Spotlight Sunday - Chris Buczinsky

Spotlight Sunday is a series of interviews designed to introduce and highlight Chicago Urban Sketchers individually.  Now that our chapter has over 500 members it has become more of a challenge to meet every sketcher in person and have a conversation.  These posts concentrate on individuals and speak in their own words and sketches.


Chris Buczinsky - sketcher, artist, teacher
Interview by Alex Zonis

Alex Zonis: Thank you for agreeing to do a Spotlight interview, Chris.  Let's start with how you pronounce your last name. Several sketchers asked me… :)

Chris Buczinsky: You pronounce it in three syllables: BUZZ as in the sound a bee makes. INN as in an inn in Indonesia. And SKI as in the winter sport. BUZZ-INN-SKI.

How did you first hear about the Urban Sketchers community and what made you decide to join Urban Sketchers Chicago?

I first heard about urban sketching through the book The Art of Urban Sketching, which showed me just how good you could get at this game! But a blonde, Russian painter in my Tuesday night portrait drawing class (Alex Zonis) alerted me to the presence of a Chicago chapter. It was all very Romantic, like being let in on the French Resistance in WWII. 

When did you start sketching?

I began drawing while writing my dissertation for my Ph.D. in English literature at Northwestern. Graduate school overdeveloped my left-brain, threatening to permanently tilt me in that direction. Ever since then, I have needed drawing to balance me out. I started by drawing from solely my imagination. I illustrated a children’s book which I self-published, but when I realized I wouldn’t improve if I drew only from my imagination, I began drawing from life.  I started a regular sketching practice later, when my son was on the swim team in high school—about 7 years ago. I was more interested in the people watching than in the swimmers swimming—even when my own son was racing! I was a lousy swim Dad.

Why do you sketch?

I sketch to practice my drawing skills, of course. I do it for relaxation, partly. It also keeps me in the moment, slows me down, teaches me to attend to the world and to others.  It’s a nice record too—of day-to-day life and vacations—cities I’ve visited, plane flights I’ve endured, hikes I’ve taken. Ultimately, I’m trying to capture my feeling for the day-to-day beauty of things.

What are your favorite subjects to sketch?

I like people. All kinds. I love how we all can’t help broadcasting who we are without even speaking a word. I especially like children—but they are always moving so fast! I love old people because of all the lines in their faces—and they’re slower! And I love drawing women, all their wonderful hairstyles and patterned dresses.

I love festivals and fairs, the sensory overload of them. I’m a big fan of the Brookfield Zoo, and I reserve some sketchbooks just for my visits. My favorites are the giraffes, rhinos, and seabirds--especially the penguins. In the summer I garden. I grow vegetables, draw them, and then eat them; I get everything I can out of my veggies!

What are your favorite sketching tools?

I love my Derwent Sketching Pencil (HB). It has a large-diameter lead that I can sharpen for details but blunt for quick, mass drawing. It also has a nice heft—big enough for my big hands. I use it to rough-in quickly, and then go in with a Tombow 2B if I’m adding value or 2H if I’m just doing some line work or I want to add color.

I use Moleskin Watercolor Sketchbooks of all sizes. They open up nicely, they have a handy back pocket, and their covers repel water.  When I have time to watercolor, I use Holbein’s Pro Compo Travel Kit.  It holds twelve 5 ml tubes of watercolors, two brushes (2 and 8) with a brush holder, a pan, and a foldout palette. It’s totally cool, like an artist’s survival kit.

What is your “day” job? What do you do when you are not sketching?

I teach English—writing and literature—at Calumet College of St. Joseph, a small Catholic college south of Chicago, in Whiting, Indiana. I spend my days lesson planning, teaching, grading, advising, and attending meetings. It’s a great job for an artist. I have to read a lot, so I get to learn. Teaching young adults also helps keep me young. And I sketch at the meetings. I sketch my students when they take exams, and I hire students to sit for me, early in the morning, before the day starts. And of course I can devote my summers to art.

Do you have a website, blog or social media accounts where people can see more of your work?

I have a website, a blog of sorts, which I mainly post to during the summer months, when I am not teaching. It’s www.kryztographics.com. It’s the one place in my life where my drawing and writing come together in a meaningful way.

And something else.

I began my adult interest in art by illustrating for children and by making naïve paintings in acrylic sgraffito. This month I’ll be traveling to Guatemala on a mission trip with my school. I’ll be doing lots of art with the children in the village of La Labor. It will be my first time visiting Central America, and I’m really looking forward to it.

