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Valentina Sosa
Rooftops and the river from a terrace with a sketchbook on the wall.

A view from above, with the sketchbook on the wall.

A free letter, every Monday

One page in four stages

A bus stop on a wet afternoon, from the first look to the last touch of colour.

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  1. Rooftops and the river from a terrace with a sketchbook on the wall.
    A view from above, with the sketchbook on the wall.

    01Look

    Look before you draw

    I sit for a few minutes without drawing and count the verticals and the main shapes. The more I see now, the fewer lines I need later.

  2. A sketchbook beside coffee and mate on a tiled cafe table.
    The sketchbook open beside a coffee, pencil ready.

    02Pencil

    Place the lines

    A light pencil line places the pavement, the bus and the shelter. I keep it loose and never press, because the line will be covered later.

  3. A travel watercolour tin open on a park bench.
    A small travel tin open on a bench.

    03Colour

    Add a few colours

    Yellow, grey and a mixed blue-green are enough. I paint the biggest shapes first and leave the lights white.

  4. An open sketchbook spread of city balconies and buses.
    The finished spread, with balconies and buses.

    04Finish

    Stop before it is finished

    I add a few dark lines, write the date in a corner and close the book. A page that stops early feels alive.

Past issues

  1. 25

    Sketching a bus stop in the rain

    One page in four stages, from a wet pavement to a yellow bus, drawn in twenty minutes under a shelter.

    Nov 9, 20269 min readRead: Sketching a bus stop in the rain
  2. 24

    Why I always start with the line

    Pencil first, always, and what happens to a page when you try colour before it.

    Nov 2, 20267 min readRead: Why I always start with the line
  3. 23

    A travel watercolour tin, tested

    Twelve small pans, one brush and a month of drawing outside in every weather.

    Oct 26, 20268 min readRead: A travel watercolour tin, tested
  4. 22

    Ten minutes at a café table

    What you can draw while the coffee cools, and why I stop at ten.

    Oct 19, 20265 min readRead: Ten minutes at a café table
  5. 21

    Balconies at dusk

    A row of old apartment balconies, the first lights and how I drew the rhythm of the railings.

    Oct 12, 20267 min readRead: Balconies at dusk
  6. 20

    Drawing in the wind on the river wall

    How to hold a page that wants to fly away, and why windy drawings are my favourite.

    Oct 5, 20266 min readRead: Drawing in the wind on the river wall

Shop

A stack of worn sketchbooks tied with elastic bands.

About me

I am thirty-three, and I have carried a sketchbook for as long as I can remember. I draw standing at a bus stop, sitting on the river wall in the wind or at a café table with a coffee going cold. The pages are never tidy. They are a record of where I was and what the light did, drawn in pencil first and coloured later.

Each week I send a letter with one page from the sketchbook and the story of how it got made. What I sell is the part that is useful to you. There are printable worksheets and templates for your own sketchbook, and two video courses, one on drawing a street scene in stages and one on watercolour for people who draw outside.