12th Urban Sketchers
The 12th International Urban Sketchers Symposium will be held in Buenos Aires, 9-12 October 2024. Sketchers of all levels, experience, and backgrounds are welcome.
The International Urban Sketching Symposium is an annual educational event organized by Urban Sketchers (USk), a nonpro t dedicated to fostering the practice of on-location observational sketching. The goal of the Symposium is to celebrate and practice the art of on-location sketching in the host city. The event o ers valuable sketching instruction and opportunities for participants to network and socialize. Following our spirit of “sharing the world, one drawing at a time,” we aim to bring the Symposium to new cities and countries every year. Previous Host cities include; Portland, Lisbon, Santo Domingo, Barcelona, Paraty, Singapore, Manchester, Chicago, Porto, Amsterdam, and Auckland.
There are two types of Passes: WORKSHOP PASS and SKETCH PASS.
The Workshop Pass o ers an unparalleled opportunity for passionate sketchers seeking focused learning and skill development. Gain personalized feedback, practice alongside inspiring peers, and push your creative boundaries under expert guidance. This immersive experience allows you to connect with a global community of artists, share your passion, and return home with a renewed sense of inspiration and accomplishment.
The Workshop Pass (on sale at $450 USD each) includes access to:
. The Opening & Closing receptions
. Selection of 3 Workshops from a great lineup of international instructors
. Selection of 1 Demo or Activity
. Lectures - available on a rst come- rst served basis until venue capacity is reached
. Any and all Sketchwalks - depending on the compatibility with selected Workshops, Demo, or Activity
. The Art Market
The Sketch Pass promises a relaxed yet enriching experience! Engage with fellow artists during morning gatherings, insightful lectures, and the vibrant art market. Then, enjoy the leisure of exploring Buenos Aires at your own pace, capturing its essence through self-directed sketching adventures before reuniting for guided Sketchwalks. Customize your experience by choosing a Demo or a hands-on Activity. Conclude your days by connecting with the community at lively receptions and social events.
The Sketch Pass (on sale at $260 USD each) includes access to:
. The Opening & Closing receptions
. Selection of 1 Demo or Activity
. Lectures - available on a rst come- rst served basis until venue capacity is reached
. Any and all Sketchwalks - depending on the compatibility with selected Demo or Activity
. The Art Market
Attention: Symposium registration and workshops selection will open 2 March 2024 noon / 12 pm GMT-3 Argentina time on Eventbrite. There is no Early Bird Registration.
8.30
@Hub WP / SP 12 TH URBAN SKETCHERS SYMPOSIUM BUENOS AIRES 2024
9 00
briefing
@hub 8.30
Lecture
9.15 - 9.45
@Hub
Wednesday, 9 Oct 2024 Thursday, 10 Oct 2024 Friday, 11 Oct 2024 Saturday, 12 Oct 2024 Lunchtime
(13.30-14.30)
Art Market Open
Registration Open
(14.30 - 16.30)
13.00-18.00
@Hub
Sketchwalk #1
10.30 - 13.30 WP/SP only
Lecture LT2
9.15 - 9.45 @Hub
Workshop
10.30 - 13.30 WP only
Demo/ Activity
15.00 - 16.00
WP/SP only
Sketchwalk #2
16.30 - 19.00
WP/SP only
Opening Reception
(18.00 - 20.00)
8.30 - 9 00
Lecture LF1
9.15 - 9.45 @Hub
Sketchwalk #3
10.30 - 13.30 WP/SP only
Lecture LF2
9.15 - 9.45 @Hub
Lecture LS1
9.15 - 9.45 @Hub
Lecture LS2
9.15 - 9.45 @Hub
Workshop
10.30 - 13.30 WP only
Sketchwalk #5
10.30 - 13.30 WP/SP only
Workshop
10.30 - 13.30 WP only
Sketchwalk #4
16.30 - 19.00 WP/SP only
Workshop
15.00 - 18.00 WP only
Family photo 16.00 WP SP/Faculty Staff only
Sketchwalk #6
16.30 - 19.00
Open to public
WS01 Reham M Ali
WS02
Dan Archer
WS03
WS04
WS05
WS06
WS07
WS08
WS09
WS10
WS11
WS12
WS13
WS14
WS15
WS16
WS17
WS18
WS19
WS20
Stephanie Bower
Richard Briggs
Sketch with Impact
Drawing out Local Voices: How Illustrated Reportage Can Bring Your Urban Sketches to Life
The Big Power of Little Thumbnails
Market Life: Capturing Vibrant Scenes Using Simple Sketching Techniques
João Catarino Printing Process as Visual Perception
Hugo Barros Costa City in Motion
Vincent Desplanche
Rafael Fonseca
Eleanor Doughty
Maru Godàs
Marina Grechanik
Oliver Hoeller
Uma Kelkar
Ch'ng Kiah Kiean
Pedro Loureiro
Nelson Paciencia
Daniel Pagans
Inhong Park
Peter Richards
Rita Sabler
WS21 Inma Serrano
WS22
Rob Sketcherman
Nothing to Lose by Sketching too Loose
Taking the Line to Dance
Wash It Away: Wabi-Sabi Sketching With Water-Soluble Materials
The Beat Of Baires: Passion Backgrounds On Colored Paper
Magic of Tango. Capturing Movement, Space, and Music.
Expressive Color with Intent - the Value Bridge
From Thumbnail to Final Sketch (A Problem-Solving, No-Overwhelm Process)
Sketching Architecture with Graphite & Watercolour Graphite
Local Markets, Great People
Cafe Talks: Personas, Conversaciones, Contexto
Play with Imperfection
Say More by Drawing Less
Sketch to Observe and Understand Urban Character With Coloured Pencils and Ink Lines
Visual Storytelling for Urban Sketchers
The City Flows
Make Distinctive Characters the Star of Your Sketches Using iPad & Procreate
Reham M Ali
Dan Archer
Stephanie Bower
Richard Briggs
João Catarino
Hugo Barros Costa
Vincent Desplanche
Rafael Fonseca
Eleanor Doughty
Maru Godàs
Marina Grechanik
Oliver Hoeller
Uma Kelkar
Ch'ng Kiah Kiean
Pedro Loureiro
Nelson Paciencia
Daniel Pagans
Inhong Park
Peter Richards
Rita Sabler
Inma Serrano
Rob Sketcherman
Workshops are one of the main components of the USk Symposium.
They are presented as a more formal educational experience for a smaller group to learn fresh skills rst-hand, absorb new and old techniques while acquiring hands-on knowledge from a range of selected Instructors from around the world.
To help you select the Workshop most appropriate for you, we have indicated the experience levels as follows:
. Beginner - Little or no prior sketching experience
. Intermediate - Some sketching experience and understanding of basic techniques
. Advanced - Con dent sketcher with experience in a wide range of mediums
Workshops are accessible only to registered Symposium participants.
Thursday
10 Oct 2024
15.00 - 16.00
WP/SP only
Marek Badzynski ACT01
Eileen P. Goldenberg ACT02
How To Modify A Pilot Parallel Pen For Better Sketching
Fountain Pen Won’t Work? Take This Class!
Elena Klimova ACT03 Urban Shades
USk Buenos Aires ACT04
DEM01
DEM02
DEM03
DEM04
DEM05
DEM06
DEM07
DEM08
DEM09
DEM10
DEM11
DEM12
DEM13
DEM14
DEM15
DEM16
DEM17
DEM18
DEM19
DEM20
DEM21
DEM22
DEM23
DEM24
DEM25
DEM26
DEM27
Reham M Ali
Dan Archer
Stephanie Bower
Richard Briggs
João Catarino
Hugo Barros Costa
Vincent Desplanche
Rafael Fonseca
Eleanor Doughty
Maru Godàs
Marina Grechanik
Oliver Hoeller
Uma Kelkar
Ch'ng Kiah Kiean
Pedro Loureiro
Nelson Paciencia
Daniel Pagans
Inhong Park
Peter Richards
Rita Sabler
Inma Serrano
Rob Sketcherman
Lisa Huang
Jenny Jing Zhang
Renato Palmuti
Irena Spector
Tony Walker
Argentine Tango: Capturing the Rhythm
Unexpected Perspectives
Live-Sketching An Interview In Situ: Tips And Techniques For Illustrated Reportage
Look UP! Sketching in 3-point Perspective
Step By Step, Layer By Layer
City in Motion
Multi-Techniques Multi-Textures
Observation Implies Movement
Capturing Movement in Mixed Media
Gouache And Friends: Dialogues Between Lines And Color Shapes
Capturing Time And Space With Mixed Media
Vignettes Full of Life
AI and Art
Sketching Nature with Graphite & Watercolour Graphite
Leading Roles: People-Powered City Perspectives
Monsters: How To Draw Distorted People
Play with Imperfection
Create Your Own Shadow
How An Urban Designer Observes And Sketches
A Place Using Pencils And Brush Pens
Drawing People in Motion
Twisting Lines (Like Dancing Tango)
Making Distinctive Characters the Star of your Sketches
Passionate Painting of Plaza
Dip Pen Time!
