View of the Cuyahoga River from the 32nd floor of the Terminal Tower.

Terminal Tower casting a shadow over Public Square.

Franklin Castle in Ohio City

From our sketch outing at the end of August. Thought I'd try a bit of day and night for a spooky effect. The stone masons did an amazing job with loads of ornamentation on this building.

North Coast Harbor Thumbnails

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

There's so much going on at North Coast Harbor, visitors can enjoy the Rock Hall, Great Lakes Science Center, the Mather Ore Boat and kayak/jet sky rentals. It was a great day to be sketching the action!

July Sketch Outing

Sunday, July 26, 2015
2:00p-4:00p
Sketch the Lakefront
Join us as we meet up in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1100 Rock and Roll Blvd, Cleveland, OH

There is plenty of places to sketch along the lakefront, so feel free to explore and find the perfect spot to sketch.

Sunday, July 5, 2015 Sketch Outing 2:00-4:00pm

Join us for our next Sketch Outing at Riverside Cemetery. There is a lot to sketch on the grounds, including the chapel, the gatehouse, the plants/trees/landscape, the caretaker's house, and the elaborate grave displays. There are also two lovely churches in the nearby vicinity, one across from the groundskeeper's house, and one about a block away. Parking is plentiful, but please be sure to leave room for cars to pass, and please do not park where funeral traffic may need to park. We'll meet at the large brick house when you first enter the cemetery, which houses the office and is often called the gatehouse. A map of the cemetery is available on their website. As always, everyone is welcomed to this free event. People of all sketching abilities and levels are warmly welcomed.

3607 Pearl Road
Cleveland, OH 

Please watch this page or our Facebook page the morning of the event for any changes due to weather related issues.

Surf's Up!

OK, so it's not Cleveland...but here's a little bit of paradise in Maui, Hawaii! The beauty of the island surrounded us. Especially fascinated by the surfers and paddle boarders, they are amazingly skilled at catching waves.

Sketch Outing NBA Finals

Join us Saturday, June 6th, 2015 from 10am-Noon at the Q Arena to sketch how the arena will be decked out for the NBA Finals.

We will meet at the overhang pictured above (right under the giant "C") at the intersection of Ontaria, Prospect, and Huron.  We will hold this sketch outing in the event of a little rain, as we can sketch from under the overhang.  In the event of major rain, please watch us on Facebook or on our blog to see what the plan will be. 

Eight years ago, I had wanted to sketch the NBA Finals displays/decorations, but I lost track of time, and before I knew it, it was over.  I missed out.  Don't miss out this time around.  Come and sketch with us, on June 6th.

Keep in mind, this is a Saturday, and it is earlier in the day than normal.  We're not going to sketch on the Sunday, as parking will probably be very expensive due to the Cavs game that night.  And, we're going earlier on Sunday to avoid parking issues that will come closer to the Indians' game. 

There should be a lot of available parking within a few blocks of the arena, and of course, RTA is always an option, as this is only a couple of blocks from Public Square.  Paid parking garages will be available as well, including Tower City's and the casino's.

Please feel free to post a comment with any questions here or post a question on our Facebook page.  Not in our Facebook group?  Feel free to join!  We're at "Urban Sketchers Cleveland" on Facebook.

Have a great day, looking forward to seeing you!

MOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art

Postcards from MOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art, a mirrored jewel in Cleveland's crown designed by Farshid Moussavi. It rises 60 feet from a hexagonal base to a square top, certainly a challenge to sketch. More about MOCA here www.mocacleveland.org.

April 2015 Sketch Outing

Join us on Sunday, April 26, 2015 from 2:00-4:00pm at MOCA Cleveland for our monthly sketch outing.  We will meet outside the rear entrance to the museum.  This entrance is located facing the complex of student housing, restaurants, and CIA.  It is not the entrance facing the intersection (that you see in the above photo). 

There is ample paid parking in the surrounding university and museum structures, and there is limited street parking.  This location is easily accessible by the Healthline and the red rapid line.  The address is 11400 Euclid Ave, Cleveland. 

The weather should be chilly but mild, so outdoor sketching is a possibility.  Please be advised that if you decide to sketch inside MOCA that there is an admission fee, and please be careful what supplies you bring in, as museums typically only allow pencil. 

Sketchers of all levels and abilities are warmly welcomed to sketch with us.  Other than admission fees to venues, there is no other cost involved.  Meaning, we don't charge you a penny.

We look forward to seeing you!

Heinen's Restoration of former Cleveland Trust Bank

Thumbnails from inside the food hall,
so much intricate detail. 

View from the balcony on the second level.

Exterior view from 9th & Euclid.

It was great to spend a few hours and really study the interior restoration of this historic building. I find it's easiest to do quick thumbnails to distill down the intricate details into basic shapes. Then continue on to making the sketches. Beautiful carvings, stained glass and the arched rotunda make this one of Cleveland's jewels and has similarities to Harrod's Food Hall in London.

Euclid Beach Carousel

The Euclid Beach Carousel is restored to immaculate condition. I love the glass house they built around it. Many families were out and enjoying a ride. Sketch and thumbnails done with woodless graphite on Molsekine.

Winter Sketches

Here are a few sketches from the last two sketch outings. We were at Tower City at the end of December, visitors seem to really love the toy soldiers.

In January, looking out to the winter scene at Shaker Square from Deweys Coffee, glad I was inside! Both sketches used General's Woodless Graphite on Moleskine, with a little watercolor.