DA April 2020

DRAWING

Attention

The official zine of Urban Sketchers APRIL 2020

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Drawing Attention Mandate Drawing Attention, the official monthly zine of the Urban Sketchers organization, communicates and promotes official USk workshops, symposiums, sketchcrawls, news and events; shares news about USk chapters; and educates readers about the practice of on-location sketching.

Thanks to this month’s Drawing Attention contributors: Managing Editor: Patricia Chow Mailchimp layout: Jane Wingfield Issuu layout: Anne Taylor Social Media Designer: Suzala Writers: Meagan Burns, Russell Petcoff Proofreader: Leslie Akchurin Contributors: Parka, Richard Alomar, Mark Anderson, Bruce Bateau, Eleanor Doughty, Niraj Gupta, TK Justin Ng, Maria Regina Tuazon, Jan Vítek cover image: Victor Swasky Subscribe to Drawing Attention. Read the February edition of Drawing Attention.

Circulation: 13k+ Readership: 16k+ Web: urbansketchers.org Urban Sketchers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the art of on-location drawing. Click here to make your tax-deductible contribution via Paypal. © 2020 Urban Sketchers.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this publication, including accompanying artwork, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Urban Sketchers organization.

Dear USk Community We want to emphasize the importance of following your local and national recommendations on how to stay safe and healthy under the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the guidelines will go a long way in making it possible for all of us to be out sketching soon.

We want to acknowledge all our instructors, chapter administrators, chapter members and communications team who have developed creative ways to continue to sketch and share their drawings online; on the bright side of things, we all have more time to sketch and practice. Also, to our fellow sketchers in China, Italy, France,

UK, Spain, Portugal, Malaysia and all other countries, regions, and cities that are currently locked down, remember that we are all in this together, as one community. Stay safe and stay strong!

To keep track and share what’s going on in your space, follow #uskathome, #usksketchwithhongkong, and all the other hashtags that USk’ers are using to tell their stories, one drawing at a time.

Also feel free to contact us if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas related to these challenging times at president@ urbansketchers.org.

Sketching together (one way or another), Richard Alomar, USk President

MANAGING EDITOR’S MESSAGE Greetings, Sketchers!

I hope you are all staying as healthy and sane as possible in this time of pandemic. Many USk chapters have come up with creative ideas to sketch together without being together.

If your chapter has come up with a great idea, email us at drawingattention@urbansketchers.org for possible inclusion in next month’s issue! This month, we hear from superstar sketchers Swasky, Eleanor Doughty, and TK Justin Ng, and see what USk chapters in Delhi, Edmonton, and Prague are up to.

An enormous thank you to our wonderful Drawing Attention team for making this publication possible even during a pandemic. If you’d like to join the Drawing Attention team, email me at drawingattention@urbansketchers.org! Enjoy our latest issue!

Patricia Chow, Managing Editor, Drawing Attention

CONTENTS 4 LETTER TO THE EDITOR 8

16 USK EDMONTON

23 USK DELHI

28 VICTOR SWASKY

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46

51

53 REVIEWS | ENDNOTES

USK PRAGUE

COOL GEAR

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ELEANOR DOUGHTY

T.K. JUSTIN NG

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ISSUU APP FOR IOS DEVICES CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ISSUU APP FOR ANDROID

APRIL 2020 3

USk News & Events

LETTER TO THE EDITOR In Why I Draw I draw to remember.

To capture a feeling.

To have a reason to linger.

I draw to get off the couch.

To smell the fresh air.

To change my perspective.

I draw when I want to take the time.

To escape from computers.

To make something tangible.

I draw what I see. To be present.

To enjoy the little things.

What about you? Why do you draw?

Bruce Bateau USk Portland CONNECT WITH BRUCE

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USK BLOG 4 DRAWING ATTENTION

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USk News & Events

IN TIMES OF SOLIDARITY, NOT SOLITARY

BY MARIA REGINA TUAZON

We are living in uncertainty. As we go through a difficult period of quarantine, home confinement and social distancing, sketchers and drawing enthusiasts all over the world are capturing unique points of view from home to stay calm, connected and creative during this global crisis.

We cannot sketch together outside but we can draw what we see from our windows and other aspects of home life then post them online under the hashtag #uskathome (short for urban sketchers at home). Social distancing doesn’t have to be solitary but in solidarity with others. It shows our world and our lives as they happen one sketch at a time.

