T&T Thanksgiving

 

Tried and True Tips and Tricks 

“When you go out to paint,

try to forget

what objects you have before you,

a street,

a house,

a field, or whatever. 

Merely think,

here is a little square of blue,

here is an oblong of pink,

here is a streak of yellow,

and paint it

 just as it looks to you,

the exact color and shape,

until it gives you your own naive

impression of the scene before you.”

                                                     Claude Monet

Happy Thanksgiving!

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T&T Thursday

And still growing!

What is an Urban Sketch?

By  Alex Zonis

We continue to welcome new sketchers into our group, our numbers at this writing is an impressive 1620! Every couple of years it seems useful to touch on the common topic of what is an Urban Sketch.

An Urban Sketch simply is:

• Drawn on location, or mostly on location. 

• The location can be urban or rural

• it can be inside or outside.

• It means that you are out there with your sketchbook reporting on the world as it unfolds in front of you.

There are some No’s too 

An Urban Sketch is not: 

• a drawing from a model

• a still life on a page without background for context

• drawing made from a photo

Through the most difficult months of the pandemic we became more lenient in our moderating and acceptance of posted sketches. Why add more stress to people’s lives - was the justification.

Now, as we are emerging on the other side of the stressful times, Urban Sketchers Chicago is returning to our core mission - sketching on location. This also means that we are returning to moderating our USk Chicago page to the pre-pandemic level.

Here’s our favorite graphic on what is, and what isn’t, an Urban Sketch.

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T&T Thursday!

Fountain Pen Anatomy 

By Alex Zonis

Sketch by Alex Zonis

Fountain pens in Urban Sketching have become all the rage. Pen geeks huddle together at sketchmeets, show off their treasures and talk nerdy talk about “tines”, “feeds”,“converters” and other incomprehensible things that have meaning only to them. It is time to stop this and share the pen terminology with all.

Fountain pen is a complex tool with some ingenious engineering under the outer covers.

It consists of many components that come together to deliver ink to paper in a controlled fashion.

Here’s a look under the hood so to speak.

The most important part of the pen is of course the nib. The nib is world onto itself, they come in many varieties, materials, sizes and configurations, but all have common components.

Just a couple important points about the fountain pen nibs:

• There are several shapes of the tips that make significant difference in marks making. Tips can be round or flat, as in stubs and italics. Tips can also be bent, also known as Fude, for Chinese style calligraphy marks.

• Nibs come in different widths: EF, F, M, B, BB, 1.1mm, 1.5mm and others.

• They come in different softness: hard, soft or Flex.

• The most common materials for the nib are steel and gold, but other metals can be used for nibs as well.

The combinations of these characteristics can create a nib for every hand, style and technique.

The nib by itself would not be worth much if the pen didn’t have a system to deliver ink to the tipping point where the nib meets the paper. 

These are the parts of ink delivery system:

And there we have it – 

the fountain pen anatomy that makes a timeless tool for writing, drawing, sketching and admiring.

Learn Tips and Tricks here every second and third Thursday of the month!

T&T Thursday!

 

Don't Look!

By Barbara Weeks

Too Much Espresso

Well, don't look at your paper; do look intently at you subject and draw it!

Blind-Contour Drawing

By definition a blind-contour drawing is drawing the outline of your subject without looking at your paper. I'm using the term contour  loosely. In this T&T I'm suggesting you use a combination of contour and continuous-line drawing.

How?

• Choose your subject and decide where you're going to start.

• Put your pencil, pen, or marker on the paper at your starting point and begin.

• Do not look at your paper until you are finished. (I know it's hard, but don't cheat!)

• Believe your pen is touching the edge of your subject and begin to move along the form with your eye on your subject and your pen on the paper. Imagine your pen feeling the line, the curves, each noon and cranny.

• Draw without lifting your pen off the paper.

Yikes! Blind Contour Selfie!

                                            

Hints:

• Think in terms of line, shape, direction, sharp, rounded, etc. rather than objects.

• Draw at a consistent pace.

• When you reach a point where two lines intersect or two forms meet you don't have to stay on the outer edge, (think continuous line not contour) but keep your pen on the paper.

