Playtime for Artists at "Tools for Urban Sketching"

An Interview with "Tools for Urban Sketching" Instructor Amy Larsen (WS 03)  
by Wes Douglas

There is this notion of “play” in the world. On the one hand, it is reserved for children to engage in an activity for enjoyment and recreation. You sometimes hear play associated with sports in the context of competition. On the other hand, it’s not meant for the serious or the practical purpose. Adults are expected to be "grown up" and "not play around," "waste time" or "goof off." When did playing around become a bad thing?

As an adult you shouldn’t buy into that. In the Chicago Sketch Seminar, anyone with an interest in trying out new things, learning new skills and messing up on purpose are welcome to register and sign up for the workshops that interest you. In fact, "play" is experimenting and trying out new ideas without bias or a preconceived notion of how it will turn out. This is the urban sketchers' definition of "play" and it is at the heart of every workshop offered this year. Here is one workshop that you really should consider.

WS 03: Tools for Urban Sketching with Amy Larsen

Wes: What would you like participants to know about this workshop that they may not understand from the above description?

Amy: We will explore many types of drawing and painting tools and the interactions of the different media with water and/or ink. I will bring many tools for people to try-out, including special papers. The goal is to explore combining media types to create sketches that are truly your own style. This workshop is an opportunity to experiment and discover a new way of working. Using two or three new tools/media on your sketches may excite your sense of color and shape and make you think in new ways.

Wes: What type of workshop is this: Demonstration? Lecture? Working session? Discussion?

Amy: This workshop is going to be part demonstration and part working session. Students are encouraged to bring their sketchbooks and use my tools to enhance their enjoyment of sketching by combining certain media they may not have tried.

For the first half hour or so of this workshop we will try out combining certain media with water and ink and I will explain which combinations work well together, then we will have 1 hour or more for sketching in the courtyard of the Palette and Chisel. In the last hour, I will demonstrate to interested students how to use ProCreate to color or test color a drawing and how to use the adjustments menu to make changes to your sketch. I will also introduce students to 2 or three other sketching apps that work really well and explain why I think they are superior to other apps.

Here is a partial list of the tools I will be bringing for my students to try out.

Tombow dual brush pen watercolor markers set of 96 colors

Faber Castell Albrect Durer 120 color watercolor pencil set

Copic 72 color marker set plus a few “wide” markers

Faber Castell Pitt pens many colors and 2 sizes

Sennelier oil pastel set of 50 colors

FX acrylic inks – These inks dry shiny and add visual interest to any sketch.

Frixion Erasable gel pens 24 color set - These pens allow you to add highlights with erasure and also soften edges with water since they are somewhat water-soluble.

I will also have samples of papers to try out. Students are encouraged to bring their own sketchbooks and use the tools I provide to see what happens on their chosen paper/sketchbook.

Wes: Sounds great Amy! And that's only a partial list? That's a lot of stuff. I assume there be some time for sketching or drawing in this workshop?

Amy: Yes, we will be scribbling away throughout the entire workshop. It will be 3 hours of playtime!

Wes: Playtime!? I think you said the secret word of the day. Do you have any examples of how sketches might look before and after this session? Will you be able to show how I can make my images look better and why?

Amy: Yes, I am working on examples to show in the workshop and will be guiding the students in certain combinations that work well together. I intend to show how using soluble and non-soluble inks and other media combinations can add depth and interest to your sketch. Here's a few examples:

Wes: What is an example of one of the coolest tools for urban sketching you have found? What makes you excited about this tool and why?

Amy: The coolest thing I want to express to the students is that by combining dry and wet media in layers the student can discover a unique and definitive style for their sketches that may advance their enjoyment of the outcome.

Wes: Will this make urban sketching easier, faster, better or more awesome?

Amy: Wouldn’t it be great when a student discovers a combination of tools that they feel intuitively defines their vision of how they want their sketches to look and advances their technique?

I will also be demonstrating best practices for what I’ve discovered in techniques such as layering, planning, combining, choosing media and simplifying using mixed media tools.

Wes: Will you also be able to share some of the downsides for each of the products (pros and cons for an informed purchase decision) or some of the watch-outs as well as the benefits?

Amy: Yes, I will be telling all that I know about my experience with these tools.

Wes: Do you represent any of the companies for the products shown?

Amy: No, I don’t represent any of the companies. I’m just an artist that gets excited about all the new products that are available on the market and want to share them with fellow creative people.

Wes: Amy, this sounds super-exciting and perhaps the most valuable investment of time that any artist could spend. The fact that you are not giving a sales pitch says to me that you are passionate about these products you have found and are giving a real gift to those who register for your workshop. Remind me again how people can sign up for your workshop.

Amy: Sure. If you go to the website https://chicagosketchseminar.wordpress.com and click on the “registration” tab, then click on the “BOOKWHEN” type, it will take you to the list of workshops. My workshop is WS 03 on Saturday afternoon from 2:30pm to 5:30pm and Sunday morning 10:00am to 1:00pm. Like I said before, we are going to have THREE FULL HOURS OF PLAYING AROUND WITH COOL TOOLS. I hope you be one of them Wes.

Description: 
This workshop will present a wide variety of tools for Urban Sketching, both traditional and digital. Amy will share her experiences with these tools, will demonstrate them and allow students access to a variety of tools, including digital. Amy will share her extensive experience with digital apps to help artists sketch in new and innovative ways.

