Doodlewash and Urban Sketch by Sanjukta Sen of house next to water with bridge
Featured Artists

GUEST ARTIST: “On Spontaneity, Improvement, and Happiness” by Sanjukta Sen

Written by Charlie O'Shields

Hi! I’m Sanjukta Sen, and I’m from all over the place (India, Singapore, Germany!) but I’m currently finishing a degree in Politics from the University of Cambridge. I started sketching exactly a year ago as a way to keep stress-free during exam term, and set up my Instagram art blog to keep track of my progress.

Doodlewash and Urban Sketch by Sanjukta Sen of Emerald Hill Panorama

I was always into art as a kid, but I never really got into it until my mother bought me my first sketchbook and brush pen in April 2014 and I’ve never looked back since. She has been my mentor throughout – she is an artist and has taught me most of what I know. The other few bits of knowledge I have picked up has been from following the hundreds of talented artists online on Instagram!

Doodlewash and Urban Sketch by Sanjukta Sen of M and S Cafe

I make it a point to sketch something everyday or every few days, because I have realized that perseverance is key in this field. Most of my sketches turn out very averagely, but the trick is to keep going. I pick up a pen and sketchbook and sketch absolutely anything that is in front of me, and if I have time I give it a quick watercolor wash. I am a fan of spontaneity, and so I never sketch in pencil – I always go straight to ink.

Every time I mess up this way becomes a learning experience. Other than keeping an “everyday sketchbook”, I very often (less so during exam time though) arm myself with loose pieces of watercolor paper and go urban sketching out on the streets. I take a little stool with me and spend hours sketching on location perched on the side of the road. One of my favorite parts about this process is people stopping to chat about my art, and picking up little tidbits of information about their lives.

Doodlewash and Urban Sketch by Sanjukta Sen of Chinatown London LQP

Doodlewash and Urban Sketch by Sanjukta Sen of Regent Streer Church

One nice man told me that his father, back in the 60s, had sketched every landmark in Cambridge. Another told me that watercolors confused him because he could never keep them clean in his palette but he loved it anyway. My favorite part, however, has to be when parents point me out to their little kids to distract them from crying about something or the other. It always works! I love meeting and talking to new people, and this is one of the best perks of urban sketching. 

I swear by my Lamy pens and nibs (I have an Al-Star and a Joy), and I use a simple cotman half pans because I don’t do anything too fancy. I am not a traditional or proper watercolorist – I mostly work with inks and washes but I feel like that is what brings me closer to the fresh and spontaneous feeling that I aim for. I am very inspired by my favorite illustrators – Sir Quentin Blake, Felix Scheinberger, and Don Low – and often reflect on their works when I hit a creative block (which is more often than I care to admit!).

Another thing that I like to do when faced with a block is go through old sketchbooks – it is such a good feeling to see how your sketches improve and change in style over the months, and it often gets me thinking about what I can improve on or try out when I decide to start sketching again. Going to events like life drawing sessions is a good way to get back into the creative zone as well – my mother recently forced me to try out one and I have been absolutely hooked ever since. Not only is it so therapeutic, but it also improves your line work by leaps and bounds! 

Doodlewash and Urban Sketch by Sanjukta Sen of church

I started sketching as a way to teach myself something new, be productive with my free time during exams, and de-stress myself.

It has turned into something much bigger than that, and has helped me venture into other fields of design and illustration for university newspapers and college events and magazines. I see Quentin Blake‘s work and the impact it has had on so many people’s happiness, and I am imbued with a want to make people happy through my art.

Doodlewash and Urban Sketch by Sanjukta Sen of Downing CollegePeople messaging me to tell me that they liked my work is really rewarding, but the biggest compliment is still when my mother texts me in reply to a sketch that I have whatsapped to her – “Good job, I like the improvement”. This is the first step in what I hope will be a long and happiness-inducing journey. 

Sanjukta Sen
Instagram

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Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world!

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275 thoughts on “GUEST ARTIST: “On Spontaneity, Improvement, and Happiness” by Sanjukta Sen”

  4. Great Work!, our approach is very similar. I bet the drawing helps a lot with the studying!. Following on Inta. Looking forward to more.

    Reply

  12. Sanjukta, you have a natural sense of composition and it pulls your sketch together. I love the way you add just a few washes of color and let the image carry the rest. Nice work.
    Thank, Charlie, for introducing us.

    Reply

  19. Beautiful. 🎨 Art is a process. It is never an overnight thing. And isn’t it amazing that we can learn life lessons just by sketching or doodling or even coloring. 😄
    Will definitely follow you on Instagram.

    Reply

  41. Doodling brings a sort of satisfaction to oneself and to use that as a way to better yourself is a genius idea in itself! I’ll be sure to follow on Instagram soon. Great work! 🙂

    Reply

  57. I just started seeing if I can post a sketch to instagram once a day for 100 days. I’ve always enjoyed drawing, but usually get overwhelmed that my art skills are so poor… so I stop drawing. It’s beautiful to see what you can accomplish by just doing a little bit each day – your art is inspiring! Thanks!

    Reply

    2. Don’t overwhelm yourself!! What I don’t mention is that I always take a break when I find that sketching becomes a chore for me because that is very counter productive. It must always be an enjoyment 🙂 Thank you for your kind words though, I really appreciate it!

      Reply

  65. Ahhh, such wildly wonderful watercolors, Sanjukta! I love the stories, of how you stumbled into this field because of stress (!); how your mother is so supportive; and how much you’re enjoying yourself 😉

    Reply

  70. Oh my gosh it is so cool! I like your name too, doodlewash haha :). Hey, if you would be willing to doodle me something anxious looking I’d put it on my site and link you in it? Just a curious question. Either way, way cool, keep it up. 🙂

    Reply

  76. This is inspiring. I doodle a bit myself but nowhere close to what you are upto. I draw on my office noticeboard near my workstation everyday. Not sure where this ll take me but it satisfies my itch to scribble something once in a while.

    Reply

  107. Sanjukta,Its great to find something creative like sketching to de-stress and use time effectively. You have made use of water-colour as a medium and this perfectly compliments the sketches you have made.Hope to see more of them as you improve, so keep going!

    Reply

  111. Seems like we both share similar interest .i.e., arts. I am not much into sketching , but I love crafts. Doesn’t matter , the important point is that we do it with passion and that’s what matters after all.

    Reply

  113. Very refreshing style ! Iam myself travelling and drawing, painting, especially water colour at the moment, your work is very inspirative for me, and spontaneity is exactly what i’m lacking of, i’ll keep that in mind thanks to you 🙂

    Reply

  119. Superbe job, I remembered this guy I was in a campsite he draws me and my friends in exchange of a nice diner. My friend still have the aquarelle on his travel book. Thanks you to your nice work for bringing me this memory back. Art can bring back memory to one when is well achieve. Keep on going.

    Reply

  130. I am happy to have come across this blog. I’ve always admired art from afar but found myself most enjoying it when I tried my hand at line work and watercolour (in a foundation course I unfortunately never finished). I also found that I was quite good at tonal work. However my commitment to the course wasn’t there and I never picked up a sketchbook again. It would be a great thing to pick up again seeing as I have so much time off because of my summer break from uni. New follower alert!

    Reply

  140. Reblogged this on Susana Rapallo and commented:
    I just love these fearless sketches with tons of imperfections but very spontaneous.
    I started loving watercolors not a long time ago, less than a year, to be exactly and I used to think watercolor was a child play thing but in fact you can produce tons of effects and complexities.
    I have a long journey to explore myself on this matter. 🙂

    Reply

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