T&T Thursday

USk Chicago is thrilled to announce that we'll be having a seminar in July! All the details will be posted on the Seminar Blog and the highlights will be posted on this blog.

This is a a recap of an article I wrote several years ago but the information is still on the mark as we begin to think about taking classes again.

Are You Ready?!

How about you? Are you ready for a workshop? Whether it’s an online class, a local workshop, one that involves travel or even if you’re working you way through a self-study book there are certain things that will help you get the most out the experience. Over the years I’ve given workshops and taken many classes both on-site and online.  I’ve found my mindset is the most important factor in what I take away from the class.

• SET A GOAL – Why am I taking this class? What do I hope to learn?

• KEEP AN OPEN MIND – Pay attention and follow directions. It’s easy to fall into the attitudes of “that isn’t the way I do it” or “that isn’t the way so-and-so does it” but leave those notions behind at least for the duration of the workshop.

• THINK PROCESS NOT PRODUCT  (I know, I say that all the time) –  It takes practice to learn new techniques and methods.

• ASK QUESTIONS – Your instructor wants you get the most out of your time in the class.

Remember, whether your a novice or a working pro, there is another thing you need for a successful workshop experience, that’s a positive and open workshop-state-of-mind.

What's your "must have" for a successful workshop experience?

The opening image is an assignment from a class I took from Lewis Rossignol.

Links

David Becker 

Veronica Lawlor

Sketchbook Skool

Lewis Rossignol

Sketch & Post!

                        

    Let's Sketch Chicago

LIBRARIES!

Sunday, March 20

12 PM –  3 PM

Hosted by Evelyn Brody and Urban Sketchers Chicago

This month we will once again sketch asynchronously, with the hope that we will resume in-person meetups before too long! 

Details:

Our March theme is libraries—from your home bookcase to those mini-birdhouse exchanges (a favorite subject of our members!) to civic institutions modest or grand. With the weather warming up, an exterior scene might appeal to you. If it’s raining or nighttime when you’re moved to sketch, let’s see a cozy scene of your housemate lost in a good book.
We follow USk Global’s guidelines of sketching live on location and not from reference photos. When outside your home, adhere to any government and private guidelines on social distancing and masking to help everyone stay safe. All skill levels welcome – happy sketching!

We gather for our virtual throwdown on our group Facebook page on Sunday, March 20, between noon and 3pm, but we always welcome late entries. 

And do tag your posts with #uskchicago so we may share your work on our group Instagram account.

In the meantime, Happy Daylight Savings Time!

 Thank you, Namrita Malik, for the banner image sketch of the Hinsdale Library!

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T&T Thursday!

 Back to the Future

We're almost there! 

Slowly but surely things are heading back to normal – whatever that is or was! Usk Chicago is resuming in person sketch meets in April. We've also begun planning for a mini seminar in July! Keeping our fingers crossed!

Sketching Habits During Covid

I've been hearing from sketchers how their sketching habits changed during the pandemic. 

• Some have used daily sketching as a relief. 

• Still others have kept sketching with the weekly USk Chicago prompts on Facebook.

• There are those who have used the time to experiment adding new mediums to their repertoire. 

• Others have almost stopped sketching entirely.

Ready, Set, Sketch!

Where ever you on the sketching grid it's good to review the benefits of a regular/daily sketching habit. Get ready to get together and sketch.

If you have fallen out of the sketching habit pick the same time each day to sketch (ex: before breakfast, while watching TV, during your coffee break, etc.)

Doing even a quick or small sketch each day can reap great benefits.

• Your work improves.
• Like an athlete it gets easier with practice as muscle memory improves.
• Your personal style will develop.

Looking forward to sketching together in the near future!

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T&T Thursday!

 Do You See What I See?

Warning: I’m back on my noticing kick. This time it’s a slightly different take than last September's post.

So many times when I start an urban sketch it seems like I go on autopilot. People tend to be my go to focus. For others it’s the architecture, others it’s the straight on view. All are good, but sometimes it’s good to change it up a little.

