Tuesday Night Sketching - Aug 5, 2025

Hey, Jason Nicholas Nicholas here from The Inspired Life. Hope you're having a great day. I have multiple cameras on, as you can see. Thought it'd be cool to start here with a, uh, just kind of a shot. You can kind of see my workspace behind me, my over here, my kind of easel wall barn door whiteboard setup, multi-purpose, but I love it. It's a great place to brainstorm. It's magnetic, so I pin up my sketches there. Really, um, just a fun way for me to display some of my artwork. You can see my Once Upon a Time not good at pointing off camera— there you go. Once Upon a Time poster of a sketch back in 2001. That's not the original, it's a blown-up version of the original. Yeah, so pardon me if I'm looking in different directions. I'll switch to the desk cam in a second. So I'm Jason Nicholas Nicholas with The Inkspired Life, where I love sketching architecture. Let's go to the desktop, and then I could focus on that camera. Boom. Um, yeah, so I love sketching architecture, urban sketching, and just putting ink onto paper, whether it's brainstorming or taking notes or sketching or doodling. Um, it's always better for me to get things out of my head and onto paper. Let me know if you've been there and have had that feeling before. Um, yeah, so let's just— I'm gonna do some sketching, nothing particular tonight. I'm going to talk about St. Patrick's Cathedral because I have a workshop coming up, so an online workshop on August 30th, which is a Saturday, where we'll be sketching St. Patrick's Cathedral together, um, in a loose, quick fun style. So here's an example of— this is actually a quick sketch I did in person. I'll show you a short video in a second of me on location. Um, here's one I did back at home, just very loose, very whimsical. So don't fear the building, don't fear neo-gothic architecture. We'll break it down into some simple shapes and scribbly lines. Uh, if you're interested, you You can see a link here on the corner of the screen, also in the description. All right, cool. Chip, it is great to see you. I hope all is well, man. Great to see you. I'm gonna be playing some music. If you're at home listening, let me know if the music is too loud and drowns me out, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. I'm just curious. I need music when I create, so let's throw on some music. Let me know how it sounds. And let's just, uh, I'm going to show a short video of me sketching at St. Patrick's, and then we're just going to do, um, I have, like I said, nothing set in stone, just a blank piece of paper, pens. I, guys, I'm going back to— I'm using ballpoint pens, gel pens a lot these days. So yeah, a lot of fun. All right, let me show you a short video. Bum bum bum bum. Let's switch over. There's really no sound to the video other than maybe some traffic sounds. Boom. So here's me, um, this is I think 2 weeks ago, sketching dancing in, uh, New York City. There's St. Patrick's Cathedral right there. Pretty cool. So I had this sketch right here looking at— I had my Lockbee folio. This thing's getting really good use. You can see it's kind of getting worn, and I love the look. Um, check out Lockbee. I have a discount you can see in the, in my comments. But anyway, so here's the sketch I did in person, and this was done with— if I remember, it was done with this pen right here. So it has a brown It's a brown ink, which I love the color of. Pretty cool. All right, so let's put some music on, let's do some sketching, and I'll be on just for a brief time. Uh, here's another quick show and tell here. This is a workshop I was a student in last Saturday, um, right literally right on the steps of the New York Public Library, and our main subject was looking towards the sidewalk, towards a bus shelter here. So shout out to Mel of @SketchesandSome. Mel is an amazing sketcher. He is incredible at adding people into his scenes, right? So that is not from Mel's workshop. I am lying about that. This is from, uh, this is from a visit to 6½ Avenue in New York City. Mel's Workshop is in this book. Here we go, this is the one from Mel's Workshop. Yeah, it's late, I'm tired. Cool. So this was a fun scene to capture. Awesome. All right, let me know if any questions, comments, where you're watching from. Be sure to like this, thumbs up, smiles, hearts, all that cool social media jazz. All right, let me, uh, put some music on again. Let me know if it's too loud, or maybe you can't even hear it. I, I think I'm just going to sketch a fictitious, uh, perspective view. So nothing in particular here, guys. Just move that back a little