The famous Colosseum in Rome.  I started before dawn, but the night and the rain got me. However between rain breaks I managed to finish the sketch and fianlly the sky opened up at the end.  It took me 2.0 hrs, I used Black ink on white paper.

#USK #ROME #GLADIATOR #ROMA #ITALIA #SPQR

Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism Stupa and the surrounding beautiful gardens. I did this back in spring of 2008. I took me 3hrs on black Ink and white paper. #seattle #usa #ilookup #tibet #buddhism#stupa

The Stoa in the Agora. Is a portico open to the public, used by merchants to sell their products, used by artists, a place for political and religious gatherings, sharing ideas, and just for meeting people. This place is located inside the Agora where Democracy was born. I took me 1hr using black ink on white paper

#athens #athena #greece #aegean #Mediterranean#southerneurope #filopapposhill #agora #Stoa#agoraathens #USK #urbansketchers #democracy

The Acropolis in Athens, a symbol of Western Civilization and the home of the Gods, especially Athena. I had sketched in many places, but this is the best place I had done so. Sitting in top of Ancient Greek ruins, under the shade of olive trees, nice Aegean breeze, and warm Mediterranean sun.....This was done in 1.5 hrs using black ink on white paper at the Philopappos Monument Hill across from the Acropolis. 

#Athens #Athena#Greece #Aegean #Mediterranean#SouthernEurope #philopapposhill #Acropolis #USK#UrbanSketchers

"Goddess of Liberty" Victims of Communism Memorial. This small but very important monument is located only 2 blocks from Union Station and within view of the U.S. Capitol.

The memorial is dedicated "To the more than one hundred million victims of communism and to those who love liberty". The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation says the purpose of the memorial is to ensure "that the history of communist tyranny will be taught to future generations". It took me 2.5 hrs. I used black ink on white paper.

#USK #WashingtonDC #USA #GoddessOfLiberty#VictimsOfCommunismMemorial #Liberty

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!

United States Supreme Court

The Unites States Supreme Court, with flag at half-staff to mark the passing of Justice Scalia.  Since I'd sketched the high court in Bangalore just a couple weeks ago, I thought it be fitting to sketch the high court in my home town.

Mount Vernon Square in Baltimore

I enjoyed a mini-vacation in Baltimore during the holiday break. $8 ticket on the MARC train brought me from Union Station into Camden Yards station. I enjoyed walking downtown and sketching in Mount Vernon Square. Enjoyed "Outside Mullingar" at Everyman Theatre and the Baltimore Museum of Art. + folks in Baltimore are friendly and relaxed.

Witches of Warrenton

Hello to all.  I was invited to join the blog today, so I thought I would post my latest sketch as an introductory offering.  Nothing very "urban" about it.  I sat out in front of a friends home and sketched that friend and another, dressed in witches costumes, and handing out "treats" on Halloween evening.  After the time for ghouls and goblins passed, we all treated ourselves to some great wine and much more adult type snacks.

Taft Bridge

The Taft Bridge carries Connecticut Avenue over Rock Creek Park, just below the National Zoo.  I didn't realize this until sketching it, but apparently it is one of the largest unreinforced concrete structures in the world.

DUPONT UNDERGROUND

The Dupont Underground is a former trolley station under the Dupont Circle in Washington DC that operated post World War II era from 1949 until 1962. In the 1970's during the cold war era part of the tunnels became a fallout shelter as well as storing supplies for rations, water, and equipment. In the mid 1990's it became a food court however the plan failed catastrophically for multiple types of problems. Currently the Dupont Underground is experiencing a renaissance of ideas and renovations for multiple artistic ideals as well as activities. Thanks to the innovative vision of the architect Julian Hunt that for more than 10 years he had been working very hard in order to convert the Dupont Underground into a world class city cultural center in which will transform Washington D.C. into a cultural capital. This is a fantastic place for sketching because it has great light and shadows effects as well as exquisite architectural details. The place was cooler compared to the hot scorching humid summer temperatures above ground. It took me 3 hrs, done in white paper with black ink.

‪#‎DupontUnderground‬ ‪#‎DupontCircle‬ ‪#‎sketching‬ ‪#‎urbansketching‬‪#‎connect‬ ‪#‎inspire‬ ‪#‎urbansketchers‬ ‪#‎give‬ ‪#‎DC‬ ‪#‎Washingtondc‬ ‪#‎USA‬‪#‎ilookup‬ ‪#‎AIA‬ ‪#‎aias‬ ‪#‎EAC‬ ‪#‎AIADCEAC‬ ‪#‎AIADC‬ ‪#‎usk‬ ‪#‎sketch‬ ‪#‎drawing‬‪#‎art‬ ‪#‎journalist‬ ‪#‎draw‬ ‪#‎croquis‬ ‪#‎dcliving‬ ‪#‎design‬ ‪#‎tunnels‬ ‪#‎TrolleyStation‬‪#‎architecture‬ ‪#‎AssocAIA‬

Singapore

I just returned from the 6th Urban Sketchers Symposium in Singapore.  Hundreds of sketchers from around the world converged in Singapore for four days of workshops, activities, demos, food, and sketchcrawls.  Singapore has a lot of interesting modern architecture, as well as a lot of tasty food and a diverse population, so there was a lot to sketch. One thing I found particularly interesting was the many religions represented: one street had a church, a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, and a synagogue - all on the same street.

I got a lot of energy from spending the week with so many other sketchers, and I feel like I learned a lot from them.  Getting feedback and ideas from the instructors and the other sketchers can be valuable for improving your work.  The time between the organized sketching activities is a big part of the fun as well - I spent a good part of the week hanging out with a group of Australians who "adopted" me, and of course we continued the Symposium tradition of drawing each other over dinner.  I filled several sketchbooks there - too many to post here, but you can see the rest on my flickr album for the trip.
If you ever get a chance to go to one of the Symposiums, I highly recommend it - it is worth the jet lag.  Next year the Symposium will be in Manchester, U.K., and I hope to be able to go.