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.

Sketching Collierville Town Square

On December 1st we had a wonderful sketch group in conjunction with Plein Air Memphis. Here are most of us before we set out to sketch and paint.

A couple of sketches

More sketches - looking at everyone's work is one of the best parts of the sketch group

We also got to see all of the paintings that the Plein Air Painters made, too!

Here is a lovely sketch by Nancy Mardis.

And one by Tom Pellett, and one below by me, Elizabeth Alley.

Memphis Urban Sketchers at ANF Architects

Memphis Urban Sketchers is excited to announce our first exhibit! ANF Architects is hosting an exhibit  of sketches by nearly 20 of our regular participants. In addition to sketches from all over Memphis, Collierville, and a few from around the world, entire sketchbooks will be featured at the opening reception.

Participants include Martha Kelly, whose urban sketching has been featured in a Memphis calendar and Memphis Magazine's City Guide, local painting legend Peter Bowman, and local illustrator Derrick Dent, in addition to artists, architects, art teachers, designers and dabblers.

Memphis Urban Sketchers meets the first Saturday of every month to sketch and visit, and have been since September of 2010. We are affiliated with Urban Sketchers (USk), an international group who share the interest of drawing on location and telling the story of their surroundings. All skill levels are welcome, and participants are free to attend at their convenience.

Memphis Urban Sketchers follows the USk Manifesto:
1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation. 2. Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel. 3. Our drawings are a record of time and place. 4. We are truthful to the scenes we witness. 5. We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles. 6. We support each other and draw together. 7. We share our drawings online (and off). 8. We show the world, one drawing at a time.

Please join us at the opening reception as we show Memphis, one drawing at a time.

Memphis Urban Sketchers Exhibit
ANF Architects
January 10-31, 2013
Opening Reception Friday, January 11, 2013, 5:30 to 7:30 PM

January Sketch Group at the Peabody Hotel

Next sketch group

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Peabody Hotel, 149 Union Ave

10:00 AM

We'll meet near the bar - there are plenty of places to sketch inside and out!

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

Hope to see you there!