bit. Boom. Yeah, we just sketch right here. If you're watching on Instagram, hopefully you can see this layout. A little bit. So when I sketch loosey-goosey perspectives, I'll sometimes or most of the times I'll start with a box. And this isn't meant to be to scale, it's not meant to have detail, it's just meant to capture the idea of some kind of depth, perspective, uh, perspective. And I'll put a dot or a cross mark somewhere on there as kind of the focal point or vanishing point. And sometimes I'll actually sketch these little loose lines here. You might not even be able to see it on camera. There are loose lines, very light lines here. Alright. Maybe we're looking back towards some kind of arch or something. Maybe it's actually a, a pass-through under a bridge here. So this is just fictitious. I'm just kind of sketching from my imagination, throwing some lines down. I don't know where it's gonna go, and that's what's fun about it for me, is just, just throwing down lines. There are no mistakes when you have no planned outcome. So A little pro tip: don't be afraid to put your pen on paper, just kind of let loose, especially if you have no expectations of what you're trying to create. It opens up a lot of freedom. I'm not worried about mistakes, not worried about trying to make this look like anything specific. So I'm just throwing down some ink. I I brought out a neon yellow color pencil, just throwing some color down on this fictitious scene. And I think I'm going to call out kind of a sky back here, and I'm actually going to just do that with, uh, let's just use a blue pen, blue ballpoint pen. Let's see, should have some blue on this. We're just going to scribble in the sky here. Hey, Noel's on. Noel, great to see you. Hope all's well with you. When did you first start sketching? Uh, great question. If you want to go way, way, way back into the time machine, um, I don't know if you mean tonight or in general, but in general, I started sketching way back in third grade. I had an accident with a snow shovel. Yeah, a snow shovel. That had me in the hospital for about 3 to 4 weeks. Went back to school and I could not participate in phys ed. I couldn't go out to the playground with my friends. I was stuck in the nurse's office for, I don't even, I think 3 or 4 months. Recovering. So that's when I started sketching. I was bored, so I had paper, you know, a pencil back then, and I just started sketching, um, actually maps. I loved to sketch maps and create these imaginary locations. I would also sketch imaginary cars. So that was way, way back. Um, so that's kind of when I first started sketching and I sketched for a while, then I kind of lost— I kind of stopped sketching when I got into high school, and then I developed my love of architecture, went to college, and I picked up sketching there. I had to learn how to sketch fast in architecture school to get my ideas out so my professors would give me feedback on my designs. I was really competing with other students for, for the time and attention of my professors. So I was forced to learn how to get my ideas out quickly. So I continued sketching in college. That's what I really loved, to start sketching buildings and architecture. And ever since then, it's just been a passion of mine to sketch real places and imaginary places. So great question. Hopefully that, that answered you. Appreciate it. And I appreciate you and, well, all you, you do. You and Brian are awesome. So I'm throwing down red here. Maybe it's a brick building, so that's kind of why I went for the red. I also just like the red. It's kind of popping the edge of the building out in this perspective. I'm going to add a color to this wall back here. Let's do, um, This is— I love light aqua, one of my favorite colors, whether it's pencil or watercolor or marker. And I just want to make a fun color. Again, this is imaginary, no rules, guys, no rules. Put down whatever you're feeling, whatever colors you have, whatever is nearby. Go with your gut. It's just about having Fun, letting loose, changing your state of mind. I'm having a rough week, believe it or not. The past couple weeks have been kind of rough, to be honest with you. I need sketching. It's— it gets me— is getting me through stuff I need to get through. So it's— sketching is very therapeutic for me. It helps— it helps me focus. It can help me escape when I need to. It can help me brainstorm. Pen and paper, pencil and paper is a really powerful life tool for me. It's— yeah, it's, it's fun. I mean, it— there's a lot, there's a lot that this does for me. So never underestimate the power of sketching and