AZ: This interview was conducted before Chris went on his Mission trip. He is now back from it, and you can ask him about details when you see him on a sketch crawl. He has some cool stories!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and sketches with us, Chris! We will see you on our next sketching event, and I will see you at the next portrait class, thankfully not in 1940's French underground, but in Fine Arts building on Michigan Ave!

Spotlight Sunday – Muriel Christensen

Spotlight Sunday is series of interviews designed to introduce and highlight Chicago Urban Sketchers individually.  Now that our chapter has reached nearly 500 members it has become more of a challenge to meet every single member in person and have a meaningful conversation. These posts concentrate on individuals and speak in their own words.




Muriel Christensen

Interviewed by Alex Zonis

For this week's Spotlight Sunday I interviewed Chicago sketcher Muriel Christensen. I love Muriel’s sketches, portraits and her use of bold color. Thank you for answering my questions, Muriel!

Alex: How did you first hear about the Urban Sketchers community and what made you decide to join Urban Sketchers Chicago?

Muriel: On Facebook. I believe it was a pop up on the recommended page. I decided to join since I wanted to enhance my drawing skills. The best way is from live drawings and I'm not very comfortable doing that alone in public, so why not join a group and sketch together. I also wanted to do sketches other than portraits.

My husband is not a sketcher, but joins me regularly, since he enjoys venturing out to the places that we did not know exist. Maybe he'll pick up a sketchbook and a pencil one of these days.

Alex: When did you start sketching?

Muriel: I've been sketching and drawing since my childhood, don't remember the age. But mainly portraits or people and mainly from photos.

I remembered selling my sketches for 10 cents (Burmese currency) in my first grade and gotten into trouble with their parents. So, from first grade for sure.

I stopped sketching or doing art during my adulthood, busy with schooling and raising family. But started doing it seriously again after joining USK.

Alex: Funny about selling your sketches and getting in trouble! Did you have any formal training in art, drawing or painting?

Muriel: Unfortunately, no. Do the workshops count? I took several oil painting workshops at Palette and Chisel. My dad was a very good cartoonist and was a professional artist when he was single, but gave it up when he got married. His art only exists in my memory as all of his work was destroyed in the fire in Burma. I did not learn much from him as his style was more gestural, drawings which I foolishly did not appreciate at that time. He gave me some pointers when I was young, but never encouraged me to go into art. Not trying to be stereotype here, ‪but I think this was a common thing in Asian culture.

Elephants, Field Museum - Muriel Christensen

Alex: What are your favorite subjects to sketch?

Muriel: I'm into portraits and figurative. People are my favorite.

Alex: What are your favorite sketching tools?

Muriel: I've been experimenting with different tools. For sketching, micron pens, markers but started using watercolor after seeing several great watercolor sketches from USK members.

Alex: Do you have a website, blog or social media accounts where people can see more of your work?

Muriel: My website went live last December - www.murielart.net 

I also have a Facebook art page for friends to view. Link to FB page is https://www.facebook.com/MACPortraits or the FB page is called Muriel Christensen Art.

Carousel horses, Architectural Artifacts - Muriel Christensen

Alex: Does your regular “day” job involve drawing? Does drawing help you in your life?

Muriel: No, I wish. My job is mainly technical. I believe my drawing and artwork helps me release some of my day-job stress. It helps in a therapeutic way. Drawing helps me to see things and it helps me to appreciate every day ordinary objects.  It is now my visual journal or diary and I take the sketchbook wherever I go. 

Alex: Thank you for sharing, Muriel! I appreciate your time!

Spotlight Sunday - Jingo de La Rosa

Spotlight Sunday is series of interviews designed to introduce and highlight Chicago Urban Sketchers individually. Now that our chapter has reached nearly 500 members it has become more of a challenge to meet every single member in person and have a meaningful conversation. These posts concentrate on individuals and speak in their own words.

Jingo de La Rosa

Interviewed by Paul Ingold

Paul: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Jingo. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Jingo: Sure thing! I'm a freelance illustrator, and I typically work with commercial clients. Some of the companies I've worked with are Penguin-Random House, Duncan Toys and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. I'm also a teaching artist, which means exactly as it sounds: an artist who teaches, and it's actually a growing profession. Though I'm not officially employed as a teacher in a particular school, the job is pretty much the same as an art educator, minus the formal university training. The big difference is that it allows me the flexibility to teach anywhere based on need, whether it's a year-long residency in a private school, or even a one-and-done workshop in a church or community center. Lately, I've found myself being more involved in community-based projects.

Paul: Why do you sketch?

