Spotlight Sunday – Ginny Pitre-Hay

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 member in person and have a conversation. These posts concentrate on individuals and speak in their own words and sketches.

Meet Ginny Pitre-Hay!
Interviewed by Barbara Weeks

Barbara Weeks: Welcome Ginny! Thank you for letting us shine the spotlight on you!
Let’s start with your telling us a little bit about yourself and how you discovered your love of art.


Ginny Pitre-Hay: My first memory of art was as a child watching my mother draw a ballerina and an angel. It was mesmerizing watching these figures appear out of nowhere—pure magic. Not surprisingly I studied art in college, graduating with a BFA from the University of Texas in Austin. My subsequent career as a graphic designer allowed me to pursue my passion for art “magic”. However, it was a three-year sojourn to Southern California that introduced me to the art of plein air painting and sketching. Sketching has since become a regular part of my life.

Barbara: What prompted you to join USk Chicago?

Ginny: A friend told me about the Urban sketching movement, connecting me to both the book ”The Art of Urban Sketching” and the Facebook group. This path led me to Chicago group. I love seeing the unique ways in which artists interpret their surroundings. We have our own urban sketching group here in Oak Park that goes out early Saturday mornings to sketch around town. Ted Gordon, an urban sketcher, started the group “In Art Pursuit”, on Facebook. It’s open to anyone who wants to join us.

Barbara: I think there are as many reasons to sketch as there are sketchers. Why do you sketch?

Ginny: I sketch to conjure the magic of images appearing on paper. I also love the tactile feel of the pencil, pen, or brush as it moves across the surface. Images reveal stories and I love a good story –particularly a good visual story. Parks, architecture, and the random gathering of people in a busy city are just waiting to be captured and wrangled onto a sheet of paper.

Barbara: There is something about the feel of the pencil on paper or the paint and water flowing together that draws me (no pun intended) to sketching, too.
Do you have a favorite sketching medium?

Ginny: I usually keep it really simple. My go-to medium is ink, usually micron pens, a brush pen and a small travel set of Winsor Newton watercolors. I am increasingly experimenting with new papers, colored pencils, markers, and occasionally pastels. It is an ongoing process of exploration.

Barbara: What’s your favorite subject matter?

Ginny: Drawing people. I am attracted to the fluid gestures of people in groups as they interact with one another, or the individuals deep in their own private world. They fascinate me with their untold stories. Increasingly though, I am drawn to buildings and cityscapes with their repeating patterns, varying shapes and groupings, with an added advantage—architecture doesn’t squirm or abruptly get up and leave.

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

Ginny: Cuba is on my radar—to immerse myself into the culture, the old and the new, sketch the people, the architecture and, of course, the vintage cars.

Barbara: What an opportunity that would be! Is there an artist that has had a great influence on your work?

Ginny: The drawings, especially the figure sketches of Leonardo DaVinci, and both the art and drawings of David Hockney and Ben Shahn.

Barbara: Ben Shahn is one of my favorites, too! His book The Shape of Content is outstanding!
Is there a sketch you are most proud of?

Ginny: My sketch of San Marco Basilica in Venice. It was the first time I sketched such an architectural behemoth. I dove right in with ink and was pleased with my attempt.

Barbara: Do you have some tips to share on sketching on location?

Ginny: Pack lightly. Take some time looking around before deciding where to set up. Sometimes the best view is behind you. A simple viewfinder is helpful in framing up a scene. Bring a small seat/chair for a long sketch, as handy benches are rarely nearby. In the city, scout the scene and beware of bus stops or loading zones, which can later seriously block your view. When I first started out, I trusted a 15-minute loading zone. Ha! Early morning and late afternoon have the best shadows that add drama and definition to a scene. As for onlookers interested in your painting, embrace the children. They love the magic of what you are doing no matter how good or bad the sketches.

Barbara: What do you see as the benefits of sketching?

Ginny: I believe that “a sketch is worth a thousand words”. The cave paintings of Lascaux speak to us; no spoken language is required. Sketching regularly keeps my skills sharp and supports my other artistic endeavors. As a graphic designer, sketching is invaluable in rapidly creating multiple solutions to a project. As a painter and sketcher, I often do quick thumbnails of different views of an area before I commit to a scene. I will sometimes use the sketches, or parts of them to develop a larger painting.

Barbara: We know you’re on FaceBook. Do you have a blog or other social media accounts where people can see more of your work?

Ginny: I am on Instagram, just recently, and have a web site—pitrehayart.com

Barbara: Thanks, again, Ginny, for taking the time to chat with us and for sharing your sketches and thoughts with all of us!

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 - Ted Gordon

Spotlight Sunday is a 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 member in person and have a conversation.  These posts concentrate on individuals and speak in their own words and sketches.

Interview by Andrew Banks
Spotlight on Ted Gordon: 3D Character Animator, Urban Sketcher, Plein Air Painter

Hi Ted, thanks so much for taking the time to talk and to tell our group a little bit about yourself!

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

My friend Ginny, a member of my early-morning sketching & plein air group, recommended USK Chicago to me. She was correct, it was right up my alley!

Did you sketch before finding USk Chicago?  If so, when did you start sketching?

