Historic Spanish Point, Oct. 17th 10:30am-1:00pm
Historic Spanish Point, Oct. 17th 10:30am-1:00pm
Historic Spanish Point, Oct. 17th 10:30am-1:00pm
Join Urban Sketchers Sarasota for an October sketch out at one of our area’s most beautiful combinations of Old Florida, local history, gardens, and waterfront scenery — Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point in Osprey.
Set on 30 acres along Little Sarasota Bay, Historic Spanish Point offers an incredible variety of subjects for sketchers. Wander among historic pioneer buildings, towering palms and native Florida plants, formal gardens, boardwalks, archaeological sites, and sweeping bay views.
You might choose the charming White Cottage, the stained-glass windows and bell tower of Mary’s Chapel, the 1901 Guptill House, Bertha Palmer’s Sunken Garden, the elegant Duchene Lawn, the waterfront Packing House, or simply find a shady spot and capture the landscape of Little Sarasota Bay.
There is plenty here to keep your sketchbook busy.
As always, artists of all skill levels are welcome — from brand-new sketchers to seasoned pros. Selby Gardens specifically welcomes sketching and other creative activities throughout the gardens.
Meet Up
We’ll gather at 10:30 AM outside the Bayside Cottage Cafe for a short meet and greet. Then you may disperse to sketch at your desired location
Choose whatever catches your eye and settle in for a couple of hours of sketching. At approximately 12:45 PM, we’ll come back together for our traditional throw-down to share our sketches, followed by a group photo.
What to Bring:
Your favorite sketching supplies
A portable chair or stool if desired - many prime locations don't have seating.
Water — Selby Gardens encourages guests to bring their own
Your sketchbook and your curiosity
Location:
Admission is required. Current admission is $20 for adults, $12 for ages 5–17, and free for Selby Gardens members and children 4 and under. Member guests are $12. Tickets may be purchased online or onsite.
Want to make a day of it?
Our official sketch out ends at 1:00 PM, but there’s no reason to rush off. Historic Spanish Point is open until 5:00 PM, so you can continue exploring after our meetup. The Bayside Cottage Café is open from 11:00 AM–3:00 PM and offers sandwiches, beverages, and snacks with bayfront views.
Come spend a beautiful October morning sketching a place where Florida history, architecture, gardens, and the bay all come together.
As always, Urban Sketchers Sarasota follows the Urban Sketchers motto:
“We show the world, one drawing at a time.”
Bring a friend, grab your sketchbook, and join us in Osprey!
Join us on Facebook or Eventbrite to RSVP and to view and share images of this and past Urban Sketchers Sarasota events.
The Venice Theater, Nov. 15th 10:30am-1:00pm
Historic Spanish Point, Oct. 17th 10:30am-1:00pm
Historic Spanish Point, Oct. 17th 10:30am-1:00pm
In November we'll sketch a place with a remarkable story of community, creativity, destruction, and resilience — Venice Theatre.
Founded in 1950, Venice Theatre began as a small community theater and eventually made its home in the historic building on West Tampa Avenue, part of the former Kentucky Military Institute complex.
Over the decades, it grew into one of the largest community theaters in the country, presenting plays, musicals, concerts, educational programs, and countless opportunities for local people to participate in the performing arts. Then, on September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian changed the story. Ian severely damaged the theater's 432-seat Jervey Theatre, destroying the roof and leaving the mainstage space devastated by wind and water. What followed was not simply an effort to repair a building, but an enormous community rebuilding project.
And perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is that the theater never stopped being a theater. While the Jervey Theatre was being rebuilt, Venice Theatre found ways to keep performing. A former law office and one-time Venice Public Library was transformed into the temporary Raymond Center, allowing productions and audiences to continue while construction went on around them.
Today, the new Jervey Theatre is rising again. Construction is nearing completion, with plans for the rebuilt theater to reopen in February 2027. The project has become a multimillion-dollar undertaking supported by donors, volunteers, patrons, staff, and the larger Venice community.
