sketching the urban sketchers (part 3)

August 12, 2011August 14, 2011Leave a comment

Final batch of Urban Sketcher portraits…I wish I’d sketched more! Quite a lot of people who afterwards I was thinking, oh wish I’d sketched him, wish I drawn her; maybe next time! The two above though were done in the very early hours of sunday morning (see the time-stamp!) at Cafe A Brasileira, after the Symposium had ended. I was out late there sketching with Liz Steel, Paul Wang and Lee Peng Hui, when Isabel Fiadeiro and some others came in, sat down and straight away it was a sketch-off! A bit like gunslingers in the Old West in an old saloon, Urban Sketchers are quick on the draw. (How cheesy, I can’t believe I just said that…)

(Above Left): Isabel Fiadeiro, USk correspondent in Nouakchott, Mauritania (but originally from Portugal), one of the organisers of this year’s event, I met her last year in Portland. (Above Right): Agnes Bolley, an artist from France.

(Above Left): Luis Ruiz, USk correspondent from Malaga, Spain. It was a highlight of the symposium for me to meet and sketch with Luis, his subtle but powerful work is among my favourites. (Above Right): Nina Johansson, USk correspondent from Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve followed Nina’s work for years, very influential. I took her workshop ‘Unfinished Business’, though I never got a chance to actually sketch with her.

(Above Left): Inma Serrano, USk Spain correspondent from Sevilla. She had this tiny sketchbook made into an earring that sketchers contributed to (I drew a tiny fire hydrant, what else!). Sketched at lunchtime near Rua da Bica, she was sketching me at the time. (Above Right): Isaac, from Spain; I didn’t get to speak to him other than to ask his name but he had a great profile to sketch!

(Above Left): Ea Ejersbo, USk correspondent from Aarhus in Denmark, sketched while out at dinner with other urban sketchers and her husband Reza (a great guy!). I’ve followed Ea for years, I really enjoy her drawings and the fact she’s from Aarhus, as I visited that city a couple of times many years ago and loved it. (Above Right): Liz Steel, USk correspondent from Sydney (alongside Borromini Bear, not seen in this picture). Liz is one of the most well-known Urban Sketchers and it was great to sketch and hang out with her in Lisbon, having first met her in Portland last year.

(Above Left): Daniela Rodrigues, USk Portugal sketcher from Lisbon who I spoke to during the Light of Lisboa workshop. Finally, (Above Right): Marina Grechanik, USk correspondent from Tel Aviv, Israel, sketched at the same dinner as the pistures of Ea and Liz. Marina even tried to draw holding the pen the way I do!

And that’s it! Well, I have more sketches from Lisbon to be posted, but these are all the people I drew. Some I drew in my watercolour Moleskine, but most were drawn in the London/Lisbon ‘Volant’ Moleskine, the small red one that looks like a passport.

the lisbon streets at night

August 11, 2011August 11, 20112 Comments

Night-time sketching is fun, as the light is all different and in summertime in Lisbon, people are out on the streets enjoying life, or sketching the world. Right below the Shiado hostel on Rua Anchietta where I stayed was a cafe called Kaffeehaus (it was Austrian). I went there on a few occasions for dinner or a drink with some of the other urban sketchers who were staying at the hostel, such as Paul Wang (Urban Sketchers correspondent in Hong Kong, originally from Singapore), who I sketched above. I was pleased to have met Paul (who also spent some days in London prior to Lisbon, though I didn’t sketch with him) as I love his colourful sketching style, it’s so nice to look at. We were at dinner with Liz Steel and Omar Jaramillo; you couldn’t get a more multi-continental group of sketchers!. Our hostel was just around the block from a square where nightly open-air concerts filled the air with classical music, right up until bed-time. I’m no classical buff, so couldn’t really tell you your Schubert from your Chopin, but it was nice to hear. It was still going on when I got back to my room, and so I looked out of the window and sketched the scene below me.

Below: from the night before, sat in the same place, but this time sketching Florian Afflerbach and Rolf Schroeter, two of our USk correspondents from Germany. I appear to have sketched Florian and Rolf in slightly different sizes, kinda! The couple sat behind Rolf were enjoying themselves. We were there with Jason Das that night, having all just been at the USk correspondents dinner. One thing I remember most is the damn street-lamp flickering away…

sketching the urban sketchers (part 1)

August 8, 2011August 8, 20111 Comment

I sketched a lot of people in Lisbon, more than I usually would. It’s nice sketching other urban sketchers, especially those you have followed for a while, as you’re capturing them in the flesh in your own little sketchbook. Some were done out at dinner, or lunch, or while sketching, or in the lecture hall. Here are some…

(Above left): Gabi Campanario, founder of Urban Sketchers and USk correspondent from Seattle. (Above right): Jason Das, USk correspondent from Brooklyn, New York, sketched while eating dinner in the Bairro Alto district.

