Studying other urban sketching artists has helped me as much as studying individual drawing techniques. I don’t try to copy someone’s style, but looking closely at how another sketcher simplifies architecture, handles crowds, uses color, or builds a page can change the way I approach my own drawings.
The artists below are people I keep coming back to for different reasons. Some make me think more carefully about structure and perspective. Others remind me to draw faster, use stronger color, or let a sketchbook page remain messy and personal.
If you’re trying to develop your own urban sketching style, I’d study what each artist chooses to emphasize rather than simply asking whether you like the finished drawing.
Urban Sketching Artists at a Glance
| Artist | What I study in their work |
|---|---|
| Liz Steel | Architecture, observation, watercolor and sketchbook notes |
| James Richards | Energetic linework and loose city scenes |
| Suhita Shirodkar | People, movement, markets and expressive color |
| Paul Heaston | Perspective, panoramic scenes and dense pen drawing |
| Pat Southern-Pearce | Travel-journal pages, lettering, color and mixed media |
1. Liz Steel: Architecture Without Losing the Sketch
Liz Steel was one of the artists I found when I became more serious about drawing architecture.
What I pay attention to isn’t simply whether a building is accurately drawn. I like the way architectural structure can coexist with loose watercolor, notes, everyday objects and the rest of the sketchbook page.
That combination is useful for me because architecture can easily push a drawing toward stiffness. Studying her work reminds me that understanding a building’s structure doesn’t mean every window, column and roofline needs identical attention.
What I’d study
- How large architectural shapes are established
- Which details are described and which are simplified
- How watercolor sits alongside line
- How written notes become part of a sketchbook page
If buildings are one of your main subjects, my house sketching guide covers the way I simplify architecture before getting into smaller details.
2. James Richards: Energy Before Perfection
James Richards is someone I look at when my own drawing starts becoming too controlled.
His city sketches remind me that a drawing can communicate the character of a place without carefully describing every object in it.
Instead of asking how I can make every line more accurate, I start asking different questions: Which part of the scene has the energy? Where are the strongest shapes? What can disappear?
What I’d study
- Fast, expressive linework
- How complex scenes are simplified
- The balance between description and suggestion
- How a drawing can feel energetic without becoming visually confusing
That’s closely related to the approach I use in my loose urban sketching guide.
3. Suhita Shirodkar: People, Movement and Color
Suhita Shirodkar is one of the artists I look at when I need a reminder that a sketch can handle a lot of movement without becoming overworked.
Markets, street scenes, people working and other everyday subjects can change before I’ve had time to carefully draw them. Her work encourages me to accept that movement rather than waiting for an ideal static subject.
I also pay attention to the confidence of the color. It’s useful when I’m getting too cautious with watercolor and reducing every scene to safe, muted washes.
What I’d study
- Gesture rather than portrait-like detail
- How moving people become part of a larger scene
- Strong areas of color
- Ways to simplify crowded environments
If people are the part of a city scene that gives you trouble, my urban sketching people guide focuses specifically on gesture, moving subjects and crowds.
4. Paul Heaston: Perspective and Immersive Views
Paul Heaston’s drawings make me slow down and look at how much spatial information can be organized on one page.
His panoramic and highly detailed pen drawings are very different from the quick sketches I might make in ten minutes, but that’s exactly why I find them useful to study.
I look at the underlying structure: how the space expands around the viewer, how one form leads into another, and how a dense drawing can still maintain a clear sense of depth.
What I’d study
- Perspective across a wide field of view
- Overlapping objects
- Changes in scale from foreground to background
- How dense detail is organized rather than scattered randomly
For practical methods I use when simplifying scenes like this, see my urban sketching techniques.
5. Pat Southern-Pearce: Treat the Page Like a Travel Journal
Pat Southern-Pearce reminds me that an urban sketchbook doesn’t have to be a collection of isolated finished drawings.
Handwritten notes, color blocks, mixed media and small observations can all live together on a page.
I find that especially useful for travel sketching because some places don’t give me enough time or space for one elaborate scene. A collection of smaller observations can say more about the day.
What I’d study
- Combining drawing with handwritten notes
- Using multiple small subjects on one page
- Mixing ink with colored pencil, marker or other media
- Drawing ordinary places rather than waiting for spectacular subjects
What I Look for When Studying an Urban Sketcher
I get more from another artist’s work when I stop thinking only in terms of whether I like the style.
I try to identify specific decisions.
- Subject: What did the artist decide was worth drawing?
- Crop: Where does the scene begin and end?
- Line: Are the marks precise, broken, gestural or heavily varied?
- Value: Where are the largest light and dark shapes?
- Color: Is it descriptive, limited, exaggerated or mostly absent?
- Detail: Which areas receive attention and which are simplified?
- Page design: Is it one finished scene or several observations?
Those questions give me something I can actually test in my own sketchbook.
Don’t Try to Copy an Artist’s Entire Style
I don’t think studying another artist means trying to make my sketchbook look exactly like theirs.
I get more value from isolating one decision at a time.
For example, I might make one page where I concentrate on energetic line, another where I use unusually strong color, or another where I combine several small drawings and notes.
That lets me experience the underlying idea without turning the exercise into an attempt to imitate someone’s visual identity.
Try the Same Subject Three Different Ways
One exercise I like is choosing one reference or location and changing the approach each time.
- First sketch: concentrate on structure and architecture.
- Second sketch: work quickly and simplify aggressively.
- Third sketch: concentrate on people, color or page design.
The subject stays the same, so I can see how much the artist’s choices change the result.
My urban sketching reference photos can be useful for this because you can return to the same scene several times.
Learn From Books Without Turning This Into a Book List
Books are one of the easiest ways I’ve found to spend more time with an artist’s drawings and process.
But I keep the two topics separate on this site.
This page is about artists and what I learn from their work. My urban sketching books guide is where I compare books based on what you want to learn.
That distinction makes it easier to start with either a person whose work interests you or a skill you’re specifically trying to improve.
Which Urban Sketching Artist Should You Study First?
I would choose based on what feels weak or stale in your own sketchbook.
| If you want to study… | Start with… |
|---|---|
| Architecture and observation | Liz Steel |
| Loose, energetic city drawing | James Richards |
| People, motion and bold color | Suhita Shirodkar |
| Perspective and panoramic space | Paul Heaston |
| Travel-journal page design | Pat Southern-Pearce |
The point isn’t deciding which artist is “best.” Their work is useful to me precisely because they solve different visual problems in different ways.
Then Take the Idea Outside
Studying artists only becomes useful to me when I test something in my own drawing.
I might look at a sketch before leaving home and give myself one simple assignment: use fewer lines, make the color stronger, draw people sooner, simplify the buildings, or add written observations to the page.
Then I stop looking at the reference and respond to what’s actually in front of me.
If you’re still learning the overall process, start with my urban sketching for beginners guide. If you already sketch regularly and want concrete methods to experiment with, continue with my urban sketching techniques.