I flew back on Tuesday evening from the most frenetic but most creative few days of my year - the Urban Sketchers annual symposium. This is my 3rd year and I can't possibly describe how much fun it is: around 200 people, together in one city, to celebrate sketching, make new friends or meet up with existing ones from across the world. It was so lovely to spend time with everyone and to just immerse myself in drawing. I barely slept I was so over-excited!
As usual, we did pretty much nothing without it involving drawing and painting, all on location of course: at workshops and demos across the centre of the city, or at lunch and dinner, or just out in the street, where it took our fancy. We swapped ideas and top tips about materials, and we taught each other new techniques and new ways to approach our sketching.
I was teaching my 'Sketches That Sing' workshop for 3 hours every day, which went really well. People said they found it very challenging, but in a good way. We seemed to do a lot of laughing, which is generally a good sign.
Saturday afternoon was one huge sketchcrawl (tell you more later), but in the two other afternoons when I was free, I could take 2 other workshops (which I'll also tell you about later). Plus I went to a couple of great lectures and learnt about ink-and-stick drawing from the wonderful Kiah Kiean, from Penang. He created a fabulous sketch before our eyes, in about 45 minutes:
I tagged a couple of extra nights on the end of the symposium, which is why I didn't get back til Tuesday. It is all way too intense to just come home straight after. You need time to absorb things, to sketch at a more leisurely pace and to just chill with people (there's barely time to draw breath during the symposium, so much is packed in!). This is me with one of my favourite sketchers, Marina Grechanik from Israel, and the famous (and totally lovely) Lapin:
As usual, I got back to lots to do: there are all sorts of different things going on here at once, as well as me trying to catch up on what I have missed during the week I've been away. However, rest assured that, as soon as I can, I will get all my sketches scanned and on the website.
Plus of course I will insist on boring you with lots more about the symposium. But now, to bed!
10 comments:
I can't WAIT to hear all about it. Rest up... but not for too long.
You can NEVER bore us with your wonderful work, Lynne!
please bore us more :)
oh I love Barcelona so much, we have just come back too, love the fact even the streets are paved with flowers! I would love to go on my own and sketch as my hubby would be bored if I did this whilst we were there for our anniversary!
Beautiful work as always!
That's so lovely to see the symposium through your eyes... can't wait for the scanned sketches to come! it was great meeting you!
Hi you present plenty creative work and showing how to create craft, art with the creativity. Thanks for your attractive presentation.
Really looking forward to hearing all about it Lynne. I'm hoping to get to Barcelona in September to see the sketching exhibition - and to sketch myself of course. Lapin is also one of my favourites!
Hello;]
I want to hear more about today situation in Barselona / Ispania? Maybe you talked with local people about present living circumstances there and so on?
It was fabulous to meet you and it's amazing the energy and joy you radiate when drawing.
Thanks everyone! It was wonderful and, even though I am back in the UK now, I am having a REALLY arty week, so lots and lots of things to scan and tell you about. All I need is time... :-)
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