portraiting the urban sketchers

I really enjoyed to meet some of my urban sketchers friends the days after the symposium, and having time to chat together, out of the busyness of the symposium.
let me introduce you to:

marina from tel aviv.

lynne from sheffield.

suhita from san jose.

isabel from nouakchott.

jason from new york.

jason and liz from sydney.

new book "barcelona m'inspira" lottery

after the launching 2 weeks ago of my last book "barcelona m'inspira" during the exhibition "sketching barcelona", it's time for the traditional "lapin-lottery"!
this new book is an extended edition of my past book "te quiero bcn" included 85 new pages made during the past year. the result is a 168 pages luxury edition (offset print, hard cover, gold stamping title and round corners) published by the city council of barcelona.
louise will pick up 3 names from the comments of this post, to win a dedicate copy.
and the winners are: suhita, filipe almeida & jose manzanaro!

soon available online and in the bookstores of barcelona.

bcn2013usk in the media

the symposium is over and barcelona is back to normality, no more hundreds of sketchers as last saturday for the final sketchcrawl in front of the triumph arc (photo: alvaro carnicero).

the medias made some great reports about the symposium, the sketchcrawl and the exhibition "sketching barcelona", as this double page in "el periodico" of last sunday:


if you want to watch or read about it, please visit the following links:
- btv 'connexió barcelona' (10/07/2013)
- btv 'notícies' (10/07/2013)
- el periódico (11/07/2013)
- tve 'informatiu 2' (11/07/2013) after 8min 50s
- video barcelona.cat (12/07/2013)
- btv 'notícies' (13/07/2013)
- el Punt Avui (13/07/2013)
- el periodico (14/07/2013)
- tv3 tn vespre (14/07/2013)
- la vanguardia digital (16/07/2013)

bcn2013usk - day 3

the 3rd and last day of the symposium. I manage to wake up on time to assist at the panel discussion at 9:00am at the cccb, but I was still asleep…

than started the workshop cessions, and I join virginia hein with her "panorama in light and shade" workshop. she invites us to sketch only the value, before starting a bigger panorama playing with warm & cool.
while teaching us, we assist to a rescue operation, an old man failed in the water at 5 meters from us, and the quiet landscape was totally changed by the arriving of 3 rescue boats, the police, a medical team and many tourists talking pictures, and of course, we sketched it to!

riding as fast as I can on a "bicing" (public bicycle), I arrived just on time for the last part of marion rivolier's workshop "capturing space through form and color".
her masterclass was not a piece of cake at all, you have to be already an expert urban sketcher to rich its aim, and few sketchers get a trauma I guess by sketching without line, pencil, or marker, without black, using light and shadow, complementary colours, warm & cool contrast and layering the composition with many grounds…
"sors de ta bulle de confort" she told me.

at 2:30pm started the demos, I went to the demo "C" digital urban sketching by mónica cid and josu maroto, or how to sketch with an ipad. they told us all their tricks, I especially like the 2 fingers glove.

and at 4:30pm, we join the 40th sketchcrawl in front of the triumph arc.
wow! so impressive! I never seen such a big meeting of sketchers, every where you were looking at, people were sitting with a sketchbook in hand, chatting, sharing drawings. we spent a wonderful time!

the closing reception was at the cccb, we clinked glasses for USk and the great organisation of this 4th symposium.
tina won my drawing of the silent auction:

after the cccb close, we can't leave each other, and stayed for a wild in front of it, before having an other beer at a terrace, watching a bollywood dance show, and many more drinks until very early this morning. better not to show here what I was sketching at that time ;)

once again it was a huge chance to participate to the symposium, and I was very glad to be the correspondent next to suhita. you're gorgeous!
I want to apologize to the workshops and lectures we can't report, we did our best running all the time, but too many things were happening at the same time.
take a look to the flickr group or to the tag #bcn2013usk on instagram for more about the party.

see you soon sketchers, and have a safe trip back to one of the 40 countries represented this days in barcelona!

