Urban Sketchers Twin Cities hosted a 2-day event this past weekend called Watermark Sketch Minneapolis 2026. It was a great success! We had 100 sketchers registered to come hear the keynote presentation on Friday night with Jenny Jing Zhang, a Chicago artist and architect, and on a rainy Saturday, we watched demos of local artists and Jenny done around the Mill City District in Minneapolis. We also sketched in various places in the afternoon at the Guthrie Theater, Mill City Museum, and other places. You can learn more about our event here. Beginning sketchers through professionals came together to learn, try new things, grow, laugh, and enjoy the city. I share a few sketches below that I did over the weekend:
In this sketch done at the top of Gold Medal Park, I used 3 different Holbein colored pencils (generously donated to each participant) to sketch loose details of tree bark and branches. It was misting and wet, but the trees didn’t care and neither did I. Over the course of 90-minute demos around the area, we pulled up our raincoat hoods, got out our umbrellas, and keep right on learning. Minnesotans don’t let a little weather stop us!
The Mill City Farmer’s Market was an added bonus to our event. People, tents, dogs, food, flowers, and all kinds of activity were great for sketchers! I sat on the steps by the Guthrie Theater and began sketching a Mill City worker in a greenish/yellow vest sitting on the stair below me. I loved the bright flowers so sketched those and later added color. I rounded out the sketch with distant tents, more people, and a dog on a leash. Finding a focal point and building the sketch out is a good process for me. Here’s the finished sketch:
Later in the day, when it was raining and the market vendors were taking their tents down and packing up their wares, I sat inside the Mill City Museum and captured a view outside the window. Taking down stuff was just as interesting– I watched people pack bags, move stuff to cars, and sort items. I captured some of that activity in the sketch below.
I went back into the main part of the museum and thought about what to sketch next. Pigeons in the rain? The brick facade of the museum ruins? People in the coffee shop? I stood on a second-level stair case and looked down and noticed a floor below me. Sketchers were sitting on sills of floor to ceiling windows sketching the ruins outside. I watched a sketcher from above who was stretched out, leaning against a wall, and thought- “What a great view!” So I sketched her:
As we wrapped up our day with a “throw down” (we lay our sketch books out on tables so everyone can see our work), we all marveled at the content and variety of sketches we all captured during the day. Comments were made, questions were asked, photos were snapped. We were all taken with one another’s sketches. They were a beautiful collection! (photo credits: Amber Sausen)
We all had a blast at Watermark! You can check out our Facebook page Urban Sketchers Twin Cities for a closer look and observations of our beautiful city. A great time was had by all, so be sure to join us next year if you are looking to learn more about Minneapolis and sketch with an amazing group of people!
(Photo credit- Amber Sausen)