#OneWeek100People, 2025 Day 01
Hey everybody! It’s March! 2025! I’m somewhat shocked to note this is the 9th year of #OneWeek100People. This means *next* year is kind of a big deal.
There’s very very very few things in life I’ve stuck with for more than ten years – besides drawing.
Every year my drawings get more interesting to me, but harder and harder for me to explain what I’m doing.
“I just paint them?”
So: what can I say about this one?
Color Blocks: Every major shape in the sketch is one color, but all the colors are dirty’ed up with the neighboring colors.
Draw with the Edges: The background shape cuts around the white faces – wet on dry – so they have a razor edge. The colored shape is drawing the head in negative. The weird orange dots in the background are only there so I can get away with flagging his head in bright orange. It makes it look like the orange is on purpose.
Work Fast for Blending: I work fast so that shapes can bleed into each other ( her pant leg for instance ). But I don’t let important edges touch; like between his and her jackets. If that one edge had smudged you lose the overlapping figures.
Reserved Whites: This year was using a nice big brush. I don’t know, like a #10 round? Male Pinky Finger Sized. It’s fun because it’s so fast, it hold so much paint, and you have to make the reserved whites by instinct. I think of the whites as internal edges. The white on his shoulder is a pretty great mark – it shows you what is an upper surface, but it also indicates where his bulky jacket sleeve insets into the shoulder, and it draws the shape of his hood. All the other small whites in his torso are doing similar work, describing folds in the jacket sleeve. Not sure if you can tell; but they’re NOT drawn into the sketch. I outline shadow shapes in the sketch, but I try not to outline highlights anymore. A highlight with a line around it doesn’t work!
We just had a 125 year record snowstorm in Montreal; so this year it’s going to be all metro (subway) drawings. There’s next-to-nobody on the street; nobody is doing any activities outside. You can barely walk on the sidewalks downtown. So this year get ready for a lot of people-on-their-phones :)
By the way – who’s your favorite subway rider today? And why is it that amazing fellow in the fedora and shades. That guy brought the funk!
Citizen Sketcher 
Gorgeous work as always! Love the colour palette as well as your remarkable ability to render just enough detail without compromising the energy that makes location drawing so special.
I started drawing in 2018 inspired by your Urban Sketching book, I was just in awe with your style an loose use of line and watercolor. Seven years later, drawing has become a daily habit for me. I am sharing what I learn from my journey on my blog and lately on my YouTube channel, hoping to spark inspiration as your work did for me.
Although the style I’ve found for myself is quite different from yours (I enjoy using gouache), I am always mesmerised by your watercolor sketches and I’m always happy to come back to your blog and your art. I’m super excited to start drawing tonight and I’m sharing my work on oneweek100people on my blog!
Hey, thanks for the message Giacomo! I mean, it’s always flattering to hear I had a tiny part of your drawing journey :) I want to try gouache too! One day I’ll get around to it – hilariously my biggest problem is I don’t want to buy an entire set of paints :) That’s a pretty silly reason no to do it, but it’s kind of a mental block :) :) One day I will set aside a time and do it. Maybe I’ll go to a gouache workshop!
I would say you had a big part of my drawing journey! The good thing about gouache is that if you have watercolor supplies you just need to buy 3 tubes of primaries + white to get started, but I feel what you are saying. I feel the same with oils, I want to try them but I don’t want to buy all those oil supplies when I still have so much to learn with the tools I already have!
I resonate with that: “People-on-their-phones😛” At least they’re usually still! I love these sketches Marc. So delicately and artfully rendered. They reveal all your skill.
And despite being home bound myself at the moment I still got to 20 on the first day by looking over our balcony and at the people passing by. And a couple from my ‘model in residence.’
I am unsubscribing to your newsletter and wanted to explain why. I am Canadian, and as such, with the political climate coming from the US, I do not want to be tempted to see American ads or make American purchases. I do not want to help American economy in any way when America is trying to destroy Canada. I will turn all my attention, focus and money spent, in Canada. Therefore, I am limiting as much American content of any sort into my life and mind as possible. This is not directed at you or your company personally, nor show any dissatisfaction in the content of your newsletter, but right now, it is about me supporting Canada, Canadian content and our Canadian economy and dialing down on everything that has to do with the US just now.
I guess you don’t know that I’m Canadian? These are all drawings of Montreal? Probably you won’t read this, but this is just the kind of confusion that some people are trying to sow. They want us working against our own self-interest. In any case, I wish you the best and you have to do what its good for you. Thanks!
que bueno este día uno de la propuesta. Como explicas de bien lo de tus manchas. Nosotros no tenemos metro ,ni nieve, ni frío. Yo vivo en Neuquen Patagonia Argentina. Me gustaría subirme al reto. Pero no entiendo si podría hacerlo desde mi instagran y cada cuantos día hay que subirlos. No se como hacerlo
Seguro no llego a cien. Pero puedo pintar figuras qué me atrapen. Me avergüenza mi poca soltura. Tu dibujas primero y luego pintas ? Así entendí. Gracias.Saludos a Metro de Montreal
me gustaría sumarme al reto. Muy interesante Marc como explicaste lo de las acuarela del día 1 . Gracias ,I from Argentinia