DRAWING
Attention
The official zine of Urban Sketchers JUNE 2019
Drawing Attention Mandate Drawing Attention, the official monthly zine of the Urban Sketchers organization, communicates and promotes official USk workshops, symposiums, sketchcrawls, news and events; shares news about USk chapters; and educates readers about the practice of on-location sketching. Thanks to this month’s Drawing Attention contributors: Managing Editor: Patricia Chow Editorial Assistant: Pedro Loureiro Mailchimp layout: Jane Wingfield Issuu layout: Anne Taylor Social Media Designer: Carrie Alyson Hirsch Writers: Leslie Akchurin, Mark Alan Anderson. Proofreaders: Ann Schwartzwald. Contributors: Parka; Amber Sausen, Maria Regina Tuazon, Mark Leibowitz, Raylie Dunkel, Suzala, Jason Das, Sheanne Lee. cover image: Jason Das Subscribe to Drawing Attention. Read the May edition of Drawing Attention. Circulation: 11k+ Readership: 16k+ Web: urbansketchers.org Urban Sketchers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the art of on-location drawing. Click here to make your tax-deductible contribution via Paypal. © 2019 Urban Sketchers.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Dear Urban Sketchers, Did you know that each chapter of Urban Sketchers has three leaders we call chapter administrators or “admins”? These three leaders are volunteers. With over 280 chapters, that means we have at least 840 sketchers who are giving their time and talents to Urban Sketchers chapters to organize sketchwalks and events. And that’s before we start counting the many volunteers who make up the teams that support the work of the global Urban Sketchers nonprofit organization! We have dozens of volunteers who make up the following teams: Communications, Social
Media, Tech Team, Symposium Team, Regional Chapters and Membership, Education Committee, Finance Committee, Advisory Board and Executive Board. We each serve Urban Sketchers because we find value in the mission of the organization: to elevate the artistic, storytelling and educational value of on-location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the work who draw on location where they live and travel. Please join me in saying an enormous THANK YOU to our many volunteers around the world! Happy Sketching, Amber Sausen, USk President president@urbansketchers.org.
MANAGING EDITOR’S MESSAGE Welcome to the June issue of Drawing Attention! I had the pleasure of sketching with USk San Diego this past weekend and was greeted with such warmth and hospitality, reminding me just how wonderful our global community of sketchers is. Do you have a story about a time you sketched in another city or hosted sketchers from out of town? Please share them with me at drawingattention@urbansketchers.org. My heartfelt thanks goes out to our fabulous, hard-working and talented team of writers, proofreaders, designers, sponsors, and social media and tech teams, and to YOU, our wonderful readers, for your support! I hope you enjoy our latest issue! Patricia Chow, Drawing Attention Managing Editor drawingattention@urbansketchers.org
CONTENTS 4 USK SYMPOSIUM NEWS
6
12
14
18
SUZALA
JASON DAS
USK LLEIDA
26
32
38
USK KUALA LUMPUR
SHEILA PUTRI
REVIEWS | ENDNOTES
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USK NEWS & EVENTS
8
USK NYC
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JUNE 2019 3
USk Symposium News
SYMPOSIUM DRINK & DRAW LOCATION ANNOUNCED Every year, the Symposium has a place where sketchers from all over the world can meet after a long day of sketching and exploring the host city. Whether you have a Symposium Pass or not, it is where you can meet sketching friends, whom you already know for a long time but only had chance to talk to on social media. get together with new friends, and reunite with those from previous symposiums. We are happy to announce this year’s Drink and Draw location for the International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Amsterdam: Amstelhoeck. 4 DRAWING ATTENTION
Amstelhoeck is a unique Grand Cafe located on the Amstel, a stone’s throw from our main venue, Zuiderkerk. The Grand Cafe has a large terrace with perhaps the best view of Amsterdam on the Amstel river, Munt Tower and typical canal houses. You can see many boats passing by. As a special welcome to participants with a Symposium Pass, Amstelhoeck offers a 10% discount off your bill if you show your Sym-posium Pass on symposium days. “Tot ziens bij Amstelhoeck!” Visit http://www.urbansketchers. org/p/usk-amsterdam-2019.html for more Symposium information.