Gabi Campanario: Sketches Inspired by Coronavirus Quarantine Creativity Indoors Updated temporary guidelines for the Urban Sketchers Facebook Page SUBSCRIBE TO THE USK YOUTUBE CHANNEL

USK SYMPOSIUM 2019 ON INSTA

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and reach

16,000+

artists & art lovers For more information about ad placement, sizes and costs for corporate sponsors, email Raylie at raylie@verizon.net

APRIL 2020 5

USk News & Events

‘PANDEMIC JOURNAL’

BY MARK ANDERSON

In lieu of the symposium that was going to take place from April 1012, Urban Sketchers Hong Kong invites you, your sketches, and your community to express global support. Follow and tag along with the hashtags #SketchWithHongKong #USkSketchWithHongKong. Learn about how you can download the PNG/Watermark from Rob Sketcherman and how to successfully add it to your sketches for easy identification!

CONNECT WITH MARK

It is comforting that we have a global community that is socially connected from the start. Let’s keep sketching, continue our social circles from the safe confines of our home.

SUBSCRIBE TO DRAWING ATTENTION – IT’S FREE

20 DAYS OF SKETCHING AT THE PRAGUE SKETCH FEST

BY JAN VÍTEK

It was our intention from the beginning to attract participants from different countries. We chose the events with the visiting sketchers in mind: we wanted to provide them with a nice way to discover the city. We included all the landmarks, interesting exhibitions, grand cafes, exclusive events with guided tours, and places off the beaten path too.

My favorite sketchwalk was the subway event. We rode on all three subway lines and sketched in and outside stations. Thanks to the time constraint, I managed to produce so many sketches.

We explored the largest panel housing estate in the Czech Republic, a place that is very different from the romantic city center. There we discovered Restaurant Kupa on the 22nd floor which had 8 DRAWING ATTENTION

an incredible view. We also enjoyed another spectacular view of Prague from the Žižkov TV Tower. We went on an hour-long guided tour of the Podolí Waterworks and then enjoyed two more hours of sketching inside this neoclassical building, which featured an incredible view of its so-called Engel’s cathedral, complete with water filters.

We had an exclusive sketching session in the Břevnov Monastery Brewery, which was founded in 993, making it the oldest brewery in the Czech Republic. We had the opportunity to make a reportage of the beer production process and also sketched in their cellar and museum.

The sketchfest attracted sketchers from all over.

They came to Prague specifically for the event.

Rolf Schröter from Berlin, Chris Damaskis from Belgium, Bettina Rupert from Germany, USk Poland admins Dora Pindur and Justyna Wojnowska, USk Warsaw admins Ania Jakubek and Juka Kowalska, and many more.

Rajesh Dhawan, who co-organized the sketch fest with me, is such a passionate and outstanding

SKETCH BY KATERINA JANOUSKOVA

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t the 2020 Prague Sketch Fest, dozens of urban sketchers from various countries joined forces to draw for 20 days straight in the Czech capital. The local USk Prague chapter organized the event from February 1 to 20, followed by a celebratory closing party.

USk Prague

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Featured Chapter

artist. He is fearless, sketches complex scenes easily, is a master of composition and is extremely productive to boot.

We kept a record of the participants every day. Over the course of 20 days of sketching, we had an average of 17 participants a day, while 81 people attended at least one event. Plus we provided at least six hours of sketching per day for 20 days... 120 hours of sketching in 20 days is a phenomenal amount! Next year we will have to include some bar events at night as well. And later this year we will hold an exhibition of the drawings we produced.

For me the sketchfest was an opportunity to meet so many interesting people and to get inspired. I sketched

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nearly every day, managing to make it to 16 of the 20 events. I finally confronted my main drawing problem – that I always try to sketch only what I see, exactly as is. This time for a change, I adjusted buildings in the background, making them smaller so that they would fit.

The overall sketch looked better as a result. I do not want to be a slave to only what I see!

The last thing I want to mention is that our Prague chapter is very competitive and should there be any attempt to make a sketchfest by another chapter with a longer chain of days than our 20, we will make the 2021 Prague Sketch Fest even longer and reclaim our leadership!