Sketching With Liquid Charcoal
Creating A Busy Urban Scene In An Easy Way
Using Watercolor Paints And Pencils
30-40 Minute Streetscape Panorama
Alexandria - Egypt
Workshop Description
Urban sketching is always about telling the story of a place, but have you thought that YOU are part of this story, the way you see the architectural scene, your perception of the place? Have you considered that buildings also have “moods”?! This workshop is not about sketching yourself, it's about how you can capture and sketch this mood ....how to Sketch with Impact! Impact can come from the expressive power of your medium, your lines, the way you see and interpret the scene, and in this workshop you’ll explore how it’s a dialogue between exaggeration and simpli cation.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Reham M Ali (Alexandria, Egypt) studied Fine-Arts and holds a Ph.D. degree in Interior Design from the University of Alexandria and works as Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture. She has been drawing since childhood, and sketching architecture came as a natural part of her study and work. She has been sketching on location since her senior year in college, and in 2015, she discovered Urban Sketchers. Since then she started to focus on sketching her home city, Alexandria, which is the main subject of her watercolor and sketching work. She’s also a workshop instructor in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
@reham_m_a
Supply List
. Waterproof ink pens (fountain pens or dip pen)
. Watercolor palette (the bigger the better!)
. Watercolor paints (watercolor tubes are recommended)
. Small water spray
. Sketchbook or loose paper, preferably watercolor . . . paper or water-friendly paper at least A4/US Letter size
. Brushes (try to have at least one big brush size 8 or larger if possible )
. Small plastic container of water
. A stool to sit on while working (optional)
. View nder or similar app (you can make your own view nder using two L shaped pieces of paper)
London - UK
Workshop Description
Drawing architecture on the spot is a challenge, but capturing people - both sight and sound - within that urban environment can prove even more intimidating. How can you bring them to life through a few pen strokes and snippets of conversation? How can you overcome the challenge of approaching strangers, or distilling their words into a series of speech balloons? In this workshop graphic journalist Dan Archer will share his tricks for incorporating live sketched interviews and conversational snippets into your urban sketches, adding a new level of rich storytelling and local color. Starting within everyone’s comfort zones, we will gradually increase the challenge until participants feel con dent enough to approach strangers one-on-one and translate their conversation into a live narrative urban sketch.
Students will need to feel comfortable working quickly, as well as multitasking, such as holding a conversation while drawing, and drawing straight to ink with only a basic pencil underdrawing
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate/Advanced
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Dan Archer has been working as a graphic journalist for over a decade since graduating from the Center of Cartoon Studies in 2009 with an MFA in Cartooning. His work focuses on human rights-related topics and he uses illustrated reportage and comics to protect the anonymity of his Interviewees. His graphic journalism has been featured by the BBC, CBC, Vice, the US State Dept, CNN,Associated Press, the Nib, the Colombian government, Open Society, European Journalism Centre, Die Zeit Online, Der Speigel, and he has a Maynard Institute Award for mental health reporting. His debut graphic novel, Voices from Nepal: Uncovering human tra cking through comics journalism will be published by University of Toronto Press in June 2024. @archcomix
Supply List
. Preferred tool for inking: pressure-sensitive fountain pen and a brush pen for thicker lines
. Watercolors with reservoir brush pen
. Palette for adding spot tone color
. Watercolor Sketchbook (non-textured, as you’ll need to write text)
. Mechanical pencil for under sketches and eraser 0.3 and
neliner markers for text
Workshop Description
What are“thumbnails”? Picture small drawings, somewhere between the size of a postage stamp and a postcard. Because they are small, you can’t get caught up in the time-consuming drawing of lots of detail, which makes “thumbnail”-sized sketches great for guring out things like perspective, overall composition and cropping, and even studying an approach to applying color. Thumbnail drawings can become a valuable part of your sketching process as they capture the essence of a place in sketches that are quick, loose, and full of energy. Not only are they powerful tools, but a collection of thumbnails beautifully tells a story!
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Stephanie Bower worked as a licensed Architect in New York City before gravitating to professional architectural illustration and concept design. She taught for overthirty years, in New York City at Parsons School of Design and in Seattle at the University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts.
Stephanie is based in Seattle and thrilled to be living her life-long dream as a globe-trotting instructor and urban sketcher! She has taught at several USk Symposiums, has three online sketching courses, and teaches perspective and watercolor workshops around the world. Her awards include the prestigious Gabriel Prize fellowship in architecture to Paris, the Civita Institute’s fellowship to Italy, and she was twice honored with “Best Travel Sketch” in the KRob international architectural delineation competition.
Stephanie's work has been featured in Watercolor Artist and Artist magazines, and she is the best-selling author of several books on urban sketching including The World of Urban Sketching, The Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective, The Urban Sketching Handbook: 101 Sketching Tips.
@stephanieabower
Supply List
. Landscape or portrait format sketchbook or paper that will take watercolor (not thin paper
. 2.5mm mechanical pencil with 2B lead
. Kneaded eraser
. 8” architect’s triangle or straight edge
. 2 or more clips to hold down your paper
. Your favorite supplies, I’ll use watercolor including French Ultramarine, Winsor & Newton Burnt Sienna, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Yellow Ochre and Escoda brushes
. Stool for sitting
. If you like to sketch in ink, bring your pen!
. I use a lap board made out of corrugated plastic, it holds a water container and I clip my paints and sketchbook to it.
Sydney - Australia
Workshop Description
The aim of this workshop is to capture the vibrant atmosphere that can be found in and around the Mercado de San Telmo. We will look at creating playful line based sketch compositions, with a focus on people, market stalls, signage and the surrounding architecture, all of which de ne that spirit of place. Using a step-by-step process, we will observe these characteristics of place and look at how these can be embedded in a series of sketches. We will learn about where to locate detail and leave blank spaces, with a focus on how to simplify complex scenes while generating energy in a composition. This workshop will be open to most skill sets and levels of experience as using rules of thumb for one-point perspective will be the only technical requirement.
At the end of the workshop each participant will understand the importance of observation, and how to represent a feeling of place with selective content in sketches that tell stories about life at the market.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Richard Briggs is an artist and architect based in Sydney, Australia. He has been exploring and sketching streets for the past 21 years in various places around the world such as Argentina, Cambodia, India and Australia. Through this medium he aims to tell numerous stories about a particular place, it’s people and communities. His simple line sketches explore the hidden gems in our cities encouraging the viewer, visitor, and the inhabitant to look at what we see in a di erent way. From the ner details to large expansive lines of a city skyline, his sketches evolve into patterns that form spaces and urban quirks which aim to convey a sense of place. He has taught sketching in both private practise, public forums and co-runs a course at University of New South Wales in Sydney which helps built environment students explore cities using urban sketching as a tool. He works closely with people to create sketches that connect with the viewer, bringing joy and a playfulness into everyday life. It’s this approach to sketching that allows for a ltered response and to what he sees, capturing the visual essence through simplicity. Through sketching, Richard aspires to connect with people and place.
@richardbriggs_artist
Supply List
. Small notepad for thumbnail sketches and observation notes
. Sketch book (at least A4 size, preferably A3)
. Pens including lots of colors such as blue, red, brown and greens.
. Something to sit on (such as a very small portable chair) although most of this workshop require sketching whilst standing up and being in many di erent spots
. An eye for detail and a delight in observing!
Lisbon - Portugal
Workshop Description
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
João Catarino graduated in Communication Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. He is a Professor of Drawing and Art & Visual Communication at Universities in Lisbon and of Illustration and Design in the School of Art and Design of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal.
João works mostly in illustration and graphic design and has accomplished collaborations with television channels such as SIC, TVI and RTP 2. He regularly features in periodical publications like Jornal Expresso and Jornal Público. João is the author of the book “EN2” and co-author of the book “Tanto Mar,” plus several national and international books on urban sketching.
@joaocatarino65
Supply List
. Thick and thin brush for watercolors
. Sketch book A5 (minimum).
In this workshop, we will play with the overlapping of colors used in printing, exploring 3 combinations of pure color. We will explore urban environments and monumental architecture with vibrant colors, based on the contrasts of pure color, warm and cold and complementarity, including the in uence of color saturation on the perception of close-up and distant planes.
. Yellow, cyan and magenta Ecolines or Tombow ABT . pens in the same primary colors.
Workshop Description
Also, what is a city without their inhabitants?
Urban sketching is about telling a story in a particular moment. Architecture is always there, but people's action and dynamic elements de ne the moment in time we want to record.
In this workshop we will overlay dynamic shapes (people, bicycles, ...) with static forms (architecture) . We will draw the buildings, then add the people, which creates a personal and dynamic layer and the illusion of depth and movement.
To enhance this overlapping technique, we can also sketch dynamic elements in di erent colors, learning how to see and represent the unique subjects in our composition.
Of course we would learn how to balance the di erent dynamic layers with the site (buildings and trees) like at the lovely Plaza Borrego that would be a perfect set for this workshop.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: All Levels
Hugo graduated in architecture in Oporto (ESAP), Portugal. He is currently resident in Valencia, Spain, lecturing and teaching courses on Architectural Form Analysis and Landscape Representation. He has an impressive series of accolades and awards and is the author of several published papers and lectures on graphic expression, architectural survey and drawing in several Universities in USA, Europe and Middle East.
His urban drawings have been shown in solo and collective exhibitions around the world.
In addition to being a storyboard artist for independent lmmakers he is also an Illustrator for the African Environmental Film Foundation.
Since October 2010 he has been sketching every day.
@yolahugo
Supply List
. Pen or pencil ( 2 di erent colors )
. A brush pen or watercolor and brushes to values and shadows ( optional )
Toulouse - France
Workshop Description
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Beginner
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Vincent is a versatile illustrator, Urban Sketcher and woodblock printmaker. He studied at the Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg (France), where he was already obsessed with sketching on location, and published his rst sketchbook in Northern Québec before graduating.
Over three decades, Vincent has illustrated more than forty non- ction children’s books for major French publishers and magazines. He is also an active volunteer for Urban Sketchers in France, organizing events and teaching workshops in his local chapter of Toulouse.