URBAN SKETCHERS NETHERLANDS IN FRONT OF AMSTELHOECK. PHOTO: GAIL HOWARD
USk Symposium News
SYMPOSIUM 2020 CALL FOR PROGRAMMING The 11th Urban Sketchers Symposium is happening earlier than usual. Although the venue is yet to be announced at the closing of this year’s Symposium in Amsterdam, the Call for Programming is being released earlier to give those who are interested to teach, more time to prepare for their creative pitches. We are seeking proposals for Workshops, Demonstrations, Lectures and Skit Sketch If you are passionate about sketching and want to be part of the Symposium Faculty next year, all information, tips, deadlines, and forms to fill out are available here: http://www.urbansketchers.org/p/usk-
symposium-2020.html
We wish everyone the best and we look forward to your brilliant proposals!
JUNE 2019 5
USk News & Events
10X10 WORKSHOPS USk 10x10 Workshops are an excellent opportunity to learn new sketching skills from a top USk instructor and to meet a new community of sketchers in a location near you. To see the list of 10x10 classes around the world click here. To add your chapter to the list, contact education@urbansketchers.org.
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6 DRAWING ATTENTION
USk News & Events
SHARE YOUR CHAPTER’S NEWS WITH OUR READERS Contact us to share your chapter’s news, special events, joint meetups, and exhibitions with our readers. You don’t need to write the story yourself. We will assign a Drawing Attention writer to cover your story! Contact us at: drawingattention@ urbansketchers.org.
JUNE 2019 7
Featured Chapter
USK NYC TOURS UTRECHT PAINT FACTORY
TEXT BY RAYLIE DUNKEL | SKETCHES BY JASON DAS & SUZALA
T
he New York City USk chapter had a rare treat this week....a tour of the Utrecht paint factory in Brooklyn, NY! Utrecht has been in business in the same facility for over 70 years, still making high quality oil, acrylic and watercolor paints. While the company was recently bought by Dick Blick, Utrecht has maintained an independent position as a hands-on labor intensive business within the larger corporation. As artists, we pick up paints, papers, brushes and pencils with a focus on creating artwork without fully understanding the craft and science that go into the manufacture of these products. While we all saw the paint oozing out of the mills into tubes as they march along the assembly line, the tour gave sketchers the opportunity to learn from a resident artist and chemist, who have a demonstration focusing on the chemistry of paintmaking and all of the testing required to produce a consistently highperforming product. Did you know that pigments are milled down to 7 microns, and each batch of paint is individually tested for viscosity, pH, and particle separation? The color swatches on each tube of Utrecht paint are hand painted with the very colors inside of them. Paint mediums and oils go through a similar process to insure that when we put brush to paper our expectation for producing our art is met. We looked, listened, learned and took pictures of everything from the men and women working in the factory, to the beautiful colors coming out of the machines and the Jackson Pollock-like splatters on the equipment, walls, and floors. AND some of us sketched as we walked (see Jason Das and Suzala article, this issue) – proving that Urban Sketchers can sketch anything, anywhere, anytime!
8 DRAWING ATTENTION
USk NYC
PHOTO: IRIS ONG
JUNE 2019 9
Featured Chapter
10 DRAWING ATTENTION
JUNE 2019 11
Sketcher Spotlight
CENTRAL PARK BOATHOUSES
SKETCHER SPOTLIGHT: SUZALA (USK NYC)
I
am a graphic designer, living in New York and a member of the Urban Sketchers New York City chapter for almost four years. Professionally I specialize in branding; logo, website and advertising design and have over 35 years in the business. In the past five years I opened my studio to private art lessons and cover everything from contour drawing, watercolors, sculpture, printing to portfolio building. Of course, everyone of my students learns the value of drawing from life and we do draw on site whenever possible. I’m a former team coach for robotics programs for students with an organization called FIRST, but now really enjoy sketching robots and teams. I used to be an avid knitter and pattern designer, but now my time is totally usurped by watercolors and mop brushes.