Following Rob Walker’s lead in The Art of Noticing, I started taking photos of things that catch my attention as I walk along the street and on vacation. Going through some images that I’ve taken over the the last year or two I was surprised by how different they are compared to what I see when I sketch.

Here’s the Trick

What I see on site with my photographer’s eye can I sketch it with my hand? 

That’s my challenge!

• What catches my eye?
• What jumps out at me?
• Sketch that with just enough context to make it an urban sketch

Even if the bee would stay long enough to be sketched, this needs more context to be an urban sketch!

Join me! 

When you go out to sketch, what catches your eye? Sketch that!

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Have You Heard!

Save the Date!

Details to Follow!

T&T Thursday!

Ode to the Pencil

What's the point?  

Pencils have a long and successful history beginning over 5000 years ago in the hands of the Egyptians. Today, they are still in use by school children, carpenters, artists, craftsmen. Pencils can be found in almost any home or office. 

Why?

They are convenient, inexpensive, and come in a wide variety of types and designs. For sketchers who draw whenever they get the chance it's a perfect tool! Rain or shine, hot or freezing temperatures, they get the work done. If you're sitting down, standing up, or leaning against a wall they work!

What's Your Preference?

There are many kinds of pencils:

• Charcoal

• Carbon

• Colored

• Grease

• Watercolor

• Graphite 

Graphite pencils Are the most common. They come in degrees of hardness. The harder the lead the lighter the line.

• H 9-2 = hard

• HB = medium

• B-3 = soft

• 4B - 9B = very soft

When it comes to sketching the artist's hand still has a great deal of control of the line weight.

Graphite pencils are my favorite. I love the feel of the pencil on the paper as I draw. I even enjoy the quiet sound as it moves across the page.

A piece of paper, a pencil, and a little plastic sharpener (if you're using a mechanical pencil you don't even need that) and you're good to sketch anywhere.

 Nice and simple, that works for me!

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T&T Thursday!

Sharpening the Mind's Eye

By Barbara Weeks

Photo Flip

Let’s face it almost all drawing is, in a way, memory drawing. Whether it’s a past vacation vista or the second it takes to look from your subject to your paper, it’s your mind’s eye holding the image for you to draw. 

The Trick  

Develop that eye to keep the image true while you transfer it to the paper.

The Tip

Do memory exercises – the sharpen your memory the better your drawing.

Here are a few games to get you started

1. The Photo Flip 

You can use a photograph or an image from a magazine or newspaper. Choose something in the photo that attracts you. Study and simplify your chosen image carefully but quickly, twenty seconds tops.  Now, flip the photo over and draw what you remember. Try it again with the same photo, this time study it for ten seconds. How much more did you remember?

One of my favorite books on drawing is The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study by Kimon Nicolaides (1891-1938) and one of my favorite quotes from the book is:

“Try not to remember merely the position of the model, just as when you memorize a poem you are not just trying to memorize just the shapes of the letters.”

2. Quick Sips

Go to a cafe, a sporting event, or really anywhere people gather. Choose someone to draw. Observe them carefully. You won’t be able to control the amount of time you have since they will move. You can count on that! Now draw what you remember. Wait a bit and you’ll find they’ll return to the same pose again and again. Draw them again. And again. How do your sketches compare? While you're waiting for them to return to the same pose choose another subject and use the same techniques. 

Karate Class

3. Red Light Green Light 

When you’re a passenger in a car and the car stops for a red light observe what you see out the window. When the light turns green sketch what you saw. (Sometimes as a variation I may just see how long I can hold the afterimage in my mind.)

Bison, Yellowstone National Park

4. No Erasers Allowed 

Rather than do a new sketch for each observation in these exercises try them by drawing over/correcting your original sketch.

Another quote from Nicolaides

“Memory drawing is a little like touch typing. If you try consciously to think of where the letters are you are likely to become confused, but if you rely on your sense of touch you can become very accurate.”

Powerful observational skills and a strong visual memory are a tremendous skills for an Urban Sketcher who shares a view of a fast moving world. Practicing observation and memory skills will improve your on location sketching. 

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