Pocket Sketching

Pocket Sketching--with certified instructor, Mary Kaye Sawyer-Morse.

Learn enough to play for a lifetime!

This quick-draw technique anyone can learn is perfect for hiking, biking, sauntering, or just sitting in a café. Capture what you think you see in 25 minutes or less using a water-soluble pen, a 4 x 6 inch sketch pad and a small watercolor paint set. Ideal for the timid beginner to paint fearlessly in public, and the advanced artist who wants minimal equipment, total portability, speed, no interruptions, and no clean-up. Escape into meditation while sketching!

Learn and use:

• Speed - to avoid multiple focal points, excessive detail, ruining freshness

• Characteristics of the water-soluble pen which allows the range of value

• Being invisible and undisturbed when working in the middle of public places

• Visual editing, on location, to get the essential quality of what you think you see (not necessarily what is there)

• Individual, encouraging critique sessions, demonstrations, and hands-on help

About the Artist:

The beginning of Pocket Sketching for me

I came across Pocket Sketching in 2017 when Kath Macaulay taught a workshop at the Hill Country Arts Foundation in Ingram, Texas. Kath developed Pocket Sketching in the late 1980’s and has taught the technique across the US and now has a series on PBS.

It was a pivotal moment for me – I fell in love with sketching on the go and haven’t looked back since! I became a certified Pocket Sketcher instructor in 2022 to enhance my skills in sharing this exciting technique with others.

A little background

My art journey began as a teenager as I explored various mediums – especially pastels - and received my first commission at age 16. Early formal training includes an Associate of Arts degree as an art major. Over the years I have been privileged to study with several prominent pastel masters including Albert Handell, Clive Tyler, Teresa Saia, and Tobi Clement.  My work now encompasses the mediums of pastel, watercolor, and gouache. My paintings are known for an expressive use of radiant and rich color reflecting my love of the Southwest and it’s big, blue skies and vast views.

Mary Kaye Sawyer-Morse