Because drawing is good for you.
It is lovely to eat with other urban sketchers. You know you have found you own “tribe” of people when everyone else too have their sketching gear on the table, among plates and drinks and whatnot. đ
21 x 29 cm, fountain pens with DeAtramentis document ink and watercolours, in Stillman & Birn alpha series sketchbook.
The Urban sketchers symposiums usually start with a grand sketchcrawl during the first day, and a public, even bigger one, on the last day. The Chicago symposium was no different, and a few hundred people headed out in blazing heat to sketch on that first symposium day. So much fun! Thank heavens for the trees in the parks, though. Extreme heat really isn´t my cup of tea…
Both drawings: approx. 20 x 14 cm, fountain pens with DeAtramentis document ink and grey Copic Multiliner on Stillman & Birn alpha series sketchbook page.
Finally an update here! I know. Sometimes the blog gets unvoluntary pauses, due to work, lazyness with scanning and the very ease of using Instagram (do follow me on Instagram if you want more frequent updates!).
Anyway! Chicago, as I promised in the previous post! The Urban sketchers symposiums are always awesome experiences, meeting up with old friends and making some new too – plus teaching workshops and drawing, of course! Such a treat. But Chicago was a great trip in other ways too. Me and my dear M made a five day vacation out of it before the symposium began, and it´s a fantastic city to visit. So much to see, and the city itself has so many different faces, depending on where you go.
The first thing that struck us both is the scale of the architecture downtown. Stockholm is a beautiful city, but VERY LOW in comparison to the really big cities in the world. We got aching necks from the first hour of walking through Chicago, just from constantly looking up. And then, when we relaxed a bit and lowered our eyes, we immediately started bumping into urban sketchers everywhere. đ We met at least three sketching heroes of mine during the first hour or so, Chicago´s own Don Colley, and then Rob Sketcherman and Lynne Chapman nearby.
I found drawing really tall buildings quite difficult, when you´re not used to it. I made a few hit-and-miss sketches before I kind of got the hang of the scale in the downtown part of Chicago. One of the coolest spots to draw from was at the top of the Kemper Building, where I was lucky enough to have my workshop location during the symposium. I´m glad I don´t suffer from vertigo, you´re really on top of the world in one of these skyscrapers. And oh the light among the buildings and the view towards the horizon – SO spectacular!
Chicago isn´t just about tall buildings, though. People, workshops, symposium events – more posts from the trip coming up in the next few days!
Most sketches: A4 format, fountain pens with DeAtramentis document inks and watercolours on Stillman & Birn alpha series sketchbook pages.
How often do you get to fly backwards, at the front of the plane, facing everybody else? It never happened to me before, for sure, and it is a very peculiar feeling to not be pushed back but forward during take-off.
Anyhow, I had to take advantage of the rare occasion, so tried a bit more Bic Cristal play in this sketch. Warm colour for the foreground, blue for the background. I have to confess I waited until the man opposite me went to the toilet, before drawing the details of that seat – he didn´t seem to have a super great day to begin with, didn´t want to make things worse by constantly staring at him during the whole flight… đ
20 x 19 cm, Bic Cristal ballpoint pens in blue and red, on Stillman & Birn alpha series sketchbook page.
Summer holidays, folks, that´s what it is, this lack of posts. Traveling, visiting, having guests, reading, hanging out, drawing, doing things. đ
And, as many years before around the end of July, I have been having a blast drawing and teaching during the Urban sketchers annual symposium. This time around, the 8th symposium was in Chicago, and I have had so much fun trying to wrap my brain around the scale and the perspectives of this city! I will be back with more soon, just have some scanning to do… đ
21 x 23 cm, Pilot Falcon with De Atramentis ink and watercolours on Stillman & Birn alpha series sketchbook page.