@vincentdesplanche
Supply List
. Watercolors box
. Ballpoint or liner pen
. Marker or ink or dark watercolor
. Smooth graphite pencil 2B minimum
. Fabric Cloth (no tissues)
At the beginning of an urban sketch is the desire to document what surrounds us, the architecture, but also the atmosphere, the activity, our feelings. How do you go from a beautiful drawing to a lively urban sketch? In this three-part workshop, we'll look at how to loosen up our style. Free yourself from constraints and your sketches will have everything to gain!
. 2 mop watercolor brushes 10mm minimum (no waterbrush)
. 1 at square or angled brush
. Cold press watercolor paper or multi-technique paper pad 300 gsm
. Sketch paper pad 100 gsm minimum color pencils or crayons
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Workshop Description
Paul Klee famously said that drawing is like taking a line for a walk. A walking line is a gesture made in time, a trace of a movement. Within the eld of psychology, James Gibson suggests that “observation implies movement”, in other words, we perceive the world as we move through it, while it is also in perpetual movement, meaning that nothing is static, neither the point of view of the sketcher nor the subject.
In this workshop, our challenge will be to track and express the multiple paths of the bodies and gestures of tango dancers as they move within space and time. Our ultimate goal will be to build a narrative that takes place through the overlapping of multiple points of view, several layers of drawing and using di erent techniques and materials. We will work on the drawings as stories: a record of our own unique experience based on the interaction with the drawing materials and the surrounding environment.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Rafael is a drawing professor, illustrator and architect based in Rio de Janeiro. He has been a correspondent for Urban Skechers Rio and Urban Sketchers Brazil since 2011. He has 15 years experience as a Graphic Representation professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) where he gives classes about urban sketching, freehand drawing, watercolor, graphic narrative and creative process. During his PhD he worked with sketchbooks as a platform to record and interpret the city of Rio de Janeiro. Some of his drawings have been published in the book "The World of Urban Sketching" by Stephanie Bower.
@orafaquedesenha
Supply List
. Watercolor (color suggestion: Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Cobalt Blue or Cerulean, Ultramarine Blue, Carmin Alizarin, Burnt Sienna)
. Watercolor pencils
. Black pens (brush, chisel, fountain, ne, large etc.),
. Brushes
. Paper (A4 or A3) 300g paper for watercolor (or sketchbook)
. Graphite pencil
. Eraser/ Clips
. Clipboard,
. Crepe tape
. Sketchbook
Workshop Description
In this workshop, you will learn to harness the impermanent qualities of water-soluble media to highlight a sketch’s focal point. By adding water to a drawing made with common materials such as markers or fountain pen ink, we can soften a background or supporting details to heighten interest in our main subject. You will discover the secret abilities of many of your drawing tools to create unique and unpredictable tonal textures!
Many sketchers struggle with perfectionism and tightness. This workshop follows the tenets of wabi-sabi, the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of embracing the incomplete, impermanent, and imperfect. You will learn how to embrace these elements in our sketches, the unique qualities of water-soluble materials will push you outside your comfort zone. whilst keeping a strong foundation with dark and light values.
By the end of the workshop, you will have an appreciation for how giving up control can create interesting, playful, and clear sketches, and you’ll enjoy using new techniques with materials you already carry with you.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Eleanor Doughty is a Seattle-based illustrator, painter, and urban sketcher originally from the Washington, D.C. area (USA). Her mixed media work captures realistic subjects and imbues them with signi cance and character. Eleanor has traveled internationally to teach art and to explore new locations through her practice of on location sketching. Specializing in large-format illustration, she has been commissioned by Hilton, Kroger, Marriott, and Microsoft. Her graphic novel, K's Car Can Go Anywhere!, was published by Penguin/Random House in 2022. Eleanor also enjoys watching animated movies, riding her scooter around the islands in the Puget Sound, and drinking a good americano on a rainy day.
@herbcoilSupply List
.1 black water-soluble drawing pen (most fountain pen inks, Tombow brush pen, LePen ne liner, PaperMate, felt tip pen, many calligraphy pens)
. 2 other water-soluble drawing tools - black/gray/color all work (watercolor marker, watercolor pencil, fountain pen ink, brush pens)
. 1 llable water brush, or regular brush & cup for water. Small or medium size (size 4+)
(I prefer to use a 12mm square water brush like this)
. Paper towel
. 3 sheets of smooth cold press or hot press paper, 300 gsm, A4 or about 9x12” (feel free to use a watercolor sketchbook as well).
. Drawing board with clip
. Optional: watercolor set, colored pencils, markers, or anything else you’d like to use to add some spot color at the end.
Barcelona - Spain
Workshop Description
In this workshop students will learn how to sketch on colored paper using mixed-media techniques with a strategic focus on negative spaces. In urban sketching, using colored paper introduces new skills into the drawing routine. This drawing system is faster and more decisive, also working with negative spaces enhances right-brain activity and perception skills improve immensely. The color of the paper will become a key element in the sketches, popping up the main subjects and creating a colorful visual reading.
During the workshop, we will experiment with layering mixed media techniques to observe how colored paper and drawings interact, obtaining a vibrant cityscape full of energy.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Beginner
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Maru Godàs trained as a graphic designer at the IDEP School of Design and the "Escola Superior de Disseny Llotja de Barcelona.” She founded her own graphic design studio in Barcelona, providing services to publishers and agencies in Spain: RBA, Planeta, National Geographic, Salvat, and more. Whilst working with oil and gouache as a full time artist, she discovered Urban Sketchers and now gives workshops and lectures on working with gouache and acrylic paint. She has collaborated on several illustrated books and magazines and is the author of "Park Güell Journey," the interactive digital book "Suri y yo," and "Organic Beauty," translated into ve languages. She was the director of the illustration festival "Compostela Ilustrada" (Spain) (2019–2022). Currently, she’s a member of the board of the 'Centre Artistic de Sant Lluc,' a century-old art institution in Barcelona. Maru manages a dynamic balance between professional illustration commissions, authorship projects for books, and teaching activities, which include urban sketching workshops and illustration classes around the world.
@marugodasSupply List
. Gouache basic colors (white, black, yellow, blue and magenta). Small tubes.
. Gouache extra colors: OPTIONAL: orange, ochre, turquoise, Prussian blue, etc
. 4-6 colored thin cardboard (180-200 gr) or colored paper in A3 or A4. I propose bright/pastel colors: blue, yellow, orange turquoise or pink.
. Rigid support surface for drawing
. Oily colored pencils like Polychromos or Luminance: ochre, orange, turquoise, black...
. A graphite pencil or black Pitt-oil (4B or 6B)
. Some Neocolor pastels or oil pastels (optional): ochre, blue, orange, dark rose, white...
. Synthetic brushes (no.4, 6, 8, 12) or water brushes
. Empty palette for mixing
. bulldog clips
. water container, tissue, and foldable stool
Workshop Description
Tango isn’t just a dance; it’s an integral part of Argentina’s identity. Argentine tango moves you, whether it’s dance or music.
In this workshop we will use the energy of tango – which is not just an exotic and a sensual dance, but it truly is a multidimensional popular art form, encompassing dance, music, and poetry.
But how can the music be shared visually? Can an expression of motion be rendered in static form?
Drawing a human body from observation is one of the most challenging tasks for an artist. Drawing a couple? Who moves, interacts, following sensual and expressive music, according to strict rules and constantly improvising at the same time?
You will nd that the fact that people always move, and everything is constantly changing – will turn into your biggest advantage! Instead of getting frozen reality, we’ll create a sketch capturing time and space - a kind of static animation - as true as it gets!
The goal of this workshop isn’t to create a beautiful postcard, we’ll draw action and movement, rhythm and melody. Inspired by tango dancers, we’ll allow ourselves to be a follower and to lead at the same time!
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate/Advanced
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Marina is an artist, a freelance illustrator, and art educator based in Ra’anana, Israel. She graduated from an art academy in Belorussia. Marina regularly takes part in group exhibitions and events in the local art and illustration community.
As an active member of USk community from its very beginning, Marina takes a part in many activities and projects, and has taught at several international Symposiums. Marina initiated the USk Tel Aviv group – regularly leading sketchcrawls and curated a few group exhibitions. Sketching is one of Marina’s passions. Everywhere she travels, she takes her sketchbook along with her. But the real essence of urban sketching for her is nding stories in everyday routines and combining sketching with daily tasks. “A sketchbook and a simple pen – that is all you need to go on a journey every day. Drawing is seeing, so you just need to open your eyes wider and start to sketch!”
@marinka71
. Water Soluble Pastels (one or two dark colors)
. Acrylic Ink (at least two colors: light and dark, for example: . orange and blue)
. Chinese ink
. White gouache
. Empty palette
. Water container
. Paper towel
. Hard brushes (at least two sizes – thick and thin)
. Watercolor brushes (at least two sizes – thick and thin)
. A small sketchbook (~A5 size) from cheap paper and pages you can tear out or a package of cheap A5 or A4 sheets and a clipboard.
.A sketchbook of bigger format ( at least A4) with a quality paper (at least 200 gr)
. Your favorite line tools (pen, pencil, markers, etc...)
. Your favorite shape tools (watercolor, pastels, etc...)
Vienna - Austria
Workshop Description
A goal of many sketchers is to put their stamp onto a scene and move from copying reality towards a personal interpretation of what they see. The expressive use of color is one such area, where this magic happens: a sketch becomes imbued with personality, life and emotion. In this workshop, you will learn how to move from the colors you see on location towards a color treatment that relays emotion.
