May 16th Urban Sketchers Administrators Zoom Meeting

Administrators from urban sketching (USk) chapters around the world met on ZOOM (May 16th) to talk about “What now?”

There has been a lot of worry and concern about a lot of things in our USk community. With so many cities in lockdown, how can we keep our groups together and active?

 

Screenshot of one of two pages of USk administrators on the ZOOM call

Ottawa Urban Sketchers Featured in “Drawing Attention”

I’m pleased to announce that the Ottawa Urban Sketchers are featured in the

April 2019 issue of “Drawing Attention”

Drawing Attention April 2019 https://issuu.com/urbansketchers7/docs/drawing_attention_april_2019/

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 ...

Reasons to Sketch the Canadian War Museum on November 11

On Saturday Nov. 11, the Ottawa Urban Sketchers will be at the Canadian War Museum

The last time that the Ottawa Urban sketchers have sketched at the Canadian War Museum  was November 21st, 2015 and you can read about it here: https://ottawaurbansketchers.blogspot.ca/2015/11/sketching-indoors-at-canadian-war-museum.html.

We now have three good reasons to return on November 11th, 2017:

Thank YOU Shari Baukopf & Urban Sketchers Mário Linhares

Two sold-out workshops were held in Ottawa on Saturday September 30, 2017 at Sappers Staircase on the Rideau Canal.

What a GREAT Day at the Farm!

On Sunday April 17th, the Ottawa urban sketchers group went Sketching at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. We chose Sunday because on Saturday there were lots of activities scheduled and we wanted to miss the crowds. Not a chance! The weather was beautiful and the farm was packed! That added to the fun!

Note the urban sketcher at the bottom left sketching the entrance gate

There was a great turn out, many sketchers showing up to sketch inside the farm while many others seized the beautiful day to bicycle and sketch the perimeter around the outside of the farm.

Below I have posted a very small sampling of  sketches posted to our facebook event page but please visit that page to see them all. https://www.facebook.com/events/1708303006086325/.

We would like to thank the Canadian Agriculture and Food Museum for being so welcoming and accommodating towards the artists on this busy and beautiful Sunday. We hope to visit again!

Sketching in the small animal barn

Sketches by artist Trish W.

Artist Sophie L. sketch of the building

More sketches of the buildings by artist Colin White

Artist Colin W. sketches on the facebook page

Artist Suvitha R. sketch of the hay bale decoration at the farm.

Quite a few of us were super excited to sketch the two new Clydsedales(Paul and Padrig, who arrived on St. Patrick's Day) and below, artist Jaymie Dylan makes the first sketch.

Artist Jaymie D. sketching the new Clydesdale

Sketches by artist Jaymie D.

Sketching in the small animal barn

Sketches of the newborns by artist Diane D.

Artist Leisl G. sketching in the small animal barn

We NEVER mind if artists can't stay the full day like artist Leisl Gallagher. We understand. And even though she did not stay long - she still managed to do a LOT of great sketches in a short amount of time.

Sketching the cattle paddock

Artist Cindi F. sketch inside the dairy barn

Artist Diane D.sketching the horse paddock

Sketch by artist Gillian RT

Artists Gillian and Matt sketching the Clydesdales from the comfy bench at the farm

More Ottawa Sketching Events.  

Now that the weather is warming, stay tuned for plenty more sketching events. 

If you would like to join us, be sure to join our facebook group and/or look for the #urbansketchers hashtag on twitter (also #USkYOW) and/or sign up to follow this blog by email (add your email in the space provided on the right)

A Great Night of Sketching at the Carleton Tavern

"The Carleton" sketch above by artist Colin White

About twenty urban sketchers stopped over at the Carleton Tavern on the chilly, snowy night of February 10. 

Ottawa urban sketchers get busy

The Carleton Tavern was established in 1935 and little has changed through its 80 + years.

Sketchers arrived when they could and stayed for as long as they were able.

The tavern staff were warm and welcoming and the place really filled up with the Carleton regular patrons as the night went on.

Sometimes the sketchers become the subject matter for other sketchers.
This was the case with artist Mawt Trood.

To see some of the sketches that Ottawa urban sketchers shared, visit our facebook event page (click here) or our facebook group page (click here)

Below is a sample of some of the sketches that were shared on the facebook event page:

We would love if you would join us on our next outing. Please visit our NEW Facebook Group page and "like" it to receive updates. https://www.facebook.com/groups/937458512999363/

Meet + Sketch + Share

We have moved our Ottawa Urban Sketchers presence on facebook from a "Facebook page" to a "Facebook group" so that YOU can post your urban sketches!