12 DRAWING ATTENTION
I connected with the Urban Sketchers when one August night in 2016, I fell over a video that Parka Blogs had made of the Symposium in Singapore. I was hooked within the first minute. I figured if there are artists from all over the world, there must be a chapter in NYC. I found their listing, contacted Mark Leibowitz, our fearless leader, and the rest is history. Since then I designed the USk NYC logo, have been active in managing 10x10 workshops, and even run a few drawing events. In 2018 I taught a 10x10 workshop for USk NYC called The Value of Values – how to create great compositions and successful paintings by connecting notans and grey values to color work. The class was so well received that
Suzala
I am teaching it again this year independently in Chicago on May 30. Additionally, I’m teaming up with Brian Wright, a wonderful architect and artist, to co-teach a class called Composition Tells the Story at the Chicago Sketch Seminar. I used to work for the internationally famous comic book artist Neal Adams; as a result I
am currently exploring how comic book and graphic novel layouts can be used to depict an urban scene – using framing you can really tell a story. In September, I will be teaching a 10x10 workshop with USk NYC called Journaling Without Words, using comic book styles to help tell the story of an urban scene. I can’t wait!
UNDER THE FDR
CHERRY BLOSSOM FALLS
JUNE 2019 13
Sketcher Spotlight
I am a founding member of Urban Sketchers as a blog and as an organization. I was on the Executive Board for five years, and served as President in 2014. I have attended eight Symposiums, and was an organizer or faculty for six. I currently serve on the Advisory Board and am active in the New York City chapter.
SKETCHER SPOTLIGHT: JASON DAS (USK NYC)
I
make art, comics, and music, and I teach a wide range of subjects: drawing, painting, graphic storytelling, coding, journalism, design, etc. I integrate urban sketching into my curriculums as much as possible! I’m also a big supporter of social justice, environmental, and animal rights causes, though this stuff rarely overlaps overtly with my creative work.
Is there a technique or subject that you are currently focusing on or excited about? No one thing. I’m interested in how everything comes together! Do you have any upcoming workshops? All that’s scheduled right now is a September workshop for the NYC chapter on sketching cars. We can’t ignore them, so we’d better get more comfortable sketching them.
PORTSIDE PORTHOLE 14 DRAWING ATTENTION
Jason Das
CALVERT VAUX PARK
JUNE 2019 15
Sketcher Spotlight
16 DRAWING ATTENTION
JUNE 2019 17
BIG MEETING
IN LLEIDA
18 DRAWING ATTENTION
USk Lleida
A DAY-LONG SKETCH EVENT IN CATALONIA ATTRACTED HUNDREDS OF SKETCHERS FROM AS FAR AWAY AS THE BASQUE COUNTRY AND PARIS. BY LESLIE AKCHURIN
SKETCH BY IWONA FLASZCZYNSKA
JUNE 2019 19
Featured Chapter
C
atalonia saw some real cultural excitement on May 4th of this year when Lleida became the latest city of USk Catalunya to host the region’s annual Sketch Meeting. To the delight of organizers, over 371 people attended, more than three times the number that attended the first meeting in 2016. According to Victor Berge, one of the event planners, “The weather was lucky, and everyone had a wonderful time in a day with many activities for not just the sketchers but also for their non-sketching partners who accompanied them.” The event was especially exciting because it was held at the site of a monumental complex, the hill of the Seu Vella (“old cathedral hill”), whose remarkable and historic structures offer beautiful views of the city and countryside.
20 DRAWING ATTENTION
The event began at 9am with an orientation and tour of the complex. Then participants were able to sketch freely among a diverse variety of locations. And not one but two musical performances augmented this variety the “Pixie Dixie” band in the open-sided cloister in the morning and a local youth group, CPTET, in the church later in the day. At 2pm, a group photo was taken in front of the cathedral and about 200 people sat down to a catered dinner, whose price—19 euros per was the only fee charged for the event. Others opted to visit the city center and dine there. Then there was more sketching in the afternoon, and participants were invited to contribute to and sign an approximately 2 x 6 ft.sketch
USk Lleida
SKETCH BY MARÇAL ABELLA
of the Seu Vella or old cathedral, which was later presented to the complex management consortium, comprising members of both the city of Lleida and the Catalan government.
