Classes and Workshops
Fundamentals of Drawing Urban Spaces (online course)
Every Monday, Jan 11, 2027 - February 22, 2027
Live Session on Zoom from 9:00am to 11:30 am PST
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.
Visual Storytelling through Drawing (online course)
Every Wednesday January 13 - March 3, 2027
Live Session on Zoom from 9am-11:30am PST
The eight week course is designed for sketchers who want to use drawing as a powerful tool for 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 is fully recorded and can be taken asynchronously, allowing you to learn at your own pace.
Cityscapes in Ink & Watercolor: Immersive Workshop
February 5 - 7, 2027
Where: Oregon Art Center, Portland, OR, US
Our exploration will take us to the streets of the most beautiful cities in the world as we learn how to use the combination on line, texture, and wash to draw architecture, compose a scene, imply depth and perspective, always looking for ways to show the essence of a place. Learning all of the necessary techniques and elements in the comfort of a studio will allow us to transition with confidence into the real world in order to capture city scenes on location and cultivating a lifelong passion for drawing and telling stories using sketches.
New Mexico: A Cinematic Sketchbook: Immersive Workshop
March 15-19, 2027
Where: La Fonda at Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
In this immersive five-day sketching workshop, we’ll draw Santa Fe and its movie set locations, inspired directly from some of the landscapes, towns and buildings that have been featured in classic films. We’ll look at what makes these places so visually compelling—and learn how to capture that cinematic atmosphere in our own drawings.
From our home base at Santa Fe’s historic La Fonda hotel, we’ll sketch adobe architecture and the lively streets around the Plaza, wander through ghost towns filled with nostalgic roadside Americana, and paint dramatic landscapes and limestone cliffs that have provided the backdrop for generations of movies.
The Art of Travel Reportage in Southern France: Immersive Workshop
April 17-24, 2027
Where: Atelier Clos Mirabel, Jurançon, France
Framed by the snowcapped Pyrénées mountains Atelier Clos Mirabel is a place where vineyard covered hills roll gently beneath snow-dusted peaks and evenings glow with unforgettable sunsets. It is as close as you can get to an art heaven. We invite you to explore the art of the carnet de voyage, the travel sketchbook. Eugène Delacroix came here in search of clear mountain air but what he found was endless inspiration in dramatic landscapes and timeless villages. His sketchbooks reveal scenes that are still there today—timeless, textured, and full of quiet beauty. You have the unique opportunity to spend a week in this inspiring setting, creating your own travel sketchbook and capturing the spirit of a place that has moved artists for generations.
Urban Sketching in Guanajuato : Immersive Workshop
December 5-12, 2027
Where: Alma del Sol, Guanajuato, Mexico
Join us in Pueblo Mágico (Magic Town) of Guanajuato for a week long sketching retreat taught by Rita Sabler. We will be hosted by the owner of Alma del Sol Mexican artist and print maker Hugo Anaya. Guanajuato is located in central Mexico. The colorful town is surrounded by the mountains and boasts rich history, beautiful architecture, unique culture, and mild climate. Formally a silver mining place, the town of Guanajuato is now the Unesco World Heritage site popular with artists, musicians and students. 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.
Registration opens soon
People and the Sea: A Immersive Reportage and Urban Sketching Workshop in Portugal
Spring, 2028
Setúbal, Portugal
Setúbal is a working port town full of life. Picture boats rocking in the harbor, nets drying on the docks, the vibrant Mercado do Livramento. Over five days, we’ll explore small-scale fisheries and tell visual stories of the people, boats, market, and marine life that give this town its character.
More info and registration coming soon
“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
Student Testimonials
“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
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
“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