A Cozy Sketchbook Date at a Café ☕✏️ | Relaxing Drawing Vlog

Hi, um, can I have a hot chocolate and an iced tea, please? Cafes. Super cozy, delicious, a sweet place for one to sit and sketch. I'm so excited for you to join me on today's sketchbook date. As we're getting settled in, feel free to grab yours as well as we explore a new cafe today. Welcome to a Colombian cafe in the heart of Miami, and it's my first time here, so we get to check out the vibes together. Let me show you around. As soon as I walked in, the atmosphere hit me with warmth. The sun was beaming beautifully through the windows. And the universe has a way of speaking to you wherever you go. This cafe's name is Magdalena Cafe Bar and Houseplants, so being surrounded by fresh flowers, the irresistible smell of coffee equals happy place. And did I mention they're doggo friendly? First impressions, super sweet, warm, fuzzy vibes all around. And my yummy order arrived just in time for that first yummy sip. Not sure about you, but I definitely can't sketch on an empty tummy, so as I fuel up for our little sketch session, let me show you the fun supplies I brought with me today. I'm pretty proud because I was able to fit everything into one purse. I've been loving this little sketch pencil case that fits my essentials at the front, and I mostly swap out different supplies I'm in the mood for that day in that last compartment. Today I brought some water-based brush pens to try to sketch quick and try to get a nice base in with them. So I'll be starting off with this little guy and getting in the scene before starting with ink. As someone who works in many different mediums when sketching on location, sometimes I start with a black ink sketch, but since the cafe was full of so much warmth and sunlight, I was drawn for more warmer tones today. When you really hone into the scene, you begin to notice all the details and moving parts in the scene. The folks that came in initially will rotate and leave, and you have to kind of make it work. At first it could be a bit frustrating, but then you just use it as fuel and energy for the drawing. Each table also had a fresh flower bouquet, and the way that the tables were positioned, it allowed me to practice some perspective today. And it's safe to say I missed it. I ended up sitting towards the back of the cafe so that I can have a full panoramic view. I added this large shape of the container to create a foreground, and then focusing on what's in front of me, I noticed that everybody was kind of gone for a moment. But it's good that I got more or less the sketch in so far. It wasn't long until more people arrived, but noticing back into more details, I decided to focus on capturing all the plants that were around. And the more that I observed, the more that I kept drawing, I felt like the cafe felt very homey because it had so many plants and flowers around. It was very simple, but also very pleasing to look at, and the colors just made you feel very at peace. Another place, we're having like a free art gallery. I'm part of a local, we're in Wynwood, so we're like, that we turned into like a prayer room art gallery for the communities like that are coming all over to put their art on display, but it's right up my alley. I'll show you a little video, but if you want to go to that, it's starting, it's this weekend too. I think I'll always find it fascinating on who comes your way wherever you go. From one moment of the coffee shop being empty to more people being brought together, always in its divine timing at the right place and right time. Sitting in cafes, there's just something about it where everybody is focused, existing in their own worlds, but together, all connected all at once. Observing the strangers in front of me, the two girls had just met and I needed to fill up that space behind his shoulder. So I ended up drawing another figure behind him. And there comes a point in the process where you're just getting lost in the moment and the pen is just moving on the paper. Things are beginning to work all together. And just as that happens, you're met with a challenge, conflict. I really didn't like the way the figure was sitting in the center. He was too big for the size that I drew her. So I ended up whiting it out and drawing another figure that was in front of me. And I felt it was better since it created a bit more conversation and unison between those two. And later I realized it was a quite important part of the story. I've been here for a little while already, but I ended up just getting some more food. I still have a little bit of chai left, but she told me I could grab some stickers. Thank you. Oh, I love that it says two can do it. So I'm going to put them in the sketchbook. I was really excited to play around with positioning the stickers somewhere in the page, but we still have that whole right spread. And sometimes you don't know what's going to happen with the sketch when you start, but as you begin with great action, the ideas reveal themselves to you as you go on. I wanted to add a little bit more color on the right spread, but first I needed to finish the details and get in that cool fridge. I love getting lost in the intricacy and really taking in the space and sketching on location is one of the greatest ways to do so. As we finish up the little details, I want to let you know this video is sponsored by Squarespace. Think of Squarespace as your vending machine or refrigerator of amazing templates to build your website. This all-in-one platform allows you to pick and choose the template, drag and drop some photos. It's super user-friendly and then everything is organized and perfectly displayed professionally on your site. Just like I was paying attention to these frames up on the shelves, the owner did an amazing job with the aesthetic and just like that you can do the same with your website on Squarespace. There is a distinct color palette here and you can also do the same when you're arranging your site. So give it a try for free by going to squarespace.com and when you're ready to launch, go to squarespace.com forward slash jesscarp for 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. I was finally feeling like the sketch was coming to a completion, but an idea came to mind that I thought would work beautifully on the right. And I was craving some color in fact. As artists, we tend to spend much of our time alone. Much of the time in our hearts and our head and thinking of ways we can bring and create something to life. And as humans, it's quite easy to stay in the comfort zone of our homes but I found that coming to cafes or going outside somewhere to draw, finding a cozy space to work or read from, brings you straight into the moment and you don't realize the people that come your way, things you see that day, and the small ways that you've truly grown. The small yet mighty things that made a difference, that uplifted you. Certain places have a way of bringing each other together and whether or not you exchange a conversation or simply a smile, I always think about the things that wouldn't have happened if I didn't come today. The little yet big things that I got to observe, the food that I got to try, the things that I got to learn from sharing a conversation with others too. I feel like it all just reveals parts of ourselves and provides us an opportunity to keep learning about one another. Due to the current season, it was getting darker a lot quicker and it was interesting to learn that there were more people at the end of the day than in the beginning. I thought it'd be awesome to capture the pastries and couldn't leave without painting those in and I found that using the water-based markers on top was a really nice way to blend things in and add a little bit of blue. And then I had some fun with collaging in some stickers and adding that to the mix of the day. Once I got in the paintings, I added just a little bit of values to get in as if it's blending from the sketch into color over to the right. And then I had to include some typography as it's one of my favorites and I thought it was going to be a nice way to get the title and the name of the cafe and to really wrap up the spread. Just as I was finishing up, coincidentally, someone special wanted to see. You like it? No freaking way. I can't even talk right now. Oh my god. Thank you. Wow. Wow. This is insane. I'm speechless. I don't know what news you were announcing but you were like celebrating something together. Yes, I'm pregnant. Oh, congratulations. That's so exciting. Oh my god. I was like, I was like, congratulations. It's good to see you. That's so exciting. This is beautiful. Wow. Thank you so much. I don't know if you're not the owner or you're like. Yes, I am. You're the owner? Yeah. Really? Is your name Marvalena? No, it's Natalia. But Marvalena is the most important river in Colombia. My husband and I were from Colombia and we want this coffee shop to be like a river. Always the same river but never the same water. That's so great. I love that. I really appreciate it. Thank you for making this the place. It's really really cozy. No, thank you for making this. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Enjoying the space. Yeah. Thank you so much. What's your name again? Jess. Jess? Yes. I'm Natalia. Natalia. So nice to meet you. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Yeah. Wow. All done.