May Sketch Group on Beale Street

Next sketch group

Saturday, May 4

Beale Street - meet at the Elvis statue on Beale Street between Main and Second

11:00 AM til 1:00 PM

The Beale Street Music Festival is this weekend. Though it does not actually take place on Beale Street, it will be pretty crowded and you will have to pay to park. But with all of the activity it should be pretty fun!

Here's one of Martha Kelly's sketches from our trip to Beale Street last year.

April Sketch Group at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens

On April 6 we met to sketch at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. The Dixon is always a gracious host, even providing us with gorgeous weather! We had a big group, including some new folks. Thanks to everyone for coming out!

This first picture is of the materials that Peter Bowman uses to make sketches, which always turn out looking like complete paintings.

The rest are all of the sketches we made. They are by: Martha, Tom, Merrill and her daughter Virginia, Eric, Michael (new!), Peter, Nancy, Stuart, Beth, Diana, Amber, Mary K, Livia and Kevin (new!), Kathy (new!) and Linda and probably one other person that I forgot.

Sketching at the Opera Festival

Jeilenn Gerlach sent in these fun sketches from the Midtown Opera Festival, held at Playhouse on the Square a couple of weeks ago. Opera Memphis kindly invited the Memphis Urban Sketchers to sketch at the performances. 

Thanks Opera Memphis, and thanks Jeilenn!

April Sketch Group at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens

Our next sketch group is next Saturday, April 6, at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens! Access to the gardens will be available as early as 8:00 AM, and we'll have access to restrooms, water fountains and cover (in case of rain) in the garden buildings before the museum opens at 10:00 AM. We can sketch in the galleries where the Present Tense exhibit is still on view.

Let's all plan to meet up at 10:00 AM at fountain that is in the gardens just east of the parking lot. That way, those who arrived early can see each others' sketches, and those who just arrived can get situated before sketching. Let's meet up again at 12:30 in the Auditorium.

Hope you can join us!

Location: Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 4339 Park Avenue 
Date: Saturday, April 6 
Start Time: 8:00 AM (It's okay, you can come later. The museum opens at 10:00 AM. Admission is free until noon.) 
End Time: Plan to stay a while! There is plenty to see inside and out. Consider going out to lunch after as a group!
Please Note: 

• Saturday mornings are very busy! 
• The Wildflower Plant Sale is all day on April 6, so parking may be limited. Consider carpooling!
• The Dixon's policy for sketching in the galleries is pencil only. Let's be good guests!

Please comment here or on our Facebook page (or join our Facebook group!) if you plan to attend.

March Sketch Group at the Crosstown Building

Next sketch group

Saturday, March 2

Crosstown Building on Cleveland Street between Autumn Avenue and North Parkway

10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Meet at the Crosstown Building at the entrance in the parking lot on the south side of the building.

*** IMPORTANT INFORMATION ***

• Please be on time as we need to stick together.
• We must stick together.
• There are no restrooms

Look for Mary Jo Karimnia - she'll be your "guide" this time.

Please comment here or on our Facebook page if you plan to attend. 

Memphis Urban Sketchers Exhibit at ANF Architects

Thanks to everyone who participated in, helped with, and attended this show! ESPECIALLY the people who helped: Joe Wieronski for setting it up, Martha Kelly for installing and de-installing, Beth Rowlett for installing and taking these great pictures, and Ciara Neill at ANF for setting up the show!

The participants included:

Mary K. VanGieson, Mary Jo Karimnia, Joe Wieronski, Nancy Mardis, Martha Kelly, Tom Pellett, Linda Boswell, Stuart Lacey, Derrick Dent, Carl Fox, Lindsay Overbey, Greg Larson, Thomas Robinson, Elizabeth Alley, Mel Spillman, Melissa Dunn, and Peter Bowman

In case you missed it, here's a write-up of the show from the Commercial Appeal.

February Sketch Group at Rhodes College Barret Library

Next sketch group

This Saturday, February 2

Rhodes College Barret Library

10:00 AM

Enter Rhodes on University Street (between North Parkway and Jackson Avenue) and ask at the gate where to park - Campus Safety is expecting us.

Meet at the library's wooden doors.

When sketching in the library be mindful of studying students - I was told some students DO study on Saturday mornings!

Please comment here or on our Facebook page if you plan to attend. 

Hope to see you there!

Movie night

I keep mentioning it on my own blog, but the Memphis Urban Sketchers have changed my life. Several people in there are never without a sketchbook, and I'm trying to emulate that. This is from my tiny one (3x5", I think) that fits nicely inside my pretty small purse. I also learned this sketching technique from the Memphis group recently -- just a fountain pen and a water brush for washes. It's a very nifty, streamlined kit to carry around with me, unlike my usual bulky backpack of supplies. And I love being able to pull out a sketchbook wherever I am. Hopefully I can keep this up.

SketchCrawl: Memphis

I had so much fun on my first sketchcrawl.  It was a beautiful day although the wind made it very chilly.  A group of us ate lunch at the famous Arcade and warmed up.  I've been wanting to sketch the Arcade and Earnestine & Hazels.  I also couldn't help taking lots of pictures :)  Sometimes I take for granted how cool our city is, but today I was proud to be a Memphian.

International Sketch Crawl

 The Memphis Urban Sketchers participated officially in the International Sketch Crawl this past Saturday for the first time. We met downtown in the South Main arts district, which has a lovely mix of old buildings to draw.

 I love everything about the Memphis Urban Sketchers. I love going out with a group to draw (and not be the only one huddled on the sidewalk). I love the folks in our group. And I love learning new ways of drawing. Today, inspired by a couple of people in our group, I tried drawing with a fountain pen and using plain water to make washes in the ink. I couldn't find my water brush (an all-in-one, pen-looking contraption), so I just used a regular watercolor brush instead, and I do like the softness of it.

Above is my first attempt, with a little blue watercolor added in. It's a quick method, and I did a whole series this morning, enjoying the brain fizz of trying something new.

 After meeting up to compare sketches, five of us hung around to have lunch in the famous Arcade restaurant and keep on sketching. I enjoyed the camaraderie, the sweet potato pancakes, and (once again) sketching in company.

I added extra watercolor to this one, but I wish I'd left it a little more simple. It's easy to overshoot the mark.