You will become familiar with the “value bridge” – an approach that enables you to apply a di erent color space with intent. Step-by-step we will move your nal sketch from realistic to expressive color. This workshop is great for those who want the best of both worlds: wild, creative color surprises and control in steering the result!
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate/Advanced
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Oliver is a traveling artist, illustrator and educator. His passion is Urban Sketching and he sees the humorous and ironic with an empathetic eye. Oliver’s work has been professionally recognized including the international travel sketchbook award 2022 ”Prix de Carnet de Voyage”.
After more than a decade in the UK and the USA, he now lives with his wife and son in Vienna, Austria. missions, authorship projects for books, and teaching activities, which include urban sketching workshops and illustration classes around the world.
@hoelleroliver
Supply List
. Fineliner (black)
. Marker:
. Tombow ABT N95
. Tombow ABT N55 (or Tombow ABT N65)
. Tombow ABT N45
. Watercolor set: bring what you have; alternatively: use digital . media (iPad), if you prefer.
Workshop Description
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate/Advanced
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Uma Kelkar, was born and brought up in Pune, India but has lived in San Jose, USA for the past 20 years. She is a watercolor painter, urban sketcher who also sketches in ink, gouache and on the iPad. She has taught at Urban Sketchers International Symposia (2017, 2018, 2019) and is author of Urban Sketching book for the iPad. She believes heavily in cross-pollination and borrowing ideas from various elds to improve sketching. She is an engineer by profession. She volunteered as Secretary on the Executive Board of Urban Sketchers from Aug 2019 to July 2022.
@umapaints
Supply List
. Ipad or other digital drawing tool AND/OR
. Sketching paper for initial pencil/marker sketches
. Watercolor sketchbook
. Pencil and Markers. If only getting pencils, get 4B/6B - Tombow like black marker works
. Watercolors, limited palette preferred, tube paints (no cakes)
. Pencil
. Stool
Thumbnailing is often demoted to being a beginner’s tool. This workshop will revive its use for you as a problem solving tool especially when as sketchers we are overwhelmed or when we are stuck in a process. At the end of this workshop, you will have a Manual for Experimentation, the process of restoring your practice and getting unstuck from either a confusing scene or too many choices. This workshop is also suitable for digital artists.
. Brushes: medium round (size 10 or 12) and a small round brush (size 2) - Uma will use mops. Among mops, the size is #2 for the medium and 0 for the smallest
. Tube of white watercolor/gouache
Penang - Malaysia
Workshop Description
In this workshop you will explore monotone sketching by using a combined method of graphite pencil and watercolor graphite (the medium), pencil lines and Chinese calligraphy brush strokes (the lines), pencil hatching and brush painting (the texture). Sketching with Graphite & Watercolour Graphite encourages you to work with free hand lines, to look for the rhythms in lines, composition and subject. You will also learn the art of leaving negative space in a composition.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Ch’ng Kiah Kiean graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia with an Architecture Degree and is now a full time artist based in Penang.
Kiah Kiean joined the global Urban Sketchers movement in 2009 and co-founded Urban Sketchers Penang in 2010. He has taught at many events and Urban Sketchers Symposiums around the world including Brazil, Britain, China,Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United States and Vietnam. He published Sketchers of Pulo Pinang in 2009 and Line-line Journey in 2011.
@kiahkiean
Supply List
• Cretacolor monolith graphite 9B & 6B
• ArtGraf No1 soft graphite putty
• Pencil sharpener
• Small size water spray bottle
• Watercolour papers
Lisbon - Portugal
Workshop Description
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate/Advanced
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Pedro Loureiro is an architecture illustrator from Lisbon, Portugal. He began his artistic career as a child by copying his favorite comic book panels. Later he took drawing classes in architecture school and joined the Urban Sketchers community, consolidating his path into the professional art world.
Pedro’s mediums are waterproof ink and watercolor, which he uses to paint places, events, and people to remember. His goal for teaching is for his students to realize how perception changes when seeing the world through sketching, and everyone can learn to draw. He uses sketching as a tool of perception and understanding of surroundings, exciting characters, and stories of the everyday. He teaches regular sketching workshops and tells stories in the blog Storysketching and in the Urban Sketchers Portugal. He was a regular writer for Drawing Attention, the monthly UrbanSketchers zine. Additionally, Pedro leads The Wedding Sketchers, a live event sketching project.
“By sketching, we see the world in a novel way, and each sketch we do is a story that we tell back to the world.”
@pedromacloureiro
Supply List
. A4 or A5 watercolor grade (at least 180gsm) sketchbook.
. Waterproof ink pen (fountain pen or pigment marker).
.Watercolor palette – recommended colors are cobalt blue, burnt sienna, any yellow, any red, neutral tint or Payne’s gray.
Urban sketching is about recording great stories in our sketchbooks, and what better way to tell a story than by sketching the people that live them!
We will portray a complete story of an interaction between people set in a busy local marketplace, using people and architecture as a background to enhance focus on the main scene.
We will see the Mercado de San Telmo from the viewpoint of the great people working and living in it. We will focus on sketching generic people in the background to create a busy atmosphere. We will practice capturing close-up gures in action, as well as a few objects they’re interacting with, with quick gestures. Finally, we will take advantage of the indoor architecture to set a stage for the stories of the great people going about their daily business in the marketplace.
Whether they are the local grocer, the barista, the kids playing or the grandma shopping, all stories matter, if we aim to tell the stories of the world, one sketch at a time.
. Medium-sized watercolor brush (10 round or similar) and a small one for details.
. Water recipient.
. Cloth or paper tissue.
. A stool or a board to sketch on while standing, if need be.
Lisbon - Portugal
In this workshop we will focus on people and the context in which they are in - Café Tortoni. People are the characters in our narrative, let's create a scene drawn with written stories. We will capture the postures, see the di erentiation and richness of human beings in a social context, we will draw what we see and hear, everything will be possible to draw: group conversations and dialogues between people, expressions and behaviors, music and noise that can be heard in the environment behind us.
In the context of the workshop location, we’ll identify what is most striking, distinctive and unique, the tables and chairs, the serving waiters, the wall and ceiling nishes, colors, textures and materials, the decorative lighting, the architectural details and decorative elements that accentuate exclusivity.
Nelson Paciência graduated in Architecture from Lusófona University in Lisbon in 1999.
He has been USK Portugal blog contributor since late 2012. He won the scholarship to be the Portuguese correspondent in the 2014 USK Symposium in Paraty and was part of the organizing committee for the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Portugal. He has taught at several USk Symposiums and participated in individual and group drawing exhibitions since 2013. He is a co-author of the Lisbon by Urbansktechers book, published in 2015 and his work has been featured in many other urban sketching publications.
Between 2015 and 2016 he was a volunteer at Monsanto prison in Lisbon, giving regular drawing sessions to a small group of prisoners. Currently he is giving drawing classes at the IPO Lisboa (cancer Hospital), to the interned patients.
@nelson_paciencia
. All participants can use their daily basis sketching material. No speci c materials are required, but the sketchbook should be A5 or bigger.
Workshop Description
WORKSHOP LEVEL: All Levels
When working as a graphic designer for several years in di erent countries, Daniel began sketching to document the places he went. Some of his favorite experiences have been walking and painting “El Camino de Santiago”. Those summers put him on the path to dedicate more and more time to drawing. Now he is working full time as an Urban Sketcher, drawing, traveling and teaching workshops, and is always surprised to nd new places to paint in Barcelona, the city where he was born.
@danielpagans
Supply List
. watercolor Sketchbook or watercolor pad. (A4 Size approx.)
. pencil and eraser.
. waterproof ne point pen or fountain pen.
. watercolor box with basic colors.
. brush/es and small jar for water.
. a bottle of water.
In this workshop we will choose three di erent views in the same location. We will see how to draw with imperfect lines, how to utilize the natural occurring imperfection when colors mix on the page and how to include “ugly” objects to make our sketches more original and true to life, giving them an authentic touch.
. a folding stool or something to sit on (optional).
Most sketchers will try to draw everything they see when they draw on site, but that takes a lot of time and energy! What do you want to convey? Rather than trying to draw every detail, what you leave out of your sketch is as important as what you leave in. Instead of trying to draw every detail, you can make your compositions much more interesting and save time by concentrating on a strong focal point and using negative drawing to give a feel of the surrounding area.
This workshop will show you what to do when you don’t have enough time and just want to focus on the subject. Learn to balance empty space and a little bit of color to create contrast and to make a clear, strong focus in your sketches using negative drawing because what you choose to draw is as important as what you do not draw.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate
Inhong was born and raised in Korea. She majored in fashion design at university and worked for 10 years in Korea and China as a fashion designer and collaborated with many di erent companies.
During the COVID-19 pandemic she began living a new life by working as a full-time artist. In Korea she now teaches drawing skills online and in person. @renhong.p
Supply List
. pencil and Eraser
. fountain Pen (with pigment ink) or Pigment Pen (0.5m)
. watercolor kit full-set, chair
. 2 sheets of sketch paper, watercolor paper(300gsm), cold press
.White gel pen
Peter Richards
Brisbane - Australia
Workshop Description
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Beginner/Intermediate
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Peter Richards is an architect and urban designer who has used freehand drawing to drive his professional practice for many decades. His sketches are characterized by detailed linework, with careful observation of the qualities of urban places, the richness of city building over time and the way that people occupy the urban environment. He has been an active urban sketcher for seven years and enjoys sketching in many di erent locations with a wide variety of subjects and media.