When you're back where you started take a look at your drawing. You'll probably see some distortions, way off proportions, but some areas may be remarkably accurate. You may also see energy, sensitivity, and an expressive line that aren't present in other drawings. Whatever you see, there are real benefits to blind contour exercises.

One hanger, four times

Benefits:

• Improves your eye-hand coordination.

• Encourages you to draw what you see, not what you know.

• It helps you understand your subject.

• You become more involved in the process rather than product.

• Continuous-line, blind-contour drawings are a great way to warm up for a drawing session.

• For urban sketchers it's good experience for when we're drawing in the dark, in our pockets, or under the table!

• It's fun!

Try it and post your sketches to on Facebook !  #T&T

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T&T Thursday!

Last T&T Thursday Alex shared her journey to drawing excellence. Knowing how it can be done shows us the way. Knowing the benefits shows us the why!

No Excuses!

By Barbara Weeks

Did you know that until the late 1920s - early 1930s drawing was part of the regular school curriculum? While not one of the 3 Rs, it was considered an important tool for developing concepts, sharpening thought, and sharing ideas. 

What Happened? 

One of the major factors was the development of photography made drawing seem like an unnecessary skill. In more recent years, computer advancements in the visual communication field made drawing appear to be unimportant even unnecessary but things are changing. 

Why Draw?

Whether it’s called drawing, sketching, or doodling, today, we’re rediscovering there are real benefits to drawing. If you're an experienced artist looking to reboot or a newbie looking for kindred spirits, this is for you.

Benefits of Drawing

• Improves eye-hand coordination
• Improves memory
• Improves communication skills
• Relieves stress (Have you seen all the coloring books for grown-ups that are in the stores?)
• Increases creativity
• Increases observational skills
• Increases attention to detail
• Records ideas
• Increases positive emotions (Why do you think restaurants give crayons an paper to children?)
• The more you draw the better your drawing skill
• It's fun

And this is just a partial list!

Drawing relieves stress, preserves a memory, and conveys ideas.

Want to Draw More but Need a Nudge? 

We know the benefits of drawing; it only makes sense to draw more. It’s funny that two of the causes for drawing less are now big helps to start drawing more – the computer and the internet. 

There’s an internet group out there made just for you and your sketching needs. FaceBook offers an almost endless list of groups that unite like-minded sketchers for encouragement, inspiration, to share information and sketches. There are drawing quests issued on Facebook and Instagram to challenge you to draw more. Post your work, add the proper # and join in the fun. 

Enjoy and share sketching online communities – Sketchbook Work, Urban Sketching, #EDM2015

On location sketching:

• Urban Sketchers    Click here for Regional Chapters  
• Urban Sketchers-Chicago
• Plein Air Artists Group
• SketchCrawl
• Urban Watercolorist Group

Sketchbook work:

• Artist’s Journal Workshop
• Inside Your Sketchbook
• Doodlers Anonymous
• In the Artist’s Studio: Daily Practices and Procedures

Hashtags:

The challenges vary and crop up seasonally. Search these hashtags for ideas:

• #inktober
• #everydayinmay
• #uskchicago
• #doodlersanonymous
• #usk

Working for years as a graphic designer, I reached a point when I felt handcuffed by the computer and missed the creative boost of sketching by hand. That’s when I discovered Urban Sketchers (thank you Gabi Campanario!) and Everyday Matters (thank you, Danny Gregory). They were the beginning. There was no turning back! I found I didn’t need  an excuse to draw, I had reasons to draw. 

How about you, why do you draw? Do you have a favorite group?

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T&T Thursday!

 

People Who Need (Watercolor) People

By Barbara Weeks

Often in urban sketching we focus on the architecture or landmarks we encounter to tell the story of our surroundings. There are times when we add people to the scene, even when they’re not the focus. They give scale, energy, life, and an invitation into the scene.

When you need or want an extra spark in your landscape or cityscape including people can be the trick you need. In this post I’m going to give you tips for using watercolor to add figures to your work. 

Carrots and Rectangles

• Think simple.

• Think shape 

• Think gesture

The Carrot -Simple as 1, 2, 3!

There are many approaches for quickly adding figures to watercolors. I use a combination of two different methods – carrots and rectangles. 

