Girl on the train

On the train, this girl sat across the aisle. Very quick sketch with watercolour pencils.
 

Sketching architecture by Liz Steel

A new Urban sketching book came out: sketching architecture. By USK sketcher Liz Steel from Australia. Filled with good tips and tricks how to sketch buildings quickly.
The book treats themes like how to make "basic volumes', easy perspective, capture crowds, shade, how to treat light, colour etc. All ideas and observations related to make quick urban impressions.
If you want to do precise drawing and painting in a studio, this is not your book.
And as a bonus: the book contains 2 of my own drawings: one of a very quick roofdrawing in Liège, and the view over Hells Kitchen, New York.

This is still one of my favourite drawings, filled with fond memories of our trip to New York last year.

The Urban Sketching Handbook

I had forgotten about this one, that was a nice surprise in my mailbox!
Veronica Lawlor made this nice book about Reportage and documentary drawing, Tips and techniques for Drawing on Location.

And I am proud to say that one of my sketches features in it, a 2011 action sketch of cowrunning. I think it was the last time our group joined the local Carnaval-Koerennen games. Anyway, like every year I managed to make this little sketch.

The book is very nice, with a lot of different artists collaborating. Even though the illustrations are sometimes rather small, it's still a treasure of ideas.

If you are interested, click the link below for the Dutch online booksellers.
Link to buy the book on Bol.com

 

The Liège book!

Here it is! The Urban sketchers Liège book. 
I recieved my book today, a fantastic book with drawings of Florian Afflerbach, Simo Capecchi, Fabien Denoël, Rolf Schroeter, Miguel Herranz, Lapin Barcelona, David Emdé Magli, Antoine Michel, Gérard Michel, Corinne Raes, Luis Ruiz Padrón and Inma Serrano. And I am proud that my drawings are among those of these talented sketchers.

Asperger

Ricardo Frederiks, a 19 year old student from Heerlen, asked me to make a front for a book he is going to publish: "Een te grote pot voor een Asperger".
To be translated as: "a far too large jar for an asperger".
The book describes the life of a boy with the Asperger syndrome, a form of autistic behaviour.
Even though it's not strictly autobiographic, he has the syndrome himself, so he drew from experience.


He was very precise about what he wanted me to draw: the jar without lid, the shadowlike persons, the dark and stark urban buildings. He explained that he feels like being in a jar, and the rest of the world is behind the glass.
And it's not that he feels locked in or confided, but more like curious how life is outside that jar, without wanting to be there.


The only request I could not provide was drawing him much smaller, as a tiny person in that jar.
In that case I would have been unable to give him that expression of "feeling at ease", looking outside curiously (at least that's what I tried).

The page is how it will look like more or less, the graphic design is still on the way.

Alaaf Gebrook

And another series of my drawings was used for a website. This time for the local Carnaval website.
It's called Alaaf Gebrook.
I am not sure how to translate the word "Alaaf". It's typical for these parts, up to Cologne in Germany, and you use it like the spanish word Olé. To be used as greeting, exclamation or expression of approval or enthousiasm. But only at Carnaval.

"Gebrook" is the local lingo for Hoensbroek.

The link: http://www.alaafgebrook.nl/

Bettery magazine

One of my drawings was used in an article in the online "Bettery Magazine" about recharging the Urban Mind.
They do articles on International Urban living.

The article was about China Miéville, one of my favourite authors. I have reread his "the City and the City" a few times, still amazing.
Here is a link to the article.
http://betterymagazine.com/news/extreme-visions/
(written by Lars Schmeink).
The original drawing from 2011:  http://www.renefijten.blogspot.nl/2011/06/city-city.html

Ackland Exhibition

Last night the Urban Sketchers exhibition was opened in the Ackland museum, in North Carolina, USA. About 30 worldwide sketchers sent in drawings as fundraiser for the USK community, among them were 3 of mine (Istanbul, Amstenrade and Baton Rouge, all made within a week at the end of April).

The exhibition was well attended and the first 10 sketches were sold that evening. I am very proud to say that my Istanbul sketch was the first one to be sold, for $200! See the red dot. I must be doing something good...

The complete article on USK:
http://www.urbansketchers.org/2012/08/urban-sketchers-at-ackland-opening.html

Betty, in memoriam

You may remember the sketch above, I posted it on January 5th. It was quite chilling to learn that Betty, the woman with the red hat (second to the right) unexpectedly died last December, about when I made the drawing (at the time I didn't know).
July, lead singer of the group, made this poem to commemorate her. It's written in our local dialect, which even regular Dutch won't understand.
The drawing was made for our local Carnaval newspaper, "d'r Uul", which came in today. The paper featured some of my drawings of Cowrunning and the carnaval parade of last year.

Brazil, diario do Comercio

Some of my drawings were featured on the site of a brazilian newpaper, Diário do Comércio. So were drawings of Rob Carey and Joseph Tomlinson. Amazing how drawings keep popping up in the most remote parts of the world, in this case Sao Paulo.
Thanks to Leo Gartsbeyn (New York) for tipping us.
Brazilie: op een site van een krant uit Soa Paulo vond ik enkele van mijn tekeningen terug, via een tip van Leo uit New York. Kleine wereld.


http://www.dcomercio.com.br/especiais/2011/moleskine/index.htm#.Td7AIkd2Dtx

Mexico

Another of my drawings was featured in a magazine from..... Mexico (!)
Printed in a town called Santiago de Queretaro.
I have no idea where they found this drawing of last years Carnaval in Hoensbroek, but here it is, page 10 of the cultural magazine "Sada y el Bombon". For the complete issue: http://issuu.com/sadabombon/docs/edicion2
Een van mijn tekeningen van het carnaval in Hoensbroek is gepubliceerd in een cultureel tijdschrift uit.... Mexico (!). 
Geen idee hoe ze eraan komen, maar ja, zo wordt Hoensbroek nog eens bekend over de wereld.

Tebodin Insight

Tebodin Insight, the international magazine of my company, featured an article on my urban sketching.
Er stond een artikel over mijn "urban sketching" in Tebodin Insight, ons internationale bedrijfsblad.

Urban sketchers

I am proud to be invited as correspondent for the Urban sketchers site, an idea of Gabi Campanario from Seattle. Sketchers from all around the world share their views and drawings from where they live or travel. Check it out: http://www.urbansketchers.com/