drawing. All right, I want to pop— let's get that neon yellow here. Boom! Yeah, there we go. I want to put that yellow in there. I'm going to zoom in closer. Also, please let me know if the music is too loud and you can't hear me. I kind of cranked it up, I think. All right, cool. So just by putting this neon yellow, it kind of really is drawing your eye back to this, um, this arch, this kind of tunnel maybe back here, which I like. I'm going to throw down some color on like the cobblestone street. I'm going to pull out the brown, this brown pen. I think sometimes when we're, we're creating, we're sketching, we always feel like we need to have the right, the perfect tools, perfect pens, pencils, colors, paintbrushes. Yeah, I think sometimes that kind of stops us from actually even starting to create because we're worried about having the right stuff. I don't know. I don't— for me, there is really no right stuff. It's, it's simple. For me, it's simple stuff. I love pens, you know, markers. I'm not going to let the tools stop me from creating, right? They can enhance it and affect how we, you know, the outcome. But it shouldn't stop us if we're worried about not having the right things, the right paper. You know what, I just— I'm just grabbing out of here. I'm grabbing— this is a cool color, it's called Process Red. I need to know the history about it and study it. If you can read it, Process Red. I love the name, I love the color. I'll throw it down here, you can see what it looks like. Let's just— we'll make this building here Process Red. It almost has like a maroon look to me. It's a pretty powerful color, but I just— I kind of love it. And also, with time, you'll know— you'll get to know it and get a feel for the things you like using. So Be playful, experiment. For me, colored pencils, I find I love the Prismacolor colored pencils. They seem to work the best for me. You know, I've tried other brands— Crayola, Derwent, also all kinds of brands— but I always come back to the Prismacolor. It just feels right for me. But my right might not be your right, and that's all right. Cool. Crazy story, Newell says. Yeah, it is kind of crazy. That was the fast version. Um, actually, I, I am, I am slowly working on a book about that story. Noel, so it'll be out. Um, yeah, so I'm working on the story right now. Uh, Chip says, what might be 3 life lessons you can learn from sketching? You mentioned one, don't be afraid to make mistakes. 2 and 3. Oh, I like this. All right, all right, let's do this. Chip, I love your question. Um, 3 life lessons you can learn from sketching. Okay, so one, let's talk about don't be afraid to make mistakes. And number 2 is, um, the comparison trap. Avoid the comparison trap. Don't fall victim to the comparison trap. So through sketching, I've learned that each line I throw down is me. It's part of who I am. My lines I'm putting on paper are not lines that I'm trying to copy from, let's say, Chip, right? Chip's lines will be very different than mine, and that's cool. That's— we all have unique voices. So why spend the time? Why waste the time comparing what I'm doing, what I'm throwing down on paper, compared to Chip? We know they're going to be very different. Now I can look to Chip and say, oh my gosh, I really love what he's doing, and be inspired and influenced from what he's doing. But I'm not gonna be— I'm not gonna let it shut me down. I'm not going to compare that what I'm doing is being inferior. I might use someone else's ideas or technique as fuel to take my stuff or creativity in it to a different level or a different direction. So yeah, so like, no, life lesson 2 is, um, don't fall victim to the comparison trap. And you could see how that can apply to everything out there, you know, much more than just sketching. And what's another life lesson from sketching? Great question. Um, you know what it is? So another life lesson for me that I've gotten through sketching and my design career in general is, um, enjoy the process, enjoy the journey. For me, it's not necessarily about Z, the end point. What is the end point? Especially with this type of stuff, it's the journey between A and Z that I love. That's what fuels me up, that's what fires me. That's the design process in action. That is, um, where you discover yourself. You discover, uh, you learn from the mistakes you make. You, you embrace the challenges you, uh, you encounter. Um, yeah, that's where, for me, the fun really is. The learning and growing really is in that journey of creativity. So I think that's another life lesson. 