I have decided to jump in at the deep end: join the local urban sketchers at their monthly meet up.
Urban sketching
I have been greatly attracted by the concept of urban sketching since the very first time I heard this term being used three months ago. Urban sketching is basically about capturing a scene from your environment. The sketch should be able to narrate the scene and capture its ambience. For example, if you are at a train station and you just sketching the train without including the people, I don’t think that’s urban sketching. It might be a super realistic train sketch but it lacks the ambience. The to and fro of people—passengers, railway employees, friends or families sending off/picking up the passengers—is part of the scene.
Benefits of urban sketching
I like the idea of recording my life through sketching. Of course, I can equally capture my life through camera lenses (which I have a few!). Taking photos will be less time consuming and there is a higher probability that the results would be more aesthetically pleasing. However, capturing various moments of my life through me holding a pencil, a pen or a paint brush create longer lasting memories. Sketching (at least for me – perhaps it’s because I am a beginner) needs 100% of my concentration. It means that I have to be totally present while sketching. With such a mindful activity, it’s no wonder that those moments remain longer in my mind.
There are urban sketching groups in most of the big cities around the world. In Grenoble, the urban sketchers usually meet on the first Saturday of the month. I only found out about the latest meet up last week (end of April) when I came across the information on their Facebook. I would have preferred to wait for at least one more month to hone my drawing skills (not sure whether it will make much of a difference) before participating in their outings.
If I miss the first Saturday of May, it is very likely that I will have to wait until September to join them since I won’t be in France for most of the next two months. In addition, it’s unlikely that meet ups will be organised during the summer holidays. Even though I am apprehensive in joining the urban sketchers (me being a sketching beginner and the language barrier is not helpful), I am looking forward to joining a group of like-minded people in doing something l like. In spite of my reservations, I sent them an email the Friday before confirming my presence.
To practise urban sketching, I have tried sketching in public places: in cafés, on the subway, in my classrooms etc. They are usually just quick, incomplete sketches of people or food, and are not urban sketching per se. That is, I treat each person or thing separately and don’t capture the ambience. It’s more for me to practise sketching different subjects and to do them quickly and furtively (before someone notices). It’s a way for me to get my feet wet before I plunge into the deep end. I will write about these experiences in another article.
Grenoble urban sketchers meetup
The first meeting was held at an arboretum (Arboretum Robert Ruffier-Lanche) on Saturday afternoon. This botanical park is actually located on the university campus where I teach. A side story: I was in the arboretum once but without actually knowing that it was an arboretum. It was during one of the few evening orienteering sessions on the university campus that I participated with my other half. Despite the light from the headlamps (October? November) that night, it was pitch dark and we were fumbling a bit. I recalled that we found ourselves entering a dense foliage zone which had a small area enclosed by a wooden fence. Under the bright Saturday afternoon, the vague memories of that pitch dark orienteering session rushed back once I saw the small pond surrounded by a wooden fence!
When I got to the meeting place that afternoon, most of the sketchers were already there. There were around 20 urban sketchers and they looked older than me. I think some of them might even be retirees. It seems that urban sketching is more of a female pastime in Grenoble: only two older men turned up that day. Everyone had a backpack and a swift glance confirmed my suspicion: I was the only one without a portable chair. I remembered about the importance of a portable chair only hours before the meeting. Tt was too late to buy one even with the help of Amazon.
The arboretum
As a group, we followed the only path and entered the arboretum. It is actually quite a small botanical park, about the size of a football field. It was a pleasant afternoon, a little breeze and a temperature in the mid-twenties. Being just after lunch, there was nobody else in the park. As we walked along the path, sketchers gradually dropped out from the group as and when they found an interesting subject to sketch.
I soon found my spot. It was a spot about 10 metres away from a small pond fenced up. From that spot, I would not be able to see the pond (not that interesting: only a waterlily) but it gave me a good view of the surroundings: 3 big trees and the wooden fence. I chose that spot because of the fence. For me, I thought it was an easily recognisable landmark in these swaths of greenery. That is, even if my sketch was that bad, people would still be able to identify my subject. In addition, the fence reminded me of the somewhat fun orienteering night.
Another sketcher selected this spot too. However, she seemed more interested in what was in the pond. Initially, she was stood by the fence, sketching as she looked intently at the pond. Not soon after, she sat in her foldable chair. In less than an hour, she left that spot. As for me, I sat at the same spot for the two hours, covering both my pages. As I didn’t have a portable chair, I did the next best thing. I sat on a rotten log that I found nearby and dragged it to my chosen spot. Sitting on a slightly higher level was better than sitting on the ground. Perhaps that was the reason why I could still get up on my legs despite the stiffness in my bones from sitting for two hours.
In the zone
I was alone for most of the time and was totally absorbed in what I was doing. When I first sat down, I was aware of the sound of rustling leaves and the chirping of the birds. Not soon after, I played my usual Spotify’s recommended “Drawing and Sketching” music to get into the mood. However, very soon, the background noise just faded away. I guess I was in the “zone”, fully concentrated on the greens and the browns of my sketch. Other than just blowing a couple of insects off my sketchbook, I was doing nothing else but drawing. However, in the much later part of the 2-hour session, strollers started to appear. A couple of curious ones walked towards me to see what I was painting. I just smiled at them and continued my sketching. Public viewers are not that scary after all.
Two hours passed like just that. I packed up and met up with the rest. Everybody proudly showcased their masterpieces. The styles were vastly different. Some focused on one specific flower or tree while others on an area in the park like mine. There were some who tried to be faithful to the reality while other interpreted the foliage in their own imaginative way. All in all, as a beginner, I don’t think my art piece was that shoddy.