Customer Reviews

The Art of Urban Sketching: Drawing On Location Around The World

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Length:: 1:25 Mins

Urban sketchers is a community of sketchers who share their sketches online. There are groups in various countries. I'm a follower of the main blog. I find it very interesting to be reading about places around the world, getting to know the streets through the eyes of people living or traveling there.

This book is 320 pages thick. For the price, it's a terrific bargain. There are over 500 sketches featured from artists all around the globe. The styles are incredibly varied, ranging from pencil sketches to watercolour paintings. Each artist has a personal style, and each sketch has a story to tell. Some of the artists are so good they should publish their own books. Gerard Michel is one of them.

There are three sections in the book. The first is the introduction on urban sketching. The second section showcases the different places drawn. That's the bulk of the book. And the third provides inspiration on where and what you can draw.

The location drawings are accompanied by artist profiles and drawing tips. I like the short stories on the sketches. Florian Afflerbach and his friends were drawing in Venice when the flood came and soak their feet. Nina Johansson documented the demolition of a public bath house, and the protest against the demolition.

Artist Joao Catarino has a sentiment that I share: Drawing everywhere is like traveling all the time. Sketching is one way to get the holiday mood all the time. I can look back at my sketches and remember vividly the places visited. I cannot say the same for travel photos I've taken. The experience is richer when you're not looking but studying a place. I wish I had started sketching earlier.

This is a fantastic book.

Highly recommended.

(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

With more than 100 sketchers contributing to this book it is just a treasure trove of sketches from around the world. Some focus on the architecture, some on the people, but all capture real places in real time. Each image has notes on the materials and time used to create it. Sprinkled throughout the book are tips from many of the artists. If you are a sketcher, or just an armchair traveler, this is a unique way to see the world not through someone's camera but through their sketchbook. I'll go back to this book again and again.

This book has instantly become the bible for urban sketchers. No matter what your sketching style, this book has something for everyone. Not a how to book on sketching, but you can learn from the artists in this book. I haven't been able to put it down for long, chock full of inspiration. The only thing wrong with this book is that you will likely spend a lot of time looking through it when you should be out sketching! A must have book!

If you are looking for a book of instruction on drawing, this is NOT the book for you. This is, instead, a book of inspiration. There are tips and tricks, equipment recommendations and other technical information to be sure. However, the bulk of this book is the collection of beautiful and varied sketches from contributors worldwide. Looking at this collection you can't help but want to grab a sketchbook and go out and try a sketch or two for yourself. The sketching movement has caught on rapidly and this book gives you a sampling of what it is all about. For the experienced sketcher it is both encouragement and eye candy. I know this is a reference I will dip into many times.

With sketches from artists around the world, Gabi Campanario has made an important contribution here. This book is the go-to manual for urban sketching that shows the way of life of the urban sketcher through page after page of inspirational work. This is a must-have for anyone embarking on this fascinating and life-changing world of urban sketching, or for anyone (artist or not) who wants to treat themselves to a richly detailed visually eclectic trip around the world. To Gabi Campanario and all of the artists who contributed, thank you for this!

Gabi Campanario has made two landmark contributions to the world of art in founding Urban Sketchers, one of the largest interactive communities of artists in the world, and by authoring The Art of Urban Sketching, which extends the boundaries of Urban Sketchers to include not only those who produce art, but also those who enjoy the unique and creative way sketching portrays the world around us. The book provides a unique opportunity to travel the world geographically and at the same time discover its often overlooked mystery and beauty that only the eye of the artist can uncover, inspiring many more of us to take part in the joyful enterprise of sketching, sharing with others the things each of us sees in a unique and individual way. It, along with Cathy Johnson's Artist's Journal Workshop, will prove itself particularly helpful to the traveler who keeps a travel journal. The Art of Urban Sketching will soon become a classic in the world of art, particularly the art of sketching.

The book very intentionally includes a wide diversity of styles, materials and methods in order to suggest that everyone can find a place and a way to both enjoy and create this art form. Some of the sketches require as little as a pencil, a piece of scrap paper, and a few minutes of time. Other sketches are more exotic, complex, intricate, and time-consuming, reflecting the unique skills, experience and interests of each artist. The book is unique in that it is not a "how-to" book on sketching, but each sketch does include such "how-to" information as time required, materials used, the unique challenges of various categories of subjects, tips from the artist, and insights into each artist's background, interests and signature style.

There is an added benefit that this book and Urban Sketchers represent. Seeing and sharing the world with artist friends from other cultures and societies is an exercise in grassroots international diplomacy, leading to understandings and mutual appreciation which cannot help but contribute to a better, friendlier and more peaceful world! This is a book that belongs in the library of all artists and all who appreciate art and the world it portrays. Don't miss it.

This is a celebration of an on-going movement: Artists---professional and amateur--have taken to the streets of the cities where they live and visit with sketchbooks and simple drawing tools. Beautifully designed and printed, chockfull of amazing examples of work by practicing, enthusiastic urban sketchers from around the world, this book is a treasure trove of inspiration for anyone who does or wants to draw from direct observation. A great sourcebook and educational resource for all levels. Anyone who appreciates drawing as an art form would delight in having this book to page through again and again.

I just got my copy of The Art of Urban Sketching and I love it! It's a sumptuous feast for the sketcher's heart, laying out the inspiration for us to "see the world one drawing at a time." The book details the simplicity and the diversity of the urban sketcher's mission, walking us through each step of the manifesto with multiple illustrations. Hundreds of sketches from all around the world add to the feast. We can see street scenes from Seattle to Orlando, coffee shops in San Antonio, subway patrons in Dublin, a market in Kowloon, and so many more images of the world as interpreted by sketchers around the globe.

The book has a dynamic layout, non-linear, yet ordered with color-coded sections and patterned displays. There are descriptions of materials and processes, artist profiles, quotes and, of course . . . the sketches.

Fun, informative and above all inspirational, I recommend it without reservation.

This book suits the needs of everybody who likes to draw.
It provides beginners the initial push to confront the white paper by means of simple schemes. The tips of the selected artists - more than 100 - will speed up the learning process of anyone who wants to go further.
For those who already know how to draw, the book offers a collection of themes and approaches that will really be able to "open the mind" for new horizons. Based on the urban theme, one can have a broad range of techinques and be able to combine new formulas that have proven successful.
Thanks to the personality and the spirit of the author, who made a meritocratic selection of the artists presented, the book provides valuable "solutions" for almost all problems faced by an urban sketcher while trying to accomplish his task of selecting the most important information from the urban scene depicted. This is truly useful even for the most experienced sketchers.
Congratulations!

I got this book a few days ago and have been reading and re-reading, looking and re-looking, each page. I find the information shared about each drawing- the methods, materials, and time to complete- valuable as a reference and as an indication of how much variation there is between each artist.

In the copy I got, the bold title for the section with drawings about New York City is missing. Just a note for future editions. Does not detract from the book at all.