In Penn Station Thursday Morning, February 27, 2014

I was meeting my friends in Penn Station and since I was, as usual, early, I did some sketching while I had some coffee.  The pages in my Moleskine journal are all prepainted with acrylic paint using the Gelli Printing plate - a  failure proof surface for doing hand-pulled monotypes at home.  I do the drawings from life and then add finishing touches later on at home.

NYC Urban Sketchers goes to the Manhattan Fencing School

Sketching at the Manhattan School of Fencing from Mark Leibowitz on Vimeo.

The Saturday Triple Header - March 1, 2014

This Saturday is a Triple Header 

You are welcome to join any or all of the activities.

Part One - the Morning:
The Spring Studio
The life drawing class runs from 9:30 - 12:30.  It's a popular class and the best seats are taken quickly. The class often fills to capacity.   Minerva will teach short anatomy lessons during the breaks.
Where:  The Spring Studio, downstairs at 64 Spring Street
How:   By Subway the #6 Spring Street stops right in front of the Studio,  or the B,D,F or M train to Broadway Lafayette is a two block walk south
When:  9:30 - 12:30
What:  Life Drawing from models
Price:  $18 per person




Part Two - the Early Afternoon

The New York City Police Museum
Dedicated to preserving the history of the New York City Police Department the world largest and most famous police service.
When:  From 2 PM to 4 PM
Where:  100 Old Slip,
How:  By Subway, take the 2 or 3 to Wall St, or the 4 or 5 to Wall Street, or the J or Z to Broad Street
Price:  $5 per person (Your suggested admission supports the rebuilding fo the Museum due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy.








Part Three - Late afternoon and Evening

Sketching the Tango

For a few who might be interested, we're going to be challenged by the motion and the sensuous beauty of the Tango. We've been invited to a Milonga - a social dance party in Argentine Spanish 

This is a limited attendance sketching event.  We are only allowed ten people.  So, please let me know by email as soon as possible if you plan to join us for this part of the sketch day.

We will meet at 4:30 at Triangulo,   NYC's only dance studio dedicated exclusively to the Argentine Tango.  The stylish sensuous beauty of the Tango has made it the subject of many artists.  

When:  From 4:30 to 8:00 PM
Where:  The Triangulo, 135 West 20th Street, #301, Buzzer 62 - (Between 6th and 7th Ave)
How:  By Subway take the 1 or 2 train to 18th Street
Price:  $10 per person to cover the wine and refreshments.

If you can't find us, 

Call or Text Mark 973-809-9128

Drop-in Drawing - at the Met - This Friday Night

Friday, February 28, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

Drawing Hands and Feet: European Sculpture

Gallery 548 

(The Carroll and Milton Petrie European Sculpture Court) 

Show location on map

Draw inspiration from original works of art. Join talented art instructors in the galleries for informal sketching fun. Materials are provided, but you may bring your own sketchbook; pencils only. Instruction provided every thirty minutes. Come and go as you like between each session. Open to visitors of all ages.

Free with Museum admission

(Submitted by Mary Lych)

http://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/art-making-programs/drop-in-drawing/drawing-hands-and-feet?eid=A001_%7B7001D656-9877-47DC-9DF7-B04CF1CDE301%7D_20131025174149

Sketching at the Manhattan School of Fencing

Not so easy.  Sitting and watching with the intention of sketching, the first thing you notice is there's constant motion.  Further study and you detect that the fencers invariably have a moment when they pause before an attack.  It's a moment that quivers with energy.  Then you notice there's a repetition to what's happening, like the beats and steps in a ballet.

Sizing up the Opponent

The school is a testimony to the wholesomeness of the sport of fencing.   There's a large sign that features the names of students who have gone on to prestigious universities.   Even more impressive is the sign that shows students who have competed in the Olympics.

The Student and the Instructor

The last thing you notice is that fencing is a thorough and exhausting workout.  This last sketch is of a fencer who sat on the floor texting after his workout with a private coach.  He was drenched in sweat, but seemed pleased with the session he'd just completed.

