Next Sketch Date: May 22nd @ Hilldale Shopping Center - Sketch from 10 am to Noon

 Meet near the bus stop shelter opposite the Great Dane Brewing Co. at 10am for sketching at Hilldale.  There is open outdoor seating scattered around the mall property but you may wish to bring a sketching stool of your own.  I will not be able to be there that day so it would be great if someone could take some photos for our FB page.  Hope you have good weather and a great time.  If the weather is terrible we can reschedule to another date. I believe most outdoor dining places there require you to come inside and sign up for an outdoor table.  Some may take reservations but I am not sure on that.   Pat

Revised Calendar for Sketching May - July

 Please note I  have added a date for Hilldale Shopping Mall on May 22 (10 am to noon) and changed Indian Lake to July 31.  Instead on June 19 we will sketch at Period Garden Park in Madison where we have a lovely garden and great old mansions to sketch. Please see Events Calendar for details.

Period Garden Park

  As suggested I am also scheduling the occasional weekday sketch date per month for those of us who might have free time on weekdays.  We have sometimes sketched in the evening in summer so I will add at least one evening date.  Pat

New Sketching Dates for May, June & July 2021

 I added some new sketching dates and locations through mid July.  Due to Covid precautions some are in less urban areas than usual but they are places where there are people around so if you like to add figures to your sketches you will have some subjects.  I will check the weather closer to the dates if they need to be changed or cancelled and rescheduled.  

May 15th - Saturday 10 am - Noon @ Hilldale Shopping Center

May 30th - Sunday - 1 - 3pm @ Holy Wisdom Monastery, Middleton

June 19th - Saturday 10 am - Noon @ Period Garden Park, Madison

July 11th - Sunday 1pm - 3pm @ Wingra Park, Madison

 July 31st -Saturday 11am - 1pm @ Indian Lake County Park, Hwy 19, Cross Plains

If anyone has ideas for good sketching venues please let me know as we are always looking for some new places.  

Prairie plants in front of Holy Wisdom Monastery June 2020

UW Arboretum Sunday May 2nd 1-3pm - First Sketch Date of 2021

 We will meet for our first of the year sketching meet up at 1pm in front of the visitors center.  There will be lots of visitors there to see the blooming trees, etc but there is plenty of space to sketch safely. If it is raining or rain is likely we will meet the following Saturday at the same time and place. Look forward to seeing you all again and any new folks who want to join us are always welcome.

Sketching at Holy Wisdom Monastery and the International Crane Foundation

Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton is  a wonderful place for plein air painting.  (Just remember to spray for ticks!) I did this pastel sketch yesterday sitting by the pond.  There were some Buffleheads and Wood Ducks on the pond and 2 Barred Owls were very nearby calling to each other.  This is a hardbound sketchbook so if you use charcoal or pastel with fixative it won't smear when you close the book.  Wirebound sketchbooks are more likely to smear. The paper has some tooth to it and holds pastel fairly well. 

While I was sketching I met an amateur photographer who is on the staff at the International Crane Foundation near Baraboo.  He said they will re-open May 1st and that they have had extensive renovations.  It is also a good place for sketching or plein air painting and they have given me permission in the past to paint there.  He said they were limiting the number of visitors due to Covid so if planning a visit he recommended registering for it on their website:  https://www.savingcranes.org/

 

Pastel on tan toned Stillman & Birn sketchbook

 

Spring Time Sketching and Farewell to Group Administrator

This week we learned that Ruth Manning will be leaving us soon for a move to New York.  Ruth has been an administrator for several years and has had a great impact on the group, keeping it going and bringing in new members.  Ruth is a terrific fiber artist as well as a superb example of what urban sketching can be.  She will be very much missed but has promised to keep in touch on our Facebook page and we look forward to seeing her sketches from her new home.  

Thanks for everything, Ruth and I hope you can find another community of sketchers in your new home town. We will miss you very much!!

 Soon I will be posting dates for sketching meetups here and on Facebook.  I will always do a new blog post for anyone who wants to get an email of new posts.  Just sign in on Follow by Email in the left hand column of this post.  I'll also do posting on Facebook and our meetings will be on that calendar, too. Look forward to seeing you soon.  Please do post any of your sketches here or on Facebook as we love to see what our members are sketching.  Hopefully the weather will be consistently warm so we can meet together again safely outdoors.  Take care,  Pat