3 points for me. Oh, thank you. I love those questions, guys. Keep throwing that kind of stuff at me, I love it. Hey, Jason Horvath, everyone has a story. Yes, everyone has a story, and don't be afraid to throw that story on, whether it's writing, sketching, dancing, cooking, sewing, gardening. Parenting, driving, it doesn't matter. We all have stories. All right, so I just talked about Crayola. I think I've just grabbed the Crayola orange. Now we're getting really tropical now. Now I'm throwing in some oranges. There's an architect, look him up, his name is Luis— Luis Barragán. Barragán. B-A-R-R-A-G-Á-N. R-R-A-G-A-N. Luis Barragán. I'm Americanizing it. Um, this reminds me of Luis Barragán's architecture, a Mexican architect. He did really bold colors on in different planes, so if you Google him, you'll know exactly what I mean. So this, this is reminding me of the architecture work of Luis Barragán. Loved him, learned about him in college. Um, yeah, really, really cool architect. Would love to see some of his projects in person. It's a great example of architecture not having to be complicated, very simple forms. Remember, the colors really really speak for themselves. Yeah, the man's Jamaican chartreuse sidewalks here. My world, it's my world, guys. Cool, right? Hey Rodrigo, how are you? Welcome, Rodrigo. I just feel bad when I try to draw, it always comes out looking like cat food. I hate myself. LOL, Rodrigo. You shouldn't feel bad. You should be proud of yourself for even— you know how many people don't even take a pen or pencil and put it on paper and even try to draw or sketch or scribble? Just be proud of yourself for taking that first step. A lot of people don't even take that step, so I'm proud of you for throwing stuff on paper. Um, if you really want to get better and better, it's, it's practice. Like anything in life, you have to practice, you know. Set some time aside every day, a few minutes, 10 minutes, and sketch something. It doesn't matter what it is, and you'll get better and better, and you'll come up with your own style. Like, I'm scribbling tonight. For me, this is just fun and playful. And just when you're doing your stuff, keep it fun. And playful attitude. Okay, hopefully that helps. Um, Chip says, other than New York City— other than New York City, what city in the world is most inspiring for you to sketch? Wow, I can tell you this: the city that I most want to visit and sketch, and that's Venice. I I want to go to Venice so bad and with sketchbook and just get travel and sketch, sketch it. I know people say Venice is a very touristy place, um, and I'll be one of those tourists, but yeah, I want to go to Venice. The architecture mesmerizes me, the, um, just the whole idea of the, the canal system, you know, buildings right literally in the water. Yeah, I want to go to Venice. So, and honestly, I really have not done many sketches on my own of Venice. So great question. All right, let's see. I'm gonna wrap up in 5 minutes or so. Noel says Hawaii has some great views too, just saying. I'm there. So Noel, I was, I was in Hawaii. Um, Dina and I were in Hawaii Um, gosh, I don't even know, 20 years ago. And I have to say that I don't, I don't really remember much of it, unfortunately. Um, it's not that I was partying or anything, I just don't remember. We were in Honolulu, our friends were stationed there at Pearl Harbor, so that was really cool. The only thing I have really remember is going to a some kind of shrimp shack on the beach. Um, I'm sorry, North Shore maybe. Uh, yeah, I need to get back to Hawaii, 100%. All right, this is cool. I'm liking this sketch, guys. Let me zoom out a little bit. There we go. So you can literally see I scribbled in the sky here. This just adds a little more details. I'll play around this for another minute or two. Um, I got this cool pencil when I was at the workshop last week. They gave this away, has all these different colors on it. Let's just play around. I haven't used it. Just goes back to what I was saying earlier, just experiment, play around with stuff. You never know what you're gonna like or not like, right? So let's just throw this— let's just color this door in with this multicolor color pencil. So I am rotating this. As you can see, there's different colors on around the point, so I'm just rotating it so different colors come out. It's kind of cool. This is, this is a fun, uh, fun pencil. Very cool. Yeah, the Shrimp Shack. I'm trying to remember, it was really kind of a dilapidated looking— I don't remember if it was a hut. Or it was some kind of a food truck. I think it was more of a building, like a little hut or shack. Maybe it was like a shack, that