bcn2013usk - day 2

the 2nd day of the symposium start far to early to me, but anyway, suhita and I were already corresponding at 9:00am at the cccb.

at 10:00, I join the workshop "I" actors and stage by luis ruiz, that explain us how to compose a sketch mixing architecture and people:

than I run again to the exhibition "sketching barcelona" for an interview for the local newspaper "el punt avui":
to finish the morning at the workshop "G" sketching urban place, people, space and streets by richard alomar in plaça reial:
at 2:00pm starts the demo of kiah kiean, sketching with dry twig and chinese ink. suhita went already there yesterday, but listening to the people who attend to it the day before, I really wanted to see him in action. after a short time, not only the urban sketchers where surrounding him, but also tourists and curious in front of the cathedral. it's just magic what this man could do with a piece of wood and some cheap ink.

meanwhile, since 10:00am, the 3rd day of sketchcrawl was going on in the born ditrict and the barceloneta. I decided to join at the 4:00pm meeting under the "peix" of the olimpic port, to have a look at how the public events were running out.
around 40 sketchers, half of them french, were chatting and sharing their sketchbooks. but after an hour, 2 sheriffs told us that it was forbiden to sit and stay there being a private area… nevermind, I lead the sketchers to the nearby olimpic village, and we stopped on "avinguda d'icària", under the strange sculpture of miralles there: some kind of iron dinosaurs.

we well deserved a fresh beer, and to meet everybody at the drink and draw party at the cccb, before having a diner at a vegan restaurant following jason's recommendation. I guess that after 2 evenings eating burgers, I could eat something healthy for once…

see you in a few hours for the last day of the symposium, and for the 40th worldwide sketchcrawl!

bcn2013usk - day 1

finally, after so many month waiting for it, yesterday at 9:00am, started the 4th urban sketching symposium in barcelona.
the opening was both in catalan and english. big up victor, elisabeth, jason and all the volunteers for the good job!
at 10:00am was time for the first workshop. I join the workshop "C", designing barcelona, with veronica lawlor, and sketched the "illa de la discòrdia" like I never done before:
than I join sagar in the university for his workshop "A" lighting the city:

and after a quick lunch, started the lecture at 02:30pm of the great moustache owner lluïsot, human landscape:
at 4:00pm was time for the afternoon workshop cession. I followed paul wang and tia to their workshop "P" drawing from the heart and over color splashes. I enjoyed a lot sketching with any kind of material, from candle, wood stick, salt or credit card:
and no matter the rain, I spent the last hour sketching the negative forms (workshop "S") with joao catarino and omar jaramillo at plaça sant felip néri:
at 7:30pm, and because we were close from the city hall, we had a quick visit to the exhibition "sketching barcelona" in sala ciutat, before going to the presentation of the new books of swasky and nina johansson (z sketch guides) at the fnac of plaça catalunya:
we arrived late for the drink & draw at the cccb café, so after one beer we lived with omar, stew, jason, pete, choni, ruben and césar for a burger nearby.
I can't wait the 2nd day to start for more fun!
and don't forget that if you're in barcelona and are not registered to the symposium, you are welcome to the public events here and there!

bcn2013usk - fisrt sketchcrawl

yesterday was the first public event, a sketchcrawl along some of the most emblematic modernist building of barcelona. many sketchers join at 10:00 in front of "sant pau" hospital (of lluís domènech i montaner):
than we walk done avenida gaudi until the north facade of the sagrada familia (of antoni gaudi). there were nearly more sketchers than tourists around:
it's where I met suhita, the symposium correpondant, for the first time. I'm impressed, she's quick!!
than came the time for a tipical catalan dish: "arroz negro", yummy!
and we walk until the "casa de les punxes" (of josep puig i cadafalch):
I know that some sketchers continue until "passeig de gracia" and the "pedrera" (of antoni gaudi), but I had to go to the inauguration of the exhibition "sketching barcelona" in sala ciutat where the all collection of travel books published by city council is exhibit, included my last book "barcelona m'inspira".
we have a late diner in born district, it was time to go home, this morning the symposium is starting early!