City Sketching

Den Bosch

Black computer keyboard with white keys, viewed from above.

3

Workshops

A close-up image of your drawing and sketching hand

3

Instructors

Urban Sketchers drawing people

10-15

Participants
in a group

Illustration of a church with tall spires and domes on a purple background, with overlaid text about a urban sketchers workshop.
Illustration of a church with tall spires and domes on a purple background, with overlaid text about a urban sketchers workshop.

Discover the beauty of city sketching!

Spend three inspiring days sketching in this historic city with a warm and cheerful atmosphere: Den Bosch, the Netherlands. Together, we'll explore its picturesque streets while creating watercolor and mixed-media sketches on location.

These special workshops are led by three experienced artists, each bringing their own creative style, techniques and favorite materials. By learning from different perspectives, you'll discover a variety of approaches to urban sketching.

Throughout the three days, you'll immerse yourself in the charm and character of Den Bosch, developing your skills through hands-on demonstrations and guided practice. The workshop focuses on composition, color and expressive storytelling, helping you capture the unique spirit of the city.

Each instructor will take turns of sessions, sharing their expertise and artistic vision to create a varied and inspiring learning experience. You'll learn how to depict architecture, people, and everyday urban scenes with confidence while developing your own personal sketching or Gambar, Dibujo, 绘图 , Dessin , 図面 , Rysunek ,

アーバンスケッチング  , 城市速写 , dibujo urbano , şehir eskizciliği , अर्बन स्केचिंग , style!

Where

Den Bosch

The Netherlands

What

3-day sketching workshops

When

21-22-23 May 2027

Price

€ 390,-

What’s included?

  • 3-day workshops

  • Welcome dinner

  • Drink and draw

  • City tour

Hey early bird

You can now secure your ticket with a discount!

Early bird tickets are available €375,-

Book before October 1st 2026

Instructors

A young man with curly dark hair sitting on a blue and yellow patterned bench outdoorsn front of him is an open art set with paints and brushes. Behind him, there is a brick building with blue window frames and shutters, a mailbox, a leafless tree, and a clear sky.

Originally trained as an architect, Marius is an ink and watercolour artist who has been sketching all over the world for over three years. After a long period of sketching the entire East coast of Australia, he travelled back to his home in the south of France by crossing all of Asia and Europe overland—more than 40,000 km—capturing each place directly on location with his paint and a few sketchbooks.

@marsketcher

Marius

A man sitting outdoors, wearing a straw hat and a colorful floral shirt, writes in a notebook.

Lapin

Lapin (1981) is a French artist living in Barcelona. He defines himself as a "mobile illustrator" and records his life in drawings: he has filled more than 230 sketchbooks over the past 20 years.

Lapin is one of the pioneers of the Urban Sketchers community, and he was nominated official air and space painter for the French army in 2019.

@lapinbarcelona

Close-up of a smiling woman with sunglasses on her head, wearing a light blue jacket and carrying a backpack, outdoors near palm trees with a colorful hillside town in the background during daytime.

Natalia is a Ukrainian artist and urban sketcher living in the Netherlands. Proudly self-taught, she has a lifelong streak of making art. Her artistic growth springs from decades of experimenting with any media she can get her hands on.

The more she pushes herself to try a new tool or technique, the more she grows and learns about herself, her style, and how she interprets and conveys reality. She works with watercolour, inks, colour pencils, markers, gouache, acrylic, and oil paints, and more.

@natalia_li_art

Natalia Li

Workshops

A person holding a colorful watercolor painting of a church with a tall bell tower, surrounded by palm trees, with European-style buildings in the background under a blue sky.

Workshop by Marius

The art of leaving out

Every street scene feels overwhelming at first: too many windows, too many people, too many details all competing for attention.

In this workshop, I will show you how to look past the complexity and find the simple structure underneath.

You'll learn how to decide what to draw (and just as importantly, what to leave out), how to create depth without drawing every brick, and how to make a sketch feel alive without it being perfect.

Whether you're a complete beginner or have been sketching for years, you'll leave with a new way of seeing the streets around you and the confidence to paint them in your sketchbook wherever you go.

A sketch of a man with curly hair and glasses reading a book, with another man taking notes in the background, in front of a kitchen scene with a sink and kitchen utensils.

Workshop by Lapin

From head to toe

To me, sketching a destination is about sketching the people who live there, not only a collection of landscapes and architecture. That said, sketching a portrait is a difficult subject and can be quite intimidating.

In this workshop, we will explore how to create quick, lively portraits with line and watercolor, using a very limited palette and quoting part of the conversation, to capture the encounter.

We will then place the portrait in an urban landscape, from head to toe, fitting the whole body on the page.

After this workshop, you will bring your urban sketches to life.

Colorful watercolor painting of European-style buildings with pointed roofs and ornate facades, held by a person outdoors with umbrellas and a clear blue sky in the background.

Workshop by Natalia Li

Flying perspective

You sit in front of beautiful historic buildings, sketchbook open—and the scene simply doesn't fit.

Wide city views can feel impossible to sketch, until you rethink perspective. In this workshop, we solve that by creating urban sketch panoramas enhanced with my flying perspective technique.

You'll learn how to design panoramic compositions, intentionally bend perspective rules, guide the viewer's eye, and create stronger depth and a sense of movement across a long cityscape.

As a bonus, you'll experiment with ink and water techniques using water-soluble ink, adding atmosphere and expression without slowing your flow.

City square with colorful historic buildings, outdoor cafes, and people dining under umbrellas on a bright, sunny day.

About the destination

The workshops take place in the heart of Den Bosch, a charming historic city in the south of the Netherlands. Each day, we will begin at our designated meeting point. The exact address will be sent to you by email a few days before the event.

During the workshops, we will explore and draw in the city centre. May usually offers pleasant weather for sketching outdoors, but if the weather is less favourable, we will simply move to sheltered or indoor locations.

Along the way, you'll also enjoy a guided walk through the city and discover some of Den Bosch's most beautiful streets, squares, and hidden corners.

If you're planning to extend your stay, Den Bosch has plenty more to offer. The city is home to several wonderful museums that provide endless artistic inspiration—from the fantastical world of Jheronimus Bosch, to the works of the Slager Family, and even original paintings by Vincent van Gogh. It's the perfect destination to continue exploring art, history, and creativity beyond the workshop.

About the weekend


The workshop participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodation. Tip: book your hotel early! Airbnb and Booking.com are great resources for finding and booking a place to stay in Den Bosch.

Accomodation

Meals are organised individually, but the welcome dinner is included in the workshop price.

Meals



The workshop is limited to 10–15 participants per group.

It appeals to anyone interested in drawing who would like to explore new perspectives, techniques, and materials together.

Participants


Bring your own materials: a selection of pens, brushes, paints, and drawing sketchbook or paper sheets. Refer to each instructor's "Workshop descriptions" for details. A folding stool is recommended.

Materials


Person drawing a building sketch outdoors near a river with old European buildings and a church in the background.

Regular ticket price: Friday to Sunday — €390

The price includes the three workshops, a city tour, welcome aperitif, and welcome dinner — Drink & Draw.

Costs

A woman with glasses and red hair smiling while painting watercolor pictures of children. Her workspace includes a watercolor palette, painted artwork, and a wooden display stand, set outdoors near autumn foliage.

Contact

Organiser: Annet van den Oord

annetvdoord@hotmail.com
+31 (0)6 27 35 38 97

The Netherlands