ask participants of this year’s Meeting to contribute high quality images of their sketches for a magazine promoting the site’s inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Victor and the other organizers – for instance, Toni Rodriguez, coordinator of USk Catalunya, and Joan Mestre, president of USk Lleida – were very gratified for this opportunity to expose visitors to the unique Seu Vella landmark. Victor notes that urban sketchers “are naturally interested in cultural things and events, and these historical buildings are a big part of what makes this area special.” As a supplement to their work with the Consorci del Turo de la Seu Vella, organizers will
Victor says that by the time the meeting concluded with another group photo at 6pm, there were warm feelings of enjoyment and camaraderie all around. USk Lleida Facebook USk Catalunya Facebook
Instagram: @usklleida @uskcatalunya
JUNE 2019 21
Featured Chapter
SKETCH BY EDUARDO VICENTE 22 DRAWING ATTENTION
SKETCH BY DOLORS BARBERAN
USK Lleida
SKETCH BY PERE ARMENGOL
JUNE 2019 23
Featured Chapter
SKETCH BY IWONA FLASZCZYNSKA
SKETCH BY DELTORO 24 DRAWING ATTENTION
USk News
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO IS URBAN SKETCHING FOR THE FIRST TIME? The Urban Sketchers YouTube Channel would like to feature individual urban sketchers or chapters sharing their answer to What advice would you give someone urban sketching for the first time? We are requesting answers submitted in video format for our YouTube Channel. These do not have to be professional videos and can be videos taken with your phone! Guidelines: Please submit anytime during the month of June 2019.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE USK YOUTUBE CHANNEL
We prefer very short videos (2-3 minutes for a group). By submitting your video you give permission to have it edited and/or combined with other submissions if necessary. MPEG4 OR .mp4 file extension, steady camera, clear, intelligible voice, little to no background noise, no advertisements. To submit your video for consideration, please send via WeTransfer to Lydia Velarde at video@urbansketchers.org. I am looking forward to viewing and sharing answers on the Urban Sketchers YouTube Channel!
FOLLOW USK ON TWITTER JUNE 2019 25
Featured Chapter
26 DRAWING ATTENTION
USk Kuala Lumpur
USk Kuala Lumpur sketches Peranakan culture SKETCHING IS CERTAINLY A GREAT WAY TO PRESERVE MEMORIES. ON MAY 19, THE KUALA LUMPUR URBAN SKETCHERS HAD A ‘CULTURAL’ SKETCH AT “PERANAKAN PASSION” TO PRESERVE SOME ‘PERANAKAN’ COLLECTIONS IN THEIR SKETCHES. BY SHEANNE LEE
I
n Malaysia, the ‘Peranakan’ population can be found mainly in Malacca, our historical city. The term ‘Peranakan’ is a Malay word which means descendant, going back to centuries ago when the Chinese emigrated from China to the British Straits Settlement in Malaya and intermarried with the local Malays. They succeeded in assimilating into the community where they lived, and this marked the beginning of their own unique ‘Peranakan’ culture. The sketchers were exposed to ‘Peranakan’ cultural artifacts such as the ever famous beaded shoes and ‘Nyonya Kebaya’ embroidery. Taking a stroll down Jonker Street in Malacca, these colorful masterpieces make heads turn. Thanks to the owner of “Peranakan Passion,” a pure ‘Peranakan’ descendant who has a collection of all things
‘Peranakan’, sketchers were able to sketch these items without having to travel to Malacca. Different from the usual outdoor sketch events, sketchers were comfy in a studio, sketching while listening to the story of each item. These precious pieces of art with refined workmanship were once highly sought after by art and antique collectors. Sadly, with the introduction of machines and the loss of interest in adopting these crafts as skills, the hand embroidery ‘Nyonya Kebaya’, beaded shoes and lantern-making are a dying art. This sketch event successfully created a platform for the younger sketchers to be exposed to and admire these forms of art, regarded by many as a valued masterpiece to be treasured. JUNE 2019 27
Featured Chapter
PERANAKAN ANTIQUES BY GYEN LIM
28 DRAWING ATTENTION
TRADITIONAL FOOTWEAR BY INDI GOH
USk Kuala Lumpur
ALL THINGS PERANAKAN BY SHEANNE LEE
SILVER-GILT PERANAKAN SIRIH TYPEWRITTER
PERANAKAN LANTERN AND BEADED SHOES JUNE 2019 29
Featured Chapter
SILVER-GILT PERANAKAN SIRIH TYPEWRITTER BY SCOTT HO 30 DRAWING ATTENTION
PERANAKAN LANTERN AND BEADED SHOES BY SHI MUN
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JUNE 2019 31
USk Instructor
THE Comic SIDE OF THINGS BY MARK ALAN ANDERSON
32 DRAWING ATTENTION
The Comic Side of Things
‘INDUSTRIE’ JUNE 2019 33
USk Instructor
F
rom the movie business to her illustration career, Urban Sketcher Sheila Putri’s life has been – quite literally, in fact – a comic one. A native of Jakarta, Putri’s work is an exploration of urban themes as viewed through the lens of her comic-styled art. “There are so many ideas to dig from observing what is happening around you,” she says. “Jakarta is rich with stories – the people, the buildings, the urban planning… things we take for granted.” Putri is convinced these stories all emerge from small ideas and personal observations. As a storyboard artist in the film industry, she became adept at drawing everything from all conceivable angles. Designing scenes as a camera might see them is an excellent foundation for sketching those same types of subjects on location.
