Urban sketchers find the sublime in the city block

Great landscape art can take you into a world: the majestic hills of Georgia O’Keeffe’s  Southwestern sublime;  the pastoral calm of Monet’s water lilies. But for years now, groups of amateurs have been gathering with sketchbooks in cities across the world to turn their artistic gaze to the everyday sights of skyscrapers and sidewalks — and find  beauty there.

The idea of “urban sketchers,” or the name at least, started almost 20 years ago. Gabriel Campanario was looking to get to know his new home — and improve his drawing skills.

“We had just moved to Seattle, and I started drawing. Like every day I drew the commuters on the bus, I would draw the mountains, the buildings,” remembered Campanario.

He posted his drawings on the website Flickr and invited other artists to join the online group, which led to in-person groups. And then more chapters, and then international gatherings. Urban Sketchers now reports more than 500 chapters in over 70 countries.

“You can go to another town and meet up with a Sketchers group there,” said Campanario. “And you may not speak the language, but they all can look at your sketchbook and somewhat relate.”

Urban Sketchers Portland was one of the earliest chapters. They meet up monthly. Amy Stewart is one of the organizers.

“We’ll just pick a different neighborhood to explore, where we might be drawing old houses, or little corner markets, or maybe there’s a cool old movie theater to draw,” said Stewart.

Stewart is a writer by profession and says a lot of the sketchers who show up (usually about 50 or so) are similarly amateurs, along with a few more-experienced artists.

At a recent meetup at Portland’s Union Station, self-described recovering architect Bob Boileau appreciated that after a career spent drawing  straight lines, “It’s nice to just get some squiggly in there and, and put some color and draw how I feel.”

Others, like sketcher Karen Hansen, noted that stopping and really paying attention to a scene helped her see the details that she had taken for granted in everyday life.

“When you’re drawing and painting something, you’re really looking at the shapes and the shadows and the textures,” said Hansen.

At the Portland meetup, sketchers were gathered in little clusters around the train station, capturing its red bricks and tall clock tower with watercolors, or pen and ink, or colored pencils.

It’s arguably not as majestic as most rural landscapes, but Noor Alkurd, drawing at his second Urban Sketchers meetup, said that the boxes and lines of cities are great for beginning artists. And besides, landscapes are overrated.

“I mean, come on — cityscapes are so fun!” Alkurd said with a laugh. “I think drawing has helped me just see more of everyday life. It kind of helps you train your own eye for what you find beautiful.”

At the end of the sketch session, all of the participants laid their finished art side by side to compare and admire.

There was some shop talk among sketchers about technique and materials, and some recognition of progress for sketchers who had been coming for a while. But mostly, sketchers said it’s just a chance to create a record of a moment, to take in other perspectives, and to notice a little bit more about the city they see every day.