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 – Susan Hanley

Interview by Wes Douglas, USk Chicago

For our Spotlight Sunday featured artist, we are talking with Susan Hanley, an artist who joined Urban Sketchers Chicago just about a year ago. It was at the 2015 Chicago Sketch Seminar where I first met her and just now discovered that it was where she first joined our group. Since then, Susan has been prolific with her posting of sketches, not only in the USk Chicago Facebook group, but also on Instagram (@snh2030). 

It would seem that Urban Sketching has helped rekindle Susan's passion for sketching and painting and her confidence is soaring. She was one of the artists who participated in the Blicks Lincoln Park Art Show last year. 

Here is what else I learned about Susan and some of the sketches she is sharing with us today.

WD: Hi Susan. Thanks for chatting with me here today. My first question is: Can you tell us how you learned about urban sketching and what convinced you to join Urban Sketchers Chicago?

I learned about Urban Sketching from my son Tom who is a member. He was a student at the American Academy of Art and saw a presentation. I reached out to Andrew [Banks] and joined the group, but never attended any of the events. I actually felt a little intimidated to join in on the events and wasn't sure what to expect. When the announcement of the Seminar came out I decided that was my time to join in. It was a perfect way for me to learn more about the group and urban sketching. It's an extremely encouraging and welcoming group of people and the Seminar quelled any nerves I had about participating in future events. In fact, I haven't missed any since!

WD: Well I hope you are not intimidated now. It's always fun to see what you will sketch next. Why do you sketch? And how does it help you?

I sketch for several reasons; wanting to capture a scene, work out an idea or stress relief.  The main reason, however, is that it completely engages a different side of my brain, a side that doesn’t get a ton of exercise on a day-to-day basis. The collaboration of eye to brain to hand is always fresh and interesting. Put different materials into the mix and there are never any two experiences that are exactly alike. In other words, never boring.

Sketching is always challenging for me and presents little problems that I have to solve. I love the aspect of the unexpected. I have an image in my head of what the finished sketch will look like and it inevitably takes a different trail. One truth I’ve found is that I’m happy with the end result when I let it take on a life of it’s own and follow the detours. When I force a picture to stay on track and to look like what I had imagined is exactly how it winds up looking… forced.

Sketching also helps me fully engage with the environment I’m in. I remember the sounds, the smells, the overheard conversations that are
all absorbed while sitting and sketching.

WD: What is your favorite sketching tool?

This is a very tough question. I start every sketch lately with a mechanical pencil. My recent favorite is an Alvin Draftmatic. That paired with a kneaded eraser gets general proportions and composition.

WD: Yes, I can see how much you feature that pencil in your posts. Those mechanical pencils are especially good when you don't want the lines to flair out on you. Where is your favorite place to sketch?

The good old coffee shop is my favorite spot to sketch. There’s coffee, someplace out of the way to sit and tons of people on their cell phones not noticing me sketching them.  Next favorite is doctor’s waiting rooms. Not that I enjoy waiting for doctors, but the sketching is a perfect distraction and a way of feeling productive while at the hands of someone else’s schedule.

WD: I agree Susan. Sometimes when I see that other people are having a bad day, it puts me in a better mood. So I see you sent me a few wonderful sketches. What was the inspiration for the sketches you selected?

The sketches I selected are special because not only am I happy with the end results, they capture a moment in time and by sketching them the memories are even more vivid than if I’d taken a photo or just committed them to memory.

WD: I was so excited to check out the sketches you sent. Why are these scenes special to you?

“Shakespeare Garden” is special to me because it’s a spot I’ve been sketching since I was in high school growing up in Evanston. Except for some trees growing much taller and blocking part of the scene, it’s mostly unchanged. It was a warm summer day and I can transport back to the sounds of the cicadas and the heat of the sun just by looking at this sketch.

“Comet Café” is a favorite diner in Milwaukee. From the booths you can observe the people seated at the counter unobserved. I love all of the textures and details of the interior and the people tend to linger a while making it easier to finish their gestures.

“Newberry Library” is the result of the Urban Sketch Seminar on the Velasquez Palette. This was my first experience with a limited watercolor palette and it was a picture that really felt like it had a mind of it’s own, but in the end I really appreciate all of the things that 3 pigments and some water achieved.

Wildwood Water Tower” is a scene I drive by often. I love the structure of older water towers. They remind me of modern day ruins. The day was gray and stark, but the sketch isn’t bleak and that reflects how it felt. For me it captures a feeling of spring about to return.

WD: What do you do when you are not sketching? Does your day job incorporate your sketching skills?

My day job doesn’t incorporate any sketching skills. However, I feel like the problem solving that you develop in sketching does help me. I can pull back, see a bigger picture and decide what I want to focus on. All skills you hone in sketching.

WD: We are so glad to have artists like you, Susan, in our group because you have found an active group of friends who have helped you to rekindle your love for sketching and painting. Thank you, Susan, for sharing your time and your sketches with us.

Spotlight Sunday is series of interviews designed to introduce and highlight Chicago Urban Sketchers individually. Now that our chapter has reached 500 members it has become more of a challenge to meet every member in person and have a conversation. These posts concentrate on individuals and speak in their own words and sketches. All sketches are ©2016 Susan Hanley. 

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!