Crealde Urban Sketching First Class

Posted on by Thor

At Crealde School of Art we started a new series of Urban Sketching Classes on Sunday mornings. I have kept the first two classes outside. Surprisingly the class is full with nine students. My first lessons are about using perspective when drawing on location.

The first assignment is for the students to draw a tent out behind Crealde. Everyone stayed under the back awning crowded together, so I decided to sit under the tent to give them one person for them to include in their sketch.

I shared each stage of this sketch as it was completed and also gave each student sketch notes to help them with their sketch in progress.

One other student wore a mask and I wore mine outside since I would get close to student to offer notes and suggestions. My mantra throughout was for students to make a mess. I certainly made a mess of this sketch which was done in an ancient sketchbook filled with tissue paper. Since my attention was focused on the student, I didn’t take any time to focus on details.

Crealde First Class

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On Sundays I teach an Urban Sketching Class at Crealde School of Art. From the very first class I encourage the students to explore the beautiful campus with their sketchbooks.

In each class I press a particular point and rather quickly get the students to apply the concept in their sketches for the day.

I sketch while they work and share each stage of my sketch to show how long I take on each step of the process. As I walk around I give each student individual attention usually doing thumbnail sketches on the back of my sketch to express how I might tackle the scene they are working on.

This sketch was done back when masks were required at Crealde. That requirement has been dropped, but I remain masked in public at all times. When sketching people will often approach to see the work in progress. They never seem to stop when the line work is being done, but once color hits the page, people become curious.

My last series of classes was canceled because not enough students signed up. That should give me a breather as COVID cases are rising in Florida again. I haven’t experienced a classroom full of unmasked students yet.

Students Working

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At Crealde I almost always sketch while my students are working on their sketches. I am fascinated by the gestures artists take as they create. One class of each of my 6 classes is held in the classroom and sometimes it is impossible to keep students 6 feet apart.

The more students I have, the harder it is to keep them safe. I always leave the classroom door open hoping to get a cross breeze.

I am certain this class would have been about perspective and fitting several fellow students into a sketch. As students sketch I pay attention to how much they look at the world around them as opposed to looking at the page. Part of my challenge to get them to accept what they produce without judgement. I am always delighted by the variety of work produced.

My next series of Crealde Urban Sketching classes starts up June 19, 2022.

Required Supplies include but are not limited to…

#2 pencil with an eraser, 05 and 08 micron pens, Stillman and Birn 9 x 12 inch spiral bound sketchbook (Alpha or Epsion series), Travel sized watercolor pallet (mine is a Windsor Newton with 14 color pans), Pentel water brush (water goes in the handle), Black Prismacolor pencil, Compact artist stool

Pandemic Pose

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One each series of classes at Crealde School of Art we focus on drawing people and I have the students each take a 5 minute pose. My goal in doing a five minute demo is to show them how to quickly block in a pose and add watercolor as well to tie it together. Sometimes I run out of time but I will keep throwing color washes on the page as the next pose starts.

Each pose is like a race, trying to get enough information on the page in the time allotted. Not every student can finish a pose in five minutes but at least they know it is possible. If there aren’t many students then we branch off and start sketching on property. They are encouraged to sketch fellow students and hopefully the proportions and lesson on gesture is enough to get them to give it a try.

Last weekend my students did an amazing job of sketching smaller pieces on property. Each student finished about half of a page worth of sketches and we will resume right where they left off. This teaches them that direct observation is always desired and you can return to a site as often as you like. Just look how often Monet painted a hay stack.

Once the world opens back up after the pandemic, my students will be ready to document life in their sketchbooks as a potential roaring 20s era begins. I am teaching them to be sloppy and spontaneous as they sketch everyday events.

Crealde Class

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On Sunday mornings from 9:30 to 12:30 I am teaching an Urban Sketching class at Crealde School of Art. Last week we focused on drawing people by sketching each other.

This demo sketch was done to show how to block in figures and make them feel well grounded to the chair they are sitting in. The basic premise is to draw the chair and then draw the person seated in the chair.

The sketches were just 5 minutes in duration and I was showing how watercolor can be used to also block in masses quickly,

I modeled to start taking several longer 10 minute poses to get the students started. Then each student posed for 5 minutes while we all sketched. It was raining, so we worked indoors.

I was quite proud that all my students kept their focus and got n impressive amount of work done in the time we had.

At this point I was suggesting that the students get one or two figures on the page but by the end of class we were again sketching the entire scene.

Crealde: Sketching the Tent

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For the second Urban Sketching Class at Crealde School of Art, we reviewed one point perspective and discussed two point perspective for blocking in a scene. For the first class we were indoors since it was so cold outside but this week we ventured outside where it was a bit chilly but tolerable.

I did drawing on a chalkboard on this back porch area and then asked everyone to turn around and draw the tent behind us. The only goal was to fit the tent on the page as best as possible.

