Len Grant Urban Sketcher
Day Forty-One of Sketching People
Continuing with day 41 of my #Kick365 sketching challenge to draw people in ink and watercolour. This week the Urban Sketcher’s Organisation released the event, workshop, lecture, and demonstration programme schedule for the 19th International Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse, so I’ve been watching the videos and working my way through sketching the urban sketchers hosting a session.
Sketching from Videos
There’s a small group of urban sketchers who are hosting a lecture, or a lecture and demo at the next USk symposium. In today’s trio of sketches I zoomed in a on the scenes a little more, and I like these versions more than the ones I did yesterday.
Delphine Zigoni: In the Wake of Scientists
In her Toulouse lecture, Delphine is sharing her experience during her France and French Guiana expeditions. She says that illustrators still have a roll to play, but in a very different way to the illustrators who joined expeditions in previous centuries to document the new discoveries.
I sketched Delphine because I loved the foliage background, and what is says about her and her interests.
Len Grant: Publishing a Neighbourhood Sketchbook in 154 Easy Steps
Len is going to cover making, self-publishing, selling and marketing his sketchbooks. His promo video was quite close up, but I made it even closer, and the way I sketched him and the background gave it a kind of fish-eye view.
This is my favourite portrait of Toulouse participants so far. I think because it borders on caricature, and I love that his eyes are over-sized. This portrait has a lot of character, which I find much more preferable than a realistic portrait.
Rita Sabler: Practical Guide to Reportage
Rita’s lecture is going to offer a practical guide to reportage. On face value this looks like an excellent lecture to introduce urban sketchers to the joys of reportage, and her insights from her visual journalist experience. So if the timing works, it’s one I’m interested in attending. Some of the topics covered are:
- How to find the subject for your story
- What subjects make compelling stories
- How to work quickly on location
- Choose what to document
- How to develop a personal visual language
Rita has presented at many of the previous Urban Sketcher’s symposiums, and I’m so happy to see she’s returning again to Toulouse. Rita is hosting an 8 week online course at the moment called Visual Storytelling through Drawing, which looks like it covers all the essential for building a strong foundation in reportage. It’s might have to save up for this one!
There’s more of these Urban Sketcher portraits to follow, I just have to decide who to sketch next.
