sketching the urban sketchers

the first urban sketching symposium in portland is over, and I'm back to barcelona (with some insomnia, I'm still awake at 4am…). it seems to be already far away, and I look at my sketchbook to remind me the amazing moments we all spent together. only one regret: it was to short.
it was also a great opportunity to meet a lot of urban sketchers, and for many of them, for the first time. but I had the strange feeling that we already known each other, from sharing our sketching for the last year and a half.

gabi, the seattle sketcher and isabel from mauritania just after my arrival in seattle.

gérard who came from liège, belgium.

liz & borromini from australia, at their first week of a very long trip.


tia and her husband albert from singapore.

pete and his "incroyable tenu de crayon"! the most british of the meeting.

simo for her birthday (I want a birthday like this one, full of sketchers from all over the world).

matt on his way back from roma, the hippie sketcher.

kumi from tokyo.

shiho from los angeles.

jason and jesse from brooklyn.

veronica from new york, on her way back from barcelona and paris (and still jet-lagged…).
and isabel again for her last evening in seattle, doing a portrait duel.

sorry laura and kurt, I did not catch you this time, we will have to meet again ;)

a real pleasure to meet all of you,
best wishes, and happy holydays, I'm leaving for bretagne.

blogged by lapin

urban lines

On Friday morning, day two of the Symposium, sketching with Lapin's urban line group down by the Steel Bridge. Amazing work on display. I just noticed how this image kinda sorta resembles the urban sketchers logo!

Symposium Participant: Janene Walkky

Although urban sketching is very new to me, I have enjoyed drawing from a young age.  Graphite has been my medium of choice through the years, but I began to yearn for color and to be freed from the eraser so in the last year I launched into sketching directly with ink and using water colors.  I like this new phase of living dangerously!  I am hoping to improve my line quality and and the 'sketchiness' of my drawings, amongst many other things, during the symposium.

I am fortunate enough to live here in Portland, where I am surrounded by such abundant and varied natural beauty--mountains, seashore, desert, forest--all within a short distance.  If symposium attendees have the opportunity to travel in Oregon, I recommend the Columbia Gorge with it's many beautiful waterfalls, the coast, and Mount Hood and the rolling hills of our wine country.  Even if you stay in Portland, the city has many beautiful parks to visit and to sketch.  You probably already know about Portland's many coffee shops, excellent restaurants including food carts, and neighborhood shopping districts (NE Alberta Street and N Mississippi Street are my favorites).

I started my own landscape design business about ten years ago, partially because it would keep me drawing.  I do all of my drafting by hand, and illustrate my ideas for clients with sketches.  Having a job that keeps a pencil in my hand, and outdoors a lot, is the best!  Oh, I want to mention that I am part of the Portland Sketchers group that meets regularly to sketch around the city.

I hope you all enjoy your stay in Portland!

Portland through the eyes of local urban sketchers

To get in the mindset of drawing Portland this summer, we are asking local artists to share their experience. We begin this series of posts with Bill Sharp, a painter and urban sketcher with an affinity for industrial landscapes. Bill got his BFA in painting and printmaking from the University of Delaware and moved to Portland in 1981.

"Having grown up in the suburban sprawl of the east coast, I love living and drawing in a small metropolis. Portland has the feel of a city but is small enough to be able to get to know it intimately. With great public transportation, bike friendliness and the individual characteristics of the different neighborhoods, it's custom made for sketchcrawling.

I'm particularly interested in industrial scenes, that don't necessarily appeal to everyone, and I like to set off spontaneously, so often end up on solo sketching sessions. Some of my favorite places to go include the NW industrial zones near or along the rivers.

Sitting on the loading dock of an abandoned warehouse with my sketchbook is my idea of a relaxing Sunday morning."

You can see more of Bill's art on flickr and on his blog Pocket Sketchbook Meditations.