Texting After the Workout

Many thanks to Julia Gelman who gave us special permission to visit her school. The teachers and students could not have been more hospitable.

New Post by Mary Lynch from the Manhattan School of Fencing

Mary asked me to post these two drawings for her:

Manhattan Fencing, Saturday, February 22, 2013

Part 2:

We, (about 13 of us), ended up at Manhattan Fencing.

Everyone kept moving.

Constantly.

The guy covered in black protective gear is the instructor.

The fellow in the t-shirt kept practicing the same moves.

Which was helpful from my standpoint.

And then his lesson was over.
He sprawled on the floor.

NEXT!

iPad; Sketchbook Ink, Finngr Pro apps; New Trent Arcadia stylus.
All drawings were completed in the fencing school and just exported to ArtRage for the textured background.

reclinerart.wordpress.com

Sketch Seminar coming in Chicago

Urban Sketchers Sketch Seminar coming to Chicago June 7th and 8th, 2014!

FEATURED

Posted on February 2, 2014

Urban Sketchers Chicago will be hosting their very own sketching weekend in the great city of Chicago on June 7th & 8th, 2014.  The event will attract local and visiting sketchers from near and far.  While sketching at various locations throughout downtown Chicago, some of the most respected and qualified instructors will be teaching workshops surrounding topics like on-location sketching, color theory, and choosing what to sketch, just to name a few. Registration is required.

We are excited to announce that the location for the seminar will be in and around Palette & Chisel, Fine Art – Chicago: Art Classes & Open Studios.  Palette & Chisel is located at 1012 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60610.  Learn more about Palette and Chisel here.

Urban Sketchers (USk) is a global community of artists that practice drawing on location in cities, town, and villages in which they live, work or have traveled.  It is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to raising the artistic, storytelling and educational value of location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location.

USk Chicago is the local community of diverse artists united by a passion for sketching, discussions, socializing and sharing their unique visions of the world around them with others.  In fact, the Urban Sketchers’ motto is “we see the world, one drawing at a time.”

Don’t miss the USk Chicago Seminar coming June 7th & 8th, 2014.  Follow us onFacebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and on our blog for further information regarding the seminar, to see our sketches, and to begin sharing your own!

More Details:  http://chicagosketchseminar2014.wordpress.com/

Saturday Morning Before Meeting Up With the NYC Urban Sketchers

This is Part 1.

The New York Urban Sketchers had big plans for yesterday, Saturday. There was a morning location, an afternoon location and an in-between location.

Instead of joining them for the morning figure drawing on Spring Street I opted instead to revisit the American Indian Museum NY since the George Morrison exhibit is closing. I wanted to remember facets of this particular sketch so I quickly copied it using a very simple app so that I wouldn't get bogged down.

I saw this exhibition last October and was blown away by the beauty of his artwork but I had very little time and wasn't able to copy anything. Yesterday time wasn't a problem.

This caught my eye in another gallery:

I hopped back on the #1 subway to the Times Square station. For the in-between portion we were meeting in Times Square. I called Mark to find out where, got his answering machine, didn't spot anyone I knew among the million or so tourists milling about on Broadway so I went to the 8th floor lobby of the Marriott on Broadway and 45th Street. While I waited, I sketched a couple of people as they waited for each other to use the rest room - they were a bit too quick. Mark returned my call and soon enough there he and a few other sketchers were.

We talked for awhile and then walked to 39th Street where a unique sketching experience awaited.

Stay tuned.

iPad; Penultimate, ArtRage and Sketch Club apps; New Trent Arcadia stylus. Only the text in the George Morrison pieces were added later at home. Everything else was completed while in the museum.

At the Manhattan Fencing School. Challenging but fun!