Remember the old fire engine and ambulance that I drew a while back? Turns out if you get the opportunity to draw these fantastic engines and hang out for a bit with the fire fighting enthusiasts that take care of them, you might also get offered to ride with them to Gärdesloppet, the yearly veteran car exhibition and race at Djurgürden in Stockholm. And who am I to say no to such an offer?
It is a bit shaky to draw while riding in an open Scania firetruck from 1931 – suspention technique in cars have taken quite a leap forward in the last 86 years – but the experience is fantastic. Makes you feel like a kid, for real, to be allowed into a fire truck with brass bells on the sides and ladders up above. A bit windy on the highway, but very cozy along the sunny streets of the inner city.
Driving comfort has developed a bit too, since 1931, but charm and style? Not so much. I love how everything is just practical in these old cars. There is no shiny curved dashboard with digital displays everywhere. Simple and straightforward. (And I just love the turn signals, those red drop shapes on the wind shields. Super cute when in use, with arms waving up and down.)
Gärdesloppet was a real feast for the eye, as usual, and a great crowd magnet. Urban sketchers Stockholm took advantage of the nice weather and all the cool cars, and gathered for a picnic and drawing session. And as a bonus, a few of us got a lift back to the garage with the Scania. Happy children in the back seat.
We were in Sunne in Värmland last weekend, where I stumbled upon two cable excavators, seemingly rooted in the grass. They looked like old friends, watching the view over the field together, perhaps talking childhood memories…
42 x 29,7 cm, Lamy Safari and Kizuna Deco pen (fude nib) with red and black De Atramentis Document ink, and watercolours, on Stillman & Birn alpha series sketchbook spread.
Just nu hänger nĂĽgra av mina akvareller pĂĽ Simons cafĂŠ pĂĽ Fullersta gĂĽrd i Huddinge. Mysigt ställe med andra fina utställningar i konsthallen vägg i vägg, och gott kaffe – väl värt ett besĂśk. Mina bilder hänger uppe fram till midsommar.
I have some watercolours on display at Simon´s cafĂŠ at Fullersta gĂĽrd in Huddinge. Cozy place, other nice exhibitions in the art gallery nextdoor, and nice coffe – well worth a visit. My paintings will be there until Midsummer.
Well, my weeks start every Monday. But this coming week is special, since it´s my week in the Sketchbook skool kourse “Exploring”. Looking forward to it a lot, excited about what the participants will make of my homework assignment for the week. đ Find out more at http://sketchbookskool.com/kourses/exploring if you are curious!
Meanwhile, I´ve been following Danny Gregory´s week, with his awesome way of talking about creativity and what to do about your inner critic, and I tried out his take on crosshatching. Or my take on his take, I guess. I find that no matter how much I try to draw the way that someone else does, it still has my hand in it. I can never get away from my own style of handling a pen, and I kind of like that. We all seem to have our personal way of drawing, and there is no way to avoid it. We can learn, evolve, develop skills and get better at it, but we can´t quite do exactly what someone else does. That is all good.
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I´m one of the teachers in Exploring, an upcoming Sketchbook Skool klass. Yes, that´s ´klass´ with a k, because Sketchbook Skool is no ordinary online art skool. Sketchbook Skool´s mission is “art for all”, they believe everyone is, and can be, creative. All people need are teachers to show them how fun it can be to develop a creative habit. Hopefully, that´s where I can do some good!
Starting April 17 – on this coming Monday! – Sketchbook Skool´s new Exploring klass will begin online. For each of the five weeks of the kourse, you´ll get a new teacher (including me!) showing you how to take your creativity to the next level. You´ll also join the Sketchbook Skool community of creative people just like us from all over the world. There are fun, informative lessons, great assignments, and places to post your creations.
There is still time to sign up for this kourse, but you don´t want to miss a single moment. The course will only be offered once – starting Monday, April 17 – and you can´t sign up for it once it has begun. On the other hand, when you have signed up, you will have constant access to the kourse afterwards.
To check out “Exploring”, and meet the teachers, click here.
Hope to see you in klass! đ
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