Early Life and Education

Maru Godàs was born in Barcelona in 1966. She studied graphic design at the IDEP School of Design and the Escola Superior de Disseny Llotja de Barcelona. After completing her education, she founded her own graphic design studio in Barcelona, offering services to various publishers and agencies in Spain, including RBA, Planeta, National Geographic, and Salvat. Additionally, she took several animation, comic, and illustration courses at Escola Joso in Barcelona.

Transition to Full-Time Illustration

Maru always had a passion for illustration, consistently working on illustration projects and painting with oils and gouache in her spare time. Her passion eventually led her to pursue illustration full-time. Her involvement with the Urban Sketchers community opened new opportunities for travel, workshops, and lectures worldwide, as well as connections with amazing people.

Artistic Techniques and Collaborations

Maru enjoys working with various techniques, including Chinese ink, oil, watercolor, and colored pencils. However, she is particularly known for her gouache and acrylic paint drawings and workshops. She has collaborated on several illustrated books and magazines and authored works such as "Park Güell Journey," the interactive digital book "Suri y yo," and "Organic Beauty," which has been translated into five languages. Her illustration commissions include work for CaixaForum, National Geographic, RACC, La Caixa, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, and La Vanguardia.

Leadership and Workshops

From 2019 to 2022, Maru served as the director of the illustration festival "Compostela Ilustrada" in Spain. She has conducted international workshops in cities like Chicago, Brighton, Palo Alto, Madrid, Porto, Lisbon, Tuscany, Bern, San Francisco, Málaga, New York, Santiago de Compostela, La Réunion Island, New Zealand, and Tel Aviv. She has also taught at Urban Sketching Symposiums in Chicago, Porto, and Auckland. Currently, she is a board member of the Centre Artistic de Sant Lluc, a century-old art institution in Barcelona. She balances professional illustration commissions, authorship projects for books, and teaching activities, including urban sketching workshops and illustration classes around the world.

Highlights of Teaching Experience

Adobe Systems (2014-2015): Instructor in Digital Sketching workshops.

Barcelona Academy of Art (2016-2017): Conducted Urban Sketching workshops for Zahorí de Ideas

("Let's draw!").

Maristany Art Center in Sant Cugat: Taught courses on wet techniques and urban sketching.

The Big Draw festival in Barcelona: Served as an urban sketching instructor.

Casa-Atelier Vieira da Silva in Lisbon (2017): Participated in "Un año a desenhar para o futuro 2017" with

the workshop "Wash & Line."

Escola Illa de Sabadell (2017-2018): Led urban sketching and illustration courses.

Malagrafica Festival (May 2018): Delivered a lecture and workshop.

California (August 2018): Conducted workshops with urban sketchers support, covering themes like

"Gouache like a child," "Big gouache and mixed media," and "Emotions in Grayscale."

Compostela Ilustrada Festival (December 2018): Organized two workshops ("Sketching Greens with

Gouache") and participated in an exhibition.

"Cook&Sketch" workshops (June 2019): Collaborated with Chef David Lienas, painted a large mural

based on sketching recipes, and conducted workshops on wine tasting.

ACIDH foundation (2019): Volunteered as a teacher.

Pushing your Sketching Boundaries in Brighton (June 2019): Instructor in "Water Marks," offering

workshops on "Wash and Gouache" and "The Joy of Grays."

Sketch Tour Portugal project (2021): Participated during the Açores trip.

"El Camino Inglés" for Xacobeo 2021: Documented the journey through sketches, a book, and an

exhibition.

Bern Symposium (September 2021): Participated as an instructor.

Festival Embarquement Immédiat on Île de la Réunion (2022): Participated as an instructor.

Urban Sketchers Symposium France (Toulouse 2023) and Barcelona 10 Years Symposium (2023):

Ongoing participation as an instructor.

"Swap" project with Marina Grechanik: Exchanged cities and urban sketching techniques.

Art retreats: Conducted in Catalonia, Madeline Island, Portugal, Santa Fe (New Mexico), and Vietnam,

focusing on urban sketching, acrylic painting, and collage & mixed media.