Her distinctive “visual voice” pairs well with her choice of subject matter and storytelling. Reminiscent of Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin, her imagery often seems to have several things happening at once, much as would be true of any actual crowd. “I really love drawing with ink, which derived from my love of comics,” she says. “When drawing on location, drawing directly with ink is very efficient. And with practice we can spend only a little time to capture the scenery. I treat urban sketching as my way of collecting visual vocabulary.” 34 DRAWING ATTENTION
Sheila Putri regularly teaches workshops for both adults and children. “When I do workshops for kids, the material would mostly be in how to develop a good concept. Idea is the most important thing.” A recent collaboration with Mathieu Letellier (see Draw Until You Don’t Care About it Anymore, Drawing Attention, May 2019) is cited as one of her favorite workshops. “We were sharing tips and tricks for drawing people and I could see how our advice was fun and relaxed, and easy to follow. It was very satisfying.” Both sketchers share an interest in observing and drawing people on the street, bonding as Urban Sketcher buddies in the process. They hope to collaborate again very soon. Regardless of the artwork created, Sheila Putri emphasizes the importance of personal identity in each drawing. She can be found on Instagram and Facebook as sheilasplayground.
The Comic Side of Things
ABOVE: BOROUGH MARKET, LONDON
BELOW: THE LONDON TUBE
JUNE 2019 35
USk Instructor
TYRE PATCHER IN JAKARTA
GEROBAK
36 DRAWING ATTENTION
“Designing scenes as a camera might see them is an excellent foundation for sketching those same types of subjects on location...”
The Comic Side of Things
TAKKIE JUNE 2019 37
Reviews | Endnotes
PARKA REVIEWS BY TEOH YI CHIE
Teoh Yi Chie is an infographics journalist who joined Urban Sketchers Singapore in 2009. He is better known as Parka from Parkablogs.com a website that reviews art books and art products. This month Parka video reviews the
Watercolour sable brush by PANART GLOBAL . Check it out!
BRING A WORKSHOP TO YOUR CHAPTER Urban Sketchers organizes workshops taught by our top instructors in collaboration with USk chapters around the world. If you would like to bring an official USk workshop to your chapter, start the conversation with our Education Director, Mรกrio Linhares at education@urbansketchers. org.
FOLLOW USK ON FACEBOOK 38 DRAWING ATTENTION
Reviews | Endnotes
COOL GEAR BY MARK LEIBOWITZ
G
ayle Madeira came up with a great way to sketch – hands free! She found a cell phone holder and instantly realized it could be repurposed for sketching. Gayle’s photo shows just how cool this solution is: “I thought it could work for painting and it was very affordable so I bought one, tried it and it works! I balanced my little watercolor box on the holder’s aluminum tubes and mixed my
colors in the lid of my palette,” says Gayle. You can find this product by searching for: Universal Cell Phone Holder, Neck and Waist Hanging Lazy Bracket Stand. You probably have a Cool Gear idea, too. Let’s share - Urban Sketchers love new ideas. Send your Cool Gear solution to: markleibowitz810@gmail.com. JUNE 2019 39
Our Manifesto • We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation • Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel • Our drawings are a record of time and place • We are truthful to the scenes we witness • We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles • We support each other and draw together • We share our drawings online • We show the world, one drawing at a time.
© 2019 Urban Sketchers www.urbansketchers.org