Elizabeth Alley
  • Home
  • About
  • Upcoming
  • Contact
  • Sketchwork

Sketchwork

Dedicated to the act of sketching.

Symposium Sketches - The Symposium Day 2

9/2/2019

5 Comments

 
Picture
On Friday of the Urban Sketchers Symposium I took Richard Briggs' workshop Play and Rhythm: How to Capture Character with Limited Content because I'm very interested in the way he captures information with a very minimal line. We walked over to Amsterdam's "Love Bridge" and had just the most perfect, quiet, shady spot.
Richard started us out by having us wander around to find things that most interested us about the area and to make a list of words describing what we found. He was interested in having us focus on the relationships between these things that made Amsterdam Amsterdam. I found this part very helpful as it pushed my looking - I kept seeing more and more that interested me and that I wouldn't have seen otherwise. He also said, "If it was up to me I'd have us looking for 90% of the time and drawing for 10%," which says a lot about his methods.
Picture
The sketch above is one of my favorite spreads from the whole trip. It's in a Stillman & Birn Alpha 8x10, with a Lamy Safari & Noodlers 54th Massachusetts ink.
Our instructions from Richard were to draw things from the list we made. I'll admit, I was not 100% paying attention when he was giving instructions, so I didn't know if we were supposed to do this in his style, which is very distinct, or just draw like we normally draw. I opted to draw like I normally draw, and when we looked at everyone's sketches, I saw that everyone else's sketches were made with a very minimal line, like Richard's. Oh well - I gotta be me! 
Picture
I made sure I had the correct instructions for the final drawing, which shows my interest in Amsterdams' "public spaces" - the tiny walkway and not-well-kept tree on the left - versus Amsterdams' "private space" - the lush trees and plants around doorways and stoops. And also the relationship of houses to street to water. It was an interesting exercise, but not my favorite sketch.
Oh and I intentionally left out the bike because I figured we didn't need another Amsterdam bike sketch - ha!
Picture
After the workshop I had an absolutely lovely lunch at Droog with Shawne, Liz, Maria and Peggy. Sharing a meal with old friends and new is one of my favorite parts of the Symposium.
Picture
I attended Rita Sabler's demo Unfolding Stories: Recipes and Ingredients for Visual Storytelling in the afternoon. Rita is an amazing sketcher/storyteller so I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about her process. We had a great spot near a market in a shady and breezy area, so as I listened to her I started sketching this interesting structure in the background. Later I realized that this interesting structure is the Zuiderkerk, the impressive building hosting the Symposium, and one of the most-sketched buildings at the Symposium. It made me realize that what I had been saying and teaching since the 2018 Symposium in Porto was true: sketching your everyday world prepares you for bigger sketching opportunities. Because I've been purposeful for the past year in finding and taking advantage of opportunities to sketch and filling up many a two-page spread, I approached this big moment with confidence and ease, not even thinking about it as a big moment. 
Picture
At the Drink & Draw I drew without an agenda, just layering people and buildings to give a sense of the setting.
Picture
Picture
Later that night, after cooling off in my hotel room for a bit, I ate dinner at a little Spanish place down the street from my hotel and ended up sketching the ubiquitous Amsterdam bike.
5 Comments
Joan Tavolott link
9/2/2019 08:04:51 pm

I love the sketch opposite the cider and glass. It really captures the look of the Amsterdam streets with the staircases and then a little space for walking with the protective barriers and then that life-threatening bike lane before the parked cars.

Reply
Elizabeth Alley
9/4/2019 09:14:21 am

Thanks, Joan! I did that while having dinner on that tiny walking space. This is the street I stayed on, so I love having this sketch/memory of it.

Reply
Richard
9/3/2019 08:55:22 am

Hi elizabeth, hope all is well, nice write up, and yes i was keen for everyone to sketch in their own style, so you were right! as i was trying to encourage a step by step process and an approach to sketching more than replicating a style per se. Really like the sketch of the “public space” canal and houses one (i know you don’t!); great to have you at the workshop and look forward to your day 3 write up! Thanks richard

Reply
Elizabeth Alley
9/4/2019 09:17:37 am

Hi Richard! I remember that you talked about your workshop being a concept workshop rather than a technique workshop, so I felt pretty confident sketching my own way, but I totally understand everyone's urge to try to sketch like you. Your style is so elegant! I just happen to know that elegant isn't my thing ;)
I learned so much in your workshop - the "looking" exercise stayed with me through the rest of the Symposium! Thanks!

Reply
Nickolas
8/31/2023 10:50:40 am

Do you happen to recall what size nib you used for the drawing with the bicycle leaning against the tree?

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Sketchwork is about all kinds of sketching and things related to sketching - teaching, making art, art supplies, books, sketchers, artists, Urban Sketchers, Memphis Urban Sketchers, and traveling.

    Sketchwork Archives/Old Site
    ​
    Materials I Like
    ​Instagram

    Urban Sketchers network
    I'm an urban sketcher

    Archives

    May 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    September 2024
    April 2024
    December 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    February 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018


      Sign up for my newsletter,
      ​Studio Night News

    Subscribe to Newsletter
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
  • Upcoming
  • Contact
  • Sketchwork