A Visit with San Diego Urban Sketchers

The aspect that I enjoy most about the Urban Sketchers (USk) organization is its worldwide network of artists. When I traveled to San Diego recently I was fortunate to go at a time when the local group had scheduled a weekend event. For this reason I was able to cross paths with my fourth USk chapter.

San Diego Urban Sketchers held their 10/18 meetup on Coronado Island. The weather was accommodating, the scenery was captivating, and the company was incredibly welcoming. As usual, I was blown away by the artwork exhibited at the show-and-tell session toward the end of the get-together.

Photo by Lydia

My sketch was of the west side of the historic Hotel del Coronado … and includes an attempt to capture a spin class that was being held outdoors that morning.

The employees on the beach were very accommodating as I crouched in the lounge area to sketch the scene (green sweatshirt in background).

Photo by Tricia de Luna

I hope to visit this group again and I encourage fellow sketchers to look for local USk chapters wherever their travels take them!

Halloween

Although I no longer dress up in costume for Halloween, I still enjoy going out to see other people run around with their trick-or-treat bags. Mānoa Valley is a popular Halloween destination – candy is handed out generously and people of all ages get into the spirit.

Before entering the fray myself, I couldn’t help but sketch the sunset from an elevated vantage point in upper Mānoa.

Then, I made a beeline down to faculty housing which is a hub of activity in the valley.

Two residents made an enormous effort to transform their housing unit for Halloween. Not only had they made a stunning ship, which they manned as pirates, but they incorporated a history lesson. The ship was flying a USA-pirate flag, and a flickering image of Queen Lili‘uokalani behind bars was projected onto the balcony. A recorded voice from within the bow told trick-or-treaters about the USS Boston’s involvement in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. All in all, it was an impressive installation complete with a fog machine creating a spooky scene!

These stationary subjects were easier to sketch than the kids racing around!

Board Game Night at the Mall

On Wednesday evening, we held an event at Kahala Mall’s Center Court which was bustling with activity. Shoppers were passing by, chess and Scrabble players were hunched over their boards, the Apple Store was filled with technology lovers, and people were eating dinner by the mall’s fountain.

We were sad to have one of our smallest showings this year, but tickled to welcome our first UH-affiliated participants (not counting the USk O‘ahu organizers). Dan and Justin, from UH Mānoa’s ACM Animation Program, demonstrated animation-style sketching that was complemented nicely by Ruth Ann’s equally dynamic figure drawings. We are determined to boost attendance at future events. Perhaps we can lean on Dan to establish Urban Sketchers’ events as an extra-credit activity for animation students. ;)

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For those who could not attend our most recent weekday gatherings, make sure to come to our next event on the weekend of Nov 7!