Notes from the USk Symposium, Porto

I can't believe it has been a month since the 2018 Urban Sketchers Symposium in Porto, Portugal. It was the first time I have attended a Symposium, but I hope it's not the last. It was amazing to be so immersed in sketching and surrounded so continuously by sketchers! I am posting just a few sketches here, but more are on Instagram. I am Sue.Heston on Instagram.



This is one of the drawings I did in Jose Louro's workshop. I also took a workshop with Joao Catarino, and both of these guys stretched the way I think of urban sketching.



What? A watercolor? Charline Moreau demoed a monochrome watercolor underpainting technique that was all about values!



This was the scene at the Final Sketchcrawl - sketchers as far as the eye could see (over 500!).



And one of my personal favs from an earlier sketchcrawl to wrap up a picture-heavy post.

One Week 100 People 2018

It’s that time of year again! Urban sketchers Marc Taro Holmes and Liz Steele are hosting their annual challenge to sketchers to draw 100 people in one week. I did it last year for the first time, and wow! When you focus that hard on your drawing, you will see improvements. I cannot keep up that level of focus throughout the year, so I have been looking forward to this challenge to get me motivated again. I will be posting daily on instagram and will do a roundup here at the end of the week. Meanwhile, how many people will you draw? #OneWeek100People2018

Urban Sketchers Seattle 10x10 classes in 2018

For the second year, USk Seattle is taking part in 10x10, the worldwide initiative to offer educational workshops wherever sketchers live. Launched in celebration of Urban Sketchers’ 10th anniversary in 2017, the program brings a variety of courses on urban sketching techniques taught by talented local instructors in their home cities. All workshops are on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Registration begins Sunday, March 4, 2018, 9 a.m. The cost is $60 each. A free Program Kickoff Event will be held March 3, 4:30 p.m., at Daniel Smith’s Seattle store. (Although the kickoff is free, registration is required.) Meet the instructors, see their sketchbooks, and learn about the workshops before registering. The kickoff will be followed by an unhosted, informal “drink & draw” at a nearby location, which will be another opportunity to talk with instructors who attend this optional event. Hope to see you there!

Intober 2017 sketches 2-6

A mixed bag here, but that is what you get in #inktober #inktober2017. A few sketches of the fans at the Copper Coin during the Seahawk's game on Sunday. And some small sketches of two of Seattle's best parks. I have discovered Ian Sidaway's blog - which I recommend for anyone who loves pen and ink - and you can see his influence on these sketches.

Seattle Urban Sketchers 10th Anniversary Workshop Series

     Urban Sketchers are celebrating their 10th anniversary (!). To celebrate, the local Urban Sketchers chapters in 26 different cities around the world will each be hosting a series 10 workshops on sketching their city.

I am so excited to be presenting one of the workshops in the series which the Seattle Urban Sketchers have put together. This is an amazing group of instructors, many of whom have taught at the annual Urban Sketchers Symposiums. An informational lecture will be held on January 28 at the Daniel Smith Seattle store and a schedule of the classes with the dates, instructors and planned locations can be found here, along with information on how to register:

http://www.urbansketchers.org/2017/01/10-years-x-10-classes-in-seattle.html

The meeting on Jan. 28 will be a great time to meet the instructors and see their work. But registration has started and some classes are filling up fast! So my advice is not to wait if there is a class you know that you want to sign up for.

August - Gray Sketchbook Finished

August was a good month for sketching. I made it to several Urban Sketcher outings, including the 4th Annual West Coast Urban Sketchers Sketchcrawl in Tacoma, Washington. About 150 sketchers from the US and Canada attended the three day event!
I also finished the Strathmore gray toned book I have been using, which is my 3rd sketchbook this year. That is a record pace for me, and I am hoping to complete 4 by the end of the year. Clearly, I do more sketching than blogging...
I finished this book with a variety of techniques from quick ink sketches, compositional value studies and more finished drawings with colored pencil and collage on the gray paper. As usual, more at my Flickr site.