Yes, as a kid, I was very interested in drawing, comic books, science fiction & fantasy illustration, computers - all that stuff predicted my future career. Life Drawing was my favorite part of art school - where I could see my skills increasing dramatically. Sketching outside of sessions keeps me in practice. My favorite artists have done a lot of sketching ‘in the wild’. I’ve been following their example.

Can you tell us a little bit about your career as an animator?  Does urban sketching ever have an impact on your day job?  If so, how?

I have been working as a 3D Character Animator in the games industry since 1999. I use a combination of animation skills and specialized software, including 3DS Max, Maya, and Motionbuilder, to create the motion for people, monsters, animals, and robots for video games.

I believe an artist’s career is as much about what is done outside of work hours to become a better artist as it is about what is done in the studio. I like to draw on the bus, I have a weekly plein air group, I do life drawing & life sculpture, and I like to go out and explore areas with my camera. Most recently, I explored Chinatown before people filled the sidewalks for the day. I work on portrait & house portrait commissions during my lunch hour and I make my plein air paintings available for sale on my site.

I highly respect the Disney Animators that established my industry’s Principles and actively practiced life drawing and plein air painting as part of their job. They are my role models. That, and my love for drawing, painting, & animation, motivate me. Building my skills of observation, through practice like Urban Sketching, makes me a better animator & artist.

You are also a member of the Plein Air Painters of Chicago group and many of your urban sketches can also be considered plein air paintings.  There is real neat crossover between our two groups, and we’ve personally talked about this before.  In your experience, what distinguishes urban sketching from plein air painting, and, having been a member of both groups, are there any specific skills or lessons you have learned from one group that can apply to the other?

I’ve written a Tuesday Tips and Tricks blog entry about this, so it is easy to answer. :) In my opinion, the differences boil down to three things: Time, Narrative, and Style. While both are created on-location, and in a single session, an Urban Sketch can be created in minutes, while a plein air piece could take all day to complete. Urban Sketching, with its journalistic roots, is often more literally narrative - even including text in the images. Finally, Urban Sketching can be more experimental with style. To the contrarian reader, I’d have you point me to a plein air painting with a cartoon-style character in it! :)

Both groups are about direct observation, drawing and painting on-location. I find them more similar than different. I suspect that my own work will organically combine elements of each the more I do of both!

Is there a specific subject matter you are particularly drawn to or inspired to sketch?

I like to do portrait & house portrait commissions. When I’m out and about, I am attracted to figures and architecture ‘in the wild’ too.

What inspires me tends to be the unusual, the well-lit & appealing. It’s that moment on a train, when I see an intriguing character. It’s when I spot a tree, exploding full of color from back-lit light. It’s when I find rusty old controls on a conservatory pipe. Those moments, I think, “Oh yeah, that’s getting drawn!”

What is your favorite medium to sketch with?

I’ve been carrying a fountain pen, a ballpoint & watercolors. For precision and speed, I prefer ballpoint. For even faster, but looser, I prefer the fountain pen. If I have more time, I like to add watercolor washes.

Are there any Urban Sketchers who inspire your own work?

I’m a big Don Colley fan. He shows what a life of regular practice can do. His videos, sketching in ink were so exciting to find. I love the variety of work that USK Chicago and the international group share. Everyone has inspirational work in them.

You will also be an instructor at this year’s Chicago Sketch Seminar for the second year in a row.  What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Seminar?

I’m looking forward to seeing all the new sketches my students will make, the new location, and the other instructors’ classes!

Do you have any websites, blogs or social media accounts where people can see more of your work?

I sure do!

You can follow me here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motionimpossible/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tedsimages

Please contact me through http://www.tedgordonart.com/contact/ to inquire about commissioning original portraits & house portraits.

You may order prints of my work at: http://www.tedgordonart.com/order-prints/

You can find examples of my animation here: www.MotionImpossible.com Also, visit a Dave&Busters, movie theater, or amusement park near you and play Jurassic Park Arcade! I loved animating those dinosaurs!

Your Wait Is Over: Registration Begins Sunday May 1st, Starting at Noon Central Standard Time

(Chicago, IL) The third annual Chicago Sketch Seminar will open for online registration
on May 1st, 2016 at 12pm CST.  

Visit https://chicagosketchseminar2016.wordpress.com to register and for all event information including pricing information.  Membership to Urban Sketchers Chicago not required.  All are welcome!

Urban Sketchers is offering an exciting seminar on July 9th & 10th, 2016 to help everyone from absolute beginners to experienced artists develop the sketchbook habit, try new things, and practice sketching in public. Workshops will be taught in the sidewalks and parks of Chicago, giving ample opportunities for artist enthusiasts to practice sketching in the motion of Chicago. We hope you’ll join us!

View the complete list of workshops here: https://chicagosketchseminar2016.wordpress.com/workshops/

Hosting the Chicago Sketch Seminar will be The American Academy of Art, 

332 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60604 http://www.aaart.edu

Details and registration information are available 
on the following links:

BLOG: https://chicagosketchseminar2016.wordpress.com

Video highlights: https://vimeo.com/156179807       

For Sponsorships: andrew@andrewbanksillustration.com

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.