SKETCH BY DELPHINE PROKESOVA

USk Prague

SKETCH BY RAJESH DHAWAN

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Featured Chapter

SKETCH BY HANA ALISA OMER

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USk Prague

SKETCH BY MARIA GINZBURG

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Featured Chapter

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USk Prague

CONNECT WITH USK PRAGUE

LEFT: DANCING HOUSE BY JAN VÍTEK RIGHT: SKETCH BY HELENA

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USK EDMONTON

Captures Civic Heritage

BY RUSSELL PETCOFF n 17 February this year, Urban Sketchers Edmonton, in Canada, received word that they were now an official Urban Sketchers chapter.

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posium that year in Portland. Yvonne soon met Marlena, and the three scheduled their first sketch crawl in July 2011 at the Taste of Edmonton. Nine sketchers attended.

The group began in 2011 when Yvonne Rezek, Karen Wall, and Marlena Wyman decided to form a sketching group. Yvonne had learned about Urban Sketchers via social media in 2010, and Karen had attended the USk Sym-

USk Edmonton now meets the first Saturday of every month, and between eight and 15 sketchers attend. With seven months of winter, they often sketch indoors. Marlena later blogs about the event on the USk Edmonton website.

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USk Edmonton

SKETCH BY JOANNE WOJTYSIAK APRIL 2020 17

Featured Chapter

Urban sketching’s immediacy attracts Yvonne and Marlena. Yvonne likes “the notational, unfinished, imperfect quality of sketching.” Marlena adds that sketching creates a “more emotionally engaging work than formal painting. It’s an effective way to capture a moment, as well as create an acute awareness of one’s surroundings.” For Karen, it’s a “way to stay in tune with everyday life and place and understand new experiences through a sustained gaze.”

“Art provides us with new ways of seeing what we thought we knew,” Marlena says. “Our built heritage can become so familiar and feel so permanent that we tend to take it for granted — until it is gone. Only then do we feel the loss, and often profoundly. Art can engage, inform and help to activate change.”

“My hope,” Marlena said, “is that this project will engage and connect us with the value of our city’s built heritage and green spaces.”

The group’s sketching also preserves Edmonton history. Marlena recently organized an exhibition called ‘Sketching History: Rediscovering Edmonton’s Architectural Heritage through Urban Sketching,’ featuring 100 sketches by 12 USk Edmonton sketchers.

“Edmonton’s vital heritage architecture is disappearing,” Marlena said, “and along with it our city’s character and identity.” As the city’s Historian Laureate, she developed the exhibition to capture the memory of Edmonton. The exhibition opened in November 2019 and runs until December 2020 at the Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre and online at the City of Edmonton Archives.

CONNECT WITH USK EDMONTON

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MARLENA WYMAN’S SKETCHING HISTORY EXHIBIT BLOG POSTS

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USk Edmonton

SKETCH BY KAREN WALL

APRIL 2020 19

Featured Chapter

LEFT: SKETCH BY MERTS BELMES BELOW: AL RASHID MOSQUE

BY BRENDA RAYNARD

HOTEL SHELLY MIAMI BEACH BY NOGA ROSE

SKETCH BY MARLENA WYMAN

SKETCH BY YVONNE REZEK

CHECK OUT THE SKETCHING HISTORY ONLINE EXHIBIT

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USK DELHI CELEBRATES FOURTH

Annual Art Exhibition NIZAMUDDIN BAOLI BY JUHI KUMAR

Featured Chapter

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USk Delhi

FOLLOWING THEIR PREVIOUS SUCCESSFUL SHOWS, USK DELHI AIMED TO TELL THE STORY OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE HISTORICAL CITY OF DELHI IN THEIR LATEST EXHIBITION.

BY NIRAJ GUPTA

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Sk Delhi concluded on 29 February its fourth exclusive month-long show, “Baolis (step-wells) of Delhi” at the prestigious India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. Like our previous shows, we tried to narrate the story of the evolution of the historical city of Delhi.

Nine sketchers (Zuzana Mezencevova, Juhi Kumar, Geeta Gupta, Disha Chauhan, Sunita Mathur, Sumit Nahar, Ranvijay Kumar, Rajatendu Biswas and Niraj Gupta) exhibited their works. The show was inaugurated by our

mentor, eminent artist and sculptor MK Puri, who is also a teacher and critic. Every participant had a one-on-one discussion with Mr Puri, followed by a coffee session. The participants were selected from the most regular sketchers and the show venue was given to us free-of-cost by the government-owned India Habitat Center, which is a major venue for the arts and other cultural events in Delhi.

