Let There Be Light

 Let’s Sketch!

Let There Be Light

Sunday, March 21

12 PM - 3 PM CST

Hosted by

Gail Dokucu, Urban Sketchers Chicago

and Guest Host, Kari Ann

Details

Even though the Spring Equinox was yesterday and we might not need lamps as much as we used to, today’s theme has to do with light!

Sketch a scene:

• with your favorite lamp or chandelier 

• with some interesting light or shadows to capture the atmosphere!

• revisiting the hygge theme with a candlelit display

Banner Sketch by Kari Ann

Please include #uskchicago and #uskathome on your posts to Facebook and Instagram. Remember, we are back to following USk Global’s posting guidelines of sketching live on location and not from reference photos.

Want to keep up to date by email? Fill in your email address in the place provided in the upper right corner under the banner. We look forward to hearing from you.

Strut Your Stuff

Let’s Sketch!

Choose an Artist Style

 

Sunday, February 7

12 PM - 3 PM CST

Hosted by Gail Dokucu, Carla Milano Nelson and Urban Sketchers Chicago

Details:

Have you ever wanted to experiment with sketching, using a style of one of the masters? Well, now you have an opportunity!

• Choose your subject to sketch.

• Select a style you like or are curious about and incorporate it into your sketch. 

Do you like Impressionism? Abstract art? Modernism? Now’s your chance to play around with a style you normally wouldn’t use. 

For some ideas of different styles to choose from, check out:

https://www.thoughtco.com/art-styles-explained-realism-to...

or

https://www.kokuyocamlin.com/blog/world-art-day-understanding-different-painting-styles-part-1.html

These articles show different painting styles. However, you don’t have to use paint for your drawing. Use your favorite media and have some fun experimenting.

See you at our virtual throwdown! Be sure to explain the style you chose in your post.

Banner sketch by Carla Nelson in the pointillism style of Georges Seurat.

Post your sketches from 12:00 noon and until whenever!

Please include #uskchicago and #uskathome  on your posts to Facebook and Instagram.

A reminder that we are back to following USK Global's posting guidelines of sketching live on location and not from reference photos

Want to keep up to date by email? Fill in your email address in the place provided in the upper right corner under the banner. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Think Negative

 

Let’s Sketch!

Stop, Look, and See

Sunday, January 31

12 PM - 3 PM

Hosted by  Evelyn Brody and Urban Sketchers Chicago

Details:

To you make positive use of negative shapes in your sketches? Flipping the script can produce sometimes surprisingly powerful results as Wendy Easton’s lovely banner sketch shows. 

You might think of rendering negative space as drawing the shapes on your page around and between objects, rather than drawing the objects themselves. 

Don’t forget, though, about interior negative shapes – recall that Beatles posters where each Beatle is instantly recognizable from the shadow shapes in the eyes and under the nose and mouth. 

Wendy’s sketch uses both approaches: 

• Through the window, the trees appear as bare paper surrounded by sky shapes 

• Within her studio, the shadow shapes within objects reveal curtains, furniture, and art supplies. 

You can use negative shapes for an entire sketch, or just in selected areas.

Join us for our virtual throwdown on our group Facebook page on Sunday, January 31, between noon and 3pm, but always welcome late entries.

We follow USk Global’s guidelines of sketching live on location and not from reference photos. When outside your home, be sure to socially distance and wear a mask to help everyone stay safe. All skill levels welcome – happy sketching! 

To make your sketches easy to find and see, please include #uskchicago and #uskathome on your posts to Facebook and Instagram.

Banner Sketch by Wendy Easton

Want to keep up to date by email? Fill in your email address in the place provided in the upper right corner under the banner. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yum!

Let’s Sketch!

 FOOD

Sunday, December 13

12 PM CST – 3 PM  CST

Hosted by Alex Zonis and Urban Sketchers Chicago

Details:

 If this was a normal year, we would have had our Holiday Potluck Party this Sunday.

But this is 2020, so things are different. So...

Let’s sketch our food this Sunday and share it with each other through our drawings. 

Show us what you are cooking or eating

• ingredients that you are planning to cook
•  your prep area
• people with whom you are cooking or eating. 
• If you were too hungry and ate it before sketching, show us the leftovers or the crumbs, just tell us what it was - we’ll understand!

Let’s make a virtual potluck!

See you at our virtual throwdown! Please post your foodie sketches from 12 noon and until whenever!

Please include #uskchicago and #uskathome on your posts to Facebook and Instagram. A reminder that we are back to following USk Global’s posting guidelines of sketching live on location and not from reference photos.

The banner sketch by Barbara Weeks shows chef Rick Bayless giving a demo at at the Good Foods Festival.

Want to keep up to date by email? Fill in your email address in the place provided in the upper right corner under the banner. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

On Notice

                                   

Let’s Sketch!

Stop, Look, and See

Sunday, December 6

12 PM - 3 PM

Hosted by Barbara Weeks and Urban Sketchers Chicago

One of my favorite books The Art of Noticing  by Rob Walker. It’s a study in seeing not just looking. There is a difference.

Details:

Find a place inside or out and for 5-10 minutes just observe your surroundings.

No sketching, just seeing! Time it.

The first minute or two you’ll probably see what you usually do. 

Indoors:

• Maybe in a room there’s the bookcase in the room. It’s dusty.
• Observing longer you may notice the upright and tilted books, or the colors, or photos,  etc. 
• Eventually you may discover what makes that bookcase unique, a bowed shelf or a chip on the edge.

Outdoors:

• Buildings (windows- clean, dirty? signs)
• Streets (curbs, litter, sidewalk cracks)
•  Cars (license plates, tail lights)
• You may notice the lamposts.                                                 (This was inspired by a game my grandsons play “I spy with my little eye something...”.I said, “Is it the lampost?” Hudson asked, “The black one or the silver? But the lamposts are silver, no wait the one on the corner is black! Now I notice not only the color of Chicago lamposts but the incredible variety of designs.)

Ten minutes are up!

Now sketch what you SEE.

See you at the virtual throwdown!

Please include #uskchicago and #uskathome on your posts to Facebook and Instagram. A reminder that we are back to following USk Global’s posting guidelines of sketching live on location and not from reference photos.

The Banner Sketch was done by Barbara Weeks at the very first USk Chicago sketch meet.

Want to keep up to date by email? Fill in your email address in the place provided in the upper right corner under the banner. We look forward to hearing from you.

 

A Cushy Challenge!

                                                                              Featured artwork by Alex Zonis

 Let’s Sketch Chicago!

Your Favorite Couch 

Sunday, November 22

12 PM - 3 PM

Hosted by Paul Ingold and Urban Sketchers Chicago

Details:

For this week’s #uskathome prompt, let’s sketch your favorite couch or other furniture used to relax during the quarantine. 

With indoor sketching season just getting underway, this will be a great way for us to kick it off (but at home).

Please create your own on-location urban sketch in your style and medium.

A reminder that we are back to following USk Global’s posting guidelines of sketching live on location and not from reference photos. To help people find your sketches, use the tags #uskchicago and #uskathome.

Please share your sketches on our group page by Sunday 11/22 12-3 pm (no pressure, please post when you can). We look forward to seeing your sketches!

If you post to  Facebook and Instagram please include #uskchicago and #uskathome on your posts.

Want to keep up to date by email? Fill in your email address in the place provided in the upper right corner under the banner. We look forward to hearing from you.