About

Jim teaches a location sketching workshop in Havana during the 2015 "Sketch Cuba with James Richards" tour.

James Richards' work crosses many creative boundaries.  He is an urban designer, travel artist, author and former professor whose work explores great places and placemaking around the globe.  He is co-founder of Townscape Inc., an award-winning urban design and placemaking consultancy.  

Jim is the author of the award-winning book Freehand Drawing and Discovery: Urban Sketching and Concept Drawing for Designers, a popular text at design schools across the U.S. and abroad.  He is an Advisory Board member, instructor and blog correspondent for Urban Sketchers, an international non-profit that promotes freehand on-location sketching across disciplines and around the globe.  His on-location sketches have been published worldwide,  appeared in solo and group exhibitions, and seen on NBC Nightly News. His solo exhibition "Hemingway's Cuba" was shown in Ernest Hemingway's home outside Havana (now a national museum) during the 2015 Havana Art Biennial.  Richards is the first American to show an exhibition at the Nobel Prize-winning author's home.

His popular Craftsy online sketching tutorial, "Sketching the Energy of Places," has enrolled over 6,000 students, and is now part of The Great Courses series.  He is a frequent keynote speaker for conferences and symposia, and travels globally to teach design drawing and urban sketching workshops for artists and design professionals.

As a former senior executive in the energy industry and a background in electrical engineering, Patti Richards brings indispensable technical and management skills our creative efforts.  She oversees the studio's operations, management, and travel logistics, and assists with on-site workshops.  

A savvy world traveler, she has planned and guided our efforts in major cities, rural towns and remote villages on four continents.

Shooting "Sketching the Energy of Places" on-location with Craftsy film crew in Denver.