Jingo: I sketch for different reasons. Number one, I do it because I enjoy it and it's somewhat therapeutic. It's a nice escape from my client work, where I can just sit somewhere other than my studio, sketch something that interests me and just zone out. Second, it's a great way to stretch my observational skills, which is very important in my line of work as an artist.

Paul: I know that you do a lot of digital work for your day job. As a professional illustrator, does urban sketching help or play a role in this work? If so, do you have a favorite sketching tool or medium? 

Jingo: Apart from sharpening my observational skills, urban sketching provides an outlet where I get to revisit sketching with traditional tools, since I do work digitally a lot in my day job. I typically sketch with pencils in varying grades, but right now I'd like to venture out and use other mediums. In fact, I just bought a set of oil pastels, which I plan to use for sketching once the weather gets consistently warmer.

Paul: How did you first hear about the Urban Sketchers community and what made you decide to join Urban Sketching Chicago?

Jingo: The life of a working artist is often solitary, so I was pretty desperate to find a community of artists that I can relate to when I first moved to Chicago. Thanks to a quick Google search, I found the Urban Sketching Chicago Facebook page, and without any hesitation, I sent in a request so I can be included in the group. Thankfully, my request was accepted, and I started to join the sketch meet-ups whenever I was available. Even though I now live in Indianapolis, I try to make an effort to go to the events since it's only an easy 3-hour drive. Plus, the meet-ups are just great fun. Everyone is genuinely nice and very supportive.

Paul: What is your favorite place to sketch?

Jingo: When I lived in Chicago, I loved sketching on the train. I just love the feeling of being among strangers, and sketching faces I'll probably never see again. I like making up stories in my head about the people I sketch, and to me, that is half the fun. I still do it whenever I visit Chicago, since I'm there a lot for conventions and conferences that I attend. Now that I'm in Indy, I sketch in my favorite coffee shop, because sketching is so much better with caffeine!

Paul: You sent us four really cool urban sketches. What inspired them? Why are these scenes special to you?

Jingo: (Sue) This one is special to me because of the many times I've visited the Field Museum, I was never able to sketch Sue. When USk Chicago did their meetup at the Field in February this year, I thought it would be a mortal sin not to draw Sue, so I did!

Jingo: (Repeal Restaurant) I decided to completely jump out of my comfort zone for this one. I normally sketch in pencil, so I got rid of all my fears and just sketched with an inking pen and markers. Also, architecture is my weak spot, so this gave me the opportunity to work on that.

Jingo: (Two ladies chatting) When I first started sketching people, I was more focused on their likeness, so my sketches appeared more "realistic" in a sense. The more I did that, the more I realized that I was losing the subject's essence, which I really don't want to do. So for this one, I wanted to capture what makes these people interesting, rather than pinning down an exact likeness.

Paul: Thanks again for participating in this interview Jingo! For those that would like to see more of Jingo's work... here's his website and social media links:

www.jingoillo.com
Twitter: @jingoillo
Instagram: @jingoillo
Here's a recent "Indie Creative" short film of Jingo

Spotlight Sunday – Cathy Turley

Spotlight Sunday is series of interviews designed to introduce and highlight Chicago Urban Sketchers individually. Now that our chapter has reached nearly 500 members it has become more of a challenge to meet every single member in person and have a meaningful conversation. These posts concentrate on individuals and speak in their own words.

Meet Cathy Turley!

Cathy Turley

Interviewed by Barbara Weeks

Barbara Weeks: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Cathy. Tell us a little about yourself.

Cathy Turley: I’m originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan. (“Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo!”) I came to Chicago to go to Moody Bible Institute. I’ve lived in Chicago for the better part of 25 years. I am a graphic designer/production artist at an advertising agency. I’ve always considered myself artistically inclined, but not something I have developed regularly.

BW: What prompted you to join USk Chicago?

CT: Somehow I stumbled across the Instagram feed of USk Chicago (@uskchicago) just before the Sketch Seminar last summer. I liked the sketches I saw on the feed and when I heard about all the giveaways for the seminar, I thought, that’s a really great deal! Then I attended the seminar and I got excited about drawing again.

BW: Why do you sketch?

CT: I love it. I like trying to accurately represent something I see. It uses a different part of my brain – a different type of focusing. Plus, I like getting better and meeting other artists.

BW: Do you have a favorite sketching medium? What do you like about it?

CT: I enjoy using pencil, followed by watercolors and then black ink. Right now I’m using a student watercolor palette and LePen Drawing pens. I had tubes of paints in college but they're all dried out. I figure it’s good just to sketch with any medium at hand. I, also, like the watercolor sticks we received in our swag bags at the seminar. I want to try the Velasquez palette, just three colors, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, and Yellow Ochre. I like the portability. 