@pr_designthinkingdrawings
Supply List
. Black Fudenosuke Tombow marker pens.
. Dual Tombow brush pens: dark and mid grey, dark brown, red or dark blue.
. Coloured pencils including matching Tombow colors and indigo.
Explore the rich character of urban places made up of groups of smaller buildings in the Plaza Dorrego. With a focus on line drawing with coloured pencils and brush pens, we will use quick A7 pencil thumbnails to create a variety of views to break down the complexity of the place and nd the focus of the view. We will then develop larger sketches adding ink lines and pencil tones. Through this process, participants will improve con dence in observation of urban places, composition and faster sketching skills.
Portland, Oregon - USA
How do you tell a good story as you witness it happen in front of you with limited time and tools while drawing in a busy place? This workshop will introduce you to the basic ingredients of a visual story and teach you how to put together one of your own using a simple formula. We will be learning how to capture the essence of what is going on using a handmade accordion sketchbook or a larger sketchbook spread.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Intermediate/Advanced ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Rita Sabler is a visual journalist, artist and educator based in Portland, Oregon, USA. She teaches Urban Sketching and Visual Journalism courses for Parsons School of Design, Paci c Northwest College of Art, and Oregon Society of Artists.
Sabler has presented numerous lectures and workshops around the world inspiring diverse audiences to cultivate a lifelong passion for urban sketching and reportage illustration. Her work has been featured in solo and group local and international shows. From 2019-2023 Sabler served as the Education Director for the Urban Sketchers organization.
Sabler’s reportage on the Kalaupapa Leprosy settlement was awarded the Doctors Without Borders Coup De Coeur and the International Sketchbook Prize at the 2019 Rendez-Vous Du Carnet De Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand. Her recent book “Listening to New Orleans” has won another International Sketchbook Prize in 2023.
Sabler is the author of “With a Sketchbook Around the World” “New York Reawakens” and “Camiñamos para Parar.” Her work has been featured in the Urban Sketching Handbooks series and publications on travel drawing.
@ritasabler
. Favorite line making tools: Graphite Pencil or Black ink pens with waterproof ink (Artist
. Pitt pen by Faber-Castell or similar)
. Inexpensive sketch pad for quick studies and exercises (Clairefontaine Crok' Book 8" x12" Sketch Pad or similar)
. A sheet of watercolor paper that could be folded into a concertina ( no bigger than 48cm x 20 cm) or a landscape sketchbook with a double spread of at least 48cm.
Alternatively, students can create a concertina with these dimensions using small sheets of paper following this tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW-WN8GYG_c
. Pentel Waterbrush, Large round Tip
. Portable watercolor box with lots of surface for mixing and favorite watercolors
. Watercolors (can be purchased in tubes and squeezed into half pans, student grade watercolors are ne)
. Color pencils, not watercolor (optional)
Workshop Description
WORKSHOP LEVEL: Beginner
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Inma has a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Seville and combines teaching Arts and Drawing with di erent works as an illustrator. She collaborates regularly in the written press with her graphic reports and has occasionally illustrated books: novels, short stories, poetry and everything that comes her way. Her illustrations have been published in books and magazines. She is the author of the book Sevilla, from top to bottom, an illustrated travelogue sketchbook of the city where she lives. She currently works as a teacher, teaching Visual Arts and Drawing to high school students. She also serves as a correspondent in Urban Sketchers Spain and belongs to the Sevilla´s Chapter. Inma has been an instructor in several Urban Sketchers International Symposiums and has also has led many sketching and illustration workshops in other European cities. Sketching in the streets is essential in her life because it allows her to focus, in an ingenuous and almost childish way, on the people and the things around her. Inma needs sketching and drawing to understand her life and to be happy.
@inmaserranitoSupply List
. Sketchbook
. Pencil or pen (line tool)
. Color pencils (they can be waterproof or water soluble)
. Watercolor
. Water brush pen
Our city's daily life is usually linked to the hustle and bustle, to non-stop, to hurry. There is a relationship between architecture and the people who ow through the places. They come and leave. They stay. They move. It's a dialogue between what is ephemeral and what remains. Everything can change in a second and you are there to sketch it!
In this workshop we will combine controlled and uncontrolled exercises in the same sketches (to draw with our brain or with our instinct) with the intention of discovering new shapes, unreal colors and improvised lines, getting dynamic and exciting results!
. Any other tools (crayons, wax, ink, gouache, markers...) to try and mix media.
Hong Kong
Workshop Description
Expand your digital sketching skills, using Procreate and iPad to make interesting characters and personalities the main story in your sketches! You’ll learn to think like the director of your own show, pick and cast your ‘star’ and nally, pull in supporting actors and props to esh out the story you’ve chosen to tell. We’ll search the crowd for Interesting Introverts, Magni cent Mammas, Dapper Dans and Dazzling Divas! The goal is to understand what makes each character distinct, then how to simplify and draw key details. Of course, we’ll also talk about how to handle the situation when your ‘star’ suddenly moves or leaves the scene before you’re done. We’ll also look at ways to add a suggestion of background so your people pop while keeping context of location.
This workshop is open to all levels of drawing skills, and requires basic knowledge of Procreate. You will need an iPad that works with Apple Pencils that support pressure sensitivity. Relevant Procreate tools, recommended brushes, layer management and work ow tips will also be taught as part of the lesson.
WORKSHOP LEVEL: All drawing levels welcome.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Happiest when discovering and capturing colorful, people- lled scenes in his artwork, Rob Sketcherman is best known for the dynamic lines and vivid colors of his iPad urban sketches, all of which are done on location. He thrives on the immediacy of responding to sights, smells and sounds before him, capturing snippets of stories on the street as they unfold. Self-taught and and inspired by comic books as a youth, Rob went completely digital at the beginning of 2014, embracing the mobility and versatility of just an iPad, Apple Pencil and the app, Procreate. He is now one of the administrators of Urban Sketchers Hong Kong, and has been an active part of the global Urban Sketchers movement, as well as a member of its international instructor faculty since 2015.
@robsketcherman
Supply List
. A fully-charged iPad that works with Apple Pencil (that supports pressure sensitivity)
. Latest version of Procreate
. A power bank to top up your iPad battery if needed (optional)
. A case/grip to hold your iPad securely when you draw outdoors
. A chair/stool if you prefer
Toronto - Canada
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION:
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
@marekbad64
Supply List
. Two (2) Pilot Parallel pens with Medium or Wide nib width: ideally one Green/3.8mm, one Orange/2.4mm
. Ink: Two ink cartridges are already provided in each commercial package of Parallel Pen
. Paper to test
This activity provides step-by-step instructions on how to modify a Pilot Parallel calligraphy pen to make a better drawing tool; you can follow the demonstration to create your own custom Parallel Pen for sketching. Parallel nibs are rectangular shape; you can draw with their corner but that’s unnatural and almost-always scratchy! By modifying the nib by introducing an angle cut, or a curved cut, your pen acquires a more natural angle while touching paper. The Parallel nib pen is made of two separate blades – their metal is soft, so easy to modify. Marek will show you how!
Marek is a Polish-born sketcher with a keen interest in architecture and heritage buildings. Using a fountain pen with a bent nib, also known as Fude, Marek combines expressive lines with layers of values and color to capture busy urban scenes. He makes quick visual records of daily life of Toronto, the city he lives in, and of places he visits, trying to capture their unique character. He loves to sketch on location, and travels with ink pen, few pigments, and oversized sheets of watercolor paper.
. Nib Cleaner: provided with each package of Parallel Pens. This is the thin & exy piece of plastic, to be inserted between blades.
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION:
Eileen will demo how to start, ll and maintain a fountain pen. In this fun class you will try out a few di erent pens/nibs and see which ones you prefer. Participants can expect to be able to troubleshoot their pens and get the ink owing. Eileen will show her Fountain Pen repair kit. We will use our Fountain Pens for expressive urban sketching.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Eileen has been teaching Urban Sketching in San Francisco at the SF Botanical Gardens, Arch Art Supply, and Flax Art, etc., for the past 5 years. Her “Fountain Pens for Expressive Urban Sketching” and “Easy Garden Sketching” classes have been a huge success. She recently taught “Urban Sketching” classes at the San Francisco International Pen Show. She is a Fountain Pen expert and she loves using them for sketching. She attended four USK Symposiums and has often helped people get their fountain pens started.
@eileenpg
Supply List
. Your sketchbooks
. 2 fountain pens, ink and ink converters. These are available on Amazon, or at your local fountain pen/stationery shop.
Suggestion by the artist:
Platinum Preppy Fountain pen, Fine or Medium nib with Platinum Carbon Black cartridges, box of 4 and/or Platinum Ink converter / Sailor Fude de mannen fountain pen (green or dark blue) with Sailor ink Kiwa Guro Cartridges Box of 12 and/or Sailor Ink Converter
Hong Kong
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION:
Urban Shades is a black and white pencil drawing class that focuses on capturing tonal values and creating a visually appealing composition using dark and light shapes. The process involves starting with rough thumbnail sketches to explore di erent angles and compositions, then progressing to the main drawing by sketching simpli ed shapes. Dark values are added in layers, gradually working on medium-sized shapes. Students will learn to simplify complex scenes, use the eraser as a drawing tool, and be introduced to the erasing shield.
Elena Klimova is a Russian artist based in Hong Kong. She studied Fine Art at Abramtsevo Art College in Russia, graduating in 2010.
Working with di erent materials and techniques, Elena strives to nd and depict the beauty of everyday life. Her move to Hong Kong in 2011 had a signi cant impact on her art. Since relocating to the city, she has been studying local culture and traditions through drawing and painting subjects connected with Hong Kong.
