Should you try urban sketching?

Urban sketching has been around a while but it's now becoming so popular that groups are springing up in every town and city, all over the World.

I sketch with Drawing Outside Northants, it's a small group of 4 or 5 regulars plus some fairweather participants. We meet on Tuesday evenings, in the lighter , though not necessarily warmer, months from April until September. We take turns to select meeting points and then spend an hour or so sketching. There is no charge for this and it's really sociable, sometimes a pub might even be involved! We've sketched churches and graveyards, car parks and factories, parks and even an aerodrome. The skills of the individual really don't matter, as regular participation in sketching develops your eye and you can get ideas from one another too.

Some of our group travel to neighbouring towns to join their sketchers and are always greeted with warmth and it's a brilliant way to explore locations. I've visited places in my home town that I didn't even know existed and if I was alone I probably wouldn't have had the confidence to draw in public. There is safety in numbers , at the beginning of my time as an urban sketcher, I was terrified of drawing in public, now I just don't care and it has helped me and my work no end and I've made some great friends too.

If you fancy trying out urban sketching, Google urban sketchers and your location , I bet you'll find a world you didn't even know existed!


Here is a link to the blog for Drawing Outside : Northants
It's full of images of the groups work with not too many words! https://drawingoutsidenorthants.wordpress.com/