Online Class: Preparation & Perspective for Urban Sketching

In addition to iconic landscape and flower paintings, Georgia O’Keeffe captured the essence of urban skylines, many of which are currently on view at the Art Institute of Chicago’s current exhibition Georgia O’Keeffe: “My New Yorks.“

In this class, learn the basics of linear perspective and atmospheric perspective – two important concepts needed to create your own effective urban sketches. Through interactive demonstrations and instructions, teaching artist Sudeshna Sengupta will also guide you through the principles of showing spatial depth in a scene while introducing various sketching tips, tools, and techniques used to implement these concepts.

While this class complements our popular in-person classes on Urban Sketching at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, it also serves as a stand-alone topic that will benefit anyone looking to strengthen their own urban sketching practice.

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This class is suitable for youth ages 12 and up. Children are welcome to participate alongside their adults.

Space is limited, reservations required.

This program will take place via the video conferencing app – ZOOM. Details for accessing the Zoom meeting will be with your receipt upon registering and again sent via email the day prior. Please register in advance to access the program.

Note that all program times are in Mountain Time.

Supplies needed for this class: 

• Strathmore 400 series Mixed-media drawing pad or Strathmore 400 series Hot-Press or pad/block or Bristol pad or Mixed-media drawing pad or any other brand of drawing pad in any size between 9” x 12” and 12” x 17”. Thicker paper (140 lb or higher) is better. 
• A set of 2H, HB, 2B, & 6B graphite pencils 
• 12” plastic ruler. 
• White plastic eraser 
• Pencil sharpener 
• Blending stumps (AKA Tortillons, often comes with drawing pencil sets) and or Q-tips and tissues or cotton rags (clean pieces of old t-shirts work well).
• Masking tape to keep the paper flat especially if a larger pad is used 
• Watercolor pencils or colored pencils 
• Skura Micron or similar brand water-proof pens in black and or sepia 
• Optional: Water-soluble graphite pencil, water-brush pens if watercolor pencils and water-soluble graphite pencils are used, charcoal Pencils: Medium (2B) and Soft/Dark (4B or 6B), Tombow Dual Tip Brush Pens in neutral colors, such as, gray and tan. 
• Optional for warm-up practice: 11” x 14” or larger newsprint pad or sketch pad 
• Optional for an exercise with collage: print out of a cube-shaped building with vertical and horizontal lines (image will be provided via email ahead of time), a pair of scissors or x-acto knife, and a glue stick. 

About the Instructor:

Sudeshna Sengupta’s career as a teaching artist spans multiple decades, continents, and cultures that inform her pedagogy for decolonizing studio art. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1985 from Visva-Bharati, an international university founded in India, by the humanist poet Tagore, the first non-European Nobel Laureate (1913). After teaching art and design at the college level in New Delhi, Seattle, and California, she taught at NMSU-Alamogordo, where she established its first intaglio printmaking studio in 1995. Since moving to Santa Fe a few years ago, she has taught credit courses in online studio art at the Santa Fe Community College. She also conducts workshops and short courses and presents lectures and community-based art events for various age groups with civic, cultural, and community organizations in the US and India, often focusing on multicultural and intercultural experiences that emphasize human, cultural, and environmental connectedness through creativity. To see her art please visit Sengupta’s website!

This class is being offered on a sliding scale.

$10: minimal fee.

$20: covers the cost of the class.

$30: covers the cost of the class, plus a contribution to support educational programs.