Hello Out There!

Barbara Weeks here-
I've been sketching and drawing ever since I can remember (Thank you Dad!). Being part of the Urban Sketchers' network is a great experience for me. I find inspiration in the work of my fellow sketchers as well as motivation to sketch more. Drawing regularly on location helps me see the marvelous daily beauty that exists all around us whether it's in a chaotic city panorama or the little detail in a single leaf.

Thumbing through old sketchbooks, trying to decide on my first image to post here, I came across this sketch done quite a while back. It's of a pocket park just south of the main entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Avenue. It seemed a good example of "showing the world one drawing at a time",  showing those little gems that sometimes I hardly even see until I sit down to draw.

And this is me. I chose it because I sketch so often while waiting…

I hope you'll join Urban Sketchers Chicago often in discovering our world!

And we are off!

Urban Sketchers Chicago blog is started! I can't begin to explain what it means to me, how important this is, how long it took to get to this point, how much self-doubt, how many sketches done alone, how many people helped, how many hopes and dreams... The tale would be too long anyway.

Urban Sketchers Chicago is here, we are on the map, in real life and online. We are off to do great things, draw great drawings, and show our world - one drawing at a time.

And in this spirit, here's my little part of Chicago. This is where I live, in one of these buildings in the background, and this beach - the Hollywood beach - is my backyard.

And to continue to introduce myself: I am an artist and an Urban Sketcher. With the help of numerous people I started Urban Sketchers Chicago group in April 2012 - one of the best things I've ever done. My thanks and never ending appreciation goes to Gabi Campanario, Marina Grechanik, LuEllen Joy Giera, Kate Johnson and most of all to our own USk Chicago Correspondent Barbara Weeks whose generous help and remarkable talent got us to this place today.

Here's a self portrait I did for The Sketchbook Project 2011 and shamelessly use since then.