Urban Sketching Goes Suburban
{a sketching trip to Cold Spring, New York}
At the end of June I had the chance to participate in an Urban Sketch event hosted by the NYC chapter. Urban Sketchers is an organized network of sketch group spanning the Globe. There are over 16 American chapters and chapters in over 28 countries! You can check their website to see if there is a chapter near you. However, even if there isn't, you usually can find something similar through "meetups."
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Blog post about a sketch trip to Cold Spring organized by the New York City chapter of Urban Sketchers. |
About Cold Spring
Right after I heard about this group, there was a trip organized in Cold Spring, New York which is about 90 minutes north of Manhattan. However, since I am already in the suburbs of New York, this translated into less than an hour drive for me up the scenic Hudson. I had never been to this historic town, and I definitely would like to go back without my sketch book so I could explore the antique shops along the avenue.
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Tyler and I met after we learned that we had both heard about this group from our favorite blogger, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. We joked that we represented the middle-agers.. There were mostly either retirees or young French au pairs and young American men who wanted to meet the French au pairs. (that's me in the middle) |
Art Supplies
There is a truism that whenever you go drawing, sketching or painting on location that suddenly you need whatever supplies you had carelessly left behind and always, you never need the heaviest supplies that you did bring. Normally, when I do sketch events they are at museums where there are very strict rules governing what supplies you may or may not bring into the gallery. So, I am used to making do with dry drawing materials and then adding color later in my studio. However, this time I was frustrated with my black and white media but luckily, everyone was generous with sharing and I was able to borrow some watercolor pencils (which I have now added to my must-have art supplies list)
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One of the sketchers acted as our host for the day since he has a home in the Village of Cold Spring. So here we are taking a break from sketching and sharing our art and techniques. This was one of my favorite aspects of the events as I don't often get to meet other people ( in real life) who are as passionate about art as I am. |
Structure of the day
The day was loosely structured with a morning sketch location, a lunch meeting time and place and an afternoon sketch location. Most folks were happily in the groove of sketching and I was a bit stymied about what to draw and trying to let go of the idea that everything I drew had to be "for sale" |
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After lunch we shared our watercolor sketchbooks. Mine is the one with the bubble letters and the people on the balcony. |
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While I was sketching, someone was drawing me! I was wearing a straw hat, and there I am depicted as wearing an orange hat. |
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As I was sharing lunch with the other sketchers, I saw Joan (I think that was her name) sketching me again. That is her interpretation of me on the left hand corner of her sketchbook. |
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The gazebo was a popular focal point for many artists... oddly, I didn't even consider drawing it. I was more attracted to drawing people at the cafes. |
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Here, Tyler and I are sharing a bench in front of a French restaurant. She told me later she ate dinner there. (lucky her!) The bench was warped so I kept sliding down. When I started the drawing there were couples having lunch but they had left by the time I finished. I liked what I made even if the watercolor isn't up to my usual standards of what I like to sell in my etsy shop { you can see my watercolor paintings for sale HERE} |
Do you ever do something just once that you loved?
At the end of the day Tyler asked me, "Do you ever do something you absolutely loved but then never did it again?"
I thought about all those once off yoga classes I've tried and other such things and nodded my head.
"All the time"
"Well I think this may be one of those times." she said quietly.
Make time for your art and yourself
I wondered about that. With my busy life, Saturdays are rarely my own and I wondered if I would be back to this group. At any rate, even if you only do this once, it was a lot of fun. The people were very nice and non-judgemental. The structured activity forced me to visit a place that I never would have been to on my own.
Inspiration for future watercolors
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If you are looking for ideas for more New York City art adventures you might like my blog post:
6 FREE NYC Summer Art Adventures