It's the end of another fabulous 6 weeks of UAB Site Sketching and I am proud to say that in our second year running it just keeps getting better. To sum up the experience I wanted to share a lovely message that I received from a first time sketcher last week... kind words that made my day!

[Hi Emily, Thanks so much for your teaching, encouragement and advice over the last 6 weeks. I have had a fantastic time and learnt so much. When i started i said i wanted to feel comfortable sketching on location and find a way to capture the essence of a place.  Well,  i am thrilled to say that i feel well on my way to doing just that. I love my sketches i feel like they are little jewels, that are uniquely me. What a thrill!!!!!

I had a 'moment' today, after doing some jobs in new farm i decided to stop for a short time at a park on the river- i had my sketch book with me- and just sat and did a little sketch. 20minutes later i realised i was so calm and at peace almost in a meditation. It was the BEST feeling.
At last sketching feels like just the best thing to do- i'm hooked.
Thank you so much for opening this wonderful world to me. What a gift!!!] 
June 2013

UAB is back with another sketching workshop from the 17 August - 21 September. Find more details here. 

In the mean time I am traveling in Europe & the UK for 5 weeks from tonight and will be attending the 4th International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Barcelona. I will do my best to blog some work from Spain! I can't wait to share my drawings with you. 

Happy Sketching
Emily

We're excited to announce that UAB will be hosting a 6 week site sketching workshop from Saturday 4 March - 8 June! It's a beautifully crisp time of year in Brisbane and the weather is perrrfect for drawing outdoors. Below is a sketchmap of our chosen route. The locations include:

Week 3 of the first Big Binge for 2013 and this group is coming along in leaps and bounds. The techniques we discovered this week were definitely in contrast to last week and our sketchers are stretching themselves with grace. Below is a recap of what we worked through. The results of which were sublime. 

Techniques we focused on:

Positive & Negative Space 

• Thinking about depth & tone we were seeking out the boldest contrasts in light inside and outside of the Cathedral. Positive and negative space is a very powerful and dramatic tool that involves a certain level of imagination and careful observation. One trick we found is that when using this technique it is best bitten off in chunks. Sketch out your subject first in light (but confident) lines and then take the time to observe where your light source is. Adding depth through tone can be achieved in a manner of ways. So far we've looked at soft shading and different hatching techniques. Choose your technique according to what you want to say. Lines are expressive. Lines are your language. Lines are your tools for constructing your visual comment about the world around you.

Composition

The Cathedral is a very grand space. With the subject being so vertical in height, it is necessary to consider the elements of composition in order to make the best use of your page. 

• Rule of thirds 
• Sketching your composition in the corner of your page takes 10 seconds and may save you much time.
• Is your image dynamic or static? This is determined by whether your composition is symmetrical or asymmetrical. An asymmetrical composition allows the eye to dart around the page with ease. 

* Thanks to the people of the St Johns Cathedral for your hospitality and warm understanding of our need to Binge within your amazing place. 

Continuing the success of 2012's on-site sketching sessions, participants will soon be joining Emily Fong for weekly sketching sessions at various locations around Brisbane. The sites have been choosen to expand observational drawing skills and introduce concepts and ideas whilst exploring our city and exposing budding and experienced creatives to an abundance of inspiration. For more info or to enrol click here.

Do you want to learn to sketch and draw this year? Join us for a 7 week summer workshop series exploring drawing with other like minded creatives. This workshop is suitable to all skill levels and persons over the age of 18 years. For more details visit our enrollments page, here. 

At Urban Art Binge we teach sketching on location and Mixed Media Painting amongst  many other things. Recently I was asked to explain if there was a difference between sketching and drawing and if so why we choose to focus on the former. 

Sketching is a process of visualising thoughts onto a surface in an immediate, expressive and honest manner. It is thinking through mark making and not intended to be labored over or contrived in any form. Sketching is a process whereby an artist can quickly record an observation, a moment, a feeling, or an idea to be reworked or transformed at a later stage. 

Learning to sketch is a process of learning to LET GO. Letting go of pre-prescribed notions of perfection and accuracy and submitting to the beauty and freedom of PLAY. 

Sketching on location is about being present within your environment, engaging with your surroundings & harnessing these observations as an infinite creative resource. It's also about travelling at home as well as further afield. 

Drawing is a technically refined version of the description above.
An efficient means of visual expression. Drawing is a language. One with an ever expanding vocabulary and the ability to cross cultures.

For me, it was in choosing to take on French as a second language, that I quickly discovered that my native tongue was actually drawing. This was a powerful moment for me as a person and as an artist.

I speak of depth and perspective with the pressure of my hand.
I express lightness and whimsical thoughts by dancing my wrist. 
I suggest texture through varying marks.

But most importantly, the power of my passionate language is in what is not spoken. A sketch offers the gift of imagination when it is not entirely finished. It is not technically perfect. It has gaps where YOU are invited to fill in the blanks.
 
This is why we teach Sketching on location at UAB. 

Em