Please visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/937458512999363/

Our previous "Urban Sketchers Ottawa" facebook page meant that the three administrators were the only ones who could post. We want you to post YOUR urban sketches for everyone to see.

Please Contribute Your Sketches!

Whether you have attended one of our organized sketching events or if you have spent the day urbansketching in Ottawa on your own, please share what you have sketched. 

As with all of our Ottawa Urban Sketchers events, all ages and all skill levels are welcomed to join us and contribute. 

There are just a few simple rules that apply:

Before sharing your drawings on our new facebook page, make sure they meet these basic criteria and they are done in the spirit of the Urban Sketchers Manifesto (below).

• You did the drawing on location, not from photos or memory. 
• You have written the location of the sketch (town and state/country) in the headline 
• No sketches from figure drawing sessions or posed models. 

We reserve the right to remove any drawings that don't fit our mission. We also encourage members to write descriptions and stories associated with each sketch.

• 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.

Q: "What Is Urban Sketching?"

In the embedded video (16:53) below, Jason Das, former president of Urban Sketchers, explains the Urban Sketching phenomenon to Sketchbook Skool students and suggests how they (and we) can be a part of it.

Sketching Indoors at the Canadian War Museum

It was a great evening of indoor sketching on Thursday, November 19th.

Ottawa urban sketchers are meeting indoors to sketch for the months of November and December and Thursday was our first time taking advantage of free Ottawa museum Thursdays.

We met in the grand lobby of the Canadian War Museum and dispersed into the many areas of this great museum.

Inside the museum, there was a vast art collection (numbering some 13,000 pieces) and extensive artifact collections arranged in eight permanent collections including four Canadian Experience galleries as well as the LeBreton gallery.  There was plenty to sketch!

Part of the Ottawa sketching group at the end-of-evening "Show and Tell"

The challenge with sketching in museums such as the Canadian War Museum is that the exhibits are so incredibly interesting (and interactive) that you're tempted to look, read and participate in the exhibit rather than sketch. At least that was the case for a small group of us who enjoyed the temporary special exhibit "World War Women"

Despite these delightful temptations, everyone managed to complete several sketches and seemed to really enjoy the evening.

Here are some images from our night of sketching:

Suvitha Ramaswamy sketching in the LeBreton Gallery where part of our group started.

"The LeBreton Gallery is an expansive space with lots of natural light, and a stunning view of the Ottawa skyline. This impressive open storage gallery enables visitors to get a close-up look at large artefacts such as a Voodoo fighter jet, nineteenth-century artillery pieces, tanks, and other vehicles drawn from one of the most extensive collections of its kind in the world."

Suvitha Ramaswamy's sketch of Dodge ambulance

A few of the group's sketches from the "show and tell"

Mari Brown Virtanen's sketch of Death Jacket of General Brock;
and a sketch of  a box of prosthetic eyes and the woman who made them

Lots of vehicles by Cindi Foreman, Emily Lada and Suvitha Ramaswamy

Suvitha Ramaswamy's sketch of fountain pen and radio

Sketch of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Diane Duford

Cindi Foreman's sketch of rationing at a grocers/épicerie‎ during WW II

The group at the Show and Tell at the end of the evening

If you are interested in sketching with this group, follow ("like") our facebook page where we announce events. We always contact the organization or institution in advance to announce our intentions to sketch in a group and ask that they let us know of any guidelines for artists sketching at their venue.

Our "sketch crawls" are free and open to sketchers of all ages and levels. Anyone who sketches in Ottawa is welcomed to join us!

The next confirmed sketch crawl will be Thursday evening December 17 at the National Gallery of Canada. (see restrictions on materials allowed in the "details" section)

Other indoor venues for this winter that we are looking at include:

• The Nature Museum (they recently responded to our email request)
• Three free indoor green spaces: Tropical Greenhouse (Arboretum);  Carleton Greenhouses; and  Rideau Hall Greenhouses (we will be contacting them regarding accommodations for a sketching group)

Outdoor venues being considered for future sketch crawls include:

• Winterlude (Jan 29 - Feb 15, 2016)
• Rideau Canal Skateway

If you have an idea for a great indoor (or outdoor) place to sketch this winter in Ottawa, please let us know in the comment section below!

Free things to do and sketch in Ottawa

If you are looking to do some solo urban sketching this winter, here are some of the museums you can explore and sketch for free:

Ottawa is home to a number of world-class museums, and most offer free admission to their permanent collections on Thursday evenings. 

