2021 – Jamie's Sketchbook

One Week 100 People 2026 Starts

One Week, One Hundred People

Every year, -ish, I do this challenge. I love it. And every year, before I start, I get a bit stressed how hard people are to draw.

This is One Week 100 People — a challenge that runs annually in the Urban Sketchers community, where sketchers commit to drawing one hundred people in one week. It sounds challenging. It is, a little. But when you start, and something loosens up, and the faces start coming.

I always do better at faces than I think I will. Even the hilariously misshapen ones are somehow delightful. I don’t often get a genuine resemblance, but if it looks like a person at all, I’m happy with it. Once I get into it, I always feel that faces are fun, and why was I so resistant?

A little history

I first did this challenge in 2021. I’d never drawn people before — not once. I picked up a brush pen, found an episode of Edwardian Farm (a British documentary where living historians recreate life on an Edwardian farm, which is exactly as charming as it sounds), and started drawing. I didn’t get to 100, and that was fine. I loved these little gestures.

A page of loose, energetic black and white brush pen gesture drawings of figures at work, sketched from the TV documentary Edwardian Farm."

I skipped 2022 and 2023. Life happened. Or maybe I was too intimidated to begin.

In 2024 I came back with a Faber Castell dual markers portrait set and spent the week with Murdoch Mysteries, Oak Island, and Death in Paradise keeping me company. You can see the 2024 entry here.

A double page sketchbook spread of faces drawn in warm tones with Faber-Castell dual markers, sketched from the TV show Murdoch Mysteries. Faces are scattered loosely across the pages, alongside color swatches from the Portrait marker set and the handwritten title 'One Week 100 People.'

double page sketchbook spread of faces drawn in warm tones with Faber-Castell dual markers, sketched from the TV show The Curse of Oak Island. Faces are scattered loosely across the pages.

2025 was my favorite year so far — I experimented with materials, mostly using the Inktense Shade and Tone Mixed Media Set, and the full color pages are ones I’m genuinely proud of. You can see all of those pages in last year’s post.

A double page sketchbook spread of faces sketched from the TV show Murdoch Mysteries, drawn with the Derwent Inktense Shade and Tone Mixed Media set. The faces are arranged across the pages against a barely-there hexagon grid in the background. The palette is muted — skin tones, greys, and blacks with sanguine as the only accent color.

And this year?

This year’s faces will be coming from Stargate SG1, mostly. It’s what I’m streaming right now. I have my sketchbook taped up and ready — a grid of narrow green masking tape waiting to be filled with faces. This I plan to sketch in the business center of my gym and attempt to sketch people live. Quick gestures, people in motion, no time to overthink it.

Maybe that’s the best possible way to start. One hundred people. One week. Here we go.

Same View, Similar Sketch, Four Years Apart

In hunting down the older clutter sketches I came across this one.

Likely sketched Autumn 2021.

I realized this is the same view I sketched this week, so I had to put them side by side and compare!

I definitely like the variable brush tip better than the single width. I like that I went ahead and did sketch in all the background. Might use a smaller brush for the background next time. (Which I did in one of the other clutter sketches I did this week.)

Another thing I find very interesting, is that my technique is the same for these. I traced over a photo in Procreate to create these line art sketches. You’d think there would be no difference in the drawing skill. But I see differences and improvements between these two, and frankly, that surprises me. The biggest differences I see are drawing the lines that denote thicknesses. Those alone create much more three-dimensionality. That which seems to be the difference between what I used to feel looked like “coloring book” sketches, versus more realistic sketches. It’s taken me years to learn how to make things that look less like “coloring books.” Ha! Ironic that it is a traced sketch that reveals more of that learning.

Clutter Sketches: The Beginning

I first fell in love with clutter sketches due to Stephen Reddy’s work. He has a number of clutter sketches published in his books. It was love at first sight. Not only did I want to be able to draw like that, but I also felt such sketching would be a great way to handle my growing clutter problem in my own house.

