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Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Every Sketch Tells a Story #usk10x10

Whether you're telling a little story, a medium tale, or an epic in your sketches, add to your visual vocabulary with our 10 talented instructors in our "10Years 10 Classes" program. 


 Registration opens on March 15                           Classes start April 15. 


LEADING THE WAY

Little Stories: Up Close and Personal


April 15,  "Putting an Idea or Feeling into a Sketch"           Instructor: Fred Polito


My initial interest in sketching started as I watched my Dad, an architect, render a tree in the background, after he had drawn the front elevation of a new house. The tree appeared as if by magic! Later, while studying architecture, a common requirement in all design classes was to produce sketch books done on location. Starting an architectural practice, I supplemented my income by producing renderings for other architects. (Now, most architectural renderings are done on a computer.) All that hand drawing, and Urban Sketchers, has rekindled my interest in sketching. Sketching, for me, has always been about an idea or feeling.



 April 22,  "Little Stories: Animals"                                        Instructor: Deidre Fox


She has exhibited at Hyde Park Art Center, Betty Rymer Gallery, Evanston Art Center, and the Swedish American Museum, among other venues. She has been awarded grants from the City of Chicago/Illinois Arts Counsel and was included in New American Paintings Midwest Edition in 2012. Her work has been curated into White Columns Artists Registry and The Drawing Center Viewing Program. Residencies include Ragdale Foundation, the Center for Books and Paper Arts, the Chicago Open Studios Program, and the Cliff Dwellers Club. Public collections include the Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection and the Center for Books and Paper Arts. 
She received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and her BS in Materials Science & Engineering from Northwestern University.





 April 29,  "Details, Ornaments, and Objects, Oh My!"          Instructor: Mark Jones



Mark is professional designer, illustrator, graphic recorder and concept artist Mark is an architect in Chicago who works at the firm HED. Mark graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago and learned his drawing and sketching skills through those architecture classes. The professors emphasized the importance of documenting the environment by requiring students to maintain an active sketchbook. Filling it with ideas, inspirational quotes and designs as well as using it as a journal. Mark spent his junior year studying abroad in Versailles, France. While there he documented his travels through Europe in pencil sketches and watercolors while gaining exposure and feedback from visiting professors. Mark was drawn to the medium of color pencils while working on his thesis project and has used it predominantly since.






May 6,  "Personalities of Urban Vehicles"                               Instructor: Wes Douglas


I am a professional designer, illustrator, graphic recorder and concept artist working in the Chicago area for the past 30 years. I have created new concept designs for SC Johnson, Sara Coffee and Foods, Philips Oral Health, Allstate Insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, CNH (construction and agricultural equipment) and many others. More recently I have been a member and co-admin for the Chicago chapter of Urban Sketchers since 2013 and lead 3 sketch workshops on Urban Sketching with Markers.












Coming Up Next: 

Meet the Instructors for Medium Stories: Expanding Your View 



Registration opens on Wednesday, March 15!
Classes begin April 15!






***PRESS RELEASE***

For Release February 16, 2017
Contact:
Wes Douglas, USK International Correspondent
wes317@gmail.com, 630-563-6414

Toni Antonetti, PR Chicago
toni@prchicago.com, 857-949-0097


Urban Sketchers 8th International Symposium
to be held July 26-29 in Chicago

Internationally-known artists capture the city one drawing at a time


Hundreds of urban sketchers from around the world will be drawing and painting the sights of the city during the Urban Sketchers 8th International Symposium, to be held July 26-29 at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Urban Sketchers is dedicated to raising the artistic, storytelling and educational value of location drawing; promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel.

More than 40 internationally-known artists are leading sessions for urban sketchers of all skill levels on techniques, principles and concepts of drawing on location. The 36 workshops will be held at various downtown parks and plazas; more than 30 demonstrations, as well as lectures, panels and sketchcrawls round out the program.

A free public sketchcrawl, where sketchers meet to draw and paint at several locations, will be held on Saturday, July 29 at 2:30 pm. The starting point is Goodman Center Roosevelt University, the sketch crawl will conclude at Sir Georg Solti Garden with a final grand photo.

The symposium brings this passion to draw urban sketching communities to a different part of the world every year. Symposium host cities have included Portland, Oregon (2010); Lisbon, Portugal (2011); Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2012); Barcelona, Spain (2013); Paraty, Brazil (2014); Singapore (2015) and Manchester, UK (2016).