(Above left): Pedro Cabral, USk correspondent from Lisbon. I hadn’t met Pedro before, he is a really nice guy. (Above right): Tia Boon Sim, USK correspondent from Singapore. Both sketched during the correspondent’s dinner. I met Tia last year, she’s an absolute inspiration.

(Above left): Alvaro Carnicero, USk correspondent from Cordoba, Spain. (Above right): Cristina Urdiales, USk Spain correspondent from Malaga. Both sketched during the correspondent’s dinner. Great to finally meet these two as I’ve enjoyed their work for ages.

(Above left): Alanna Randall, USk Portland correspondent from Portland, sketched at the morning meet-up. I met Alanna last year in Portland, so it was nice to see her in Lisbon. (Above right): Omar Jaramillo, USk correspondent originally from Ecuador, sketches all over (most recently Newfoundland, previously UAE and Sicily), sketched at dinner at Kaffeehaus on rua Anchietta. Really enjoy his watercolour style!

More to come!!!

from the lecture hall in lisbon

August 8, 2011August 8, 2011Leave a comment

At this year’s Urban Sketching Symposium in Lisbon the lectures were not small intimate affairs as they were last year, but larger ones to which all workshop attendees could attend, so nobody would miss out on one they might like. They were in the large lecture hall at FBAUL. Unfortunately I was only able to attend a few of them, partly due to long lunches going over on Lisbon time, partly due to the need to call home at those particular times, and from the sketchers I saw dotted around the streets at those times I got the impression many would much rather be out on the sunny streets sketching than inside a big lecture hall. However I was glad to have been able to make the ones I did get to. I particularly enjoyed Matthew Brehm’s lecture on the second day, “Sketching on Location: Teaching and Learning”, as he gave many very interesting tips on how we learn and how we can learn from the work of others. He made some very good and very positive and encouraging points; I enjoyed his talk in last year’s symposium on the history of urban sketching, and he was much quoted afterwards (notably by Lapin) that it was the ‘Woodstock of Sketching’ (and it really was; Portland was definitely an important starting point for greater sketching networks and events, the larger Lisbon symposium being the biggest example).

As were most other non-stop sketchers in attendance, I found I just had to draw and draw and draw while listening. I did make a lot of notes from Matt’s lecture, but still got some sketching in. I don’t know the man I sketched listening to the lecture but I’ve been experimenting with the way I draw people, and I drew a LOT of people in Lisbon, other sketchers mostly. I’m starting to enjoy sketching people more these days.

waiting on the corner staring through you in your different world

June 28, 2011June 28, 20115 Comments

More from Saturday’s Davis sketchcrawl… we moved from the station and went down Second Street, and I stopped outside Subway to sketch the little row where the Village Bakery is found. The restaurant there is Our House, which is, er, in the middle of, yes you get the idea. there used to be a nice Tapas place there, we went to a couple of times. For this sketch I decided to try out the Uni-ball Signo UM-151 most awesome pen ever, to see how it worked on the rougher watercolour moleskine paper, and how it really takes a wash. As expected, it did dull the wash a little, and being a thin nib it meant harder work on a larger drawing such as this (I have other pens that can do the job but it was a try-out) but on the whole it worked pretty well. I was sketching with Stockton artist Salvador Castío and Rio Vista artist Janice L-h. There is Salvador there in the drawing; I have followed his work for a while, and it was great to see it in real life, larger than expected, very strong lines and precise hatchwork (see his blog here). Janice’s sketching work was great, she had wonderful books of drawings from all over northern California, but her Davis sketches were amazing, an excellent style (check out Brightflyer, her Flickr site). I sketched her too, below, using purple micron pen with a background of the scribbles of paint from the previous drawing.

Also above, a motorcycle sketched on 2nd Street. I would have sketched the whole thing but I ran out of page. A few more sketches to come…

drawing davis on a hot june day

June 27, 2011June 27, 20112 Comments

Saturday was another ‘Let’s Draw Davis’ sketchcrawl, and after a very hot week several sketchers braved the sun and came out to sketch Davis. It was nice to see new faces, as well as some familiar ones too. One of the things I like about these sketchcrawls is the opportunity to not only sketch with other artists but also to talk about sketching, pens, paper, technique, sketching bags, etc. It’s always nice to know you’re not the only one who thinks about these things. It’s nice sketching down by the station. Apart from the odd train rolling in and rolling away again, it’s very quiet, and peaceful, with lots of places to sit and lots of shade. Anyway, for this sketchcrawl I was working in two sketchbooks – the main watercolour moleskine, and the small ‘red moley’, which I started last weekend (and am already halfway through). These few colourful pages are in the small red moley, quick sketches, people sketches, on pre-washed paper. Above, Rio Vista sketcher Janice sketches the station in the sun, flanked by Jana from Sacramento and Nathan from Davis (both also sketched below). Trying out something new! I like the effect of the purple sketch.