Elena enjoys drawing and painting en plein air, taking advantage of opportunities to do so while traveling to new places. Her work encompasses historical monuments, bustling streets, local shops, temples, and the expansive countryside.
Elena is an active member of the Urban Sketchers Hong Kong community. In addition to participating in various exhibitions in Hong Kong and abroad, she has been teaching drawing and painting for the past 12 years, both privately and in art studios.
@elena_klimova_artist
Supply List
. paper
. graphite pencils
. mechanical pencil
. eraser
. erasing shield
. blending stump
. cutter
Buenos Aires - Argentina
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION:
Tango in Motion In this activity, we will host a sketching session accompanied by live music and dancers, aiming to capture the essence of Argentine tango. This session will be led by local Buenos Aires Urban Sketchers who will provide a live demonstration.
The themes to be explored include classic tango steps, costumes, and poses, as well as the signi cance of music, instruments, and notably, the presence of the bandoneon in tango culture.
During the rst part of the activity, an expert on the subject will delve into the origin and key movements of tango. Participants will have the opportunity to sketch the musicians and their instruments. To conclude, we will recreate the ambiance of a lively milonga porteña party with live music.
@uskbuenosaires
Supply List
All participants can use their preferred sketching materials.
Alexandria - Egypt
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Reham M Ali (Alexandria, Egypt) studied Fine-Arts and holds a Ph.D. degree in Interior Design from the University of Alexandria and works as Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture. She has been drawing since childhood, and sketching architecture came as a natural part of her study and work. She has been sketching on location since her senior year in college, and in 2015, she discovered Urban Sketchers. Since then she started to focus on sketching her home city, Alexandria, which is the main subject of her watercolor and sketching work. She’s also a workshop instructor in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
@reham_m_a
Archer London - UK
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Dan Archer has been working as a graphic journalist for over a decade since graduating from the Center of Cartoon Studies in 2009 with an MFA in Cartooning. His work focuses on human rights-related topics and he uses illustrated reportage and comics to protect the anonymity of his Interviewees. His graphic journalism has been featured by the BBC, CBC, Vice, the US State Dept, CNN,Associated Press, the Nib, the Colombian government, Open Society, European Journalism Centre, Die Zeit Online, Der Speigel, and he has a Maynard Institute Award for mental health reporting. His debut graphic novel, Voices from Nepal: Uncovering human tra cking through comics journalism will be published by University of Toronto Press in June 2024.
@archcomix
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Stephanie Bower worked as a licensed Architect in New York City before gravitating to professional architectural illustration and concept design. She taught for overthirty years, in New York City at Parsons School of Design and in Seattle at the University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts.
Stephanie is based in Seattle and thrilled to be living her life-long dream as a globe-trotting instructor and urban sketcher! She has taught at several USk Symposiums, has three online sketching courses, and teaches perspective and watercolor workshops around the world. Her awards include the prestigious Gabriel Prize fellowship in architecture to Paris, the Civita Institute’s fellowship to Italy, and she was twice honored with “Best Travel Sketch” in the KRob international architectural delineation competition.
Stephanie's work has been featured in Watercolor Artist and Artist magazines, and she is the best-selling author of several books on urban sketching including The World of Urban Sketching, The Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective, The Urban Sketching Handbook: 101 Sketching Tips. @stephanieabower
Sydney - Australia
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Richard Briggs is an artist and architect based in Sydney, Australia. He has been exploring and sketching streets for the past 21 years in various places around the world such as Argentina, Cambodia, India and Australia.
Through this medium he aims to tell numerous stories about a particular place, its people and communities. His simple line sketches explore the hidden gems in our cities encouraging the viewer, visitor, and the inhabitant to look at what we see in a di erent way. From the ner details to large expansive lines of a city skyline, his sketches evolve into patterns that form spaces and urban quirks which aim to convey a sense of place.
He has taught sketching in both private practise, public forums and co-runs a course at University of New South Wales in Sydney which helps built environment students explore cities using urban sketching as a tool.
He works closely with people to create sketches that connect with the viewer, bringing joy and a playfulness into everyday life. It’s this approach to sketching that allows for a ltered response and to what he sees, capturing the visual essence through simplicity.
Through sketching, Richard aspires to connect with people and place.
@richardbriggs_artist
Lisbon - Portugal
João Catarino graduated in Communication Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. He is a Professor of Drawing and Art & Visual Communication at Universities in Lisbon and of Illustration and Design in the School of Art and Design of Caldas da Rainha, Portugal.
João works mostly in illustration and graphic design and has accomplished collaborations with television channels such as SIC, TVI and RTP 2. He regularly features in periodical publications like Jornal Expresso and Jornal Público. João is the author of the book “EN2” and co-author of the book “Tanto Mar,” plus several national and international books on urban sketching.
@joaocatarino65
Hugo graduated in architecture in Oporto (ESAP), Portugal. He is currently resident in Valencia, Spain, lecturing and teaching courses on Architectural Form Analysis and Landscape Representation. He has an impressive series of accolades and awards and is the author of several published papers and lectures on graphic expression, architectural survey and drawing in several Universities in USA, Europe and Middle East.
His urban drawings have been shown in solo and collective exhibitions around the world. In addition to being a storyboard artist for independent lmmakers he is also an Illustrator for the African Environmental Film Foundation.
Since October 2010 he has been sketching every day.
@yolahugo
Toulouse - France
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@vincentdesplanche
Vincent is a versatile illustrator, Urban Sketcher and woodblock printmaker. He studied at the Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg (France), where he was already obsessed with sketching on location, and published his rst sketchbook in Northern Québec before graduating.
Over three decades, Vincent has illustrated more than forty non- ction children’s books for major French publishers and magazines. He is also an active volunteer for Urban Sketchers in France, organizing events and teaching workshops in his local chapter of Toulouse.
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Rafael is a drawing professor, illustrator and architect based in Rio de Janeiro. He has been a correspondent for Urban Skechers Rio and Urban Sketchers Brazil since 2011. He has 15 years experience as a Graphic Representation professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) where he gives classes about urban sketching, freehand drawing, watercolor, graphic narrative and creative process. During his PhD he worked with sketchbooks as a platform to record and interpret the city of Rio de Janeiro. Some of his drawings have been published in the book The World of Urban Sketching” by Stephanie Bower.
@orafaquedesenha
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@herbcoil
Eleanor Doughty is a Seattle-based illustrator, painter, and urban sketcher originally from theWashington, D.C. area (USA). Her mixed media work captures realistic subjects and imbues them with signi cance and character. Eleanor has traveled internationally to teach art and to explore new locations through her practice of on location sketching. Specializing in large-format illustration, she has been commissioned by Hilton, Kroger, Marriott, and Microsoft. Her graphic novel, K's Car Can Go Anywhere!, was published by Penguin/Random House in 2022. Eleanor also enjoys watching animated movies, riding her scooter around the islands in the Puget Sound, and drinking a good americano on a rainy day.
Barcelona - Spain
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Maru Godàs trained as a graphic designer at the IDEP School of Design and the "Escola Superior de Disseny Llotja de Barcelona.” She founded her own graphic design studio in Barcelona, providing services to publishers and agencies in Spain: RBA, Planeta, National Geographic, Salvat, and more. Whilst working with oil and gouache as a full time artist, she discovered Urban Sketchers and now gives workshops and lectures on working with gouache and acrylic paint. She has collaborated on several illustrated books and magazines and is the author of "Park Güell Journey," the interactive digital book "Suri y yo," and "Organic Beauty," translated into ve languages. She was the director of the illustration festival "Compostela Ilustrada" (Spain) (2019–2022). Currently, she’s a member of the board of the 'Centre Artistic de Sant Lluc,' a century-old art institution in Barcelona. Maru manages a dynamic balance between professional illustration commissions, authorship projects for books, and teaching activities, which include urban sketching workshops and illustration classes around the world.
@marugodas
Ra’anana - Israel
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Marina is an artist, a freelance illustrator, and art educator based in Ra’anana, Israel. She graduated from an art academy in Belorussia. Marina regularly takes part in group exhibitions and events in the local art and illustration community.
As an active member of USk community from its very beginning, Marina takes a part in many activities and projects, and has taught at several international Symposiums.
Marina initiated the USk Tel Aviv group – regularly leading sketchcrawls and curated a few group exhibitions. Sketching is one of Marina’s passions. Everywhere she travels, she takes her sketchbook along with her. But the real essence of urban sketching for her is nding stories in everyday routines and combining sketching with daily tasks. “A sketchbook and a simple pen – that is all you need to go on a journey every day. Drawing is seeing, so you just need to open your eyes wider and start to sketch!”
@marinka71
Vienna - Austria
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@hoelleroliver
Oliver is a traveling artist, illustrator and educator. His passion is Urban Sketching and he sees the humorous and ironic with an empathetic eye. Oliver’s work has been professionally recognized including the international travel sketchbook award 2022 ”Prix de Carnet de Voyage”. After more than a decade in the UK and the USA, he now lives with his wife and son in Vienna, Austria. missions, authorship projects for books, and teaching activities, which include urban sketching workshops and illustration classes around the world.
San Jose - USA
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@umapaints
Uma Kelkar, was born and brought up in Pune, India but has lived in San Jose, USA for the past 20 years. She is a watercolor painter, urban sketcher who also sketches in ink, gouache and on the iPad. She has taught at Urban Sketchers International Symposia (2017, 2018, 2019) and is author of Urban Sketching book for the iPad. She believes heavily in cross-pollination and borrowing ideas from various elds to improve sketching. She is an engineer by profession. She volunteered as Secretary on the Executive Board of Urban Sketchers from Aug 2019 to July 2022.
