In this live‑streamed solo session, Jason Nicholas arrives at a bridge‑over‑water site in Spokane, Washington, shortly after sunset. He reflects on a recent workshop and uses the moment to demonstrate why he values sketching on location. He describes the bridge’s weathered concrete, the nearby red‑brick tower, and the waterfall’s spray, emphasizing how ambient sounds, passing people, and the tactile qualities of architecture enrich his drawing process. Throughout the monologue he draws a parallel between the physical act of crossing a bridge and the personal act of stepping out of one’s comfort zone to forge new connections, both in art and in life. The tone is observational, instructional, and reflective, offering viewers insight into his creative mindset and the sensory experience of on‑site sketching.
Chapters
Hello, welcome to Spokane, Washington. 7:48 PM here. I just got here after sunset, but you can still see the sky glowing in the background. Pretty amazing. Hopefully you can hear me okay. I am next to this Yeah, exactly right. Pretty powerful. I think that's a pretty good view. Hope you're having a great day. So, uh, probably my third— well, it's my second time here at this location, and I had some time at the end of the day today after an incredible workshop with amazing people. I just want to show you where I'm at and what inspires me. I love bridges, not only for their beautiful architectural engineering, aesthetics, utility, utility, use, but the symbolism of bridges, right? Connections. Today's lesson for me, sometimes you have to step outside of your comfort zone in order to make some really amazing connections in life. I'm very fortunate right now to be surrounded by an incredible group of people. So I have my sketchbook. I want to sketch this place. This scene is the epitome of architectural sketching for me. Here are the reasons why I love to sketch on location. One, yeah, do you hear that? Just being around the sounds, whether it's this incredible waterfall or if it's a cityscape. Different sounds inspire and contribute in different ways, right? Another reason I love being on location is that you have people moving around and milling about, all kinds of activity happening that could also influence and inspire the sketching that's going on. So we have sounds, we have people, obviously the architecture— seeing architecture out out in its environment rather than photographs is very, very different experience. Um, you could see it, you can touch it, you can feel the textures, you can feel the materials, you can see how it's weathering. I love this bridge. I love the way it's been weathered here over time, this concrete. Pretty incredible, right? So just the overall vibes are really, really amazing. Let's kind of pan over here. I want That red brick building in the background is the, um, what is it, Spokane Tower Building. I may be saying it wrong. Might be the Washington Tower Building. Um, really, really cool building made out of brick. I'll feature that on a different screen closer. Let's go over here to the water. I think Guys, let's see here for a minute here. Really, it's really beautiful. And here's kind of look down a little bit here. You see the spray coming off the rocks in the background. Spokane is a very interesting city. I think, if I remember correctly, it used to be or is one of the largest cities up here on the West Coast. I have to get my facts straight. Look at all the cable cars. I keep calling them cable cars.
