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Location
GPS Location Tagging
Tag your artwork with precise GPS coordinates, helping fellow artists discover and visit the exact scenic locations where your masterpieces were created.
The nomad's sketchbook · Est. 2025
Sketch Nomad
The platform for urban sketchers, plein air painters, outdoor artists, travel sketchers, and nature journalers
Keep a map of the places you draw. See the work other artists have made there. Heading out to sketch? Put an open invitation on the map and let people join you.
Web App First — iOS & Android Coming Soon
What's in the sketchbook
A Map Made by Artists
Your drawings, work made by other artists, and open sketch invitations all live in the same places.
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Sketch together
Open Sketch Invitations
Choose a place and time, then leave an open invitation for anyone nearby who wants to draw alongside you. No club or organiser required.
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Discovery
Interactive Discovery Maps
Find new painting locations through our interactive mapping system, perfect for artists seeking fresh inspiration and scenic spots.
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Community
Artists on the Map
Share your outdoor sketches and paintings with artists worldwide, and explore work made in places you know or want to visit.
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Roadmap
Much More Coming Soon
Weather integration, art supply recommendations, skill-building tutorials, augmented reality features, and more tools built for outdoor artists.
Discover the World of Outdoor Art
View all posts »Stories about artists, places, and the long tradition of making work outdoors.
Plein Air Painting, Seen on a Map
Follow paintings back to the places that shaped them—from Monet and Van Gogh to Turner, Yoshida, and artists working outdoors today.
Van Gogh & En Plein Air - How Outdoor Painting Transformed His Art
Step into the sun-drenched fields with Vincent van Gogh and discover how painting outdoors was not just a technique, but a spiritual necessity that fueled his revolutionary art.
Urban Sketchers - See Your World, One Sketch at a Time
Ever heard of Urban Sketchers? It's a global community of artists who draw cities from life. Dive in to learn how you can join the movement and start seeing your world in a whole new way.
History of Plein Air Painting: From Outdoor Rebels to a Worldwide Movement
Plein air — also called pleinair or en plein air — started as a radical idea. The story of how outdoor artists took painting out of the studio and into the light.
FAQs
A Few Common Questions
Here are some answers to questions we often hear. If you have others, please feel free to reach out.
What is Sketch Nomad?
Sketch Nomad is a free platform for urban sketchers, plein air painters, outdoor artists, and travel sketchers. Tag your artwork to a place, keep a map of your sketching spots, and connect with a worldwide outdoor-art community.
What is plein air (or pleinair) painting?
Plein air — also written pleinair or en plein air — means painting or sketching outdoors, from life. Sketch Nomad is built for that practice: location-tagged sketches, discovery maps, and sketch-together sessions in the field.
Is Sketch Nomad for urban sketchers?
Yes. Urban sketchers who draw cities, streets, and daily life on location can pin sketches to the exact spot, find fellow sketchers nearby, and join sketch-together sessions.
Can travel sketchers use it?
Travel sketchers can log sketches from trains, cafés, trails, and cities they visit, then look back at a map of every place they drew. It is a visual travel journal as much as a community.
Is this for professional outdoor artists only?
Not at all. Sketch Nomad is for every outdoor artist — seasoned plein air painters, weekend hobbyists, urban sketchers, nature journalers, and anyone just starting.
How does location tagging work?
When you upload a piece, you can attach the GPS location where you created it. That builds a personal map of your spots and, if you choose, helps other artists discover new places to paint or sketch.
What is your stance on AI and artist data?
Your art and data are yours, period. We will never use your artwork to train AI models. We are committed to being a trusted, private space for artists to share their work without worry.
Is Sketch Nomad free?
Yes. The web app is free to use. We plan to always offer a free version so outdoor artists can create without a financial barrier.