USk Symposium Manchester

Last month I had the privilege of attending the annual Urban Sketchers Symposium, which this year was in Manchester, UK.

For those who have not been, the Symposium is a great experience: you get to meet sketchers from all over the world (we had 44 countries represented this year!), attend workshops led by talented instructors, and of course spend a lot of time out in the streets sketching a new city.

Manchester has a lot of interesting architecture, both from its heyday during the Industrial Revolution, as well as more modern buildings, and it was really interesting to see how everything from Roman ruins, industrial canals, cotton mills, and modern skyscrapers has been woven into the fabric of this place.

And of course, one of the most fun parts is Drink and Draw: most evenings we met at a local pub, where people sketched, drank, and looked through each other's sketchbooks.  That pub was a lively place when we all descended on it at the end of the day.

You can see the rest of my sketches from Manchester on Flickr, as well as sketches from my side trip to Oxford.
If you've never been to a Symposium, you should think about coming: I always learn so much, and meet such interesting people.  I am looking forward to next year's Symposium in Chicago!