The highlights of the show included presentations, demos and trials by leading watercolor manufacturers Daniel Smith and White Nights, as well as Indian hand-made APRIL 2020 25

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GANDHAK BAOLI BY DISHA CHAUHAN

SKETCH BY NIRAJ GUPTA

paper manufacturer Maestria. Many leading artists, including MK Puri, Amit Kapoor (IWS President), Megha Kapoor, and Sajal Mitra, visited the show, with some also giving demos. Mr Puri and Mr Kapoor admired the group’s commitment to art, and Mr Kapoor called it a unique and unparalleled initiative in Delhi.

CONNECT WITH USK DELHI

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A Mission of Storytelling with Victor Swasky

BY MEAGAN BURNS

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Victor Swasky

VICTOR SWASKY (CALL HIM SWASKY) HAS BEEN WORKING AS A FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR IN BARCELONA FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, BUT HE’S ALSO A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR, URBAN SKETCHER AND STORYTELLER – AND HE WANTS TO HELP YOU LOOK DEEPER AT THE SUBJECTS YOU ARE SKETCHING.

“I

t’s easy to sit down and sketch the obvious subject that everyone sees and visits, but what if you take the time to really look around and see where a different story is being told? That’s where I look for the stories I want to tell.”

“Now my only one hope is that everybody will make it through this global outbreak. I can foresee the future and probably all workshops this year will change, in fact I think that the world is not anymore like it was two weeks ago.”

Swasky was one of the founding members of Spain’s first Urban Sketchers chapter, back when Spain only had one main chapter. Now most Spanish cities have become official regional chapters, and Swasky is associated with the Barcelona chapter, and is an avid storyteller in his city.

He first became a workshop instructor at the second USk Symposium, with a workshop called, How To Draw an Onion, where he asked participants to peel back the layers of drawing to tell a story – a long time theme for Swasky!

Swasky continues these themes in his ongoing workshop series with Pushing Your Sketching Boundaries (PYSB).

In these workshops, instructors lead small groups with the idea of looking deeper, strengthening skills, and understanding tools.

And speaking of tools, when asked what’s in his sketch bag, Swasky confessed he had colored pencils, graphite pencils, acrylic markers and a few ink pens; he’s a definite fan of mixing styles for different results. “There’s no reason to just stick with one style or medium. I’ve enjoyed learning how to mix mediums in order to tell a more powerful or dramatic story.”

In 2017, Swasky wrote a travel sketch journal called Hola, Miró!!!, where he meets Joan Miró in the house designed for him by architect Josep Lluís Sert in Barcelona. In this book, the reader is invited to join him as he tours the Fundació Joan Miró and some of the key places in the life and work of the great artist. Sketchbook in hand, Swasky encourages us to discover and enjoy Joan Miró’s universe as he experiences it.

Swasky’s mission continues today, as he wants you to experience life through your sketchbook, by telling visual stories and living the experiences that happen when you become a sketcher of your life.

“I love being out in the world, sketching and being mindful about what surrounds me – I am hopeful that we will move past this global pandemic and although things will be different, I will continue to think globally, act (draw) locally.”

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Sketcher Spotlight

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Victor Swasky

APRIL 2020 31

Sketcher Spotlight

**Since this interview, the global pandemic COVID-19 situation has progressed to mandatory quarantine for all of Spain, as well as many other countries and cities around the world. Within a matter of days, the conversation and intentions went from hopeful continued planning

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of European workshops, to a complete shutdown and disintegration of all pending plans. At this time, many of us are finding ourselves under quarantine to help stop the spread of the virus, and are hopeful that our members around the world are safe and out of harm’s way.**

Victor Swasky

“I

LOVE BEING OUT IN THE WORLD, SKETCHING AND BEING MINDFUL ABOUT WHAT SURROUNDS ME – I AM HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL MOVE PAST THIS GLOBAL PANDEMIC AND ALTHOUGH THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT, I WILL CONTINUE TO THINK GLOBALLY, ACT (DRAW) LOCALLY.”

