Art Links: Urban Sketchers

This post is not about art that you should view but art that you should make.

Urban Sketching is a movement to make sketching part of one's urban daily lifestyle. In ways, it seems like a cross between journaling and sketching. The purpose is to capture your life as it happens, so it's important to capture things quickly rather than perfectly.

According to the UrbanSketchers.org Manifesto:

  1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.

  2. Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.

  3. Our drawings are a record of time and place.

  4. We are truthful to the scenes we witness.

  5. We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.

  6. We support each other and draw together.

  7. We share our drawings online.

  8. We show the world, one drawing at a time.

Liz Steel, who is one of the big names in urban sketching (and whose picture appears above), runs workshops and online classes and has published a book on 5-Minute Sketching -- Architecture.

With the connection being drawn between drawing and mindfulness, the emergence of sketchnoting (NOTE: if you are making satirical sketches at meetings, make sure you sit in the back row), and the reappearance of Bob Ross's The Joy of Painting on Netflix, maybe these resources and this method will give you a good place to start. And even if you're not ready to make art, follow Liz Steel or Urban Sketchers or the hashtag #urbansketchers and enjoy looking at how people are recording their lives with art.

Links:
Liz Steel's Website
Urban Sketchers
13 Tips for Urban Sketching from Artists Network