Live to Draw. Draw to Live. Enjoy improving your observational drawing skills. Learn to use your sketchbook for developing ideas, organizing your thoughts, and increasing productivity. Join our small but mighty community as we sketch on the streets, in the field, and in the studio. Learn to draw the moment!
Connect with other like-minded sketchers and drawing coach Rob Court by receving the Scribbles Institute eNewsletter. Scroll down to view our lineup of workshops and events.
Workshops
Explore! Experiment! Express! And have fun! On-location workshops help you discover new ways to apply drawing skills to everyday life.
Dust off that sketchbook, pack a lunch, and relax into a pleasant afternoon of drawing. Whether you’re sketching for the first time or improving your skills, this sketchbook workshop at Mission Plaza Park is a great way to get the summer drawing season started.
Get an early start for summer sketching! Mission Park offers a variety of drawing subjects including victorian and mission architecture, a towering church steeple, beautiful trees, and interesting people in repose. And it’s just a short walk to the historic Santa Cruz mission.
What You’ll Learn: Basic fundamentals of composition and placing your subject on the page; techniques for sketching buildings, trees, figures; basic perspective. When: Date to be announced, 11:00am-1:00pm Where: Meet Rob at the fountain in Mission Park. (Map) Cost: $50. Materials needed: Sketchbook and 2B-9B drawing pencils; various ink pens are cool to try too. Portable chair or camping stool recommended. Health Safety: 🙂 Full Covid vaccination please. 😷 Masks optional. Workshop is limited to 8 participants. Note: Premium Membership students can use 1 session to participate in this workshop.
Get acquainted with drawing in town while sketching the grounds at Santa Cruz City Hall. This serene location gives you a choice of learning how to draw buildings or how to draw a variety of interesting plants. Or both!
The City Hall Gardens features over 300 different species of botanicals, including many rare and unusual plants that you can get up close and sketchy with. The Santa Cruz City Hall and nearby Civic Auditorium and other downtown buildings are great subjects for practicing your urban sketching skills.
What You’ll Learn: Basic fundamentals of sketching buildings and plants; placing your subject on the page; basic principles in 1 and 2-point perspective; pencil & ink sketching techniques; optional ink/watercolor wash techniques. When: Date to be announced, 11:00am-1:00pm Where: Meet Rob at the fountain near the front steps of City Hall. (Map) Cost: $50. Materials needed: Sketchbook and 2B-9B drawing pencils; various ink pens and watercolor are cool to try too. There is some seating but portable chair or camping stool recommended. Health Safety: 🙂 Full Covid vaccination please. 😷 Masks optional. Workshop is limited to 8 participants. Note: Premium Membership students can use 1 session to participate in this workshop.
One of our most popular field sketching workshops is an afternoon at Wilder Ranch! Relax at this scenic ranch setting while exploring methods of composition and how to capture subject matter quickly while drawing historic buildings, animals, trees, and antique farm equipment. Open to adults, all skill levels—especially beginners
What You’ll Learn: Basic fundamentals of sketching landscapes, buildings, trees, and plants; pencil & ink techniques; placing your subjects on the page; basic principles in perspective; optional ink/watercolor wash techniques. Where: Wilder Ranch State Park (Map). Meet Rob at the Victorian yellow house near the entrance, starting at 10:30pm. When: Date to be announced, 11:00am-1:00pm Cost: $50. Materials needed: Sketchbook and 2B-9B drawing pencils; various ink pens are cool to try too. Portable chair or camping stool recommended. Bring a jacket just in case it gets breezy. Workshop is limited to 8 participants. Health Safety: 🙂 Full Covid vaccination please. 😷 Masks optional. Note: Premium Membership students can use 1 session to participate in this workshop.
Go big! In this sketchbook workshop you’ll enjoy fun challenges such as drawing an 87-foot blue whale skeleton. Enjoy the outdoor surroundings and exhibits at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz as you practice observational drawing.
