Jenna Leigh Design Co.

There’s a quiet, stately neighborhood in town with some of the most charming houses from the previous century. Each one has its own unique character, and no two are built from the same mold—a quality that is increasingly being lost in today’s make-it-cheap, build-it-fast housing market.

(But we won’t get into that).

I walk here often, and I love these houses. Some of them in particular are houses I would dream of living in one day. So for my first urban sketching assignment in Life Drawing class, I decided to plop down in the middle of the street (don’t worry, there’s a nice, spacious grassy median) and draw one.

I originally wanted to draw my favorite, but as I drove up and down the street (slowly) scrutinizing the houses, I kept being drawn to a different one—one with a bit more quirkiness, character, and charisma. It also had a low brick wall in front, which I thought would add a fun element to the drawing (lo and behold, it added a challenge too).

Urban sketching is a diverse, expressive practice that stretches the boundaries of media, technique, and stylistic preference. It can be done traditionally or digitally; in paint, pen, or pencil; in thirty minutes or three hours. Some artists take it quite seriously, but to others it is more of a hobby, a calming exercise that grounds the senses and lets the mind relax.

Unfortunately, I did not find myself relaxing very much on my first urban sketching outing. Let me tell you how it went:

Drawing Process

This was my view of the aforementioned house. I had pencils, pens, watercolor paints, and brushes at the ready, along with a jar of water and a blanket to sit on. Surprisingly, nobody gawked at me; there were a few passersby, but they merely took brief notice and continued walking. (I included one of them in my sketch—an older gentleman walking a small gray dog.)

I finished drawing out the house in pencil after about an hour…

…and then began to ink it in.

At this point the stress was mounting. I had an hour and a half to spare, but my time was running out.

And then…a truck stopped right in front of the house.

Blocking my view.

I waited until the driver stepped out and politely raised my voice.

“Excuse me, I don’t want to be a bother, but would you mind scooting your car up a little bit?”

The man immediately saw what I was doing, apologized unnecessarily, and got back in the car, moving it out of the way.

I thanked him and continued in my frenzy.

I was able to finish most of the inking after an hour and a half:

Later I added watercolor, which helped add more interest to the drawing. Here’s the finished result:

My second urban sketching outing was more adventurous than the first. I and a few friends from drawing class chose to go downtown and search for a fun location to draw. After a bit of driving around, we landed on one the beautiful old churches up on Court Street.

It has some lovely architecture, and the tree in front was in full bloom. We sat down on the bare sidewalk and began drawing.

I chose to use different media this time: just pencil and watercolor, on a smaller, higher quality piece of watercolor paper. Here’s my sketch in the early stages:

And here it is later, just before a rain shower forced us to pack up our supplies and head for cover.

I finished painting it at home later.

Reflection

Hindsight is always 20/20, right?

That’s what one of my professors in undergrad always used to say. Here are some things I will do differently next time I go out for some urban sketching:

• Sketch the rough proportions of the structure very loosely before refining the drawing. The first house was much too close to the top of the paper.
• Focus more on larger shapes & forms before becoming fixated on details & nuance (always a struggle for me).
• Use a watercolor sketchbook that is dedicated to urban sketching & plein air painting (I include this as a reminder to myself to purchase one).
• Don’t stress about perfection—each time I practice, I gain experience, and this is pretty new to me.

I have to say, urban sketching is harder than I thought. I’ve drawn numerous houses and buildings over the years, but never from life, and there’s something extra challenging about implementing perspective from observation rather than a photo.

Additionally, lighting, weather, and other circumstances are constantly changing in a public outdoor space.

Trucks may block your view.

Rain may start falling.

You may find yourself very, very uncomfortable after over an hour of sitting on bare concrete.

But will I give up? Will I give in? Will the mounting stress overwhelm me, or will I face it head on, determined to find my own urban sketching zen?

We’ll find out this week. I have more urban sketching homework.