World Wide Sketch Crawl

Visit http://www.sketchcrawl.com/ and check out the rest of the people around the world that will be participating in a World Wide Sketch Crawl all day tomorrow!

The Sketchbook Project

Check out an interesting and great website called the Art House Co-op at www.arthousecoop.com....This site is great for getting the creative juices flowing, join up for any of the projects, it's fun. They also have a Sketchbook Project...check it out!

The Urban Sketcher

Check out the blog www.urbansketchers.com. It's a great site and you will be inspired!

An Article of Interest

Picking up and finally finishing the November 2009 issue of The Artist's Magazine, I found a delightful article about Fabrice Moireau, a wonderful sketch artist. If you want to know why sketching is so important and why it is it's own art form, check out this article called "Sketching the City of Light." You can capture the essence of any city, the light, the mood, the life of a city, just by taking the time to sketch it. The sketches in this article are beautiful and all it takes is practice. If you want to turn a sketch into a painting, you will be amazed to see how much you remember from just referring to the sketch.

So while we are all waiting that December meeting, how about sketching the town in which you live? Patchogue, Bellport, Sayville or even drive along Montauk Highway the next couple of weeks to see what you can capture. Bring your sketchbook and whatever supplies you have on hand and start sketching. This isn't a beauty contest folks, sketches are personal expressions and everyone has their own style. Sketching is a learning how "to see" tool. The more you sketch, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you'll grow in your own personal style.

There are some recommended books on this website, the one by Barbara M Stecher called Sketchbooking is a great book for just getting out and getting started. I picked up my copy in Annapolis this past September and read it in one sitting.

So get out, get your sketchbooks going, bring them with you to the December meeting to share.

Happy Sketching!

G

Sketch Club details

Some people have asked if there is a fee for these outings. There is NO FEE for joining the sketch club or attending outings, however, if we decide to sketch at a place that charges an admission fee, then you would be responsible for that admission fee. But we do not collect fees. We just want to encourage sketching.

We do not distribute supplies, you are encouraged to bring whatever materials you are comfortable with, but the idea is to travel light when you sketch. There is suggested list of supplies on this blog, but it is only a suggested list...you aren't required to run out and buy supplies other than a hardbound sketchbook, like a 5x8, and a drawing pencil. A hardbound sketchbook such as those made by Strathmore are suggested because hardbound books are sturdier, wirebound pages slide and have a tendency to smear pencil drawings. Moleskines are nice but very pricey for beginners....Pearl Art in Selden had some nice ones and if you have a coupon, you can get a nice sketchbook at a decent price. I believe Michael's and AC Moore carry Strathmore and Canson hardbounds.

We will discuss sketching supplies and answer other questions at the meeting in December as well as discussing frequency of meetings, sites to sketch and other items of interest.

PAC Walking Arts Tour

The 2nd PAC Walking Arts Tour will continue until January 4. Over 40 Long Island based artists have been invited to display their talents in a number of Patchogue Village locations such as storefronts, restaurants, and open spaces Maps of the Walking Arts Tour are available at the Patchogue Theatre and WAT Businesses. Visitors to the exhibit are encouraged to patronize the establishments that have generously provided exhibition space for this event.

Next Meeting

Folks, we are going to schedule are next meeting to be held immediately following the next Patchogue Arts Council General Meeting, to be held in December. Watch this blog for more posts and information on activities related to the Sketch Club.

If you would like to meet sooner, please comment to this post and we'll try to arrange something a little sooner.