Penang, Malaysia
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Ch’ng Kiah Kiean graduated from Universiti Sains Malaysia with an Architecture Degree and is now a full time artist based in Penang.
Kiah Kiean joined the global Urban Sketchers movement in 2009 and co-founded Urban Sketchers Penang in 2010. He has taught at many events and Urban Sketchers Symposiums around the world including Brazil, Britain, China,Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United States and Vietnam. He published Sketchers of Pulo Pinang in 2009 and Line-line Journey in 2011.
@kiahkiean
Lisbon - Portugal
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@pedromacloureiro
Pedro Loureiro is an architecture illustrator from Lisbon, Portugal. He began his artistic career as a child by copying his favorite comic book panels. Later he took drawing classes in architecture school and joined the Urban Sketchers community, consolidating his path into the professional art world.
Pedro’s mediums are waterproof ink and watercolor, which he uses to paint places, events, and people to remember. His goal for teaching is for his students to realize how perception changes when seeing the world through sketching, and everyone can learn to draw. He uses sketching as a tool of perception and understanding of surroundings, exciting characters, and stories of the everyday.
He teaches regular sketching workshops and tells stories in the blog Storysketching and in the Urban Sketchers Portugal. He was a regular writer for Drawing Attention, the monthly UrbanSketchers zine. Additionally, Pedro leads The Wedding Sketchers, a live event sketching project.
“By sketching, we see the world in a novel way, and each sketch we do is a story that we tell back to the world.”
Lisbon - Portugal
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Nelson Paciência graduated in Architecture from Lusófona University in Lisbon in 1999. He has been USk Portugal blog contributor since late 2012. He won the scholarship to be the Portuguese correspondent in the 2014 USK Symposium in Paraty and was part of the organizing committee for the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Portugal. He has taught at several USk Symposiums and participated in individual and group drawing exhibitions since 2013.
He is a co-author of the Lisbon by Urban Sketchers book, published in 2015 and his work has been featured in many other urban sketching publications.
Between 2015 and 2016 he was a volunteer at Monsanto prison in Lisbon, giving regular drawing sessions to a small group of prisoners. Currently he is giving drawing classes at the IPO Lisboa (cancer Hospital), to the interned patients.
@nelson_paciencia
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@danielpagans
When working as a graphic designer for several years in di erent countries, Daniel began sketching to document the places he went. Some of his favorite experiences have been walking and painting “El Camino de Santiago”. Those summers put him on the path to dedicate more and more time to drawing. Now he is working full time as an Urban Sketcher, drawing, traveling and teaching workshops, and is always surprised to nd new places to paint in Barcelona, the city where he was born.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@renhong.p
Inhong was born and raised in Korea. She majored in fashion design at university and worked for 10 years in Korea and China as a fashion designer and collaborated with many di erent companies. During the COVID-19 pandemic she began living a new life by working as a full-time artist. In Korea she now teaches drawing skills online and in person.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@pr_designthinkingdrawings
Peter Richards is an architect and urban designer who has used freehand drawing to drive his professional practice for many decades. His sketches are characterized by detailed linework, with careful observation of the qualities of urban places, the richness of city building over time and the way that people occupy the urban environment. He has been an active urban sketcher for seven years and enjoys sketching in many di erent locations with a wide variety of subjects and media.
Portland, Oregon - USA
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Rita Sabler is a visual journalist, artist and educator based in Portland, Oregon, USA. She teaches Urban Sketching and Visual Journalism courses for Parsons School of Design, Paci c Northwest College of Art, and Oregon Society of Artists.
Sabler has presented numerous lectures and workshops around the world inspiring diverse audiences to cultivate a lifelong passion for urban sketching and reportage illustration. Her work has been featured in solo and group local and international shows. From 2019-2023 Sabler served as the Education Director for the Urban Sketchers organization.
Sabler’s reportage on the Kalaupapa Leprosy settlement was awarded the Doctors Without Borders Coup De Coeur and the International Sketchbook Prize at the 2019 Rendez-Vous Du Carnet De Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand. Her recent book “Listening to New Orleans” has won another International Sketchbook Prize in 2023.
Sabler is the author of “With a Sketchbook Around the World” “New York Reawakens” and “Camiñamos para Parar.” Her work has been featured in the Urban Sketching Handbooks series and publications on travel drawing.
@ritasabler
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
@inmaserranito
Inma has a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Seville and combines teaching Arts and Drawing with di erent works as an illustrator. She collaborates regularly in the written press with her graphic reports and has occasionally illustrated books: novels, short stories, poetry and everything that comes her way. Her illustrations have been published in books and magazines.
She is the author of the book Sevilla, from top to bottom, an illustrated travelogue sketchbook of the city where she lives. She currently works as a teacher, teaching Visual Arts and Drawing to high school students. She also serves as a correspondent in Urban Sketchers Spain and belongs to the Sevilla´s Chapter. Inma has been an instructor in several Urban Sketchers International Symposiums and has also has led many sketching and illustration workshops in other European cities.
Sketching in the streets is essential in her life because it allows her to focus, in an ingenuous and almost childish way, on the people and the things around her. Inma needs sketching and drawing to understand her life and to be happy.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Happiest when discovering and capturing colorful, people- lled scenes in his artwork, Rob Sketcherman is best known for the dynamic lines and vivid colors of his iPad urban sketches, all of which are done on location. He thrives on the immediacy of responding to sights, smells and sounds before him, capturing snippets of stories on the street as they unfold.
Self-taught and and inspired by comic books as a youth, Rob went completely digital at the beginning of 2014, embracing the mobility and versatility of just an iPad, Apple Pencil and the app, Procreate. He is now one of the administrators of Urban Sketchers Hong Kong, and has been an active part of the global Urban Sketchers movement, as well as a member of its international instructor faculty since 2015. @robsketcherman
Hong Kong
DEMO DESCRIPTION:
This demo o ers participants the joy of watching and depth of understanding, an on-location painting demonstration capturing the energy of a busy plaza through passionate painting. You’ll be introduced to
. Being in a plaza: how to identify elements of story-telling essence
. Guiding tips on composing a painting
. The structure perspective using loose linework in a dip-and-smudge method
. Expressing energy and passion in a ow
. Mixing a Strong & Powerful Color palette
. Gutsy, big brushstrokes painting using a favorite mop-brush
. And a secret press-and-tilt technique
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Lisa has been living in Hong Kong since 2016 and draws the chaotic and complicated. She has a professional background in interior architecture design for 20 years, allowing her a defter hand in building perspectives in
@lisa_huang_lishan
DEMO DESCRIPTION:
Jenny will demonstrate how to sketch with dip pens and a watercolor wash while referencing a video clip taken in Buenos Aires, which will include foreground trees, people, and background buildings. The dip pen is a handy tool in many ways:
. It creates a variety of line weights with di erent shapes of nibs. Moreover, the wood stick edge could create very bold lines.
. It creates ink drops and sometimes even some happy mistakes.
. It works well with a watercolor wash.
. It could easily capture the characteristics of tree branches which are challenging to many urban sketchers.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Jenny Jing Zhang is an architectural designer, artist, illustrator, and educator. She has been sketching and drawing since she was a child. Growing up, she had the opportunity to sketch on location in many di erent cities in her native China. Then she continued to develop a passion for both art and the built world and in 2013, Jenny graduated with a Master's degree in Architecture from Texas A&M University (TAMU). As an a cionado of the on-location sketching, Jenny joined the Urban Sketchers Chicago (USkChicago) in 2016, volunteered in the 2017 USk Symposium in Chicago and taught workshops at the USkchicago Seminar in 2019 and 2022. In 2022, Jenny was awarded a Fellowship to reside and conduct urban sketching in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy.
Meantime Jenny has a huge passion in teaching and sharing her drawing techniques. She has given a series of sketching classes 4 hours a week since October 2023.
@jennymouse2003
São Paulo - Brazil
DEMO DESCRIPTION:
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
@renatopalmuti
This demonstration consists of an on-site sketch working with liquid charcoal, a paint made from powdered charcoal. It starts with a quick pencil drawing to explore the composition of the scene. There will be a brief explanation of how to organize tools for working outdoors and also the process of making liquid charcoal. Then you will see how the washes create texture and suggest complexity with just a few brush strokes. After the demonstration, students can try the paint if they wish.
Renato was born in São Paulo, where he’s been living since then. He started his career in 1988 as a draftsman in a small studio, where he had the rst contacts with the profession. In this period he was just about to nish the Advertising Technical College and began the course in Fine Arts at the Mackenzie University. He was a layout-man, a studio manager and worked as an Art Director in plenty of Advertising, promotion and design agencies.
DEMO DESCRIPTION:
In this demo Irena will show how to create a busy urban scene in a loose style while combining watercolor paints and pencils. She will start with wet-on-wet application of paints to nullify the fear of the blank page and a loose drawing to de ne the general composition. Then, she will show a simple way to depict people and to incorporate them into the sketch. Next, she will use watercolor wet-on-dry washes of color to de ne the big forms and to create the composition plans. Finally she will demonstrate how adding colorful details lead to a complete and harmonious composition.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Irena started drawing as a child in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, where she was born and raised before immigrating to Israel in 1990. She graduated from the Odessa art school and continued to study art at numerous courses and master classes both in Israel and in other countries. Her main theme is urban sketching and landscape, and her favorite technique is watercolor. She loves spontaneity and lightness and strives to convey the atmosphere of the moment in her sketches. She is an active member of the Tel Aviv Urban Sketchers group. She loves sharing knowledge and teaching her technique both in face-to-face workshops and on online resources (Etchr studio, Udemy, Patreon blog). In addition, she is a practicing psychiatrist in a hospital and nds it possible, yet challenging, to combine and use knowledge and skills in these two areas.
