NEWS & EVENTS

usk news

UMA KELKAR

THANK YOU, UMA

I want to take the opportunity to extend a huge thank you to Uma Kelkar for her time and dedication to the Urban Sketchers organization and our community. She has been a part of our community since 2010 and had served as our Executive Board Secretary since 2019.

Working with Uma these past few years has been inspiring and educational. The amazing mix of her artistic and engineering mind would raise thought-provoking questions and create unique suggestions enveloped in honesty and compassion. Uma has been an outstanding colleague – and an amazing friend. From the entire EB, thank you for all of your heart and effort.

Genine Carvalheira, USk President

ANNETTE MORRIS

WELCOME NEW SECRETARY ANNETTE MORRIS We would like to welcome Annette Morris, a British artist living in southern France. She is the founder of USk Languedoc, a multinational, multilingual chapter within the USk family. In addition to exhibiting her work, Annette runs online sketch classes plus workshops and sketching holidays in France. “I’m passionate about bringing people together who share a common interest. Becoming an active member of USk means I’ve finally ‘found my tribe’.” We wish Annette all the best in her new role.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE USK YOUTUBE CHANNEL SUBSCRIBE TO DRAWING ATTENTION – IT’S FREE MARIA REGINA TUAZON

HI, I’M YOUR NEW COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Born in Manila, Philippines, I lived in Singapore for more than 13 years. It was with USk Singapore that I madly started urban sketching and experienced my first Symposium. It led me to volunteer with the Symposium Team thereafter. Currently based in Berlin, I am getting the hang of speaking a foreign language, working with diverse brands, having a love affair with nature, and sketching during different seasons. I am passionate about work and causes that delight, connect, and move people. With a demonstrated history of working in the global creative and digital media industry, I have enjoyed collaborating with teams and communities from different cultures and walks of life. Creative professional by day, I am a percussionist, roving photographer, storyteller, and urban sketching addict in between. My love for the arts, education and meaningful causes keeps me in perfect tune.

Maria Regina Tuazon

SKETCHTOUR KIRCHBERG

RENCONTRES NATIONALES USK FRANCE

Four hundred sketchers participated in France’s Annual National meet-up in Lille from the 3rd to the 6th of June. Hahnemuhle sponsored the event and distributed free watercolor kits. The organizers set up sketching routes (circuits) beginning Friday afternoon, but the official gathering began on Saturday morning with a group photo. Afterwards, participants swarmed the city for the next three days, spreading out to sketch the city. The event was free and required no registration. Check out the Instagram hashtag: #usklille2022

It’s summertime, at least in the northern hemisphere, and sketchers have been busy around the world!

SKETCHTOUR KIRCHBERG – May 2022 Urban Sketchers Hohenlohe, in southwest Germany, have been getting together regularly, often joining with other groups in the region. Last May Betina Ruppert (@bettina_draws) organized a weekend sketch outing at the Kirchberg Castle, inviting sketchers she has met from her travels. Sketchers came from Germany, Czech Republic, Israel, Russia, USA, UK, Ukraine and Brazil to draw the sights all day and into the night. They shared some meals and created work in watercolor, acrylic, crayon, pencil and ink. Some of the Kirchberg sketches can be seen on Instagram @urbansketchershohenlohe. The Urban Sketchers Hohenlohe Group meets at least once a month and more often in summer. You can find them on Facebook and Instagram.

SKETCH BY GWEN SCHARLIPP

USK SKETCH SWAP FRANCE/SPAIN

USk Languedoc and USk Barcelona held a sketch swap during April and May, in which members volunteered to exchange a sketch by snail mail and correspond with their partner from the other group. Recipients posted images to social media once they arrived. Sketching friendships were made and many reported how fun it was to receive a piece of original art in the post! They put together a gallery where all the sketches can be viewed.

On 18 June, following the postal exchange, the groups arranged a Sketch crawl in Narbonne, and over 60 sketchers participated. Everyone had a great time, even if the languages were sometimes a little challenging.