Urban Sketching Tells The Story of Our Surroundings

USK Chicago SketchCrawl at Blick Art Materials, Evanston, IL: 
In case some of you missed the story behind this sketch, this great old 1958 Triumph TR3 was sitting across from Clark's on Clark Street in Evanston. Thank you Lee Solock for pointing it out to me smile emoticon. 

I met the owner of the car, a woman named Amanda, when I was about halfway done with the sketch and she and her friend came out of Clark's. As they loaded into the car, I thanked her for letting me sketch her car. Surprised, she asked to see the sketch (which was only halfway done at the time) and she told me that this car has always been in the family and it was most recently her late father Chuck's. In her words "I'd really rather have my dad, but at least I get to drive his car around." He also loved to eat so now she honors her dad by driving this car out to eat someplace. 

I told her that now I was honoring him by sketching his car. Actually leaving the scene required a can of starting ether from the glove box and undoing the hood latches. Isn't it nice when a lady knows her way around a vintage car like this?

After I had finished this sketch, I scanned it and sent a copy to Amanda and she told me the rest of the story. It turns out that this little car was recently shipped in a U-Haul from Wisconsin (because a normal car carrier is too wide) and that I happened to capture this car on its maiden voyage since that trip. She said that the trip to Clark's was intentional and she had no idea that I would be there to artistically record this special day. 

Urban Sketchers Manifesto (from UrbanSketchers.org)

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