Tag: portland

pearly afternoon

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a portland fire hydrant

Day one of the Urban Sketching Symposium continued. After Lapin’s inspiring lecture about an sketchbook illustration project he recently did for the French wine town of St Emilion, we set forth once more to sketch some urban architecture with Simonetta Cappecchi, the Urban Sketcher from Naples. We were in Jameson Square, but I kind of wandered of on my own a little, looking for things around the Pearl District to get me into the sketching groove. Above is another fire hydrant, this time sketched in a group sketchbook that was being passed around from sketcher to sketcher to each add something. I have a thing about fire hydrants. Answers on a postcard.

I settled at the corner of the square for a sketch of an interesting corner, a building shell converted into some retail and arts space, with the Portland Union railway station in the background. I was going to add colour, but decided to keep it black and white.

jameson square

Portland is a cool place. I wandered about the Pearl district looking for a Portlandesque vista, and found a couple of views that jumped out on me. I don’t recall what that big building by the river with the water-tower on top is called. Answers on a postcard. A passer-by who stopped to chat did tell me, but I stupidly didn’t write it down.

pdx10 old water towerbroadway bridge

I know what that bridge is called though: Broadway Bridge. Bright red steel against a blue sky, you can’t go wrong with that. I liked hw I was looking upon it from what seemed to be riverside wasteland, and it reminded me a little of what parts of the south bank of the Thames looked like when I was a kid, undeveloped but on its way.

Symposium blog: http://pdx2010.urbansketchers.org/

the streets and the thousands of colours

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USK PDX 2010

And so, the 1st International Urban Sketching symposium officially began. I liked staying at the Mark Spencer hotel, because most of the non-Portland sketchers were staying there too, and it was nice to meet new people at breakfast. At the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), Gabi Campanario opened proceedings and we set off on our field sketching sessions. You could taste the level of excitement!

pdx10: gabi introducing symposium portland fire hydrant

My first session was Urban Colour with Jason Das. Our group walked a couple of blocks, and I drew the fire hydrant above (I love fire hydrants, and here they are orange).  I was surprised to find that Suzanne Cabrera was sketching with us; I hadn’t realised she’d be at the Symposium! I’ve followed her work for years so it was a pleasure to meet her in person. Jason’s session was quiteNW 11th and Hoyt interactive, which I liked, and made us focus on colour in different ways. It was a particularly grey morning though. While I was sketching, a lady came out of the store in front of which I was positioned and asked if I’d like some work. She wanted to know if I would be interested in painting the big rock she uses to kep the shop door open, in the style of a ladybird (and she said ‘ladybird’, not ladybug, becasue she was British, though she didn’t know I was). Paint a rock like a ladybird? In watercolours with a tiny brush? Not for any money, like, just in case I wanted something to do she said (because I didn’t look busy). I politely declined.

After the first quick sketch, we all did a drawing using a lighter coloured pen than we’d normally use – I used a fairly light blue – and then coloured it. I wasn’t much pleased with my results (partly because I didn’t finish the colour), but it’s all about trying stuff out. I do like drawing street corners though. There it is on the right.

The next exercise was to draw the same scene twice, once with normal colour, and the second with different colour. I liked the idea of this one, and it certainly allowed you to break out of the bounds a little, but I think it worked a little better for others than for me.

urban colour

The final exercise was a winner, and one which made some people understandably nervous. We were to draw a picture in our own sketchbooks of any scene, and then hand the sketchbook to a partner, who would then colour it in themselves. This was very interesting. First of all, the person I was partnered with, Robin Carlson, originally came from, of all places, Davis! Drawing the linework was a little nervy for me, as I knew it would then be scrutinised by someone else, but once the sketchbooks were swapped it was very liberating! I loved colouring in a different book, it was so liberating. Several people said the same – the hard work was already done! But I was so pleased with how robin had coloured my book – see below. The colours are so vibrant, and really leap out (mine are usually a little muted), and complement each other so well. I particularly like the values on the tree. Thanks Robin! This could be a fun exercise, like an online art exchange, you draw something and hand it over to other online sketchers to add their own colour or tints; this is something worth exploring.

