when you take artists to dinner...

Be warned! The waitress will know at least one of you by name, there will be wine, and tablecloths will be transformed! In the absence of watercolours, fingerpainting with wine and coffee will ensue...



That's my contribution above— portraits of Ekaterina, Santi, Swasky and his charming father. It's highly possible that our table was the rowdiest (I point my finger at the Spaniards). Miguel, Luis, Santi, Ferran, Swasky, Ekaterina, Dimitri, Fabian, and my dear Pedro— I had such a wonderful time with you!

Lucky indeed.

carnettistes

I couldn't think of a better place to be during these strange and sad times, than among people who see the beauty in this world, who are willing to share their stories. I was so inspired by the amount of hard work and skill that was exhibited, and really touched by the warmth I received from both visitors and artists. 



Solune (two above) was one of the first carnettistes I met, who travels the world recording sounds and music, which he then mixes into rich soundscapes— and Kazuya Morimoto (above), who came all the way from New York for the Rendez-vous, quickly became a friend.

It was a lovely reunion with Miguel Herranz (below) and Lapin (not pictured), whom I'd both met on a trip to Barcelona back in 2010— and though I have known Simo Capecchi, Luis Ruiz, and Swasky (not pictured) for ages from Urban Sketchers, this was the first time we'd met in person.



Then there was Santi (above), a beautiful sketcher and life of the party. How lucky I am to have met so many wonderful people! A big, heartfelt thank you to the Rendez-vous.

drawing the world

I was delighted to receive an email from fellow Urban Sketcher PeF, who was flying into Istanbul from Lisbon with three of his talented sketcherfriends: Pedro, Cláudia and Cate. The five of us spent a drizzly, warm evening behind the Aya Sofya, swapping sketchbooks over çay and chatting about art, the cities we love and just about anything that came to mind. We walked down to Eminönü to feast on fish sandwiches in the dark, and decided to see how much sketching we could accomplish on the Galata Bridge between rain bursts.



I managed to scrawl out this very messy sketch of a couple of the bridge's ever-present fishermen before the rain started to fall. We packed up up our books and pens and darted off to the funicular towards Tünel, in search of a café to carry on with our conversations and drawing.

I'm so grateful to Urban Sketchers for connecting me with such wonderful people— people full of life and warmth, people who I have this sketching addiction in common with. In a few weeks time, two Urban Sketchers who became dear friends of mine, Lapin and Javier, are coming to visit. I can't wait to go drawing with them— I deeply admire their skill, talent and commitment to their art. You may remember Lapin from my Barcelona adventure, whose generosity gave me a sofa to sleep on, delicious food in my belly (whipped up by his charming wife Lapinette), and six days of wonderful conversation and quiet sketching. I met Javier last March, when he came to Istanbul with 50 Spanish designers and artists to sketch and tour the city. Javier is one of those people with whom you find hours just melting away in conversation and laughter— a kind soul with mad talent.

If you haven't yet heard of Urban Sketchers, I highly suggest you visit our site when you've got a few hours you want to fill with stunning and inspiring artwork. We're a non-profit organisation of location sketchers with a mission to "show the world, one drawing at a time." Visit us at www.urbansketchers.org.

island sketchfest

Please click on the pictures to see them larger.
To see some of the drawings by other sketchers, please visit Urban Sketchers.

exchange 13 and urban sketchers

The rain today was unlike any rain I have seen in a long time— massive drops flying sideways, up and down. It was a perfect day to stay in, drink tea and do some drawing. I finished my final entry in Emma's Moleskine for Moly-X13.


Please click on the image to see it larger.

Emma's work is so full of life, colour, fun and a looseness that I would love to achieve. The characters she creates have so much personality, they seem to leap off the page. I highly recommend visiting her site.

If you find yourself stuck inside on a rainy day, or curious to see what the world looks like through the eyes of its artists, Urban Sketchers is a great place to get lost in. You may have noticed our logo on the right side of this page. Urban Sketchers was founded in November 2008 by Seattle sketcher Gabi Campanario, to showcase the work of artists around the world who draw the cities they live in and visit. We've got over 70 correspondents on six continents— I happen to be one of them. The talent contained within Urban Sketchers is truly inspiring, and it's a wonderful way to travel to different countries and learn about other cultures. In addition to looking at all the beautiful sketches, I love reading the stories that accompany them.

Since I've posted all of my Istanbul sketches here, I thought I'd share with you some of the ones I did back in San Francisco.