I have spent many many hours over the years painting on street corners for the love of urban sketching and all it involves. As such, in my pursuit of finding what works for me and in improving my skills I have tested many paints, brushes and sketchbooks; taken many courses and read many books.
This is where I have collected the things I love and would heartily recommend to anyone who is starting, or already well into their urban sketching journey.
I may recommend something below that I have not tried but I know for a fact so many urban sketchers love and recommend it. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or money (yet) to try every product or course on the market, however, I listen to, watch and read a lot about urban sketching as well as interviews with urban sketchers so I tend to know what is a highly regarded product or resource amongst the urban sketching community.
A Word on Affiliate Links
Some links may be affiliate links. This means that if you click on it, or take a trial of a service or buy something I may get a tiny commission. This does not affect how much you pay for something in the slightest. This also does not affect my decision to recommend something. It just makes common sense that if there is something I recommend and a few cents are on offer for referring you, then that is an opportunity worth taking.
I link to Amazon for the sake of convenience but I want to support art supply stores where possible. Obviously, I cannot link to stores in every country. Where possible I link to stores in the UK and US that I know of and trust (such as Jackson’s Art and Blick Art Materials).
I urge you to support your local art store wherever possible – keep small independent businesses alive!
Art Supplies
Watercolour Sets
St Petersburg White Nights Watercolour Sets [Blick Art // Amazon]
Rosa Gallery Watercolour Sets [Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolour Sets [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Daniel Smith Watercolour Sets [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Jacksons Art Watercolour Sets [Jacksons Art]
Sketchbooks
Hahnemuhle Watercolour Sketchbook [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art] – the watercolour travel sketchbook series has been discontinued, replaced with the more expensive 100% cotton range
Hahnemuhle Toned Watercolour Sketchbook [Amazon]
Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Etchr Everyday Sketchbooks – available in hot press (smooth) and cold press (textured) and in a variety of sizes and orientations [Amazon // Jacksons]
Pink Pig – Very affordable sketchbooks handmade in the UK [Pink Pig // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Brushes
Travel watercolour brushes are especially useful if you want to paint on location. The brush splits in half, and the end with the bristles can be turned around to slot inside the hollow handle. They are excellent for travelling and protecting your bristles.
Escoda Reserva Travel Brushes [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
I ONLY use the #10 Reserva brush from the set (but I do use it every single day) and when I bought this set in 2016 it was about 50% cheaper than it is now. So I don’t think this set is a good purchase today in 2025.
There are many far more affordable options, for example, you can explore the synthetic Escoda travel brushes. You can find more travel brushes here [Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Rosemary & Co Dagger Travel Brush [Rosemary & Co]
Rosemary & Co Travel Brush set [Rosemary & Co]
Pens
Pigma Micron Fineliners [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Pentel Pocket Brush Pen [Amazon]
Uni Pin fineliners [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
TWSBI Eco fountain pen [Amazon]
Ink (to fill fountain pens)
Platinum Carbon Ink [Amazon]
Markers
Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pens (Brush nib) [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Tombow Markers [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Watercolour Markers
Winsor & Newton Watercolour Markers [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Faber Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolour Markers [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Watercolour Pencils
Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Derwent Inktense Pencils [Blick Art // Amazon // Jacksons Art]
Books
Do you know I have my very own book! It was published in 2023! It’s called The Beginner’s Guide to Urban Sketching.
You can find it here.
Here are some of my favourite books on urban sketching, I can’t list them all as I would be here all day!
Sketching People: An Urban Sketchers Guide… – Lynne Chapman
5 Minute Sketching – Architecture – Liz Steel
The Art of Urban Sketching – Gabriel Campanario
All My Photographs Are Made With Pens – Tommy Kane
For a far more in-depth discussion on my favourite urban sketching books, check out this post.