CONNECT WITH SWASKY

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BELOW: INMA SERRANO, SWASKY & ISABEL CARMONA

APRIL 2020 35

Sketcher Spotlight

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Victor Swasky

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Title

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WOODEN PENS...

and Scooters ELEANOR DOUGHTY TALKS ABOUT HER LIFE AS AN URBAN SKETCHER

I

’ve been drawing on location since I started in art school in 2009. It was a natural segway from the street photography I was doing regularly before that – going outside on walks with my camera and hunting for interesting things to capture visually.

In early 2015, I created my own drawing meetup group with my friend Julia Liu when I lived in New York City.

Someone probably said that there was already a group doing this (meaning the New York City USk chapter), so that was when I became aware of Urban Sketchers. I think that was probably in 2016. I decided to go to the 2017 Chicago Symposium, since it was a short flight (and I love Chicago!) and I was in awe of the community of like-minded folks who gathered from all over! Shout out to Jason Das, who really helped me make connections, since I only knew a handful of USk members at that point.

I think it’s always wonderful that the most newbie sketcher is free to sit down next to a veteran instructor and draw with them. I think this dynamic is really special and hope that we can keep that alive in the community as long as possible.

APRIL 2020 39

Sketcher Spotlight

I’ve been using handmade wooden dip pens to draw in ink and in watercolor.

I started making them with my woodworking friend (Timothy Firth) at the studio I work out of in Seattle. While I enjoy drawing with metal nibs (the kind you dip into ink), I’m frustrated that they get bent so easily and then you basically have to just throw them away.

Wood is relatively eco-friendly, flexible and durable, and if they break (which happens occasionally), you can just sharpen them again. And I’m in love with the variety of marks you can make with them. The lines the wooden nibs make can be unpredictable (which I wholeheartedly embrace in my sketching and illustration work) with an uneven flow, sometimes blobbing out onto the paper and trailing out into a light line. Since the unfinished wood is absorbent, you can get a neat dry brush-esque texture by rubbing the inkstained sides of the pen on the paper. I can also dab watercolor onto the pen with a brush and draw with that. It’s kind of a slow process, but worth it.

I’m also in a scooter gang. I ride a 180cc Aprilia Scarabeo, which is a relatively small engine but still fast enough to get me on the freeway if I need to.

Most of my fellow moto gang members work out of the same group studio with me and we go on adventures and draw together. It’s been a great tool to explore outside of the city – there are so many stunningly beautiful landscapes here in the Pacific Northwest that you need a vehicle to access – and you experience the traveling differently than in a car. It’s much easier to actually explore the nooks and crannies of little towns and roads, and you feel more connected to the outside world.

When I travel, I really love renting a scooter and using it to explore. You can get off the beaten path easily while still having great mobility, park anywhere, and jump off whenever to sketch. Also, it’s a portable bench you can sit on while sketching.

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HEN I TRAVEL, I REALLY LOVE RENTING A SCOOTER AND USING IT TO EXPLORE. YOU CAN GET OFF THE BEATEN PATH EASILY WHILE STILL HAVING GREAT MOBILITY, PARK ANYWHERE, AND JUMP OFF WHENEVER TO SKETCH. ALSO, IT’S A PORTABLE BENCH YOU CAN SIT ON WHILE SKETCHING.

Eleanor Doughty

ELEANOR’S SCOOTER GANG

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Sketcher Spotlight

“I

THINK IT’S ALWAYS WONDERFUL THAT THE MOST NEWBIE SKETCHER IS FREE TO SIT DOWN NEXT TO A VETERAN INSTRUCTOR AND DRAW WITH THEM. I THINK THIS DYNAMIC IS REALLY SPECIAL AND HOPE THAT WE CAN KEEP THAT ALIVE IN THE COMMUNITY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE.

I was supposed to teach two workshops through Seattle’s 10x10 program this spring (drawing with calligraphy pens & a limited palette watercolor workshop). The 2020 season was off to a very promising start, but then coronavirus happened and all the spring workshops have been cancelled for the time being. Hopefully, we can restart in the fall though; we’ll see how things go.

I was also really looking forward to leading some workshops at the Townsville Sketchfest in Queensland, Australia in June, but that has unfortunately been postponed as well due to the global health crisis. Fingers crossed for 2021.

And in August I’m slated to teach a week-long urban sketching workshop for teens at a local art school, Gage Academy. I’m excited to share my philosophies with the youth and inspire a new generation of people who love to draw on location—hopefully by summer we are all okay to gather in groups again.

