We received word this morning that our application to have Ottawa become an official urban sketcher regional chapter had been accepted by the USk membership committee!
Urban sketching is free and open to sketchers of all ages and all levels. Join us by liking our facebook page where we announce sketch meetups and share our sketches https://www.facebook.com/urbansketchersottawa/
Urban Sketchers Regional Chapters
An Urban Sketchers Regional Chapter is a geographically-based community of individuals who practice on-location sketching in the spirit of the Urban Sketchers manifesto and has been recognized as such by the Urban Sketchers Executive Board.
Urban Sketchers 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.
"The global Urban Sketchers community offers the opportunity to make new friends in your area and to learn from others as you start capturing your surroundings with pen and paper and sharing your results.
We are a supportive group where you’ll find inspiration online and a network of sketching buddies all over the world. If you’re planning a trip, you may wish to arrange to sketch with members of an USk Regional Chapter in the city you will be visiting.
You may also connect with fellow sketchers in our groups on Flickr and Facebook.
Join us on Thursday evening January 21, 2016 for an indoor evening sketch meetup at the Canadian Museum of Nature. The Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN) was the first purpose built museum in Canada! CMN is home to 10 million specimens gathered over 150 years.
To keep our sketch meetups free, we will be sketching at the museum Thursday January 21, 2016 in the evening between 5 and 8 pm.
If the weather permits, there is plenty to sketch on the exterior of this magnificent CMN building.
The impressive limestone building (built in 1905, and beautifully renovated in 2010) is known to locals as “the castle.” Canada's Parliament was held in this building from 1916 to 1920 after the Ottawa fire of 1916.
"The museum is one of the first public buildings to incorporate into its design animals and plants that are found in Canada. These are found in windows, exterior walls and interior embellishments, in addition to the two carved moose heads that guard the main entrance." (Source: CMN)
A stylized fox head, oak leaves and acorns adorn the newel of the main staircase.
It is carved from Missisquoi grey-green marble.
The cap and base are carved in Missisquoi bolder grey marble. (Photo Source: CNM)
Artist Bill Lishman in front of his sculpture at the CMN
(October 2015 Source CBC: All In A Day)
The Galleries
Two of the galleries (Birds and Animalium) are presently closed for renovations until June 2016 and two other galleries are special exhibits and require admission purchase even on the free Thursday night.
There is a lot to sketch in three hours at the following open galleries:
When: Thursday, January21, 2016. Free Admission to the Permanent Galleries Thursday evenings: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm. We will meet in the main lobby at 5 pm and sketch until 8 pm; (If work schedules prevent you from arriving at 5 - no worries - arrive whenever you can and look for other sketchers)
Admission Cost: Free Admission to the Permanent Galleries Thursday evenings: 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
How to get there: The following OC Transpo buses will take you to the Canadian Museum of Nature:
Route 5, 6: Bus stop at the corner of Elgin and McLeod, one block from the museum
Route 14: Bus stop at the corner of Gladstone and Metcalfe, one block from the museum
Route 1, 7: Bus stop at the corner of Bank and McLeod, two blocks from the museum
Parking: Paid parking is available on the Canadian Museum of Nature grounds; evening flat rate: $5 (4:30 pm – 4:30 am); there is free evening street parking at night in centretown but there are special restrictions if there is snow.
Museum Rules: When asked about sketchers in the nature museum, the officer of Visitor Experience Guy Romain advises, "Thank you for your question. The only thing we ask of artists is that they do not set up easels or tripods or lighting. They need to be mindful that the museum is open to all visitors so they cannot block any exhibits, panels, doorways or stairways. Please let me know if you have any further questions or comments." We asked a follow-up question about artists bringing portable, small sketch stools and the museum replied (Jan 14) that artists are welcome to bring small stools.
