Classes and Workshops
Urban Sketching in Guanajuato, Mexico: Travel Sketching Retreat
December 7-14, 2025
December 14-21, 2025
Guanajuato, Mexico
Join us in Pueblo Mágico (Magic Town) of Guanajuato for a week long sketching retreat. We will be hosted by the owner of Alma del Sol and a fellow Mexican artist Hugo Anaya. The colorful town is surrounded by the mountains and boasts rich history, beautiful architecture, unique culture, and mild climate. Formally a silver mining town the town of Guanajuato is the Unesco World Heritage site. It is famous for its colonial Baroque and neoclassical architecture, narrow streets, colorful homes scattered on the mountains, cozy plazas, relaxed pace of life, and great food.
More info and Join
Fundamentals of Drawing Urban Spaces Course: Online Course
Every Monday January 12-Feb 23, 2026
live session from 9am-11:30am (Pacific time) or on your own time
The seven week course is designed for beginner sketchers and those looking to refresh their drawing skills. We will cover main sketching techniques, variation on strokes, values, composition, perspective, watercolor techniques, and successful ways of building your sketch from start to finish. Instruction, demos, exercises, and group and individual feedback is part of every class. This course will be recorded and can be taken asynchronously (at the time convenient for you). A recording of a live class will be available for 30 days after each class takes place. Students can arrange for one-on-one meetings with the instructor to get individual feedback.
More Info and Register
Visual Storytelling through Drawing: Online Course
Every Thursday January 15-Feb 26, 2026
live session from 9am-11:30am (Pacific time) or on your own time
This new course is designed for sketchers who want to explore how drawing can be a powerful tool for communication, storytelling, and visual journalism. You’ll learn to document and interpret real-world events—from everyday human activity to cultural festivals, political protests, and broader social phenomena. The course will foster confidence in reporting visual stories and in identifying the unique characteristics that define a place. Students will develop the ability to make strong editorial choices—focusing on essential elements and bringing clarity to a visual story. A wide range of classic and contemporary examples of reportage illustration will provide inspiration and help students develop their own visual voice.
The course is fully recorded and can be taken asynchronously, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Recordings of live classes will be available for 30 days after each session. One-on-one meetings with the instructor are available for personalized feedback.
Some prior drawing experience is recommended.
More Info and Register
Cityscapes in Ink & Watercolor (in person workshop)
Friday evening, Saturday, Sunday, February 20 - 22, 2026
Oregon Society of Artists, Portland, OR
Drawing street scenes is one of the best ways to truly experience a city, discovering light and shadows, angles, and architectural details in every stroke. Being able to capture an urban space in a sketch allows us to use those skills in a variety of disciplines from fine art, design and illustration to architecture and urban planning. In this workshop, we will progress from getting control over ink lines and textures to learning a variety of watercolor techniques to capture cities that not only copy a scene but aim to express the personality of a place.
Drawing Stories: Become an Artist Reporter in Monsaraz: Travel Sketching Retreat
March 12-17, 2026
Monsaraz, Portugal
Join us in the hilltop village of Monsaraz, Portugal, for a unique, immersive workshop where drawing meets storytelling. Over the course of six days, you will learn how to become an artist reporter—someone who documents the world not just with words, but with expressive, on-location drawings and visual narratives.
The Art of Travel Sketching in the South of France: Travel Sketching Retreat
March 21-March 28, 2026
Atelier Clos Mirabel, Jurançon, France
Join us for a week-long workshop on creating a perfect travel sketchbook, or what the French call “carnet de voyage”. We will learn all of the main aspects of telling a visual story of a place from drawing sweeping landscapes and rendering architecture, to sketching traditional Pyrenees villages and capturing unique flavors of a local market.
More info and Join
Santa Fe Sketchbook: Exploring the Spirit & Stories of the American Southwest:
MISA West Travel Sketching Retreat
April 20–24, 2026
Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza, New Mexico, USA
The workshop is hosted by Madeline Island School of Art
We’ll dive into the spirit of this region – its warm adobe structures, vibrant plazas, weathered mission ruins, and quirky ghost towns. We will learn how to sketch traditional Santa Fe architecture, the breathtaking mountain landscapes and then wander through villages, drawing nostalgic roadside Americana in its colorful charm.
Throughout the retreat, you’ll develop an ability to simplify complex shapes and scenes without losing their essence, master architectural perspective to give your drawings depth and realism, and learn to identify and mix the true colors that capture the unique light and mood of this stunning region.
More info and register
Portland Summer Workshops
May-Oct, 2026
Join us for our 9th season of Urban Sketching Workshops in Portland— on-location drawing series. These workshops are a chance to develop your drawing skills, meet fellow sketchers, and see your city with fresh eyes.
