#VirtualSketch

I didn't think I would be interested in participating in the  #VirtualSketch Facebook group activities but I must say I got hooked. It's been an easy way to find something interesting to sketch and more importantly to see how other people tackle the same scenes. 

It's easier to sketch from life than from a Google Maps image. Often I can't position myself where I get a good view. I only participated in a few virtual sketchmeets but being pushed out of my comfort zone each time has been truly stimulating. 

The group's activities ended on 15th July 2020 after the mammoth task of organization by the host Anne Rose Oosterbaan (with help from 65 members) who organized a sketchmeet every day with links to a dozen or so locations in each city. 

Sketchers were invited to sketch from Google Maps using these links (not from photos) and share their work at the end of the approximately 24 hour period (to accommodate the various time zones of participants around the world). 

A total of more than 130 virtual sketchmeets were organized since the Covid Pandemic hit. With 3,400 members it was a herculean task for the organizers. From 16th July the baton has been passed to another Facebook group – #VirtualTravelSketch! I guess I will now be travelling with them!

Here are some of my sketches with some corresponding Google Map images. 

Wat Phra Kaew, Bankok.

Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo.

Witches Market, La Paz, Bolivia.

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

Piazza Dell Anfiteatro, Lucca, Italy.

Ubud, Indonesia.

Unexpectedly, these sketches ended up less sketch-like than the usual quick sketches I do in sketchbooks. Maybe it was a psychological thing ie. thinking I had to be more careful as these were done on good watercolour paper (A4). More importantly I had a lot of time in which to do them. I worked slowly on these, correcting and attempting to work through problems.

These exercises gave me the opportunity to compare a couple of watercolour papers. The last (Ubud) sketch was done on Bockingford Cold Press (textured) and the rest on Fabriano Hot Press (smooth). It's hard to describe in words but both take paint rather differently. Both handle wet on wet well. The Fabriano Hot Press takes longer to dry if you wish to layer. For pen and wash I would probably go for the Hot Press because the pen just glides over this smooth paper. 

One important thing I learnt from doing these is that when art work is done on sheets of paper (as opposed to using a sketchbook) it's the cropping that makes all the difference. When using a sketchbook the whole page (usually) forms the artwork and it's the page layout that is important.

Different pens were used for the above sketches –  Sailor Fude, Lamy and Faber Castell Pitt marker pens.