What You’ll Learn: Observational skills, selecting your subject and placing it on the page; basic principles in 1 and 2-point perspective. Where: Seymour Center Discovery Center When: Date to be announced, 11:00am-1:00pm Cost: $50. Materials needed: Sketchbook and 2B-9B drawing pencils; various ink pens are cool to try too; portable chair or camping stool. Workshop is limited to 8 participants. Health Safety: 🙂 Full Covid Vaccination please. 😷 Masks optional. Note: Premium Membership students can use 1 session to participate in this workshop.
Past workshops that we’ve loved! We look forward to doing them again in the future!
What better activity to enjoy a Saturday afternoon? Going outside to sketch, of course! We’ll find some excellent vantage points to sketch the hustle and bustle of Santa Cruz.
What You’ll Learn: Practice quickly capturing buildings, trees, and Surf City’s fascinating street life. Open to adult beginners. When: Date to be determined. 12:00-2:00pm Where: Meet with Rob at location to be announced. Cost: $50 Materials needed: Sketchbook and 2B-9B drawing pencils; various ink pens are cool to try too. Limited to 8 participants.
Grab a fist full of assorted pens and mix it up with random lines and shapes on a nice, big piece of paper! This workshop is for beginners and advanced artists.
Experiment with a variety of pens and ink, including Tombow pens, Micron pens, and Speedball tips. Explore various techniques such as stipple and cross-hatching Where: Location to be determined. When: Date to be determined. 12:00-2:00pm Cost: $50. (materials included) Refreshments served. Limited to 8 participants.
What you’ll learn: Begin with foundational skills by learning to express yourself with lines, shapes, patterns, and rhythm. You’ll learn to draw out your inner artist and learn basic composition skills while listening to different genres of music. If you’ve taken this workshop before, Rob will have more advanced lessons for you to work on, too Where: Location to be determined When:Date to be determined. Cost: $50 (materials included)
Adult beginners explore using Prismacolor pencils to achieve realism while drawing simple objects. What You’ll Learn: Blending colors, 3D modeling, measuring proportions. Recommended prerequisite: Level 1 Drawing Lab skills. Limited seating. Where: Location to be determined. When: Date to be determined. Cost: $50 (materials included)
Learn basic skills in composition & blending colors. Where:Location to be determined. When: Date to be determined. Cost: $50 (materials included) Refreshments served
On-Location Workshops & Events
The Scribbles Institute is proud to serve the Central California Coast. We are always eager to work with important organizations such as the Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, shown above. Here are some of the various workshops and events we are involved in:
Extremely Fun Drawing Skills For Absolute Beginners—Especially Adults Who Think They Can’t Draw. Rob Court enjoys doing regular workshops at the coolest art store on the planet to conduct his popular drawing workshop. Reconnect with your childhood thrill of drawing as you’re introduced to basic observational drawing skills and techniques.
What you’ll learn: We’ll start by learning the overhand, underhand, and tripod pencil grips. Then we’ll begin building foundational skills by drawing with lines, shapes, and patterns. You’ll be introduced to drawing from observation and composition as you learn to measure proportions and see positive/negative space. When: Coming Soon Where: Lenz Arts 142 River Street on the corner of North Pacific and River Street in beautiful Santa Cruz, California Cost: Free! Materials needed:Sketchbook (8.5 x 11″ preferred), Drawing pencils (4B, 6B, 9B recommended)
We’re proud to working with Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) in engaging events for the whole family such as Art That Moves. Rob Court helps museum participants learn to draw action sports figures such as surfers, skateboarders, snowboarders, and cyclists.
Join Us! Connect with other like-minded sketchers and drawing caoch Rob Court by receving the Scribbles Institute eNewsletter.
Workshops For Your School, Company, Gallery, Organization, Event
Bring Rob Court and the Scribbles Institute to your school or business. See photos of workshop participants at Santa Cruz and Monterey schools and MAH.