This demo sketch which I walked around at each stage of it’s progression pointed out that the tent does not need to fill the page. I decided it just needed to fill half the sketch while the students in the foreground became the real center of interest for the story.

I had them commit to the sketch they were doing by using pencil to plan, then pen and ink to commit and finally watercolor. The challenge is always to get students to truly spend the time to develop a sketch towards becoming a painting. There are some real talents in this class and they are soaking up concepts I throw their way quickly. As the world returns to a new normal they will have a new tool (the sketchbook) to explore it with.

I am still working in an ancient sketchbook with horrible thin paper, but that means I can make a mess and not worry too much about the result.

Crealde COVID Classroom

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At my Crealde Urban Sketching Class I usually have one lesson inside while the other 5 lessons are outside.The goal of the one indoor class is to teach the students how to draw the classroom using one point or two point perspective. My sketch is done in two point perspective.

Before class I remove most of the tables and leave just one table for each student. My goal is to remove any chance of students sitting too close together. In the foreground of my sketch is the 6 foot long staff I bring to every class. I literally carry it around like Moses as a visual reminder that I need to keep 6 feet from students. Each table is 6 feet wide so that is another visual reminder. I sat more than six feet away by the open classroom door.

Next to the six foot staff is a rolled up drawing on brown paper that is a three dimensional map of the room with an orthographic view from above and orthographic views of the walls. When taped into a cube shape it is a decent representation of the room. The basic lesson is that an artist maps out his view of everyday places and events.

The next series of six Urban Sketching classes starts January 30, 2022.

Crealde Urban Sketching Class

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Starting January 30, 2022 I will be teaching 6 Urban Sketching classes on Sundays starting at 9:30AM at Crealde School of Art. These sketches were a demo to sow how to do panoramas and think about foreground, mid ground and background in each sketch. I find that by having students work smaller they tend to finish more sketches and some might finish a spread like this in the course of a class.

I walk around each time I finish a stage of each sketch to show my progress and how long I take for each step. When I meet each student one on one I then often share quick sketch suggestions for the scene they are working on at the time.

We work outside which is a safer working environment. I wear masks even outside at this point in the pandemic. I have upgraded to wearing a KN-95 held in place with the cloth mask Pam made for me right at the start of the pandemic. I let students remove their mask if they are socially distanced outside but insist they put it back on if they get within 6 feet of another student or myself.

For a second time Pam and I hopefully have dodged a COVID bullet. A co-worker tested positive but an at home test has thankfully shown a negative result so far. A second at home test will likely be taken today. These test are expensive so we need to figure out how President Biden’s Plan to have insurance companies cover the cost works out in practice. I suspect lots of robo calls and red tape.

Anyway it is nice to get out of the studio on Sundays and enjoy the sun and breeze while sketching with like minded students. It is a breath of fresh air even if I am wearing a mask.

Crealde Thumbnails

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These are examples of the quick little thumbnail notes I jot down for students taking my Crealde Urban Sketching class. We work outdoors documenting the Crealde Campus. The notes usually apply directly to the sketch that the student is working on and I offer a quick simplification of the process.

My next series of Urban Sketching classes start January 30, 2022. They are every Sunday from 9:30Am to 12;30PM.

Learn to sketch from subject to the environment. Classroom sessions will focus on sketching clothed models and progress towards sketching the model and classroom environment. Learn how to incorporate storytelling into your sketches in our location sessions. These trips to local venues will challenge you to use your sketchbook the way a photojournalist uses a camera. The six-week goal is to produce finished sketches using pencil, pen, and watercolor within two hours. Skill level: Intermediate

Required Supplies

#2 pencil with an eraser, 05 and 08 micron pens, Stillman and Birn 9 x 12 inch spiral bound sketchbook (Alpha or Epsion series), Travel sized watercolor pallet (mine is a Windsor Newton with 14 color pans), Pentel water brush (water goes in the handle), Black Prismacolor pencil, Compact artist stool

I am always pleased by the wide variety of artists who take the class. My goal isn’t to get each artist to draw exactly like me but to encourage them to express themselves in their own unique style. If Artists start carrying sketchbook where ever they go, the world will have so much more to see than iPhone photos.

Crealde Urban Sketch Class

Posted on by Thor

Each Sunday I teach an Urban Sketching class at Crealde School of Art. We sketch outdoors on the campus and lately the weather has been gorgeous. I appreciate the class because it gets me out of my socially isolated studio where I focus on the horrors of the pandemic every other day of the week.

This sketchbook is over 35 years old and  I am intent on filling it up. The pages are tissue thin so the pages curl up when I apply watercolor. Partly because I know this will look like a throw away sketch, I can be looser and more spontaneous. I also work faster so i can walk around and give notes to each student.

I always wear my mask, even outdoors while teaching since I never know when a student might approach with a question. One of my student is a serious about staying masked as I am, which I appreciate.

We just finished the series of classes and the next series will begin, January 30, 2022.