• Bytown Museum, 1 Canal Lane, 613-234-4570, bytownmuseum.com, 

• Canadian Museum of Civilization, 100 rue Laurier, Gatineau, 819-776-7000, civilization.ca, 

• Museum of Nature, 240 McLeod St., 613-566-4700, nature.ca, 

• Canadian War Museum, 1 Vimy Place, 819-776-7000, warmuseum.ca,

Report: Sketching Mellos

The weather was great for sketching Mellos yesterday. A few sketchers were on Dalhousie right at 2 pm and others showed up at various times all the way through to the last session 6-8pm where the sketching took place inside Mellos. (If you have an urban sketch of Mellos that you would like to have on this page, contact us through the contact section on the right.)

Workers at Mellos really appreciated the love.

Here are some tweets from yesterday and a photo of that iconic Mellos sign when I left:

Colin White @ColinWhite

Mawt Trood @mawttrood 

Cindi Foreman @cindiforeman

Meeting NYC Urban Sketcher Mark Leibowitz

On September 27, 2015 I had the joy and privilege of meeting up with the New York City urban sketching group (NYC USk) in Brooklyn Heights on Sunday September 27, 2015.

A highlight of this meetup for me was meeting Mark Leibowitz. Mark is the regional administrator for the NYC USk (which meets usually twice weekly making it one of the most active groups in the world!)

At the 2015 Urban Sketchers Symposium in Singapore last July, Mark was a member of the faculty and delivered Lecture 3: How to Run a Successful Local Urban Sketchers Group.

For a FB photo of Mark delivering his lecture at USk Singapore 2015, visit https://www.facebook.com/urbansketchers/posts/10153966291368912

Mark and I discussed starting an official Ottawa Urban Sketchers group. I talked about the great group of Ottawa artists/sketchers who participated all summer in the "Ottawa Alley project" and how it had culminated in an art show in an alley called "Forgotten Spaces". Mark loved that!

And I spoke to Mark about the 48th Worldwide sketchcrawl that I organized in Ottawa on July 25th, 2015

I talked about how much I loved the sketch organizing model that the NYC USk had built:

• anyone who sketches in New York City is welcome. Even visitors to NYC like me!
• a reminder is posted: "There are no fees or attendance taken. All drawing skill levels are welcome"
• announcements of sketch meetups are posted in both the google group and on the group blog
• the announcements of sketch meetups are in clear language with maps and photos and contact information (to see what I mean, check out the "SUNDAY: Sketch Brooklyn Heights" announcement here: http://nyc.urbansketchers.org/2015/09/sunday-sketch-brooklyn-heights.html
• anyone can organize/post a sketch outing
• anyone can contribute posts to the group blog
• folks are encouraged to share their sketches to the blog, or flickr group

Mark is a member of the USk Membership Committee and he has kindly offered to help us establish an official Ottawa regional chapter and I am looking forward to working on this with him and the other artists here in Ottawa.

Me and Mark Leibowitz

When I finally settled down to sketch, I knew there was very little time left. I knew I wanted to sketch the iconic vista of the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan skyline and all the way to the majestic Brooklyn Bridge and that was going to take a full two page spread in my art journal so I took a seat on the park bench and got busy sketching.

And here is my sketch of the Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Heights promenade. For the sky I saturated my art journal with water and then dropped in some pthalo blue (PB15) to get the beautiful wisps of clouds in the sky. I had so much fun sketching this and wish I could have continued sketching the "rows of historic 19th century brownstones, leafy streets, lush gardens and charming dead-end alleyways" all the way down Montague Street in the afternoon.

My sketch of  Manhattan from the Brooklyn Heights promenade

This "Manhattan skyline" sketch above and a sketch of my daughter having coffee with me Whole Foods at 97/Columbus are the only sketches I did in accordance with the Urban Sketchers manifesto (see below). The other ten pages in my art journal were sketched from iPhone photos while I was there (and stopped for coffee or relaxing with morning coffee at our Morningside Heights airbnb)

I will post my other sketches in seperate blog posts later.

I really need a few weeks (not four days) in NYC to do everything I love to do in NYC! I can't wait for our next trip!

NYC USk Links:

• Mark Leibowotz: flickr account
• Mark Leibowotz: Urban Sketching board on Pinterest
• NYC USk: Blog http://nyc.urbansketchers.org/
• NYC USk: flickr pool: https://www.flickr.com/groups/1922806@N25/pool/
• NYC USk: Google group: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/new-york-city-urban-sketchers

Urban Sketchers Manifesto