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| Closing remarks, and sketchbooks on display. |
I have been wondering how to describe the Urban Sketchers Symposium that I participated in last week. I think “a tsunami of creativity” sums it up well. I was inspired, challenged and overwhelmed. I met some wonderful talented interesting people from all over the world (10 countries were represented), learned a lot, and am still recovering. It was very intense. The creative energy was almost palpable in our gatherings, especially on the last day.
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| Getting some tips from Isabel. (Photo by Linda E.) |
Each day we had two lectures and two three-hour sketching sessions around the city in small groups accompanied by an instructor. Like I say…intense. Each sketching session had a different emphasis, like Urban Line, People, Color, Nature and Architecture. The instructors were top notch, and most of the participants were already quite skilled. At the end, all the sketchbooks were put on display for everyone to enjoy–an amazing amount of talent, and a tremendous variety of styles was represented.
I felt like I was in over my head most of the time but everyone was patient with a sketching newby like me. I had a hard time getting into the groove on the first day, but by the last day I was much more pleased with my work, though I still have far to go! I am hoping to develop more speed and a sketchier more expressive style eventually. Our local sketching group is so jazzed–emails have been flying back and forth planning future sketching events and we have a lot of new members.
Here are some of the comments from instructors that I found helpful and memorable:
Frank Ching, Urban Architecture–“The strategy of a sketch is structure, tone, then detail.” “When on the run, do several small sketches rather than partially finishing a big one.” “Include foreground, middle ground and background. Bracket your focal point to give a sense of place.” “The perceptual view is different than perspective. We always draw from memory, and it is hard to hold the shapes in ones mind, even when glancing down for a moment. Our ideal idea of a tree is fighting with what is really there.”
Isabel Fiadeiro, Urban People–“Get the volume of the people, not the details. Record their position. When there are no people in the space, fill in the background and leave space for people for when they arrive. You can overlay people to suggest them coming and going.”
Gabi Campanario, Urban Composition–“Find a focal point, start with the foreground, make the background fade away to suggest distance.”
Tia Boom Sin, Urban Color–She had us begin with the shapes using watercolors, then add lines afterward. I usually work the opposite way but found this approach to be effective and interesting. She has this cool way of putting blobs of color on her paper in her studio, then composing her sketch on location to fit in this pre-made background. Her sketches were gorgeous (and colorful)!
There was much more but I just wanted to give you a taste of what we learned. Here are some of my sketches from the symposium outings. I did them mostly on-site, but added finishing touches back in my studio.
This blog is about my journey as a botanical artist--what I am learning, what inspires me and what I am currently drawing or painting. My desire is to continually hone my skills to better express my wonder and gratitude for the beauty of the creation around me in the Pacific Northwest (USA).
Thank you so much for sharing. Your sketches look great. The Water Tower is striking, it has depth and realistic shadows. I learned some things from your comments. I do wish I was able to be there.
The sketches are absolutely gorgeous! The water towers and all the buildings are really well presented, the tones are amazing!
Thank you, Donna and Alex. Like I say, I know I have a long way to go with my sketches, but I am enjoying the journey!
Wow – your sketches are really great! Thanks for sharing about the symposium and passing along all the useful advice.
What great sketches. I’m so pleased you enjoyed the symposium so much and got so much from it. Thank you for the report.
Thank you for sharing your experience! Don’t sell yourself short. I think your sketches are great!
I think your sketches are always great! Thanks for giving us the quotes! I studied Environmental Design in college and we had several of Frank Ching’s books as textbooks. I still have them! How exciting that you got advice from him (and the others)!
Your sketches are wonderful! Difficult to imagine that you consider yourself a new sketcher.
WOW! These drawings are wonderful! How exciting to get to go to this symposium! I’m so jealous! (in a good way:)
Raena, I’ve heard that Frank Ching’s has been very influential in his field, but he comes across as a ‘regular guy’. He’s a kind and patient teacher, and still excited about learning too.
Thanks for the kind comments and for visiting, everyone.
Fabulous results Janene. I’ve very jealous of you as I would have loved to attend.
Your sketches are phenomenal!! I love the easy flow of the leaves and the structure of the water tower. When you say you felt like a newbie, the others there must really have been something! Thank you for the summaries of the instructors. I found it so interesting. (I too ink first, and color later – it’s a bit of a crutch, I think, that I need to overcome. But I’m not quite sure how to do it in the filed the other way around.)
Oh, sounds like a wonderful time! Lucky you, to be so close by, and to also be part of a local sketch group. Your sketches are beautiful, and I don’t believe you are a beginner sketcher like you portray yourself. In fact, there’s a lot I can learn from you! It sounds like this definitely brought you out of your comfort zone though, and that’s a good thing – trying something new…. Do you think you’ll be sketching urban scenes in public more often now?
Your sketches are so good, I really like the water tower!
Excellent post, so interesting, thank you very much for all these wonderful techniques you are sharing.
Thanks for posting, Sue, Dan Krista and bendelachanel. I think I tend to draw rather than sketch, so its the quickness and simplicity that I would like to improve on. I see sketching as a different but related skill to drawing.
Dan, I have been trying to focus more on values than line lately, and I think it is helping me get sketchier.
Krista, I am going to post soon on the topic of sketching in public.
Your sketches are so well done, how nice to be able to get so many tips. Thank you for sharing them.