Glasgow Sketcher Stuart Kerr

Stuart and I near Spring Green

Last week an Urban Sketcher from Glasgow, Scotland was visiting his family's friends on their farm outside Spring Green.  I was also staying in Spring Green for a couple days to attend plays at American Players Theatre and had a chance to meet with Stuart who was one of the original board members for Urban Sketchers in its early days.  Nowadays he is very busy with his own design business and raising an 18 month old daughter, Oona.  I also got to meet her and her mom, Laura who works for the National Museum in Edinburgh.  Stuart still makes time for sketching when traveling and in spare moments.  His line drawings are excellent and have the confidence that comes from years and years of drawing.  Besides working on projects for companies in various countries he also does some professional illustration work. Biking is also one of his passions and one of the sketches below traces a cycling tour he took some time ago on the west coast of Scotland.  Stuart is one of the artists featured in "The Art of Urban Sketching" which was published in 2012 and edited by USK founder Gabriel Campanario.  It's a wonderful book which includes work from every part of the globe and many great sketchers like Stuart.  It was such fun to meet up with a fellow sketcher from another part of the world.  Laura told me they met up with a local Urban Sketcher when they visited Spain which made their trip even richer and more interesting.  With more and more regional chapters springing up in the US and beyond we all have more opportunities to meet people who also share a love of drawing their environment and sharing those drawings with others.  And next summer we, in the Midwest are especially lucky because the annual Urban Sketchers Symposium will be held in Chicago.  I am really looking forward to taking some workshops there and meeting other sketchers, like Stuart, whose work I have been admiring for years.  Thanks so much to Stuart and Laura for taking some time out of their vacation to meet with this sketcher and share some of his excellent sketches below.

The Shitty Barn in Spring Green

Brooklyn Bridge

Stuart's bike trip: West Coast of Scotland

My sketch at APT in lobby area "up the hill"

SKETCHES FROM DURANGO, CO--Linda

Enrique, posed for me in a coffee shop (pencil)

Music in the Mountains rehearsals (micron pen)

Town park, Pagosa Springs (graphite)

Minnesota State Fair Sketchout 8/27 & 29 and New Online Journal class.

The Minnesota State Fair is coming up next week and here is the link re: the State Fair Sketchout.   http://rozwoundup.typepad.com/roz_wound_up/2016/07/join-us-for-the-eighth-great-minnesota-state-fair-sketchout.html  I don't think I will be able to get up there this year but it would be a great time sketching with the illustrious Roz Stendahl and friends.  I signed up for her new class, By Design: Creating the Intentional Page today hoping to make my sketchbook entries more creative. I found Roz's class on Sketchbook Skool very well done as were her Strathmore Paper Co. online workshop.  Here's the link to her blog post about the class:  http://rozwoundup.typepad.com/roz_wound_up/2016/08/my-new-online-class-by-designwhy-i-love-it-and-why-i-think-youll-love-it-too-1.html  I  am sure this online class will be packed with ideas and instruction to make page designs more interesting which I am hoping will help when I am out there sketching in Madison and when traveling.  If you have never checked out Roz's blog it is a great place to learn about sketching your environment from life and the materials to use for sketching.  Roz often has in depth reviews on sketchbooks, pens, paints, markers and the like which are very helpful and keep me up to date on new art "toys".  I have learned a lot from reading her blog over the years.  She is also an expert sketchbook binder which got me interested in getting some tutoring in how to do that from Jackie Hefty at Whispering Woodlands www.whispering-woodlands.com  Making your own sketchbooks is very rewarding but I admit I am lazy and usually buy them ready made.  But thanks to blogs like Roz's I know more about what to look for in a sketchbook.  Do let me know if any of you get up to the State Fair Sketchout.  I am sure it would be a great time.

Union Theatre - Mendota Lake Front

Today was a perfect day for sketching on the shores of Lake Mendota and the Wisconsin Union Theatre. It is the largest of four lakes in the city and covers about 97,000 acres. There were boaters, those canoeing, kayaking and sailing. Lots of foot traffic and bicyclists and plenty of people lounging in the sunshine.
The Theatre has over 70 years of performing history and the campus is home to about 43,000 students.  This public research university was founded in 1848.

By CHRIS

by PAT

by RUTH

by GUILLERMO

by ELSIE

by TSUNUGI

by GRETCHEN

by LOUISE

Urban Sketchers - Madison meet the second Sunday of the month from 1-3 p.m. (minus December)   The schedule is located on our blog's calendar which can be found under the 'Events" tab.  All interested sketchers are WELCOME!