NIGHT Sketching Workshop

“Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

~ Tim Burton’s Joker

June, 22nd

9 PM

Lisbon, Graça Panorama viewpoint

Most sketchers enjoy their cities during the daylight, when views are crisp, shadows are sharp, and colors are vivid. But when the night comes, a different challenge begins. 

sketch by Pedro Alves

Sketching the cityscape at night is both easy and challenging! The easy aspect of it, is that your palette gets reduced to a couple – three at most – colors. Simplification of what you see – that includes lines, shapes and colors – is key. 

sketch by Pedro Loureiro

The challenge is to be precise in saving the whites in your paper. With watercolor, there’s no going back – at most, you can wash off the amount of pigment in a lighted area. And the light parts, the glare of public lamps, the shiny surfaces, are scarce and vital for the success of your sketch.

sketch by Pedro Alves

After successfully leading night sketching workshops in Torres Vedras, Sintra and Lisbon, the Pedros – Pedro Alves and Pedro Loureiro – are now inviting the global Urban Sketching community to the historical old town of Lisbon. Together, we’ll share experiences, techniques and tricks of the trade, and we’ll capture the evening beauty of the Portuguese capital city in our sketchbooks.

The Night Sketching workshop is divided into two parts: Drawing and Coloring.

The first part consists in teaching some tips on how to produce an effective sketch focusing in composition, line economy, proportion and perspective as well as creating a sense of place. Then, when sunlight goes out we do a quick demo on how to paint a night scene using a simple color palette, as well as watercolor techniques to achieve a night atmosphere with little effort.

Participants will learn how to: 

• quickly establish a viewpoint that will make for a dynamic and focused sketch; 
• effectively balance the linework and the color phases of a sketch; 
• use a limited palette to create rich and intense night scenes.

sketch by Pedro Loureiro

Price: 

25€ – general registrations

20€ – for Urban Sketchers Portugal members

To register, please send an email to: pedro.mac.loureiro@gmail.com