I also have a solo show set for December 2020 in Seattle at Zeitgeist Coffee, which will almost certainly be plein air work, and I’m working on a comic book (doing the inking, coloring, and background development) that will be published by Penguin Books in Fall 2021! It’s about a frog and her tadpole brother that drive through wonderful landscapes in an amazing changing car. Jonathan Tune is writing and doing the layouts. Look out for it!

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Eleanor Doughty

LAKE UNION APRIL 2020 43

Sketcher Spotlight

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Eleanor Doughty

AMSTERDAM

GENOVA CONNECT WITH ELEANOR

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SKETCHING IN 2020: WHY SKETCH?

BY T.K. JUSTIN NG, USK VANCOUVER

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quick backstory: I recently published my second book, ‘The Vancouver Sketchbook’. Rather than just sharing drawings, I spent months researching the city to tie together the evolution of the city’s urbanism and its pictorial identity. In the process, several unexpected and somewhat tangential themes surfaced. While my first manuscript of the book included pages dedicated to these topics, most of them were omitted in order to keep the book’s content succinct and appealing to a broad audience. I have recently begun to piece these ideas back together to share with you.

So why did I start on-location sketching?

The desire to represent and communicate to others the world around us is human nature. Before we are able to write or speak clearly, drawing was the only accessible form of representing our surroundings. While I have been drawing since kindergarten, it was only in 2013, at age 17, that I picked up a copy of Gabriel Campanario’s ‘The Art of Urban Sketching’ and began to set aside time each week for on-location sketching. That was the year I took a deep-dive and plunged into the world of art and design.

Instead of kicking a ball or picking up a guitar, I chose to sit in the intimidating gaze of the public and draw what I saw. When people asked me why I prefer sketching over other extra-curricular activities, I would bring up one of three reasons. Firstly, in the process of recreating what lay before my eyes on paper, I become intimately acquainted with my subject, forcing me to observe,

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T.K. Justin Ng

APRIL 2020 47

Sketcher Spotlight

rather than gaze. Secondly, the patience and time taken to sketch exposes me to the nuances of light, sound and smell, which give meaning to the world around me. Furthermore, sketching is a forgiving way to make art. ‘To sketch’ traditionally implied the notion of a speedy snapshot of a work in progress, where perfection (be it conceptually or technically) is not important. If intimidation dissuades many people from drawing, the freedom of sketching is sure to pique their interest once more. While all three of these reasons are valid, they are qualities of sketching that have stayed largely consistent over centuries. They do not explain why people sketch in today’s world, where other mediums of expression appear more convenient. So what has changed?

In the past, sketches were seen as work-in-process because they were iterations made in preparation for a final piece. Each sketch was an improvement of the previous and the success of the sketch relied on how the final painting turned out. Today, most urban sketchers do not intend to translate their sketches into larger works, but sketches continue to be seen as part of a collection – often in sketchbooks. Unlike iterations, each sketch tells a different snippet of a story and it is only through flipping the pages of a sketchbook that a larger narrative is revealed. When one sketchbook is filled, the story moves on to the next. No notion of a final piece is there to disrupt the story. As such, the project of sketching is not about the drawing but about the process itself.

By focusing on the endless process, sketching is ritualized. This ritualization enables the emergence of a community on the increasingly visual internet, allowing the group to strengthen its influence globally. For example, @ urbansketchers has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram. Not only do its 48 DRAWING ATTENTION

T.K. Justin Ng

APRIL 2020 49

Sketcher Spotlight

members help and rally one another, but they also sketch together at ‘sketch-crawls’. The stereotype of a lonely artist sketching in the street corner is no more. Like yoga and spinning, sketching has become social and commercial.

These communities democratize sketching by making it accessible far beyond the small circle of professional artists. It is this fundamental change in the demographics of sketchers that have revived the art of urban sketching.

I still remember when I first started sketching, when sketches were only ever on display at museums. It was as though on-location sketches were reserved for a world I don’t recognize. But that has changed. Today, Toronto subways are plastered with sketches drawn by commuters. Urban sketches have become commonplace in advertising in Hong Kong. In bookstores across the globe, there have been more published sketchbooks and an army of ‘how-to sketch’ books encourage people to draw their surroundings. Even within the field of

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architecture, where hyper-realistic digital renderings are easily generated, pseudo-en-plein air sketches - drawings that look like urban sketches but are drawn from imagination - are experiencing an unexpected revival.