drawn by pete, coloured by robin

urban sketching in portland

Thus ended session one. There wasn’t a massive amount of time for lunch, before the lectures began…

Symposium blog: http://pdx2010.urbansketchers.org/

urban sketchers of the world

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gabi sketches me

The Urban Sketchers Correspondents met up at Henry’s Tavern on the night before the Symposium kicked off, and it was an instant whirlwind of sketching minds. Everyone knew everyone, though for many it was the first time we’d met. Five continents were represented right there: Liz (and Borromini Bear) from Australia, Isabel from Mauritania (though she’s Portuguese), Lapin from Barcelona (though he’s French), Gerard from Belgium, Simonetta from Italy, Kumi from Tokyo, Tia from Singapore, and the US contingent of Jason (Brooklyn), Veronica (NYC), Shiho (LA), Matthew (Idaho), Laura (North Carolina), Frank (Seattle), Gabi (Seattle, though he’s Spanish) and me (Davis, though I’m from London).

And I sketched people! Well, I had promised myself that I would try more, and here I didn’t have to worry about it being ok. I wasn’t the only one who doesn’t normally sketch folk on the spot. I certainly need practice and to find a technique I’m comfortable with, so i gave it a try, mostly in my little brown paper book, and picked up a few pointers. Above are Gabi Campanario, the tireless Urban Sketchers founder, Gerard Michel, of whose Liege drawings I am a huge fan (they remind me of my year in Charleroi), and a group of urban sketchers (the one in the hat is Prof. Frank Ching, who told me I’d drawn him looking like a Columbian gangster). I was sketched a few times too; there is Lapin above, sketching me holding my pen in a funny way, “l’incroyable tenu de crayon de pete”, he called it. There’s a name for a new book!

The highlight was probably looking through Gerard Michel‘s jaw-dropping sketchbook. Seeing it online, it is unbelievable just how good it is, but in person right in front of you it is just incredible, and also surreal, work you know so well is right there, right in front of you. I can say that about pretty much all of the sketchbooks I saw that night, certainly. Sufficiently humbled and inspired in equal measure, I went back to the hotel, and spent midnight drawing from my bedroom window.

night view from mark spencer hotel

…portland

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steel bridge sketches

When I have my breath back, I will start posting on my (overwhelming) experiences at the 1st International Urban Sketching Symposium in Portland (and how international!!! five continents represented). Above is the result of Barcelona-based illustrator Lapin‘s ‘urban line’ field sketching session down by the Steel Bridge – such incredible talent all around. I flew back brimming with interesting ideas, which will at some point be appearing on this very site (I wrote long pages of new creative ideas).

the view from my room

Symposium blog: http://pdx2010.urbansketchers.org/

Twitter hashtag #uskpdx

see you in portland

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Exciting times in the world of those people who go outside with a pen and sit down and draw things. The first Urban Sketching Symposium will be held at the end of July in Portland, Oregon, a global event drawing urban sketchers from, er, across the globe. Hosted by the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) and Urban Sketchers (USk), it will be quite the event. 

urban sketching symposium 2010

Click on the poster to go to the event’s web site. This will hopefully be the first of many such global get-togethers, and a great opportunity to learn from and be inspired by some great illustrators. The third day of the symposium will coincide with the 28th Worldwide Sketchcrawl on July 31.

I’ve never been to Portland, Oregon, though my wife has family there. I’ve been told I’d really like it. I’ve never been to Portland in Dorset either, and I’ve always wanted to, mostly because of that old kids TV show “Portland Bill“, but also because the people of Portland, Dorset, have a famous fear of the word ‘rabbit‘, apparently. I like that.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I am going. I’m quite excited! I’ll see you there.