Contrast for Better Sketches
And some exciting workshop announcements.
Some thoughts on contrast, last spots to sketch in Provence with me this summer, and India 2026 is now open for registration!
Say “contrast,” and the first thing that comes to mind is those darkest darks and lightest lights and how much of a difference they can make to a piece. But let’s look at other kinds of contrast here, ones that make for interesting effects and clearer storytelling in your sketches.
Contrast beyond darks and lights
Contrasting Big and Small
To make something look big, you need context and contrasting scale, like the people in this sketch with the giant banyan tree. Take them out of the picture and you could be looking at something the size of a broccoli floret!
Contrasting Opaque and Transparent
Juxtaposing transparencies creates interesting results. Here, the delicate magnolias are rendered predominantly in loose washes of transparent magenta ink. In contrast, a blue tempera stick creates a flat, opaque sky.
Contrasting Solid and Airy
Look at your toolkit for tools that can create contrasting marks. I didn’t have to look far for this combination: The Ruth Asawa pieces at the San Jose Museum of Art looked especially delicate and airy in contrast to the solid black outfits of the museumgoers. I used a loose, light pencil line to sketch the sculpture and contrasted it with the dense black ink.
Contrasting Monochrome and Color
Nothing draws attention to bright color like setting it within a monochromatic composition. The unreal pink of this drink (falooda, made with basil seeds, rose-flavored syrup, and milk) is thrown into the spotlight because the rest of this composition is rendered in desaturated, almost monochromatic colors.
These are just a few ways you can use contrast in your sketches beyond lights and darks.
Here is a previous post, one on connecting darks in your sketches, that relates to the subject, if you are interested in reading more.
WORKSHOPS
Gateway to India 2026 is open for registration
(with only 7 spots remaining as I send this out)
Gateway to India 2026: A Sketching Adventure
is an ON-LOCATION WORKSHOP in Mumbai with Suhita & Zainab
Dates: Jan 20th- Jan 29th, 2026
Cost: $2750 (for Sketchers, special non-Sketcher companion pricing: see all details at the link below)
If you’re interested in joining in, here is the link with all the details. Don’t wait too long to sign up, this one fills up quickly!
Join me in Provence this summer
A couple of spots just opened up for my travel sketching workshop in Provence this summer. Grab them before they’re gone and join me in sketching in a gorgeous part of the world!
Sketching in Provence: A Watercolor, Pen & Ink Sketchbook trip through the villages of Provence, hosted by French Escapade
Dates: June 14-21, 2025. Sign up here.
Looking for more workshops?
I’ll be in Vietnam this fall, in Poland this summer, and I will announce more workshops soon.
Find out more about those workshops on this page.
Last month, the Sketching Together group (the paid tier of this substack) experimented with many interesting techniques in our Zoom session. Here are just a few of the many, many renditions of pink magnolias from that session.
To join these live Zoom sessions or receive reference images and a recording of the session every month, upgrade to a paid subscription for as little as $5/month. Our Zoom session this month is on the 18th of April, and we’ll explore texture and landscapes in that session.