Draftsmen's Congress: Serious Fun

Last Friday night, I skipped out of work (I was so excited, I ran, actually) to join with fellow Urban Sketchers in this collaborative project by Polish artist, Pawel Althamer.

Located on the Bowery, in the New Museum's fourth floor gallery, the installation transforms daily, as group after group of visitors come make their marks here, be it the walls or the floors or the tepee in the middle of the room or right over someone else's existing creation.

Jason and Mark were at the opening when the walls were all white. Now look!

 

Jason modelling the lab coat/butcher's frock/smock provided for all guests.

Everything in this room is covered in paint. And I do mean everything.

Hmmm... the hallway in the adjoining hall, though, is looking mighty pale.

 Juicy colored tempera and watercolors, and brushes in every size. Just like kindergarten.

 Not a bad way to bond.

Moments after I painted this affirmation, other artists came along and added to it.

 Marie-Laure about to get splashy.

After sketching a lovely design, Marie-Laure invited me to splash over it. Here, nothing is sacred.

A distorted panorama shot--but you can see the teepee in the middle.

NYC Urban Sketchers Unite!

Thanks, Richard, for organizing this outing. Oh, and this Wednesday through Sunday (April 23-27), they will be disassembling this exhibit during the museum’s public hours and the painted walls will be cut up and distributed to visitors for free. 

A Little City Sketching Across the Atlantic

My first post on the NYC Urban Sketching blog and it's not NYC at all, but another city - Paris!  Luck found me across the Atlantic over the new year, with a little time to sketch as I explored the streets.  I promise, next post will be back on this side of the ocean, with pictures from our most recent of New York sketching excursions.  In the meantime, here is a little bit of sketching from my time in Paris:

The fountain at Saint Sulpice - roar!

Way up in the north of the city where Amelie waits tables, and there are windmills, a view down a street onto Sacre Coeur

A brief pause to tale in IM Pei's steel and glass against an ancient backdrop of the Louvre buildings - I kept expecting to find an Apple logo hanging in there somewhere.

Bystanders on their metro, and a corner cafe.

A quick sketch of a pollarded tree at Versailles.

Rodin at Musee D'Orsay - what a beautiful building these works are contained in, something I'll hope to sketch the next time -

  

 Another great park fountain

Statue of a warrier at the Louvre, and everyone posed in front of it striking the same pose -

Heracles at the Louvre, showing the serpent who's boss

Winged victory soaring above the masses!