Learning Goals:
Participants will get an up-to-date overview of great tools and apps, and best
practices involved in using them. Amy will also explain best uses of tools for specific graphic applications. Students will learn how to blend different media for maximum effect.

Would you exercise and sketch at the same time?

Tuesday Tips & Tricks

Many moons ago, I had heard a lot about how you should do little exercises while you are stuck in commuter traffic–whether it be on a bus, train, airline or especially in your car with stop-and-go traffic. So it made me think, with all of the hours I spend sitting in a chair or at my desk urban sketching ideas or observations, should I be exercising while I sketched?

I decided to do a little research on some simple exercises.

“Calisthenics” are a form of exercise consisting of a variety of exercises, often rhythmical movements, generally without the use of equipment or apparatus. They are intended to increase body strength, body fitness and flexibility with movements such as bending, jumping, swinging, twisting or kicking, using only your body weight for resistance.

When performed vigorously and with variety, calisthenics can benefit both muscular and cardiovascular fitness in addition to improving psychomotor skills such as balance, agility and coordination.

Likewise, over at Smashing Magazine, author Laura Busche highlights the benefits of traditional sketching:

Extends memory: “The better you become at translating imagery from your mind to paper, the more visual resources you will have to draw on and the easier it will be to retrieve them in the future.”

Aids concentration: “Sketching stimulates us to a comfortable level — enough to keep us awake, concentrated and engaged… Some believe that we reach deeper levels of concentration and develop richer concepts when our own hands are the hardware.”

Allows for flexibility: “Because of our brain’s limited processing capacity, externalizing our ideas on paper makes it easier to restructure them, transforming the initial structure into a new one.”

Cool, there seems to be a common thread here that I wanted to explore further. I want to be remembered as the first Urban Sketcher who creates a series of simple exercises that can be done during sketching, especially at a two-day event such as the upcoming 2015 Urban Sketchers Chicago Sketch Seminar #uskchicago2015.

Here are a few of the exercises that I have developed (with a little help from my personal trainer). Give these a try and let me know what worked and didn’t work for you.

Disclaimer: I am not remotely qualified as a physical trainer or therapist. Please consult your physician to determine if a regular exercise regiment is recommended or will even help your sketching technique. If you find that your sketches have significantly gotten worse, please discontinue any exercise until you consult your physician.

Note: Don’t forget to pause for a drink of water as needed.

Sit Up Sketching: Grab your sketchbook and pen, lie down flat on your back with your knees bent, and do a normal sit up towards your knees. When you reach the upright position, place your sketchbook and pen on your knees and draw a few lines of what is in front of you while you hold this position. Then allow your torso to slowly fall back towards the horizontal position and repeat 10 times or until your sketch has been completed. 

Sketch Push-ups: With your body in a horizontal position, push yourself up so that your body remains rigid with your arms fully supporting your torso and lower your body with both arms at alternating intervals, holding your body in the up position for 1 minute and lowering for 5 seconds. Sketching is best accomplished while you are in the upper position. Repeat until your sketch is complete.

Sketch Planking: With your body in a horizontal position, push yourself up so that your body remains rigid with your arms fully supporting your torso. Your sketchbook and pen should be directly under your drawing arm. You may have to shift your weight over to your supporting arm while you sketch with your free arm. Sketch quickly while you shift your attention from your subject matter to your sketchbook. By the time your supporting arm starts to fatigue, you should be wrapping up your sketch.

Approximate sketch time: 10 minutes.

Lunge Sketching: Stand in view of the object you wish to sketch and take a big step forward and bend your knees as shown. Place your sketchbook on your lap and begin sketching the subject in front of you for as long as your legs will support you (perhaps 30 seconds will be sufficient). When you start to feel fatigue set into your legs, stand up and rest for 10 minutes while you sketch. Then repeat the lunge again for 30 more seconds. Repeat until your sketch is complete.

Alternative Wall Sit Sketching: Stand in front of a brick wall, half wall, fence or fire hydrant with your sketchbook and pen in hand. Bend over slightly into a sitting position until your knees are at a 90º angle. Place your sketchbook on your lap and begin sketching the subject in front of you for as long as your legs will support you (perhaps 30 seconds will be sufficient). When you start to feel fatigue set into your legs, stand up and rest for 2 minutes. You may choose to sketch while standing up during this rest. Then repeat the wall sit again for 30 more seconds. Repeat until your sketch is complete.

Bench-Step Sketching: This exercise is a derivative of the box step and step platform exercises. In this version, approach an empty half wall or bench (preferably without someone already sitting on it) and either step upon or hop onto the bench. Select an object to sketch, raise your arm cradling the sketchbook and begin sketching. Jump down safely off of the bench and back up at regular 5-minute intervals. Not recommended if you have bad knees, back or ankle issues.

Lower Impact Sketch Exercise Ideas:

Sketchabout: With your sketchbook supported by your arm positioned at a 90º angle, place your pen over your sketchbook and begin walking and sketching simultaneously. This is the same activity that people will perform while walking and texting on their phone except that you will be exercising your observation and drawing muscles.

Peddle Sketch: With your sketchbook supported by your arm positioned at a 90º angle, place your pen over your sketchbook and begin biking and sketching simultaneously. This will require great balance and multi-tasking as you focus on your ever-changing subject matter, the motion of moving your legs in a cyclical fashion, torso movements to maintain balance to steer the bike “hands free” and build your observation skills. Perhaps practice this in an empty parking lot while cycling before co-habitating with other vehicles.