In the course of improving my drawing skills and learning watercolor I ran across the group: Urban Sketchers a global community of “urban sketchers” started by Gabriel Campanario, a journalist and illustrator in the Seattle area.

I think it was Teoh Yi Chie at ParkaBlogs.com that introduced me to the urban sketcher concept.

The idea is to chronicle people, places, and things in, mostly, urban areas using pretty much any media one is interested in pursuing. I’m a pen & ink and watercolor wash kind of guy as you can see by the sketch above.

Our local artists club, Die Künstler von Fredericksburg, hosts a monthly sketch somewhere in and around the quaint little village of Fredericksburg, Texas. To date I’ve been able to attend two and besides the antique store, I had the pleasure of painting at an old schoolhouse not too long ago.

The neat thing about this type of sketching is that it’s live and not taken from photographs. Sketching with other artists gives us the chance to visit and discuss other techniques, places to paint, and, well…you name it!

A lot of my first year’s sketchbook was filled with what would be considered urban sketching and it’s a great way to journal and make art at the same time.

Well, as a wise man once said, “That’s about all I’ve got to say about that.”

I hope you’ll check out the links and enjoyed my rambling. Now go out there and make some art!