VICTOR SWASKY

from DA April 2020

USK DELHI

A Mission of Storytelling with Victor Swasky

BY MEAGAN BURNS

VICTOR SWASKY (CALL HIM SWASKY) HAS BEEN WORKING AS A FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR IN BARCELONA FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, BUT HE’S ALSO A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR, URBAN SKETCHER AND STORYTELLER – AND HE WANTS TO HELP YOU LOOK DEEPER AT THE SUBJECTS YOU ARE SKETCHING.

“I t’s easy to sit down and sketch the obvious subject that everyone sees and visits, but what if you take the time to really look around and see where a different story is being told? That’s where I look for the stories I want to tell.”

“Now my only one hope is that everybody will make it through this global outbreak. I can foresee the future and probably all workshops this year will change, in fact I think that the world is not anymore like it was two weeks ago.”

Swasky was one of the founding members of Spain’s first Urban Sketchers chapter, back when Spain only had one main chapter. Now most Spanish cities have become official regional chapters, and Swasky is associated with the Barcelona chapter, and is an avid storyteller in his city.

He first became a workshop instructor at the second USk Symposium, with a workshop called, How To Draw an Onion, where he asked participants to peel back the layers of drawing to tell a story – a long time theme for Swasky! Swasky continues these themes in his ongoing workshop series with Pushing Your Sketching Boundaries (PYSB). In these workshops, instructors lead small groups with the idea of looking deeper, strengthening skills, and understanding tools. And speaking of tools, when asked what’s in his sketch bag, Swasky confessed he had colored pencils, graphite pencils, acrylic markers and a few ink pens; he’s a definite fan of mixing styles for different results. “There’s no reason to just stick with one style or medium. I’ve enjoyed learning how to mix mediums in order to tell a more powerful or dramatic story.”

In 2017, Swasky wrote a travel sketch journal called Hola, Miró!!!, where he meets Joan Miró in the house designed for him by architect Josep Lluís Sert in Barcelona. In this book, the reader is invited to join him as he tours the Fundació Joan Miró and some of the key places in the life and work of the great artist. Sketchbook in hand, Swasky encourages us to discover and enjoy Joan Miró’s universe as he experiences it.

Swasky’s mission continues today, as he wants you to experience life through your sketchbook, by telling visual stories and living the experiences that happen when you become a sketcher of your life.

“I love being out in the world, sketching and being mindful about what surrounds me – I am hopeful that we will move past this global pandemic and although things will be different, I will continue to think globally, act (draw) locally.”

**Since this interview, the global pandemic COVID-19 situation has progressed to mandatory quarantine for all of Spain, as well as many other countries and cities around the world. Within a matter of days, the conversation and intentions went from hopeful continued planning of European workshops, to a complete shutdown and disintegration of all pending plans. At this time, many of us are finding ourselves under quarantine to help stop the spread of the virus, and are hopeful that our members around the world are safe and out of harm’s way.**

“I LOVE BEING OUT IN THE WORLD, SKETCHING AND BEING MINDFUL ABOUT WHAT SURROUNDS ME – I AM HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL MOVE PAST THIS GLOBAL PANDEMIC AND ALTHOUGH THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT, I WILL CONTINUE TO THINK GLOBALLY, ACT (DRAW) LOCALLY.”