Urban Sketchers International
Website: http://www.urbansketchers.org
Twitter: @USkSymposium
Twitter: @urbansketchers
Instagram: usksymposium

Urban Sketchers Chicago
Website: http://urbansketchers-chicago.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @USk_Chicago

Instagram: USKChicago












Wednesday, March 1, 2017

10 Reasons to Register for 10 Years-10 Classes in Chicago



We are inviting all sketchers celebrate Urban Sketchers' 10th Anniversary by attending 10 on-location Chicago classes with our knowledgeable Urban Sketching instructors and, in the spirit of Urban Sketchers, sketch our world, one drawing at a time.


10 Reasons to Register for 10 Years – 10 Classes

  1. Join with other sketchers from around the world in celebration of Urban Sketchers’ 10th anniversary. #usk10x10 
  2. Be inspired by other artists, tools, and styles. 
  3. Warm-up and brush-up your skills for the Urban Sketchers 8th International Symposium. 
  4.  Can’t make the Symposium? Join us here! 
  5.  Explore Chicago with a different instructor once a week for 10 weeks. 
  6.  Learn a new skill or two and practice using it. 
  7.  Receive personal attention from talented instructors. 
  8. Artists like athletes, musicians, and actors, need to practice to improve and hone our performance. 
  9. Become a better storyteller through sketching. 
  10. Show and share your world one drawing at a time. #usk10x10


Don't miss out! Mark your calendar!
Registration opens on Wednesday, March 15!
Classes begin April 15!

See the course schedule here:


  • All registration information will be posted here on this blog.
  • Registration and payments will be taken through the Bookwhen site.
  • There will be options to use a credit card or a PayPal account. 
  • Choose all ten workshops and a 10% discount will be applied automatically!


Look for updates and information about 10 Years 10 Classes in Chicago here:










Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Urban Sketchers Chicago Comes To Fermilab


Where:          Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)
When:           Sunday March 19, 2017, 12:00pm – 3:00pm    
What:           Let's Sketch with Urban Sketchers Chicago and Fermilab

Fermilab advances particle physics research using a range of techniques, asking different questions and using different tools. All ultimately aim at the same scientific goal: a complete understanding of the laws of nature and the cosmos.  For more information  http://www.fnal.gov

How:   For Urban Sketchers, simply show your photo ID and let the security officer know you are “meeting Georgia Schwender at Wilson Hall.” Urban Sketchers Wes Douglas and Peggy Condon will also meet you there.

We will meet in Wilson Hall (15-story high-rise building resembling the letter “A.”) by the reception desk in the Atrium. You'll see it sticking up off the prairie. Weather-permitting, some of you may wish to sketch outside. There are wild buffalo just to the north on the property.

A valid photo ID is required to enter the Fermilab site, and you must also tell the security officer the purpose for your visit. All U.S. state-issued IDs are accepted at the security checkpoints.
Directions: Fermilab's main entrance is located at the intersection of Kirk Road and Pine Street in Batavia, Illinois, about 45 miles west of Chicago. Delivery trucks need to use the entrance at Kirk Road and Wilson Street. There is no street number assigned to this entrance location. When using a GPS navigation unit, please enter the intersection as your destination. Signs posted near the intersection will point you to the Fermilab entrance.
From Chicago, travel west on the Eisenhower (I-290) to I-88 (80 cents). Exit I-88 at the Farnsworth exit, north or right (toll). Farnsworth becomes Kirk Road. Follow Kirk Road to Pine Street. Turn right at Pine Street, Fermilab's main entrance.
From O'Hare Airport, take I-90 east toward Chicago. After just a couple of miles, take I-294 south, toward Indiana (toll). From I-294 take the exit to I-88, the east-west tollway, toward Aurora (toll). From I-88, take the Farnsworth exit (toll). Turn north onto Farnsworth. Farnsworth becomes Kirk Road. Follow Kirk Road to Pine Street. Turn right on Pine Street, the main entrance to Fermilab.

From Midway Airport, Take Cicero Avenue north to the Stevenson Expressway South (I-55) to I-355 North (toward northern suburbs). Take I-355 to the East-West tollway (I-88). Take I-88 West for approximately 10 miles to the Farnsworth North exit and turn right. Travel 2.9 miles to the Pine Street entrance to the Fermilab site.

BY TRAIN:
You can also take the Metra UP West line to Geneva.

NOTE: If you decide on this option, please be sure to let Wes Douglas (wed317@gmail.com) or Peggy Condon know so that we can pick you up and drive you to Fermilab.