9 minute read
VERONICA LAWLOR
VERONICA LAWLOR reflects on seeing the world through reportage
Ifirst heard about Urban Sketchers through Greg Betza, one of the illustrators in my group, Studio 1482. He called me one day, excited to tell me about a new online group that was forming around reportage drawing, something that we all had practiced and loved for years. Soon after, I received an email from Gabi Campanario with an invitation to join the USk blog as a correspondent, which I happily accepted!
I’m interested in the idea of bringing emotion and a personal viewpoint to the urban sketch. Reportage is about carrying back your experiences on location, so that includes the emotions that a location brings out in the artist, as well as their opinions, thoughts, ideas, and even fantasies, while working on-site. I think all of this is part of your direct experience of a location, and I’m excited to open those doors for urban sketchers when I teach.
LEFT: PRAGUE CAFE | BELOW: GRAND CENTRAL STATION, NYC
Reportage is my way to interact with the world through drawing. Not only to document news-worthy events, which I’ve done, but also, to document the great places of the world and the small moments of life that happen in all of them. Through reportage I’ve discovered what I always suspected; that what we have in common is so much more than our differences. I feel fortunate to have met so many people and to have had so many experiences through reportage drawing that I never would have had without it. As much as I love time in my studio, I will always use reportage to bring the outside world in. I’m a relatively shy person, but through drawing on location I have become a global extrovert, and I love that!
I am passionate about art-making in many forms. Aside from reportage illustration, which I practice professionally (and always for pleasure), my true love is life drawing. Working from the model in short poses challenges my design senses, improves my visual memory, and gets my heart going! I love to teach others to trust their artistic instincts through life drawing as well – it’s such a benefit to an urban sketcher to have the experience of drawing people quickly (as we all know, they move on location!). My non-artistic passions would be travel, good food and wine, mentoring young artists, and spending time with friends and family. Oh, and dancing! I LOVE to dance, and fortunately my husband does too!
My favorite thing about USk is the community. Through Urban Sketchers I’ve had the opportunity to meet likeminded people across the globe, and I have made some lifetime friends. I also love teaching workshops at the annual symposiums – especially fun are the participants who are new to urban sketching. Seeing their faces light up when they take their first steps, or something I’m teaching in the workshop clicks with them, is such a gratifying experience.
I will be teaching an Urban Sketchers workshop in Paris on March 21-22 called Paris: je ne sais quoi? Capturing the Essence of Paris Through Reportage and Mixed Media. The workshop will be about using a reportage approach to not only document the city, but also to find your own story and opinion, and be decisive about what to draw. We’ll also be working to capture the feeling that the city evokes in each urban sketcher, and how to express that through choices in design and mixed media. Paris is such an emotionally evocative city, that I feel it is the perfect location for this type of experience.
THROUGH REPORTAGE I’VE DISCOVERED WHAT I ALWAYS SUSPECTED; THAT WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON IS SO MUCH MORE THAN OUR DIFFERENCES – VERONICA LAWLOR
Another workshop coming up in early June that I am excited about is the Life Drawing Symposium – a three-day workshop in figure drawing geared towards urban sketchers, that I co-founded in 2019 with fellow USk correspondent Melanie Reim. Last year was such a big success that we had to do it again this year – the growth in the participants’ ability to draw and understand the figure in motion was tremendous. It’s such an important skill for urban sketchers to study and practice.
I normally work with paper, not pixels, but have done a lot of work with Mental Canvas, a digital app which allows you to draw directly in dimension. It’s addictive! I used Mental Canvas to create one of eight scenes in a muralsized game installation for a children’s hospital here in NYC, in which children can visit and interact with major locations of the city while they’re hospitalized. Here is a link (if you look closely, there is an artist painting on the bridge who looks a lot like me). That being said, when I’m on location, my personal preference will always be physical materials over digital, even though Rob Sketcherman keeps trying to convince me otherwise! Hi Rob! :)
“I’M A RELATIVELY SHY PERSON, BUT THROUGH DRAWING ON LOCATION I HAVE BECOME A GLOBAL EXTROVERT, AND I LOVE THAT! –VERONICA LAWLOR
CONNECT WITH RONNIE
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COOL GEAR BY MARK LEIBOWITZ
Many people responded to the call for bad weather sketching solutions.
1) Mayuresh sketches with the Pune, India, group and provided photos of sketchers wearing ponchos for rain protection. Mayuresh bought a poncho with a window in Vietnam and realized - you could sketch under it!
2) Cindi Foreman was visiting Edinburgh, Scotland, from her home in Canada and had three days of great weather. Leaving in the rain, her daughter took this photo of Cindi sketching in what might be a classical Urban Sketcher pose.
3) Kate Buike, who sketches in Seattle, sent a photo that shows a tip she picked up from Pete Scully: rather than holding the umbrella and “losing” a sketching hand, she stuffs the long handle down the front of her jacket. The top rests on her head. Viola! Both hands free!
4) Another umbrella photo came from Nina Judson who has figured out an effortless way to stay dry. She uses a Guerrilla Painter Shadebuddy stuck in the wet ground to protect her sketching. Nina also pointed out a new umbrella solution called the “Phonebrella.” Google it if you’re curious. It’s an umbrella that wirelessly connects to your cell phone and allows you to take and make calls as well as listen to music - hands free.
5) Tina Koyama sent a photo of a sketch she did in the snow, and you can clearly see water drops on the artwork. Her solution is to accept what nature offers. How about the cold? “If I were to simply step outside my house to temperatures in the 30s or 40s (-1*C to 4*C), I would be too cold to sketch. But after walking for a while, I’ve warmed up enough that stopping for a short sketch is bearable.”
We are a rugged group!
6) When all else fails, become a fruit and vegetable expert! Winters are rough in Minnesota. Urban Sketcher Pam Luer says, “I am always looking to find a way to continue my sketchbook practice in the dead of winter. The produce department never disappoints. I find the produce section of any market loaded with color, textures, form and beauty.” And, when she’s finished her art, subjects end up in a hearty winter soup.
Always looking for new Cool Gear and Creative Solutions – write to me at markleibowitz810@ gmail.com .
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WELCOME NEW USK CHAPTERS
USk is pleased to announce these new regional chapters:
USK ARMENIA
USk Armenia (Yerevan) USk Belo Horizonte, Brazil USk Edmonton, Canada USk Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation USk Granada, Spain USk Jeddah, Saudi Arabia USk Minsk, Russian Federation USk Morlaix, France USk Washington DC, USA USk Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
Welcome to the Urban Sketchers family!
USK JEDDAH USK ZAPORIZHZHIA
USK BELO HORIZONTE
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.
PARKA REVIEWS BY TEOH YI CHIE
Teoh Yi Chie is an infographics journalist who joined Urban Sketchers Singapore in 2009. He’s probably better known as Parka from Parkablogs.com, a website that reviews art books and art products.
This month Parka video reviews tthe Kuretake Cambio brush pen (and how to refill). Check it out! Check it out!
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.
