Over the past weekend, I was in an Urban Sketchers workshop at Cloud 9 Art School in Bothell, Washington, led by Gabriel Campanario who started Urban Sketchers in Seattle about 10 years ago. It was a great class with plenty of inspiration but also challenges in trying to put the concepts down on paper and have them work out. After every sketching stop, there would be a throw down where everyone would lay out their sketchbooks (or iPad) and we could see what everyone from the group had done. That part was always interesting. Here are some pictures from the workshop and the first two challenges.

0+SxqEr5R4+EuKrpcQrKSg.jpg — Historic Tree in Bothell

An exercise in composition

This exercise was focused on composition. The tree was to be the main character in the sketches. It was then a matter of finding a spot to draw it. The photos show Gabi doing his demo for the tree, the spot I chose to draw the tree from, and then the throw down of sketches. Composition is a tough thing to do well in an urban setting when so much is calling for attention. "Draw me, draw me!", "Include me too!", "Ooh, that's interesting..." It's definitely something for me to think about more when I'm trying to sketch outdoors.

Gabi gave us ten minutes to sketch this whimsical and creative vacuum parts robot sculpture. And here's the throw down of our sketches.