The 2024 Saugerties Artists Studio Tour was a huge success!
Over 100 people visited my studio to see and find out more about Urban Sketching. Fortunately, the weather was sunny, even if it was very hot.
People were curious and loved seeing my sketchbooks plus the supplies I use, and books I refer to often (most written by other Urban Sketchers). Several people had done some drawing and sketching, and we had a lot of fun sharing tips, techniques and resources. I learned about an art supply store that I didn’t know about. And some approaches to sketching that I haven’t tried – I can’t wait to try them out.
One of the things I do intrigued people. When I start my initial sketch, I start with a grey watercolor pencil. I used to sketch with a regular pencil, and found that when I painted watercolor over it, the pencil still showed through. Now, with watercolor pencil, when I paint watercolor over it, the grey blends in with the other colors, and no pencil line shows through.
They were also interested in how I start the initial sketch with watercolor pencil, and then lightly fill in the colors for the entire sketch with colored watercolor pencils. For some reason, seeing the colors that way makes it easier for me to finish the sketch the way I want to when I add watercolor. Sometimes I take watercolors with me when I sketch. Other times, I add the watercolor when I’m back home, in my studio.
Another thing that got good comments was when I described how I wanted to learn to sketch faster. My first sketches were going OK, yet it was taking me too long to do each one. If I could learn to sketch faster, I could sketch more on location for every jaunt. I do most of my sketching in New York (City), so I wanted to do more sketches in one day. So, I decided to sketch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. It was a lot of fun. You definitely have to sketch fast there – the floats go by quickly.
Thank you to everyone who came to visit my studio on the Tour, and to the urban sketchers everywhere who inspire me every day to keep on sketching.
All in all, a successful Tour.