@irena_spector
Brisbane - Australia
DEMO DESCRIPTION:
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
The focus of this demo is to show a rapid technique to capture the essential character of the street/buildings and street life (including people).
Tony will draw a streetscape panorama in a short time frame. He will select a shaded spot on a sidewalk or pedestrian area with a wide view angle to street and buildings. After de ning the limits and focal point(s) of the panorama on paper, he will sketch in a fountain pen using blue-black and red-black inks, showing how to spread ink lines with a waterbrush to indicate values. This will be followed by use of acrylic ink rendering and working with a limited palette. @tonywstudio
Tony is based in Queensland Australia and is known for his expressive interpretive art expressing character and mood. He works on landscape, streetscape and gurative genre – this on remote and urban Australia and worldwide locations. He has a studio on the Sunshine Coast in Brisbane and travels widely on painting trips in Australia, Asia and Europe. He does studio work as well as plein air work. Tony is a member of local and international art groups and has exhibited all around the world. He has received numerous prizes and awards for his artwork and has been selected in FabrianoInAquarello international watercolor festival 2018-2023. He’s an experienced workshop tutor, working mainly with W&N watercolor and Liquitex acrylic inks.
LECTURE DESCRIPTION:
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Urban Sketchers regional chapter partnerships with organizations engaged in interpretation present exciting opportunities. The bene ts of partnerships ow in both directions: USKers get access to interesting sketching locations, and organizations get resources in the form of exhibits and artistic output for use in promotions, programming, and media.
Urban Sketchers Twin Cities has engaged in several exciting partnerships. These include events and exhibits with the USA National Park Service, Bakken Museum, the Bell Museum, among others. Our sketches provide a unique form of interpretation for these sites and will be used as examples of how to build successful partnerships. @ambersausen
Amber Sausen is an architect and sketcher from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Since 2014, she has been an administrator of the Urban Sketchers Twin Cities chapter. At the global level, Amber served as Urban Sketchers President 2017-2020. She currently serves on the Urban Sketchers Advisory Board.
LECTURE DESCRIPTION:
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
@danieljverde
In this lecture Daniel will share nine pivotal USK Symposium experiences that make him the sketcher he is today. Each symposium he has attended has taught him new tricks and tips, changing how he works and sees. He will brie y talk about the techniques and his experience in the workshop and re ect on how it changed his sketching by showing work using that technique from later years. By sharing his journey as a sketcher in this lecture, he hopes to inspire others to go back through their own work and celebrate the change and evolution of their style.
Daniel grew up drawing in a small town in Minnesota, USA. He lled a sketchbook during a study abroad in Europe and has sketched for fun at home and abroad for the past 25 years. He is an architect in Minneapolis, USA. He regularly sketches with Urban Sketchers Twin Cities and has attended multiple USK Symposiums. Daniel has led multiple sketch walks and workshops for the American Institute of Architects Minnesota, for North Dakota State University Architecture Department, at The National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, and for the University of MN College of Design Student and Alumni Board. He has represented Urban Sketchers as an instructor for Kansas City Design Week, as a demonstrator at the 7th USK Symposium in Manchester, UK and as an instructor at the 9th USK Symposium in Porto, Portugal.
LECTURE DESCRIPTION:
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
@bajzek
In this lecture, Eduardo will talk about his intense sketching experiences at the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and what he learned from them. By being fully absorbed in a harsh environment, he was led to sketch eagerly and with a great vitality. He came back from the trips with dozens of interesting sketches. More importantly, he learned a lot about the complex dynamic of the forest and its people, about his country and himself.
Eduardo Bajzek is an illustrator and art instructor from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Awarded by the American Society of Architectural Illustrators, his portfolio includes more than 2,200 illustrations spanning a 25-year career. He has worked in Portugal, France, England, Ireland, and Hong Kong.
Since 2010, he has been sharing his passion for drawing in courses and workshops, in Brazil and abroad.
A devoted urban sketcher, Bajzek has taught workshops and demos in six ‘Urban Sketchers International Symposiums’: "Straight to Colors" (Santo Domingo), "Straight to Masses" (Barcelona), “The Potential of Pencil Sketching” (Chicago), “Graphite is the Matter” (Porto), “Hidden Amsterdam: Atmosphere and Character” (Amsterdam) and nally “Immersive Drawing: Slow Down, You Sketch too Fast” (Auckland).
He has published two books: the awarded winning "Rio Sketchbook" (2016) and “Técnicas de Ilustração a Mão Livre” (2019). He has also been invited to collaborate in several books related to the art of urban sketching.
Buenos Aires - Argentina
LECTURE DESCRIPTION:
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:
@ferrari leteados
Fileteado is a traditional art from Argentina that was declared World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2015. It’s part of the city’s landscape and became its visual identity. It began as a simple decoration on the trade carts in the early 20th century, later it was expanded to buses and trucks and today it can be found all over the city of Buenos Aires, in shop windows, murals and signs. The lecture will cover its history and development, its technique and will show examples of leteado works that urban sketchers will see all around the city.
Ferrari Fileteados is a Fileteado and lettering studio from Buenos Aires, led by Gustavo Ferrari and Nina Gilmizyanova. We make hand painted and digital works: signs, shop windows, murals, designs and logos.
Gustavo Ferrari is a signpainter, visual artist and a historian, specializing in Fileteado since 2001. His artworks can be found all over the city, painted signboards, shop windows of the traditional restaurants, Remarkable Bars, barber and tattoo shops. In the last decade he has started showcasing the Fileteado style around the world. He has since done this at Letterheads meets, tango festivals and various design events in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia.
Nina Gilmizyanova is a visual artist and a signpainter from Russia. She had graduated from art school, where she participated in several exhibitions. After she received her degrees in Marketing and Finance, lived and worked in cities such as Moscow, London, Cambridge and Zurich. In 2017 she moved to Buenos Aires to dedicate herself to painting. Parallel to her personal art, Nina works at Ferrari Fileteados studio, where they produce Fileteado Porteño and Lettering works.
Lisbon - Portugal
LECTURE DESCRIPTION:
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
@linhares.mr
Is there a di erence in how artists used sketchbooks in the past compared to nowadays? Is the artist's sketchbook a private object or a tool to explore new things and techniques and take them to other projects? Or is the sketchbook an artistic practice by itself?
In this lecture, we will be able to see sketchbooks from famous artists (like Degas or Cézanne, (and not-so-famous) artists (Cibo, or Ziem for example) and we’ll compare and discuss some of the most interesting topics they drew.
Mário Linhares (Lisbon, Portugal) studied at the Artistic School António Arroio. Having two GraduationsLandscape Design, and Industrial Design - he also holds a Master Degree in Visual Arts Education, and he’s in its nal stage of his Ph.D. on Drawing. He draws compulsively and idealizes artistic and humanitarian projects since ‘97. He’s married, they have one son, and draws on the sketchbooks his wife makes. He enjoys walking, cycling, taking public transportation, and discussing ideas with friends.
He founded Urban Sketchers Portugal in 2009, joined the International Executive Board in 2011 and was the Education Director of Urban Sketchers until 2019. Recently he played a key role on the 5 Minutes of Drawing project, the Sketch Tour Portugal, and the USkTalks. Currently, he is a Drawing Professor in Lisbon, do lectures worldwide, and leads the Zambujal 360, a social and artistic project in Lisbon.
He’s also co-author of the awarded travel book: Carnet de Voyage | Côte d’Ivoire (2014), he contributes to di erent books and exhibitions. Besides that, he published Panoramas and Vertical Vistas (2021) and Lisboa Moderna (2021). Travel and drawing are his two preferred things to do.
LECTURE DESCRIPTION:
Being an inspiring and technically skilled sketcher does not necessarily translate into being an e ective teacher. Perhaps you have been asked to give an urban sketching workshop in your community or perhaps you have been teaching for a while but wish to learn new techniques and share your experience with your colleagues. This lecture will help both practicing instructors and aspiring urban sketching teachers to focus on what is important when it comes to giving an e ective workshop or urban sketching course. We will discuss such concepts as learning goals, sca olding, feedback and inclusive teaching. There will be a Q&A session and opportunity to share our experience collectively.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Rita Sabler is a visual journalist, artist and educator based in Portland, Oregon, USA. She teaches Urban Sketching and Visual Journalism courses for Parsons School of Design, Paci c Northwest College of Art, and Oregon Society of Artists.
Sabler has presented numerous lectures and workshops around the world inspiring diverse audiences to cultivate a lifelong passion for urban sketching and reportage illustration. Her work has been featured in solo and group local and international shows. From 2019-2023 Sabler served as the Education Director for the Urban Sketchers organization.
Sabler’s reportage on the Kalaupapa Leprosy settlement was awarded the Doctors Without Borders Coup De Coeur and the International Sketchbook Prize at the 2019 Rendez-Vous Du Carnet De Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand. Her recent book “Listening to New Orleans” has won another International Sketchbook Prize in 2023.
Sabler is the author of “With a Sketchbook Around the World” “New York Reawakens” and “Camiñamos para Parar.” Her work has been featured in the Urban Sketching Handbooks series and publications on travel drawing.
@ritasabler
