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!

by lapin

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!

by lapin

bcn2013usk - first 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!
 
by lapin

One day to go...

The Symposium only opens tomorrow, July 11th,  but the city is already teeming with sketchers. It's exciting enough to be in Barcelona, but to be in Barcelona AND meet sketchers everywhere you look is wonderful. I came in late and missed part 1 of the 3 park sketchcrawl this morning, but still caught the rest of it.

Jumping right into drawing La Sagrada Familia as my first sketch in Barcelona was hard. That might be when I drew so many of them.. just have to keep at it till you get it right!

  

Walking down some more, we sketched the La Pedrera building, one of the most gooey buildings I have ever seen.

And, inspired by Lapin, I've been sketching Urban Sketchers everywhere I can.

 

Follow us as we sketch our way through the rest of this week, and remember, you can see ALL the Barcelona sketches here on flickr.

7 Tips For The Symposium

View from la Pedrera rooftop

Are you ready for the 4th International Urban Sketching Symposium? Here are a few tips that the attendees should keep in mind in order to make the most of it:

1. Get involved wherever you can, in order to make new friends and learn new things. Take part in as many events as possible and enjoy them: the symposium is only 3 days long, but you can turn them into a lifetime experience.
2. Immerse yourself in another country. It is a good opportunity to expose yourself to a new country and new ways of doing things. Open your mind to local traditions and do not be afraid to try them out. You can also practise a foreign language.
3. Be prepared to be more flexible about your drawing. You may have to try new techniques at the workshops, or you might be influenced by the work of others. Be prepared to adapt yourself to new ways of doing things.
4. Do not be afraid to ask for help. If you are not sure what to do about a particular issue, ask a Symposium coordinator. We are here to help you with anything we can.
5. Seize every opportunity available to you. Be ready to make new contacts, and have your business card prepared- or whatever you create to promote yourself among colleagues. Be original!
6. Have fun! This may seem rather obvious, but at times the stresses of drawing in a new environment, with people you do not know, might get you down. Remember though that the time for you to enjoy it is now! Have all the fun you can, too, but...
7. Do not forget to draw. The social opportunities can certainly be great, but they can prove to be a big distraction when it comes to drawing. Do not put your sketchbook down!

Adapted from http://www.aprendelo.com/news/nine-tips-for-erasmus-students.html by Sílvia Xicola

Practical tips: Eating out

On a summer day in Barcelona, you just want to spend it outside and enjoy the sunny weather. For breakfast, you will usually go to a cafeteria and order a "cafè amb llet" (latte), which is 1,50€ on average, although that price varies considerably depending on the place and the area, or a "tallat" (macchiato), which is specially popular among Catalans.

You can also have an "entrepà" (a sandwich), for which you will normally pay from 1,50€ to 5€, again depending on the bar or restaurant, the size or the ingredients. There are plenty of good places to try. This one is Silvia Xicola's favourite, a "must" hidden in the heart of the city. But there are plenty of them as you can see in "En Ocasiones veo Bares" (taken from the famous"Sixth Sense" movie's quotation "I see dead people"), the website is in Spanish.

At lunch time, usually from 1 pm to 3 pm, you can easily find a good healthy menu from 10€ to 15€. Go for local cuisine: it is the best.
 
You will normally find the menu both in Catalan and Spanish, as well as in other languages (English, French, German...) for tourists. This double marking -Catalan and Spanish- applies to almost everything -signs, labels, placards, ...- since both are official languages in Catalonia. You will also hear them both in the streets, and will probably notice a difference in their pronunciation. Below you will see an English and Spanish version of a menu, with some handwritten Catalan equivalents:

Finally, and regarding food again, for dinner you can try "tapes" (small portions of food served as snacks), usually taken at the bar counter with some drinks. They are a delicious choice. Food is served until late at night, but make sure you check the kitchen closing times in case you want to book a table in a restaurant.

Bon profit!

By Sílvia Xicola & Swasky

Sketcher. Urban Sketching Magazine. Special Barcelona

Here it is the second edition of Sketcher a zine devote to drawing on location and sketchers community. In this last issue Barcelona is the main subject with drawings and interviews. Enjoy it before you come to the Symposium!!!
Urban Sketchers Spain has invest a great amount of efforts and time. Since the first idea introduced by Cristina Urdiales til now we have published two "Sketcher" and we are really proud of it. Congratulations to the Urban Sketchers board and members who participated in it. Thank you!