International Instructor in Urban Sketchers Symposium

• Chicago (2017) • Porto (2018)
• Auckland (2023)

Teaching Philosophy and Experience

Maru has extensive experience as an art instructor, covering both theoretical and practical aspects. She works with students of urban sketching, illustration, and graphic design, including children and people with disabilities, which has significantly improved her teaching methods. She believes in conveying enthusiasm and a love for drawing, helping students find their unique expressive style and enjoy their sketching experience. Her goal is to instill confidence, freedom, and creativity in her students, sharing with them the joy of sketching.

-Basic survivor kit (small watercolor, water brush, black pen, and some colored pencils and Neocolor (optional)
-sketchbook A4 mixed media paper (or bigger)
-A3 (or A4) mixed media paper pad hot pressed smooth surface

-A3 drawing low quality paper (for experimentation in class)
-Watercolor box (16-18 colors aprox.)
-gouache basic colors (white, black, yellow, blue and magenta)
-gouache extra colors: (optional) orange, ochre, turquoise, Prussian blue, etc.
-one tiny notebook A5 for journaling and notes (I suggest Uniqlo notebooks)
-Oily colored pencils like Polychromos or Luminance (try to match with your gouache colors): ochre, orange, turquoise, black...

-Black pencil Pitt oil Faber Castell (medium or soft)
-Sharpener
-Some Neocolor II crayons or pastels: ochre, blue, orange, dark rose, white... -Synthetic round brushes (no.4, 6, 8, 12) and three flat brushes (one wide) -Rigger brush
-White Posca pen (for light effects)
-small scissors (children scissors are ok)
-Empty palette for mixing gouache

-glue stick
-water container
-tissue or recycled rag
-foldable stool
-masking tape
-bamboo pen
-bulldog clips
-Other favorite materials you love
I’ll bring some extra gouache colors (normal and acrylic) and colored papers.

Hoi An Testimonials 2024

"Learning in person with Maru had been a long-held dream of mine. When I heard that she would be in Vietnam, I knew this was a perfect opportunity to learn from and see this incredible artist whom I greatly admire.
Her work is so vibrant; I love her colour palettes, her line work, and her drawings of people. Each piece is full of confidence and fearlessness, capturing her subjects beautifully on paper. Her energy and teaching approach were amazing. Maru helped me overcome my fears and step outside of my comfort zone, instilling a fearlessness in me to embrace the learning process.

I left the experience with newfound inspiration and a solid starting point to evolve my style. As an artist who had taken a long break, I truly feel that Maru has helped me regain my passion and self-assurance.
Thank you, Maru, and hope to see you one day again!"

Lucy

"I have been admiring Maru from afar and have always adored her style but never thought I would be able to paint next to her and then Anna’s course appeared. I must have been the first to sign up. Maru continually lifts up her students with her excellent instructional demos, her words and interactions with the class. Her enthusiasm is contagious and encouraging to the beginner or experienced artist. The accommodation was in the most perfect Vietnam setting , a little oasis away from the hustle and bustle. Workshops took us to the most gorgeous settings around Central Vietnam. What an absolute joy to watch Maru in action and learn from her whilst sitting amongst gorgeous old relics, historical old buildings and the hustle and bustle of fishing markets and all the characters associated with these places. Anna finely curated a fabulous art retreat and knew all the perfect little places to take us. It was an absolute dream come true."

Tracey

"As a beginning artist, Maru helped me grow bolder and more confident especially using colour. Highly recommend this wonderful art & culture experience with Anna & Maru"

Louise

“Omg! I loved the workshop/retreat with Maru Godas! She is the most brilliant teacher, & such a lovely human! Her teachings are so valuable, I learnt so much, have fallen in love with gouache, and of course perfect in Hoi An, I must also mention, fantastically curated by ArtFoodCulture:)"

Leeza 💜

“Maru is INCREDIBLE!! Patient, creative, hilarious, fun, talented: exactly who I expected her to be. Pair that with Anna’s expertise and access to the local landscape and you’ve got an experience that’s hard to beat. Would sign up again and again! I still feel inspired months later.”

Suzanne H USA

Maru has completed a highly successful Anna’s Art, Food & Culture Experience with Anna Barnes in January 2024. We had 12 participants and navigated the coolest season of Hoi An, venturing to the UNESCO heritage rooftops, fishing villages and cooking classes. Anna has asked Maru back due to her high energy and passion for teaching. Her art and graphic skills alongside her excellent teaching abilities enable her to teach well on location in Vietnam, providing you with a comprehensive workshop schedule.