Why are we sketching it?
This outing connects beautifully with the reportage side of Urban Sketching. The Urban Sketchers Manifesto reminds us that our drawings are not merely pictures of buildings. We draw on location, tell the story of our surroundings, and create a record of a time and place. Urban Sketchers' Reportage program takes that idea a step further: reportage is a visual account of a cultural event or contemporary history, using drawings made from direct observation and combining them with research, firsthand accounts, interviews, and narrative. The goal is to capture not just the setting, but the people, context, and story.
Venice Theatre gives us a wonderful opportunity to think about what that means. We can sketch what is there today — the construction, architecture, people, signs, activity, and surrounding streetscape — while keeping in mind what happened here four years ago and what this place is becoming . Our sketches can become little pieces of a larger visual story:
- A theater was built.
- A community made it their own.
- A hurricane damaged it.
- The community kept performing.
- And now they are rebuilding.
So bring your sketchbook and your favorite materials, and let's document a small piece of Venice history in the making.
Sketch what you see. Look for the story. Capture the people and the place. And remember: sometimes the most interesting thing to sketch isn't simply a beautiful building — it's what that building means to the people who keep showing up for it. Come sketch the story of Venice Theatre — and its comeback.
Meet Up:
10:30am, we will meet on the corner of Tampa Ave W and Nokomis Ave N. There is plenty of free parking.
We will reconvene at 12:45pm for a traditional Urban Sketchers throwdown and group photo to capture and report on our observations.
As always, Urban Sketchers Sarasota follows the Urban Sketchers motto:“ We show the world, one drawing at a time.
Join us on Facebook or Eventbrite to RSVP and to view and share images of this and past Urban Sketchers Sarasota events.
Solomon's Castle, Dec. 12th 10:30am-1:00pm
Join Urban Sketchers Sarasota for a very special December sketch outing at one of Florida’s most wonderfully unusual destinations — Solomon’s Castle in Ona!
Created by artist Howard Solomon, this whimsical castle rises out of the Florida woodlands covered in gleaming aluminum printing plates. The grounds are packed with sketching possibilities: castle towers and turrets, stained-glass windows, quirky sculptures, the three-masted Boat-in-the-Moat, the Lily Life House lighthouse, gardens, sprawling oak trees and picturesque Horse Creek.
This entire castle, boat and everything you see on the grounds were created envisioned, designed and built by hand by Solomon. It is a true marvel. And the castle is still operated by his family.
Whether architecture, nature, people or wonderfully odd details are your thing, you should have no shortage of subjects here. And as always, artists of all skill levels are welcome — from complete beginners to experienced sketchers.
Meet Up
We’ll gather at 10:30 AM near the entrance to the castle grounds for a quick welcome before heading out to explore and sketch. We will sketch only on the grounds, not inside the buildings.
Choose whatever catches your eye and settle in for a couple of hours of sketching. At approximately 12:45 PM, we’ll come back together for our traditional throw-down to share our sketches, followed by a group photo.
What to Bring
Your favorite sketching supplies
A portable chair or stool if desired, there are a few benches around.
Water and sun protection
Your sketchbook ready for something a little out of the ordinary
Parking:
There are two lots, one just outside the grounds and one across the road.
Admission to the grounds and parking are free. Guided tours of the castle and galleries require a separate ticket and are not part of our scheduled sketch outing. These are cash only, there is an ATM on site.
Want to make a day of it? Our official sketch out ends at 1:00 PM, but consider staying afterward for lunch at the wonderfully named Boat-in-the-Moat Restaurant or taking one of the castle tours. The restaurant is located right on the grounds beneath the oaks. If you plan to have lunch, reservations are encouraged.
As always, Urban Sketchers Sarasota follows the Urban Sketchers motto:
“We show the world, one drawing at a time.”
Bring a friend and join us for a December sketch adventure that is definitely not your ordinary Florida Saturday morning.
Join us on Facebook or Eventbrite to RSVP and to view and share images of this and past Urban Sketchers Sarasota events.