Both ways employ similar mind sets.

From just a few strokes, a simple basic figure.

    1. Start with simple carrot shape 

    2. Add a head

    3. Add a little gesture and shadow 

Repeat the process and add a little embellishment. 

Now try playing with just slight changes to the gesture and size of the carrot shapes. Add more, create a crowd or a parade!

The Rectangle

    1. Start with a rectangle

   2. Add two strokes for legs

   3. Add two strokes for arms

   4. And one for a head

                                           Tah Dah! A person!

Urban Sketching

One of my favorite ways to capture the personality of a place is through its people. As simple as these methods are you can add attitude and personality.

• Try varying the size of the initial shape – wider, thinner, longer, shorter. 

• Paint a group of carrots and rectangles together. Let a few overlap and let the paint mingle.
  
  

• What happens when the head stroke touches the shoulder line?When it doesn’t?

• Experiment, add line to emphasis or embellish some of the shapes.

As always, have fun!

T&T Thursday is a twice a month column about sketching skill-building ideas. Some of the columns will be brand new, others will be refreshed columns from the past. 

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Composition is a Big Word–PART ONE

By Alex Zonis

Composition can be difficult to teach. 

Do this, don't do that… 

Unless you want to deliberately break the rules, then do it… But it may or may not work… 

You stick to the rules - and it may end up boring. 

You break the rules - and it may end up unbalanced. 

What is a sketcher to do?

Composition is a skill, just like drawing or values or accurate color. This means that with practice a sketcher can develop a vision and understanding of the design as well as a feel for positioning of shapes within the boundaries of a drawing. By practicing composition it is possible to get and improve the sense and sensibility of what is composed well and as a result has a built-in beauty, and what needs improvement and what this improvement might be.

Composition is also a vast subject. This is another reason art students shy away from it.

Here I will suggest three things that can be practiced right away. They will work for on-location sketching without burying one's head in theory.

1. Balance positive and negative space

See that your actual objects of interest (positive space) and space around them (negative space) take more or less the same amount of space on your drawing.

Some examples:

- Crowded drawing - very little negative space

- Unfilled drawing - small subject surrounded by a lot of negative space

- Balanced drawing - subject and surrounding space take about the same amount of space

A helpful trick - an empty unfilled composition can be improved by creative cropping or borders.

2. Repetition and pattern

A human eye loves pattern. When we see and recognize repeating shapes it makes us feel clever and calms us. Repeats and patterns give an image rhythm and make it dynamic and lively.

If you are lucky to chance on a pattern when sketching on location, consider adding it to the drawing.

 

3. Connection

Let your subjects and objects connect, touch and overlap. This is one and an obvious way to keep the composition together, like holding hands.

Here's an example of a composition with overlapping objects.

The other way to connect is by intent, using directional lines and visual tension.

In the following sketch three solid groups of people are connected by individual figures situated between the groups. These figures create the tension that holds the composition together.

These 3 concepts are easy to remember and use when sketching on location: 

• Positive/negative space balance

• Patterns

• Connections

How to use them? 

When you chose your subject or view, take another minute and make a tiny plan. Here's an example of such plan: "I will include this bridge, and the river with its interesting colors and these trees on the right bank. I will leave out these buildings on the right shore, and a willow tree on the left… they will overcrowd my drawing." 

Better yet, make a thumbnail sketch and see how it looks. Take the view you are sketching and make it into a design. Emphasize patterns if they are there. Look for geometrical patterns, color patterns, contrast patterns.

Check if your shapes connect/overlap or stand alone. If they are standing alone, is there a way create a connection or directional pull to tie the composition together? Even if there is not, you have taught yourself something about composition by having tried. 

Want to learn more about composition? See you here on March 11 for T&T Thursday!

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Ta Da!

By Barbara Weeks

It’s that time of year when the USk Chicago team usually starts planning in ernest for our annual seminar. Well, obviously, this is not a usual year, BUT we are making plans! We can’t gather all together in person, but we have a great time getting together virtually with our weekly sketch prompts. Why not join together virtually to learn and review sketching pointers and skills? In the past we posted a column on the blog under the headline Tuesday Tips and Tricks ...

