Travel Sketching Retreats

  • Urban Sketching in Guanajuato, Mexico

    Urban Sketching in Guanajuato, Mexico

    Dates: December 15-22, 2024
    Price: $390 (Early Bird Rate)
    All level workshop

    Join us in Pueblo Mágico (Magic Town) of Guanajuato for a week long sketching retreat. We will be hosted by the owner of Alma del Sol and a fellow Mexican artist Hugo Anaya. The colorful town is the Unesco World Heritage Site surrounded by mountains. It boasts rich history, beautiful architecture, unique culture, and mild climate.

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  • Travel Sketching in Provence, France

    Dates: May 26-June 2, 2025
    All level workshop
    Language: English
    Non drawing partners are welcome
    Single or shared accommodations

    During our time together we will learn how to capture scenes on the go in a style of a quick vignette. We will also learn how to make longer meditative drawings that allow us to truly immerse ourselves in a scene. I will show you how to compose your drawings, how to simplify and extract the essence of what you are seeing when you only have a short time to capture something while enjoying a cup of coffee on a sunny terrace. I will share some of my favorite watercolor techniques and tips on drawing architecture, water, and greenery creating a beautiful travel diary that will bring joy and memories for years to come.

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  • Travel Sketching Retreat in Clos Mirabel, France

    Dates: 23 March 2024 - 30 March 2024
    All levels welcome
    Language: English (with French translation available)
    Non drawing partners are welcome
    Single or shared accommodations

    Join the award winning instructor Rita Sabler for a week long all-inclusive retreat learning the art of Travel Sketching (Carnet de Voyage) in Southern France. Over the course of a week we will be putting together a perfect travel sketchbook that captures the place and honors its beauty. Students will learn the main techniques of urban sketching and travel reportage. Participants will practice how to capture the natural environment, intuitive approach to drawing architecture, and telling the story of traditions and human activity using ink and watercolor.

    Clos Mirabel Clos Mirabel is a beautiful fifteen-acre estate surrounded by the Pyrenees mountains. All of the meals are thoughtfully prepared onsite with great attention to detail and when possible, with produce from our own garden. Selected wines and beers come from local producers. Special diets can be catered for upon request.

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Student Testimonials

  • Rita Sabler ‘s manner of instruction is always so clear, non-judgmental and supportive. I value the way she reviews the basics – line, value, thumbnails, etc – all of the elements of a strong composition. It's like first getting all of the ingredients together before making a delicious cake!

    
Susan, Portland OR

  • I want to thank you for a wonderful experience this morning, it was the highlight of my week! Your instruction and your process are so clear and "do-able", they give one confidence to just go.

    Thank you for your insights and your very clear instruction. Your paintings have a friendly accessible quality that makes one think "I can do that too!". And the handout is genius. I look forward to taking another class with you.

    -Liz Williams , Portland, OR

  • An unexpected "gift" of this course, was being retaught how to really look and observe life all around me. I look forward to attempting more urban sketching as the weather improves! Thank you for everything, Rita!

    -M.P.

  • I was impressed and pleased at how quickly the instructor responded to my questions. She quickly understood what the question was about and then answered it clearly. Not all teachers do that. A lot of instructors let themselves be de-railed. As a teacher, Rita Sabler is a Gem!

    -2024 online student from Lantzville, BC

  • The online class I took with Rita Sabler was my favorite activity of the year. I have a degree in studio art from 25 years ago, but having worked in a different field, my drawing and painting became rusty. Rita’s online class was a crash course, helping me to remember perspective, composition, tonal values, storytelling, drawing, and seeing. She demonstrated ways to prepare and complete a sketch that I wasn’t taught in art school.

    - Jen, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

  • Rita Sabler is an excellent instructor, super helpful and inspiring. The course was really enlightening, she made difficult concepts very simple to understand. I learned a lot from her drawing process and her feedback every week.I am so glad I decided to take this course. I would highly recommend it!

    - Marisol Pastrana, Italy

  • Drawing architecture and complicated scenes has always been a challenge for me - something always seemed wrong in my sketches. Rita’s “Drawing Cities'' online course equipped me with valuable know-how and suggestions for a process which gave me confidence to sketch even the busiest surroundings.

    - Martina, Germany

  • Drawing Cities in Ink and Watercolor with Rita Sabler provided not only the technical foundations, but also the practice and confidence to develop my urban sketching skills. The live zoom classes provide ample opportunity to receive personal feedback and guidance during class. Each class is developed around solid content for a specific topic, building on top of the skills developed on previous classes. I highly recommend the course!

    - César Landin, Mexico

  • Really enjoyed the class and appreciated the feedback. I thought Rita Sabler did a great job of explaining in a way that was accessible and understandable to me - a beginner - even though she also needed to present in a way that was also good for the more experienced class members. Thank you!

    -2024 Online Course Student

  • I’ve taken classes from Rita for a decade. I started out with a loopy perspective, sickly trees and lame compositions. After Rita’s courses on urban scapes, trees, composition and more, my sketching progress is gratifying. Friends who follow me on Instagram say, “You’re so much better!”

    - Pat Harrison, Astoria, OR

  • Rita is approachable and relatable, and she teaches with focus and patience. She has a talent for selecting what is good about a student’s sketch, and she suggests tweaks to make future sketches more successful.

    - Jen, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

  • You make the problem of simplifying the chaotic visual scene easy to follow. No one has taught me that so clearly. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!

    -Thia Bankey, Portland, OR

  • I really enjoyed the logical approach to the “Fundamentals of Drawing Urban Spaces.” The instructor explained the steps of the process we need to complete in sequence, emphasizing that troubleshooting practice makes the difference in the final drawing we do. Thank you for sharing your valuable sketching knowledge and experience!

    -Diane Mills, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada