Each year, in recent history, the Urban Sketchers group have an international symposium in a different part of the world. This year, it’s being held in the city of Amsterdam, in The Netherlands.
Urban Sketchers Amsterdam Symposium 2019
It’s due to kick-off on Wednesday 24 and run until the 27th - a few intensive days of sketch-walks, tutorials, workshops and other things I don’t know anything about because I’ve never been to one. I did, for a few moments, consider going but then decided to stay at home. A few members of our Urban Sketchers Aotearoa are going and I do find myself suffering a little FOMO atm.
One of the reasons I decided not to go was that I don’t think I’ve good enough to justify the cost of flying to Europe. It’s an expensive and time-consuming trip from Auckland, New Zealand. I felt that my skill level couldn’t justify the resources it would take to get me there.
What I am thinking of doing instead, is having my own private symposium. Just me, my drawing equipment, a day off work, and a schedule of work to complete. My plan is to draw on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 as if I was on the symposium. Walking in the city, drawing sessions between coffee and lunch breaks, and see if I really have the skills for such an undertaking.
The places I am considering stopping to draw include:
Panmure train station (always loved the coffee kiosk there
The Saturday is also a meetup with other Urban Sketchers (we meet the last Saturday of every month) so I will add a venue or two once I know where we’re going to be drawing that afternoon.