Why might sketching the clutter help? Sketching is often like meditation, especially when the subject has so many lines. You create a new way of looking at and thusly thinking about what is in front of you. They say clutter blindness is a thing. I wouldn’t say I had blindness, as much as paralyzing overwhelm. My clutter erupted in a short period of time, born of grief, and depression. I call it pandemic clutter, because the profound losses that first year of pandemic, gave birth to it. I have yet to overcome the damages. I still believe sketching is an excellent way to cope, to change thinking, and grapple with the impossible. There are so many negative feelings trapped in each square inch of clutter.

My very first clutter sketch, which I drew right after seeing Stephen Reddy’s book and getting so inspired by his clutter sketches, was of my treacherous staircase. This sketch I did from a photo, in pen and ink, and ink wash, copying his technique for shading. Or at least trying to. Ha!

Drawn Christmas Day 2020.

I hated this sketch at the time, due my lack of skill with both lines and shading. Skills I STILL work on. At least I’ve learned now that they are skills that never finish developing.

Drawn 1 April 2021.

The next clutter sketch I attempted I also used inspiration from Paul Heston, who does these amazing room sketches, always including his own hands drawing. I used my iPad. I felt like I was cheating, but I really wanted to make clutter sketches, and felt my drawing skills were simply not up to the number of lines required, the proportions, any of it. So I put the photo into Procreate and drew the lines, basically tracing the photograph. This is what I ended up with. I loved it. Just the lines, simplifying the scene into basic black and white. I still use this approach today.

I just realized that’s a covid mask hanging on the doorknob. Woah. That stirs up some feelings!

After this I decided that before and after sketches would be a great way to document my efforts to declutter.

Drawn September 2021.

I had to scroll through nine months of photos to find when I took this photo, and did this sketch! I apparently need to add dates to the iPad sketches! I read the book Decluttering at the Speed of Life, and took her advice to start at the front door.

I have a few random clutter sketches, which have no dates. I believe they were all in that Autumn of 2021.

January 2024.

I found this third one, which I did in January of 2024.

The next big push for such clutter sketches was a year later, January 2025, when I participated in the All Day Declutter with Take Your House Back, which I wanted to document. I’ll share those in a future post, as I get them uploaded.

Foundations 2021

Apparently this was in March 2021. My third attempt at Foundations. These are as far as I got with the exercises, half-way through lesson 1.

Yule

‘Tis the season, from holiday gnomes, to the annual quilt mystery! Capturing the bits and pieces during this cold, wintery season.

One of my gifts was 238 dot card set from Daniel Smith, so you know I had to make a color chart!

On the sketchbook design front, I noticed when I scanned these just how strongly I am still doing individual pages, and not really designing across the gutter. Only one of these four spreads utilizes both pages. I had not really noticed when I was making the pages, but I do when looking at the scans. This inspires me to think a bit more about my design, and layout in the future!

Happy Holidays everyone, and may your days be Merry and Bright! Happy New Year!

Wrapping up Buildings, Looking forward to Foundations

Buildings was great for me this year. I didn’t quite manage to finish. Again. But I got farther than I have in previous years, and had a number of breakthroughs. Seasonal depression is a thing, and in the middle of a pandemic its far worse, so I will be kind and forgiving with myself about not finishing. I loved every minute of class, every Livestream, and every sketch I did was the best I’ve yet done, and that’s a massive set of wins!

Getting better and better! My biggest success has to be in “thicknesses” and that there are a LOT more lines needed when drawing buildings! I’m getting so much more dimensionality. Even my angles and proportions, by far a big weakness of mine, are getting better! I really need to keep using pencil set up lines for that accuracy aid!

I actually sketched outside! On location! This was in a quiet neighborhood, so I didn’t have to worry about social distancing. I added the paint at home later, though, since the sun was a bit brutal by the time I was done. Next time, I need a hat! But I’ve only done “one location” sketching a few times, so every one is scary and a huge accomplishment.