New York Historical Society, February 18, 2014

Wouldn't you know it. I had plans to meet up with visiting-from-North Carolina-friends Gwen and Phil Diehn in the city and it SNOWED! We decided to ignore the idea and actuality of the existence of SNOW and met in Penn Station. We took the subway uptown (snow had stopped) to the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library where we viewed the exhibition "The Armory Show at 100: Modern Art and Revolution". From their website: " In 1913, the International Exhibition of Modern Art came to New York. Organized by a small group of American artists and presented at the Lexington Avenue Armory (and thus nicknamed the Armory Show), it introduced the American public to European avant-garde painting and sculpture. This exhibition is an exploration of how the Armory Show inspired seismic shifts in American culture, politics, and society." Gwen has embarked on doing 10,000 drawings so afterward we looked for "things" to draw. On the 4th floor we found a Treasure Trove of Things Things and More Things. Follow the link and scroll down and take a look at the list of Things Categories. Wow. It was the coolest place ever. Folk Art: More Folk Art: I sketched from life a detail of the installation "From here to there/De aqui pa'lla in the manner of La guagua aerea" by Antonio Martorell: According to the information card on the wall: "The seats are dressed as immigrants so visitors can sit on their laps, literally placing themselves in their position."

Here is my photograph of part of this installation:

And in the LIRR waiting room at the beginning and end of the day: Top images: iPad; Sketch Club, Finngr Pro, Glaze, ArtRage apps; New Trent Arcadia stylus. Final image: Figures drawn from life while in the LIRR station waiting room. Moleskine journal with Gelli Printing Plate monotype background; Sharpie fine point, chisel and white oil paint markers.

Urban Sketching for Saturday February 22nd

An interesting day is planned for this coming Saturday.  We've been invited to a late afternoon class at the Manhattan Fencing School.  Drawing people is a challenge.  Drawing motion is even more difficult.  The classically beautiful moves of fencing will be our subject.

Please note:  This is a school and we'll need to be respectful and careful not to intrude

To warm up in the morning and to prepare for the challenge you're invited to the Spring Studio, considered by many artists to be the best place for Life Drawing in New York City.  The class runs from 9:30 - 12:30.  It's a popular class and the best seats are taken quickly. The class often fills to capacity.   Minerva will teach short anatomy lessons during the breaks.

DETAILS:

MORNING
Where:  The Spring Studio, downstairs at 64 Spring Street
How:   By Subway the #6 Spring Street stops right in front of the Studio,  or the B,D,F or M train to Broadway Lafayette is a two block walk south
When:  9:30 - 12:30
What:  Life Drawing from models
Price:  $18 per person

AFTERNOON:
Where:  The Manhattan Fencing School,  225 W 39th St, between 7th and 8th Avenues
How:  Subways to Times Square
When:  3:00 PM
What:  We will be sketching students learning to fence
Price:  There is no charge.

Between the two events we'll be sketching at Times Square from the streets, if there is a weather miracle, or more likely from the 8th Floor Lobby of the New York Marriott Marquis at 1535 Broadway at 45 Street.

If you can't find us

Call Mark  973-809-9128

2nd Annual West Coast Urban Sketchers Sketchcrawl

ANNOUNCING: (see the rsvp at the bottom)

"2nd Annual West Coast Urban Sketchers Sketchcrawl"

Portland, Oregon

July 11 and 12, 2014 

Join us in Portland, OR, this coming summer for the "2nd Annual West Coast Urban Sketchers Sketchcrawl." Like it's predecessor last summer in the San Francisco Bay Area, this event is free. There are no workshops, or lectures; just the pure enjoyment of meeting old and new friends in a rich environment laden with tons of Portland eye-candy for your sketchbooks.

Here's what we have planned.

FRIDAY:  Meet up at McMenamins Ringlers Pub at 5:00pm.  The plan involves "breaking the ice" and getting to know others quickly with a "Five-Minute Portrait Party" where participants, in a "speed dating" format, will have 5 minutes to draw each other's portraits.  What could be more fun than getting to know each other better in a world-class pub with great food, drinks, chips, dips and jalapenos while sketching each other's faces. Afterwards there will be plenty of time for some of the other things we have in mind for after dinner.  We would tell you now, but we don't want to ruin the fun.