CT: "I enjoy ornate buildings and architectural details."

BW: If you could sketch anywhere in the world where would that be?

CT: I would be a tourist artist in Paris: little folding seat, travel easel, beret(!), sitting on the Seine sketching the city. My husband and I went to Paris for our 5th anniversary. When I saw the green booksellers booths and artists along the river, I got choked up. I said, “it’s just like the movies”. It would be a dream come true to travel through Europe and sketch. Oh, Rome!

BW: What artist(s) have had the most influence on you? Why?

CT: My watercolor instructor, Jim, at the Lansing Community College in Michigan. He gave us an overview of art history, as well as teaching us watercolor techniques.

BW: We know you’re on FaceBook, do you have other social media accounts that you’d like to share?

CT: I love Instagram. Take a look: @CathyTurley. I like graffiti, architecture, knitting and drawing.

CT: "I'm working on drawing people more accurately."

BW: Cathy is a loyal attendee at our monthly sketch meets. She’s introduced herself to us, so be sure to say hi if you see her at our third weekend of the month sketch meets!

Wonder where we’re meeting next? Click on the “Sketch Crawls” tab in the toolbar. I hope you'll join us! 

Spotlight Sunday - Debbe Rigney-Hays

Spotlight Sunday is new series of interviews designed to introduce and highlight Chicago Urban Sketchers individually. Now that our chapter has reached nearly 500 members it has become more of a challenge to meet every single member in person and have a meaningful conversation. These posts will concentrate on individuals and speak in their own words.

And now - spotlight on Debbe Rigney-Hays!
Interviewed by Alex Zonis

Debbe Rigney-Hays

Alex Zonis: Why do you sketch, Debbe?

Debbe Rigney-Hays: I sketch because I like the quiet of it, the focus of my attention, seeing things I’d never notice otherwise, which is, in the true sense of the word, awesome. I also like learning tools and concepts of drawing and painting. I also like the journey of finding out what suits me best and seeing how I improve. I have never had art classes or drawn until Sketchbook Skool two years ago. My creativity was used in different places.

AZ: What is your favorite sketching tool?

DRH: My favorite sketching tool is the Lamy Safari fountain pen with my creations of gray or sepia DeAtramentis document ink or a water-soluble pen with a Pentel water brush, I like how watery they are. I am learning watercolor, but I’m not coordinated enough, yet, to use it much out and about, so when I want color, I use Faber-Castell watercolor pencils.

AZ: What is your favorite place to sketch?

DRH: I love to sketch in restaurants and cafes, busy places where I can easily sit and look around. Sometimes I want to draw the people. Sometimes a building I see from the window. Sometimes it is an architectural element that catches my eye. After the Chicago Symposium’s class on drawing figures in motion, I’ve gotten more courage to try. Still working on it. I hope to sketch more.

AZ: Debbe, you sent us two beautiful sketches. What inspired them? Why are these scenes special to you?

DRH: This past Christmas, my gift was an overnight in Chicago, by myself. I’m from downstate, with easy Amtrak access. Last month I had a great time poking around, exploring. I loved the old Chicago Library and had to breathe it in another time, but now, as the Cultural Center. The dome is overwhelming, so I drew some of the arches. I enjoy quotes, so I added some of the Center’s beautiful quotes. Last year’s Symposium classes on the Velazquez Palette and drawing architecture, encouraged me a lot for this sketch. We worked on the arches at the Newberry Library in the Velazquez Palette and in the  Architecture class, I discovered I don’t “have” to draw the entire building, just an interesting portion, if I want to. I can make it easier on myself and therefore, more fun!

Chicago Cultural Center by Debbe Rigney-Hays

DRH: After last year’s Symposium and my very exciting class on how to draw people in motion, I have been pushing myself to try this more often. So, when, I was in DC visiting family, I sketched the people around the cafe gift shop of the National Gallery. There is an open area for people to walk and children to stretch their legs, perfect for drawing people. (I also drew the Degas dancers upstairs. I had that gallery all to myself and could relax a little, but that’s another story.)

National Gallery by Debbe Rigney-Hays

AZ: Debbe lives in Galesburg in West Central Il, near Peoria. It takes her 3 hours by Amtrak train to come to Chicago for our sketch crawls. Thank you for opening our new series, Debbe, and for sharing your sketches and thoughts. Everyone, be sure to stop by and say Hello next time you see Debbe at a sketch crawl.