Sunil Shinde has been an ardent urban sketcher since 2013 and is a correspondent for the Urban Sketchers blog, urbansketchers.org. He is the author of a bestselling illustrated travel memoire “From Cairo to Beirut” which traces his journey along ancient trade routes through Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Lebanon. Over the last twenty years, Sunil has travelled to over thirty countries, tracing stories of history, religion and culture. When he isn’t travelling, he is dreaming of travelling. He is also building an AI-based population health product in stealth mode. He lives in a cottage in the woods in Redmond, WA, with his wife, two daughters and their golden retriever, Oscar.

Virginia Hein is from Los Angeles, California, and she teaches sketching workshops in her hometown and other locations. A long-time urban sketcher, she has been honored to teach at four international Urban Sketchers Symposiums, and the upcoming Auckland Symposium. She has contributed her work to a number of books and other publications about location sketching. Her book “5 Minute Sketching Landscape”, was published in 2017, and she co-authored “The Urban Sketching Handbook Spotlight on Nature” with Gail L. Wong in 2022.

Gail is an architectural illustrator, retired architect and part time Lecturer at the University of Washington. Gail has kept sketchbooks throughout her architectural education and professional career, but started travel sketching in 2009. She has been actively involved in Urban Sketchers as a sketcher, then in leadership roles as Seattle Admin, Education Committee member, Workshop instructor and on the Executive Board for Urban Sketchers. She has participated in several Urban Sketching symposiums and has taught many workshops. Her work has been published in many Urban Sketching handbooks and recently co-authored “The Urban Sketching Handbook: Spotlight on Nature” (2022) with friend and fellow sketcher Virginia Hein.

Eleanor Doughty is an artist and educator based in Seattle, USA. As a full-time freelance illustrator, she creates art for commercial clients centering around locations, architecture, and the stories they tell. Her clients include the Downtown Seattle Association, Hilton, Kroger/QFC, the Seattle Times, Stanford University, and VICE Media. Her graphic novel “K’s Car Can Go Anywhere!” was published by Penguin Books in 2022. Eleanor has taught numerous sketching workshops both at home and abroad, including at the 2019 Urban Sketchers Symposium in Amsterdam, and both youth and adult classes at Gage Academy in Seattle. She also enjoys animated films, riding her 180cc scooter through the quiet roads of the PNW, and befriending local crows.

Rita Sabler is a visual journalist, artist, and educator based in Portland, Oregon, USA. She teaches Drawing, Urban Sketching and Visual Journalism courses at the Parsons School of Design, Pacific Northwest College of Art, and Portland State University. She also works on a variety of freelance illustration and visual reportage projects. Rita Sabler serves as the Education Director on the board of the global Urban Sketchers organization. Rita has presented numerous lectures and workshops around the world inspiring diverse audiences to cultivate a lifelong passion for urban sketching and reportage illustration. Her work has been featured in solo and group local and international shows. Rita holds a B.A. degree in Psychology and Art, an M.A. in Linguistics, and a Masters in Interface Design from The Elisava School of Design in Barcelona. She is currently working on an advanced degree in Journalism. Rita Sabler’s reportage on the Kalaupapa settlement has won Doctors without Borders Coup De Coeur and International Sketchbook Prize at the 2019 Rendez-Vous Du Carnet De Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand. Rita’s main areas of interest are Reportage Illustration, Travel Sketching, and Visual Storytelling, but she is often seen on street corners capturing busy markets, festivals, protestors, musicians, and regular citizens living their life in both ordinary and extraordinary ways. When not drawing or teaching she is a busy parent and a tango pianist.

Melanie Reim is an award-winning illustrator with a sketchbook never far from her side. Reim retired from FIT as Associate Dean and Professor, School of Art and Design. She is a Fulbright Scholar, and Distinguished Educator, Society of Illustrators in NY. Her reportage illustration has been featured in numerous articles and books. Her documentary work is part of the Air Force Art Collection in the Pentagon, Washington, DC.

Andika’s love for sketching started when he studied architecture in Indonesia. As a practicing architect, he always tries to find time to keep his passion of hand drawing and sketching alive. He goes to different local coffee shops every Friday morning for his weekly sip ‘n sketch session. Good mocha and a sketch go so well together. Andika uses his sketches to capture the essence of place and time, using simple pen, marker, pencil, or digital media. He works in downtown Seattle and lives with his wife, two daughters and a cat in Bothell.

Author, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington, and avid sketcher, especially during travels abroad. Will be exhibiting a series of journals kept during teaching stints at the University of Washington’s Rome Center.