Top 10 Favorite Urban Sketching Locations

Tuesday Tips & Tricks

I am often asked how I choose my locations for urban sketching. My answer is probably very similar to yours so I will share my criteria (which I adhere to very loosely).

First there are the physical elements for the perfect scene:

Textures, contrast, color, composition, pattern, movement, rhythm, etc. found in organic or man-made settings such as landscapes, architecture, nature and ensemble of people or animals. These components help construct the site selection and ultimately the sketch composition.

Then I look for a collection of those components which create an emotional attraction that provides a great story to tell when people look at my sketchbook. I like to say “we all have a sketch to tell,” which means that our purpose as artists is to use our visual language to interpret a scene and retell it through our sketches. I once read a great quote from Urban Sketcher Deby Caspari who wrote “To draw something is to own it. You take an image filtered through you and you have an intense experience of the subject that can’t be taken away.”

With millions of images coming into our brains every second, this must be why one scene stands out more than the others and prompts us to sit for 10, 20, or even 60 minutes to capture what our cameras could do in a couple of snaps, right?

Here then, based on repeat visits from Urban Sketchers Chicago, are some Top Sketch Locations in Chicago.

Architectural Artifacts

http://www.architecturalartifacts.com/about/location/

Three stories of saved and collected details, furniture, lighting, mantles, and other you-name-it oddities reclaimed from old buildings and residences in and around Chicago. We have consistently had our best turnouts for our Sketch Crawl whenever we have hosted one here at Architectural Artifacts and there is plenty of space to get lost in.

The Field Museum in Chicago

http://www.fieldmuseum.org/?gclid=CM_tg-ju-8YCFRCEaQodemoJZg

The Field Museum is another one of those sketcher's dream locations. Starting with architecture that dates back to Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893, this museum is packed with exhibits and collections of creatures past and present. Lots of fascinating dioramas, textures, and architectural details so that you never run short of things to sketch. And on designated days, Illinois residents get in free with a valid Illinois identification. On our first trip to The Field Museum, we were treated to a back labs tour by Urban Sketcher Rebe Banasiak and the drawers of specimens being prepared for future exhibits.

Lincoln Park http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/photos/            

Lincoln Park Zoo  http://www.lpzoo.org   

Lincoln Square http://www.lincolnsquare.org/pages/AboutLincolnSquare/         

The USk Chicago groups has settled into this area on several locations because of the expansive area it covers and the variety of subject matter. There is lots of nature, flowers at the Conservatory, animals at the free public zoo, the rivers of people who pass through this area on bikes, or running and pedestrian traffic, and some of the most interesting neighborhood buildings. Within walking distance to the lake shore and beaches, this Lincoln Park area is a big favorite of USk Chicago. On our last Chicago Architectural Open House in October, three of the buildings on display were located within the Lincoln Park area.

Other areas USk Chicago is fond of visiting for sketching:

Chinatown/Ping Tom Park
http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/Ping-Tom-Memorial-Park/                       

Chicago Water Taxi https://www.chicagowatertaxi.com
Riding and sketching on the Water Taxi, all day, on the weekend for just $10.        

Palette & Chisel http://www.paletteandchisel.org/org/PaletteChisel/cms.aspx

The glorious home base for our Chicago Sketch Seminar in 2014 and 2015  

Washington Square Park:
http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/Washington-Square-Park/         

Newberry Library: https://www.newberry.org     

Mariano Park: http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/Mariano-Park/  

Connor Park: http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/Connors-Park/  

Chicago Cultural Center

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_culturalcenter.html    

Millenium Park/Pritzker Pavilion:

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park.html    

Maggie Daly Park: http://maggiedaleypark.com      

Buckingham Fountain:
http://www.chicagotraveler.com/attractions/buckingham-fountain.html       

Navy Pier: https://navypier.com/about-us/   

And finally, if you are not a big fan of coming into the big city for your urban sketching inspiration, look around your own neighborhood. Old buildings, places where people gather (coffee shops, taverns, public transportation), beautiful parks and statues, and even the ugly things such as back alleys, junk piles, gas meters, water towers, and rusted out cars. The uglier the scene, the better the sketch. When you start looking, the whole world of urban sketching comes to life for you.  

What are some of your favorite sketch locations? When you finish your sketches, please share them with us.

Wes Douglas

Monday in Old Town

Old Town: The Monday sketch group met at Nookies in Old Town and then headed out into the cool 50° temperature to sketch. I love my Stillman & Birn Beta series sketchbook. It takes watercolor and ink nicely. I love using pencil in it too. By exerting a little discipline I steered clear of sketching people and tried to expand my horizon by sketching buildings for a change – well, A building!

The name of this florist on Wells Street is Green and it's window expresses my feelings. I'm so glad to be seeing color banishing the gray Chicago winter.

Let the Sunshine!

Chicago: The Monday sketch group went to the Lincoln Park Conservatory yesterday. When we planned it we figured if it was gray and cold we could go inside and paint the spring flower show. Yay! The sun was out and it was 60°! I probably spent more time looking at the sky and smiling than sketching!

This is done in a Stillman & Birn sketchbook. The Beta series is a favorite of mine. It handles the watercolor well and I love the way the pencil feels on it.

Winter From My Window

The view of the very north end of Lincoln Park is always changing.  There is usually a steady stream of people - walking dogs, jogging, biking, sitting on benches.  The lake beyond the park changes color and motion from minute to minute.  But on this particular morning, no one was out and about - a random person would pass by every twenty minutes or so - and the lake was frozen stillness.  The sky just melted into the lake, and there were no shadows.  It was beautiful and peaceful, and I wanted to capture that feeling on paper, but I wasn't sure how to begin.  Ultimately, I decided to try the pan pastels that I had recently purchased.

Sometimes, I think it helps to not know what you are doing!  I just had fun with the pastels, on tinted blue pastel paper.  I added in trees (not all of them - there are hundreds!) with a dark brown Micron pen.  When I was finished, I sprayed the image with a fixative.  Some time in the near future, I would like to sit closer to my window and do another piece from a different vantage point, adding in the highway below for a more urban feel.

My first post!

Hello!  I joined Urban Sketchers Chicago in May, and I am so happy I found them!  I love the fact that an Urban Sketcher can travel to all parts of the globe and find sketching friends everywhere.

That said, my sister and I traveled all the way to Springfield, Illinois last week.  I did not meet any urban sketchers, but I did a little sketch on the train.  Maybe next year we will go farther afield - but there are always things to sketch, even from the kitchen window!

On the train

View from kitchen