In-person workshops set in iconic and lesser-known spots around Portland
Live demos, drawing exercises, group and individual feedback
A handy booklet for each workshop, packed with examples and key takeaways
Fun, challenge, inspiration in the company of like minded sketchers
More info coming in March of 2026
Urban Sketching Workshops with Madeline School of Art: MISA Travel Sketching Retreat
Madeline Island, Wisconsin, USA
August 31st - September 4th, 2026
This 5-day immersive workshop is designed to help you build a solid foundation in sketching while pushing your creative boundaries. With expert guidance from four world-class instructors, you’ll explore exciting subject matter around the island, experimenting with new techniques and concepts that will enhance your skills and boost your confidence as an urban sketcher.
More info coming soon
Student Testimonials
“I want to thank you for a wonderful experience this morning, it was the highlight of my week! Your instruction and your process are so clear and "do-able", they give one confidence to just go.
Thank you for your insights and your very clear instruction. Your paintings have a friendly accessible quality that makes one think "I can do that too!". And the handout is genius. I look forward to taking another class with you.”
-Liz Williams , Portland, OR
“The online class I took with Rita Sabler was my favorite activity of the year. I have a degree in studio art from 25 years ago, but having worked in a different field, my drawing and painting became rusty. Rita’s online class was a crash course, helping me to remember perspective, composition, tonal values, storytelling, drawing, and seeing. She demonstrated ways to prepare and complete a sketch that I wasn’t taught in art school.”
- Jen, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada
“Drawing Cities in Ink and Watercolor with Rita Sabler provided not only the technical foundations, but also the practice and confidence to develop my urban sketching skills. The live zoom classes provide ample opportunity to receive personal feedback and guidance during class. Each class is developed around solid content for a specific topic, building on top of the skills developed on previous classes. I highly recommend the course!”
- César Landin, Mexico
“I really enjoyed the logical approach to the “Fundamentals of Drawing Urban Spaces.” The instructor explained the steps of the process we need to complete in sequence, emphasizing that troubleshooting practice makes the difference in the final drawing we do. Thank you for sharing your valuable sketching knowledge and experience!”
-Diane Mills, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
“An unexpected "gift" of this course, was being retaught how to really look and observe life all around me. I look forward to attempting more urban sketching as the weather improves! Thank you for everything, Rita!”
-M.P.
“Rita Sabler is an excellent instructor, super helpful and inspiring. The course was really enlightening, she made difficult concepts very simple to understand. I learned a lot from her drawing process and her feedback every week.I am so glad I decided to take this course. I would highly recommend it!”
- Marisol Pastrana, Italy
“Rita Sabler makes the problem of simplifying the chaotic visual scene easy to follow. No one has taught me that so clearly. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!”
-Thia Bankey, Portland, OR
“Really enjoyed the class and appreciated the feedback. I thought Rita Sabler did a great job of explaining in a way that was accessible and understandable to me - a beginner - even though she also needed to present in a way that was also good for the more experienced class members. Thank you!”
-2024 Fundamentals of Drawing Urban Spaces Student
“Rita Sabler ‘s manner of instruction is always so clear, non-judgmental and supportive. I value the way she reviews the basics – line, value, thumbnails, etc – all of the elements of a strong composition. It's like first getting all of the ingredients together before making a delicious cake!”
Susan, Portland OR
“I was impressed and pleased at how quickly the instructor responded to my questions. She quickly understood what the question was about and then answered it clearly. Not all teachers do that. A lot of instructors let themselves be de-railed. As a teacher, Rita Sabler is a Gem!”
-Student from Lantzville, BC
“Drawing architecture and complicated scenes has always been a challenge for me - something always seemed wrong in my sketches. Rita’s “Drawing Cities'' online course equipped me with valuable know-how and suggestions for a process which gave me confidence to sketch even the busiest surroundings.”
- Martina, Germany
“Rita is approachable and relatable, and she teaches with focus and patience. She has a talent for selecting what is good about a student’s sketch, and she suggests tweaks to make future sketches more successful.”
- Jen, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada
I was not new to urban sketching or a beginner sketcher when I signed up for this course, but I struggle with where to start when sketching a big scene on location and I feel like I sketch very tight and controlled, which frustrated me. This course gave great tips on how to approach a scene and not feel so overwhelmed. Over the 7 weeks I could feel my approach to sketching really loosen up. I loved the tips Rita shared and really feel grateful for the skills I learned.
-2025 Fundamentals of Drawing Urban Spaces Student