would make sense. Um, but that was— yeah, it's one of my— another memory I have from my Hawaii trip, I think we went, we went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I just remember that being the those pineapples being the most delicious and fresh pineapples I've ever tasted. I think we went on a little train ride maybe there. Yeah, the Dole— the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I'm guessing it's still there. I do love sketching palm trees. Let's add a palm tree on here. Let's do a palm tree right here. So I went to college in Miami, University of Miami, minored in landscape architecture. That was fun. Let's see. So yeah, we used to sketch palm trees and stuff. Let me see if I can draw— I'm gonna draw a big one here. It's not going to draw over the color pencil there. All right, we'll do a mini palm tree here. Going to school in Miami was very cool. It was an international college, so I got to meet people from all over the world. And coming from a small town in New Jersey, very kind of small town in New Jersey, For me, meeting people from Malaysia and Cuba and Barbados, um, Korea, it was so fascinating for me, uh, to unders— to learn these different cultures and traditions and foods. Oh my gosh, I still love going to my Cuban friends' homes. Um, where we'd have some delicious Cuban food. My God. And then I remember the first time I ever went to someone's house and I had to take my shoes off. That was interesting. That was— I had— it was interesting. Yeah, it was one of my Korean friends, and they're like, oh, you have to take your shoes off. I had never experienced that. You know what, it's something I do to this day now when I come home. I very rarely will wear my shoes in the house. Different languages— I learned to speak Spanish, not fluently, but I can understand it. So sometimes it's good just to get out of your comfort zone, you know, to learn new things. Actually, let's use this brown. You can see I'm in the zone now, just picking up and going. Yeah, I like this brown. It stands out a little bit more for the tree trunks. Here you go. No one else says Dole? Yes! All right, so I'm not crazy. Is that Dole? There is Dole. Is there? All right, those I was 100% sure I didn't dream that. For some reason, I'm remembering— this is weird— I'm remembering a song now from the, the, uh, Dole Plantation trip. Not the exact song, but it was— oh my gosh, I think Sisters, I think Hawaiian Sisters sang this. Pineapple Princess, maybe? Is that the song? It's kind of popping into my brain. Isn't music powerful? I think it's called Pineapple Princess. I'm going to have to Google after this, go on Spotify. So there's some quick palm trees there in the front. The Dole Plantation right next to the pineapple fields. Yes. Yeah, I remember having delicious fresh pineapples, Dole Whip. I think we had some Dole Whip there. I love me some Dole Whip. Oh man. All right, well, if I'm ever back out there, I'm gonna have to come visit. We're gonna have to— we're gonna have to meet up. I'd love to meet up with you guys. That would be so fun. Likewise, if you're ever out here in New Jersey, New York, New York City, let me know. Let me know about that, guys. This is cool. So I threw down some colors. This turned out to be kind of a fun little scene. Hey Noel, have a great day. Take care, it was good seeing you. Be well. All right, yeah, I'm gonna pop off too, I think. Um, where do you imagine this streetscape could be? Any ideas, anybody? Had to pick a city or location. I'm going to zoom out so you can see it all, and we're going to wrap up. All right, there you go. And I'm just gonna— what color do I want to use? Let's use, uh, let's use this neon yellow. I'm gonna pull out this frame. Something I tried doing recently is just showing that frame I started with. It didn't really show up on camera, did it? All right, of course we're gonna bring out some neon pink, right? There we go. All right, thank you so much for watching. I'm Jason Nicholas Nicholas with The Inspired Life. Um, hopefully you like this. Give me a thumbs up, a smile face. Make sure, um, you like, subscribe, all that fun social media stuff. Helps me, helps spread the word out. Also check out the upcoming workshop I have where we'll be sketching St. Patrick's Cathedral online together, August 30th. There's a link on screen, also in the comments. Check that out. Um, yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate you all so much. Keep using your creativity for positivity. Remember, get out there, sketch boldly, live creatively, and inspire endlessly. Until we sketch again, I'll see you.