Even at a time when most people carry a camera with them at all times, sketching has gained new relevance.

Through its transformation into a movement, sketchers have evolved sketching into a contemporary mode of understanding and representing the world.

Read more about my book here. This article originally appeared on the urbansketchers.org blog on February 16, 2020.

CONNECT WITH T. K. JUSTIN NG

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Endnotes & Reviews

URBAN SKETCHING IN THE PANDEMIC

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BY MARK LEIBOWITZ

ll of the Cool Gear articles I’ve written have always been lighthearted and whimsical. This one isn’t.

The entire world is experiencing a pandemic.

and Amsterdam, my mind fills with the experiences of past USk Symposiums and the good times we had sketching together.

In better times, looking at Urban Sketchers – it seemed the entire world was sketching. I followed my fellow artists all over the world, studying their sketches to see what I could learn, appreciating their creativity and talent. It’s fascinating how we influence one another. I now follow the health crisis to see what we can learn from one another. I associate cities and countries with specific sketchers I know. I worry what’s happening to my friends. When I hear news about Santo Domingo, Chicago, Manchester, Paraty, Singapore

Like all terrible things, this will eventually pass. Until then, as creative people, we can find comfort in our art, while we support each other and share our work. I recently read that Sir Isaac Newton had to practice social isolation during the Black Death epidemic. It was the most creative period of his life. He developed his theories about gravity and other brilliant ideas that were shared with the world. It’s an inspiring thought that incredible good can come from this.

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Endnotes & Reviews

Once, after sketching together, we sat around chatting.

Someone asked the question, “Why do we sketch?” It seemed like such an interesting question. We took turns exploring our individual thoughts about the subject. The consensus was that we don’t sketch to create artwork. We don’t sketch to express ourselves. We don’t even come together for the friendship. These are all important, but we seemed to agree that we sketched for the peace it provides. We experience sketching as a meditation. It takes us away from our daily cares and provides a calmness where we can experience our true selves. Now that sounds like a powerful medicine.

suggested 45 themes, 10 challenges, and 9 V-Sketch Event ideas. With creativity like this, we can easily outlast this virus.

I believe this experience is going to change us all. It has the potential to change us for the better, if we allow our creativity and our optimism be our guide. I wish you all good health and the peace that sketching provides.

If you have suggestions or ideas you’d like to share about Urban Sketching in the Pandemic, please send them to me directly at markleibowitz810@gmail.com.

Many groups around the world have shifted to a virtual model where they work on a shared theme and post comments and artwork. The New York City chapter ran its first virtual event on March 21. It was an amazing success.

We’ve asked our membership to make creative suggestions in three areas: 1. THEMES: An idea that we can all explore during the week. It’s not time-focused. Our first theme was to explore visualizing COVID-19, the second theme was to share the view out your window.

2. CHALLENGES: The purpose of a challenge is to help people improve their skills. An example might be drawing 100 hands in one week.

3. VIRTUAL EVENTS: This is to replace our weekly get-together. We focused on exploring one section of the Metropolitan Museum. The assignment was to combine two images in a creative, expressive way. Not exactly urban sketching, but it produced some amazing results. We intend to offer a V-Sketch Event every week.

We also asked for suggestions. In 24 hours, our membership 52 DRAWING ATTENTION

SHARE YOUR CHAPTER’S NEWS WITH OUR READERS Contact us to share your chapter’s news, special events, joint meetups, and exhibitions with our readers. You don’t need to write the story yourself.

We will assign a Drawing Attention writer to cover your story!

Contact us at: drawingattention@urbansketchers.org.

Endnotes & Reviews

PARKA REVIEWS

BY TEOH YI CHIE

Teoh Yi Chie is an infographics journalist who joined Urban Sketchers Singapore in 2009. He’s probably better known as Parka from Parkablogs.com, a website that reviews art books and art products.

This month Parka video reviews Waterproof Inks that are safe for Fountainpens. Check it out!

APRIL 2020 53

Our Manifesto • We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation • Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel • Our drawings are a record of time and place • We are truthful to the scenes we witness • We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles • We support each other and draw together • We share our drawings online • We show the world, one drawing at a time.

© 2020 Urban Sketchers www.urbansketchers.org