Introducing Tips and Tricks Thursday (aka T&T)!

T&T will  be a twice a month column about sketching skill-building ideas. Some of the columns will be brand new, others will be refreshed columns from the past. 

To get started let’s review the benefits of doing what we do – keeping sketchbooks.

Quite a few years ago, (thanks to an invitation from Don Yang) Alex Zonis, Wes Douglas, and I spoke at the American Academy of Art in Chicago as part of their Visiting Artist Series. My section of the presentation dealt with the value and habit of keeping a sketchbook. I want to share my thoughts with you.

I’ve been involved with art for my livelihood since graphic design was called commercial art and cut and paste was literally cut and paste. My first job right out of college was with a small ad agency in Hackensack, New Jersey and let me tell you, I rejoice, everyday, for the miracle of the digital world, 

BUT…

Every Visual Creative Should Keep a Sketchbook!

There are as many different kinds of sketchbooks and as many reasons for keeping them, as there are sketchers. I’m only going to give you five.

Five Reasons to Keep a Sketchbook

1. Practice – the most obvious, 

Drawing is a skill and must be developed. Great athletes, musicians, actors, and artists, we all need to practice to improve and hone our performance. 

2. Record ideas

Keep a sketchbook with you always. Do it! Ideas can be fleeting. How many times have you thought, “Wow, what a great idea. That will come in handy later,” and when later came the great idea was gone? Jot it down or scribble a quick sketch!

What kind of ideas? A scribbled gesture, an eavesdropped conversation, a fleeting image or thought, a color scheme – anything!

3. Experimentation 

Try out and practice with new media or tools, compositions, play with new styles– again, ANYTHING! 

4. View progress

• Overall progress – the strides you make in your artistic development over a  period of time, whether it’s months or years.

• Idea development – the evolution of an idea from the first scribble to finished concept or product.

5. Cheaper than a psychiatrist

This reason may be my own little reason, but I share it with you. Waiting used to be a time of aggravation and annoyance for me. Now, I think, “Oh good I can sketch.” I also have more  sketches done in hospital emergency rooms than I care to think about  but they kept me calm and sane. And sometimes when I’m “in the zone” it’s like meditation.

Good Reasons but How?

Five Tips for Developing the Sketchbook Habit

1. Love your sketchbook (but not too much.) I’ve had  beautiful books given to me, and some I’ve bought myself and saved them for  something special because they’re “too good” – that’s very inhibiting. It’s one more excuse not to start. Get a sketchbook you like but won’t be upset if you spill your coffee on it or the cover gets scratch etc. Get one that you will  actually use.

2. Carry it with you always. (I know I’m repeating myself. It’s that important.) and use it!

I use several sketchbooks at one time, all different sizes. Some are themed – like Urban Sketchers or travel. Some are for convenience or size, a small one in the glove compartment of my car, a tiny one that fits in an evening bag, one  near the TV and the best of all my daily workhorse that is also part journal, part agenda. That’s the one that is in my bag, on my desk and beside my bed. 

3. Get over the first page fear. If a fancy new sketchbook can be “too precious” the first page in ANY sketchbook can be intimidating. 

Some ideas that I’ve had success with in getting over the first page roadblock:

• Skip the first couple of pages, go back to them later, if at all

• Paint the palette, brush, or tools that you’re using now

• Set up an index that you can fill in as you go along

• Write a favorite or motivating quote

4. It isn’t for sketches only. 

Write in it – grocery lists, phone numbers, quotes, notes.

Glue stuff in it – business cards, ephemera, travel info, maps, napkin drawings,  random scribbled ideas and thoughts etc.

Make it a workhorse, the more you use it the more you use it!

5. Share some of your sketches 

There is a remarkable community of artists all over the world who connect by sharing their work online. They make hospitable and willing companions to sketch with wherever you may find yourself. They’re only FaceBook post away. Sharing your sketches whether it’s Instagram, FB, Pinterest, or wherever, is also a great motivator and you’ll find inspiration in the work of others. The sketchbook habit develops our drawing skills and

cultivates that spontaneous work on location.

By keeping a sketchbook and acquiring the sketching habit, urban sketching isn’t something we do; it becomes part of who we are – Urban Sketchers.

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