I have to draw the station of course. It’s a lovely old building, but dare I say it’s a bit of a bugger to draw. I have attempted it a few times, but always have trouble with the precision and location of the arches for some reason. Still as a reasonably quick sketch you get the idea and that is the point after all.

More to come!

Let’s Draw Davis Flickr group

sir fergie

June 15, 2011June 15, 20111 Comment

Sir Fergie. He’s happy because he looks a bit like John Craven in this drawing. The football season is over, and it has been a long long time since I drew anything in the football book started last year, despite having an amazing football season to report on (namely, Spurs in the Champions League). I thought I’d make up for it with a few drawings of the faces of the season. Well, one drawing. Sir Alex Ferguson won yet another Premier League title this year, Manchester United’s 19th (a new record), and though they ultimately lost the Champions League final (once again to Barcelona), he’s without a doubt cemented his place as the best and most consistent of all managers in English (maybe even British) football history. Fair play to him. Refs hate him, Arsene Wenger doesn’t send him Christmas cards, and the FA seem to have an automatic ‘fine Fergie for something’ reminder on their Outlook calendars. I tell you what, football will be very different when he’s gone. He is the embodiment of the manager truly being the Boss, and for those who argue with him, he has a hell of a lot of silverware, and he’s not afraid to throw it at you.

thank goodness for speed sketching

May 18, 2011May 18, 20115 Comments

Last week was the annual UC Davis “Thank Goodness For Staff” lunch event. It is always scheduled on a windy/sunny day in early May, so that it can coincide with my allergies being at their worst. Mine, and everyone else’s. I took my sketchbook with me this year, as my colleague Erica was going to perform another of her excellent self-penned songs (she’s an amazing singer). It was an exercise in speed-sketching; there were only about three minutes from start to finish to capture her, and subsequently it doesn’t look that much like her, but we learn by trying. I also tried to sketch the UC Davis chancellor, Linda Katehi, addressing staff and thanking goodness for them. Again, doesn’t look like her but you get the idea. she was actually on the stage, but I drew a close up, over the picture of the stage that I was drawing when the other performers were playing.

I sketched some others which were even briefer (didn’t bother scanning), and then two dancers took the stage in colourful Latin American costume. Cuban dancing, it was and they started to move about at a whirlwind pace. My wife said, you won’t be able to draw these. Challenge accepted – and I’m pleased with the result, because this is pretty much exactly as it looked to me, colourful, fast-paced and a lot of fun! anda again, only aboutthree minutes to do the whole thing. Must do more drawings like that…

saturday’s alright for sketching

May 16, 20114 Comments

The sketchers of Davis (and nearby areas) got together again last Saturday for the sixth ‘Let’s Draw Davis’ sketchcrawl. About thirteen of us gathered and spent part of the day sketching around the Davis Farmer’s Market, and Davis Central Park. It was the same day as the Tour de Cluck, hence the sketch of the woman with that chicken thing on her head. I sketched some of the other sketchers; above are Marlene, Jenna, Victor and Alison (though it really looks nothing like her; I haven’t quite mastered that angle yet!). I need to sketch people for practise, and have been practising lately. I also a local singer David Hafter, whose version of Leaving on a Jet Plane was really brilliant. There he is below, with the guitar.

Also singing in the park, above right, were the cast of Tommy, currently playing at UC Davis. They performed six of the rock opera hits, and were largely brilliant (the two singing above certainly were, though I did a bad job of the uniformed man’s face). I don’t know why they sang Pinball Wizard in such Mockney accents though, as Roger Daltrey never did. Still, you should go and see them, it looks like being a very exciting show.

And here is Allan, who I have sketched before on recent sketchcrawls, sketching cherries at the Farmer’s Market. Below, how it all looks on the page, for those who might be interested …

More to come!

brrrrr! drawing uc davis

February 20, 20111 Comment

After a week of winter storms and immense downpours, the weather calmed down a little (just a little) in time for the latest Let’s Draw Davis sketchcrawl. It still rained, but the main thing was that it was freezing cold! So not as many people came as on the last one, but a few of us braved the cold and got sketching. We met at the corner of 3rd and A – the rather optimistic plan was to sketch the UC Davis campus all day. I was sketching mostly in my new 59c micro-sketchbook and captured lots of little mini-sketches, some of which are below (I didn’t bother scanning all of them). The final sketch of the day, in a period when there was a little sun, was done at the MU bus station on campus, a little piece of England (the phone box above). That on was in my moleskine.

Allan Hollander, veteran Davis sketcher.

Helen Peng from China, plus some newspaper boxes sketched from a cafe.

Cynthia Sterling, sketcher from Napa.

Sketched at the meeting point, 3rd and A. Note the raindrops on my paper! (I was using a water soluble pen for a change).

The next Let’s Draw Davis sketchcrawl will be in March (probably the 19th or 20th) at the Arboretum… details soon! Hopefully, the weather will be a little warmer…