worthwhile. It’s the process of looking and sketching that’s
important, not the quality of the picture you produce. Plus, it can
be a lot more relaxing when you don’t worry about the outcome.”

Country count

Australia
Austria
Canada
China
Czech Republic
England
France

Germany
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Malaysia
Morocco

The Netherlands
The Philippines
Scotland
Slovenia
Spain
Switzerland
United States

Newcomers

Ana

UNITED STATES

watercolor portrait

Emily

ENGLAND

children's book illustration

Faith

MOROCCO

watercolor travel sketch

Morag

SCOTLAND

Scotland travel sketch

Siwan

ENGLAND

nature sketch

Ulomky

CZECH REPUBLIC

Czech Republic sketch

Themes & motifs

“Study nature, love nature,
stay close to nature.
It will never fail you.”

— Frank Lloyd Wright

This month’s motif of sketches needs little introduction — it is simply a joy to be presenting just a handful of the many moments you all shared that were inspired by the natural landscapes around you. From the vineyards of Austria’s Wachau Valley to the snow-capped peaks encircling Lake Tahoe, thank you for sharing your world with us each and every month.

Moment Sketchers July

Full challenge gallery

To view the rest of the images from our July 2019 sketching challenge, all you need to do is visit this link to see the entire gallery — and even if you don’t have an Instagram account, you can still view it in your browser.

Moment Sketchers, here’s to another amazing month celebrating the world and its incredible diversity of landscapes…see you in August!

Moment Sketchers August

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