Ottawa Urban Sketchers: Urban Sketching During COVID-19

"Coronavirus or COVID-19 threats to individuals and groups are real and should be taken seriously. We strongly advise that all sketchers, administrators, instructors and volunteers follow the guidelines and recommendations available to them from their local and national health organizations regarding what to do and how to stay safe. We all need to take on the responsibility of not putting ourselves or others at risk."

Link: http://www.urbansketchers.org/p/blog-page_89.html

This has resulted in the cancelling of weekly sketching activities, 10x10 workshops, instructor workshops and other USk events.

On behalf of the executive board and all its members, stay safe, keep sketching even if you’re by yourself, and we know we will all be sketching together soon, with lots of stories to tell.

The Ottawa urban sketchers have been hosting monthly challenges and here are some of the activities that are being undertaken by other urban sketching chapters around the world:

Urban Sketchers London

Starting on the 19th of March, the London Urban Sketchers started a Thirty Day Interior Urban Sketching Challenge: http://urbansketchers-london.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-thirty-day-indoor-sketching.html

In view that we are going to be staying at home for a while and trying to keep sane through sketching we propose an #uskathome challenge for those of you who want to take it up. Let’s see it as an opportunity to get to know each other better through urban sketching from home.

Use the hashtags: #uskathome #usklondon #30daysuskinside #urbansketchers

Share in Facebook, Flickr or Twitter [tag @UrbSketchLondon]

30 Day Urban Sketching Challenge

1. Hello I am . . . . . . (selfie) - introduce yourself
2. Working (from home)
3. Doing daily chores
4. What are you reading?
5. Keeping entertained
6. Do It Yourself
7. Cooking
8. Collecting
9. Gardening (or balcony gardens or pot plants)
10. Keeping Healthy - exercise

11. Hobbies (other than sketching)
12. Favourite film watching
13. Music listening
14. Looking at the sky
15. Taking stock (objects in the cupboard or assessing our lives)
16. Bird watching
17. Giving or receiving presents
18. Hanging on the wall
19. Spring is in the air
20. How are you feeling? (selfie)

21. Choosing clothes from your wardrobe
22. Watching TV
23. Telling the time
24. Playing games
25. Bug watching
26. Looking out of the window
27. Eating fruit
28. New and old in your life
29. Adding flavour
30. “A day in the life of . . .” storyboard (A three minute sketch every hour composed into a story of your day)

Let’s keep urban sketching from home!

New York Urban Sketchers

On March 21, the NYC USk held their first virtual sketch event on Facebook Live https://www.facebook.com/groups/nycurbansketchers/

Link: http://nyc.urbansketchers.org/2020/03/our-first-virtual-sketch-event.html

Urban Sketchers Switzerland

We still draw! For our March meeting, we go to the kitchen, each in his own. We draw from 10:00 to 12:30 - or whenever you feel like it. ;-) If you can, post the sketches online on Instagram or Facebook. Don't forget hashtags: #uskluzern #sketchmykitchen #uskathome Have fun and stay healthy @ home! Link: http://switzerland.urbansketchers.org/2020/03/29-marz-usk-luzern-sketchmykitchen.html

http://switzerland.urbansketchers.org/2020/03/29-marz-usk-luzern-sketchmykitchen.html

Urban Sketchers Portugal

With instructions, USk asks sketchers to try sketching the bathroom - a real challenge in such a confined space! Link: http://urbansketchers-portugal.blogspot.com/2020/03/web-oficina-procopiar-o-wc.html

"The bathroom is a small space, leaving little field of vision. I will share the strategies I use to fit the entire bathroom on paper, taking inspiration from the perspective of a fisheye but without following its rules exactly."

Instructions (using google translation) begin with:

Lean against the opposite wall, facing the wall you want to draw.
Define in the notebook a more or less square area. With a pencil, divide it into 9 equal parts as shown in figure 1.
Etc, etc ....

Urban Sketchers Seattle

There was a sketch even similar to our Ottawa Urban Sketchers January Sketching challenge to sketch what you see out the window!

"All Alone, Together Urban Sketchers Milan promoted an event for yesterday. I think it would be a good idea to continue to sketch our view from home and use the hashtag."