“Working Structurally” may be the best thing! I couldn’t believe how fast and accurately this little sketch of Notre Dame came together! I really have learned so much. Now the trick will be to remember those seven steps!

Next up is Foundations. This will be my fourth run through Foundations, though I’ve not done a great job of finishing that one, either. Hopefully I’ve learned just how much time those lessons really take so I can try to keep up next month!

I’ve decided to go for the six color palette that Liz Steel uses for the class. It feels refreshing and interesting to me to simplify my colors, and work on color mixing, I feel pretty strong with my color mixing, and I have so much fun with it!

Once upon a time, when I got my first watercolors, I’d see a pamphlet that Winsor Newton put out about which of their colors they recommended for a six color palette, so I had to go research that and put it in my notes. However, I’ll be using Liz’s for class, particularly since I’m really curious how the earth colors will mix. Can I get “clear” tones? I’m excited to find out!

For the holidays I got a set of water color pencils! So, for the first time, I’ve got all the colors for the set in the Foundations class, and I’m so excited to be able to experiment with those, too! Never had them all in previous runs!

A Holiday Palette

I love the idea of seasonal palettes, and color stories. For this holiday season I am inspired by these tones and colors, and I suspect one could do quite a lot with this colored. My watercolors are all Daniel Smith. The gold gouache is Winsor Newton. After all, the holiday season needs some sparkle!

Then I had to figure out what, exactly, is “Interference Gold” by Daniel Smith, and how does it work? Am I supposed to mix it in to paint to make the paint sparkle? Nope. That gives a tiny bit of sheen, but is really not very effective. How does it work if I paint it on top? That was the sparkliest options. It is transparent enough fro the color to come through, but also clearly gold in the light. I tested how these palette colors “lift” alongside a swipe of Interference Gold, as well.

Edges, Shapes, Volumes

I seem to “getting” the lessons of this buildings course more than I ever have in the past. Learning how to sketch really is an ongoing process. You think you get it one time, but then you realize there was so much more to get. I keep getting more and more every single time!

My homework assignments, utilizing Liz’s exercises for drawing using edges, shapes and volumes.

As ever, I’m best at “shapes.” I always like my paint first, or paint only sketches. I think they are far more forgiving. I love this spread. I tried to achieve an open design, with overlap and white space. Those techniques are a challenge for me. Yes, sketchbook design in addition to technique assignments! I must keep going with it!

Other things I’m learning, or should I say having to relearn, is that I really do need to use at least a little pencil set up lines. Especially for buildings. I’m always so wonky, and off with my first lines. I think that is one reason paint only is good for me–its adjustable!

My efforts to overlap my sketches in this layout was perhaps a little less successful, and thusly I learn this, too, is an ongoing skill! One reason for the difference, is that this is in a smaller sketchbook. I had been working in the 8×10 Stillman & Birn Alpha, and this is was in a 7.5×7.5 Stillman & Birn Alpha. The smaller size is quite the adjustment.

New Brushes, a Fountain

An actual, on location sketch of the fountain that I had a take-away lunch near.

I very much want to develop a daily sketching habit and capturing the stories of the day and this is a page with that intention. The buildings were from the show I was streaming and is an abandoned lighthouse in Michigan. I was attempting to use my newly learned buildings sketching skills. No doubt the sketch would be better with some color and paint, but time moved on, and so I’m leaving it and the sketch of the new brushes that got delivered as line sketches. Not finishing being part of the story, too.

Collage Pages

My new mystery box has started and this inspired some collage pages in my sketchbook! (If you are doing Curse of Humanrah by Cosy Killer, there are spoilers in these images!)

I like the double page spreads much better than the side by side but very different pages. I’m still challenged by the mental block created by that gutter, and think of it as two pages, not one spread. However, my collage pages where I built my notes for the game are among my favorites in the entire sketchbook!