SATURDAY: We will spend the day from 9:30am until 4pm in the South Park Blocks.  This park spans 12 straight blocks, walking distance from downtown.  It is lined with museums, pubs, book stores, coffee shops, buskers, and city art displays.  A veritable cornucopia of friendly people and things to sketch.

Meet up at 9:30am in front of the Portland Art Museum, (on the east side of the building, facing the park).  We will have two sharing events: one at high-noon, the other at 4pm (locations will be announced at the meetup). Participants will be free to group-up for lunch in one of the many eateries found in this area.

We have no "ending time" planned for Saturday.  Some folks might want to gather for dinner and keep drawing during and afterwards.  We have nothing planned for Sunday; participants will be on their own to explore the city as they choose.

LODGING: There is no shortage of downtown overnight accommodations in Portland. Here are a few recommendations to get you started.

• Higher-end:  the Mark Spencer.
• Mid-range: (with a hip Portland flavor): The Ace Hotel. 
• Budget-rate: NW Portland Hostel. 

You can find a complete listing of lodging options throughout the city at this link.   

If you plan to attend, click this link, RSVP, with your name in the subject line, and if you plan to attend the Friday event also add "Friday." Thanks. 

This event has been scheduled to coincide with the 44th World Wide Sketchcrawl, July 12th

Sketchcrawl, July 12th.

Starbucks Sketch

Since we weren't able to get together as a group on Saturday, Susan and I got together today and sketched indoors at Barnes and Noble Book Store at the Smith Haven Mall near us. Of course there was a Starbucks there and the patrons are always fun to sketch.

*** CANCELLED*** Sketch date for tomorrow - Saturday Feb. 15th

SKETCHING CANCELLED for TOMORROW
I'm not happy with this, but let's cancel the planned sketch date for tomorrow - February 15, 2014 scheduled for the Studio Museum of Harlem.

My thinking is that the city is filled with snow, temperatures today will be over freezing, so there's going to be melting and flooding.  Tonight it's going to drop below freezing so there will be ice everywhere.  At just the time we're starting it's supposed to begin snowing with promises of 2 - 3" for tomorrow.  There will be better days.

COMING SOON;
FYI - For the following two weeks we're going to try starting at a later time - mid afternoon.  I'll have details for you soon.

Enjoy the weekend.

At the New Museum for the Draftsmen's Congress

On Tuesday February 11, 2014 we went to the New Museum:

Urban Sketcher's at the Draftsmen's Congress from Mark Leibowitz on Vimeo.

Inside the Lincoln Center

 

It seems that sketching indoors has pushed me to try new compositions that focus on groups of people rather than on the overall streetscape or individual subject. Although this was probably the largest number of people that I've ever fit inside any of my drawings, I still feel that I wasn't quite able to capture how populated and vibrant that place really felt. 

As a slow sketcher, I'm still struggling with my bias towards recording the "easy targets" - the stationary elements of the crowd that give me enough time to be drawn in "sufficient" detail. I'd be very interested in hearing other sketchers' thoughts on drawing crowds and "populating" a drawing. 

Exploring the City

February 1^st I had the privilege of joining the urban sketchers of New York City for the first time. I recently moved to the area and was invited by Mark Leibowitz to join the group. It was awesome getting to know some of the urban sketchers of the city and see all the different styles of sketches! To view more of my work check out my flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/josiahdhan9/

Whenever I move to a new area I like to go and explore the city on my own and sketch. Here are some of sketches I’ve done during the last few months:

Central Park

View of Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn

 Flatiron district

Highline, a colorful mural seen from the NY Highline.

  

 Stumptown Coffee Roasters.  The shop is attached to the Portland Ace Hotel lobby which also be very fun to sketch.

NJ Transit people sketches. It takes an hour and a half from Dover, while waiting I like to sketch some of the other passengers. Also, I included some quick sketches I've done throughout the city:

 

NYC Sketch Crawl. Saturday, February 8. The first half of the day I chose to sketch the counter of the Cafe at the David Rubinstein Lobby in Lincoln Center. Then I chose to switch to a differed notebook and sketch people.

 

  

Thanks!