Workshops with Hugo Barros Costa in Valencia

My drawing from the terrace

Last month I went to a drawing course in Valencia entitled ‘Space Oddities’ run by PYSB, which stands for Pushing Your Sketching Boundaries. There were three different tutors and today I’m talking about the sessions with Hugo Barros Costa 

I first remember seeing Hugo’s work at ‘Rendez-vous du Carnet de Voyage’ in Clermont-Ferrand in 2017 where he had a stand displaying his drawings from his book ‘NYC Graphic Chronicles’ so when I saw that he was going to be one of the tutors for the PYSB workshops in Valencia, I was keen to take part.

Hugo’s two workshops were located near the large Spanish department store ‘El Corte Ingles’ - we were to draw the view of a street from ground level and then the same street from a terrace at the top of the building.

My rough of the street view

In Hugo’s own drawings, he is not afraid to tackle very complicated views and he showed us lots of examples of his work, quite a few which were drawn over several sheets of paper and over several days. He talked about planning out the drawing using a pencil as a unit of measurement. It’s something I have done in the past but often forget to do now even though I know it’s a really useful way to help get everything in the right place. I tried to take my time and not rush, and Hugo gave lots of feedback and encouragement.

My colour drawing of the street view

Each of the instructors provides a set of approaches/ideas which you can use to help your drawing if you choose - a bit like adding more tools to your drawing toolbox.

If you want to find out more about Hugo and his workshops, he is on Instagram @yolahugo

More information about PYSB on Instagram @pushingyoursketchingboundaries

A drawing made a few days later from the hotel in Seville trying to use the techniques from the workshop