SATURDAY: Sketch the Philadelphia Story

SATURDAY:  May 16, 2020.  

Event starts 10:00 AM EDT at our Zoom Page

If New Yorkers traveled many hours on an airplane to get there, and went through customs and had to exchange our currency - we’d be delighted at the incredible city we found.  Philadelphia is New York’s closest neighbor. It’s an easy car ride, a fun train trip or a delightful bus adventure to get there. However, with the virus looming over the world, it’s actually an even easier trip.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/saturday-sketch-the-philadelphia-story-tickets-105299038258

Registration closes on Friday 5/15/20 at 12:00 PM - Noon - EDT

Last year our sister city has hosted NYC Urban Sketchers and showed us their town. (Thank you Urban Sketchers Philadelphia.) We only skimmed the surface. We are delighted to be returning, armed with our new virtual tools for an even deeper exploration. There is so much to chose from:  

THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Artistic creations inspire curiosity, provoke emotions, and stir the senses. Explore this sampling of artists and makers whose work has beckoned visitors from all around the world to Philadelphia.

https://www.philamuseum.org/explore?page=2

PUBLIC ART

Philadelphia is a city where art is, truly, all around. Sculpture gardens, murals, museums, and installation art are scattered throughout the city. The Association for Public Art has cataloged the city’s art and created an interactive map. The map has clickable red and green pins (the green pins represent museums without walls) that you can tap to uncover creative gems. Each pin opens a link with a photo of the art, details about the piece, and notes about the area. Museums without walls often have a 360-degree self-guided tour option for independent exploration.

https://www.associationforpublicart.org/explore/public-art/#map/all/

THE BARNES FOUNDATION

Albert Barnes believed that art should be viewed in terms of visual relationships such as color, line, or space. The Barnes Foundation has created a unique, online experience that allows users to peruse its art not by collection but by visual theme. Special for artists - you can use the interactive bar at the top of the page to choose colors, light saturation, spacial composition, and line style to explore paintings, jewelry, and artifacts that please the eye in similar ways.

https://collection.barnesfoundation.org/

THE RODIN MUSEUM

The Rodin Museum houses the largest collection of his work outside of France. The collection includes nearly 150 bronzes, plasters, and marbles. Since sculpture is a three-dimensional art form, the museum has provided comprehensive photos of Rodin’s work from multiple angles and measurements to give viewers an idea of scale.

http://www.rodinmuseum.org/collections.html

PHILADELPHIA MURAL ART

Art is not restricted to galleries and Philly has a thriving outdoor art culture. Mural Arts Philadelphia has produced more than 3,600 works of outdoor art. Browse murals across the city using an interactive drop-down menu divided by neighborhood. Each neighborhood has exhibits dedicated to the wall art in the area and provides photos, details about the work, and information about the project that commissioned it. Some of the murals are still in progress, so check back for updates!

https://www.muralarts.org/artworks/

THE MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

https://www.amrevmuseum.org/collection?field_collection_term_tid=All&page=1

Weekly Theme: The Beauty of Trees and Flora

Tree sketch and photo by Sophie Cheung, NYC

It's Spring! Who doesn't love the beauty around us. Beautiful trees are sprouting new leaves, flowers are blooming and the color of green is everywhere. Inspired by Janet Rozene's recent series of tree portraits, let's celebrate the beauty of trees and other flora with this week's theme will The Beauty of Trees and Flora.

When is the last time you stopped and admired a tree? Let's get out and sketch some trees or other flora, whether in person, from your car, or virtually. 

If you need help with drawing trees, this tutorial may help https://thevirtualinstructor.com/how-to-draw-trees.html

Here are some ideas to spark your creativity:

Tree sketch by Janette Rozene, Tarrytown

• Draw a Tree Portrait - Think of the tree as though it were a person

- Individual character of an old tree
- Personality - size, build, posture, attitude
- Display of branches
- Relationship between the tree and its surroundings

Trees by Kim Tortolani, White Plains

• Look for the unusual

- Shape, form, lines, contours

- Sculptural features
- Color and texture of foliage

• Use various mediums, different color palettes

• Draw in the style of your favorite artist

• As a alternate to trees, use flora as your inspiration

Peony by Laura Rosen, NYC

You get the idea. Have fun! Don't forget the share your work with your fellow sketchers on the NYC Urban Sketchers Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/nycurbansketchers/

A DAY at the ZOO

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

Registration closes on Friday at noon.  Our Virtual Sketch Event starts on Saturday at 10 AM EDT.  You will receive your sign-on info on Friday afternoon after registration is closed.  NOTE: We are limited to 100 attendees.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-day-at-the-zoo-tickets-104533396202

We’ll be sketching animals and sea life.  Some of your virtual choices include visiting the Cincinnati  Zoo, the San Diego Zoo,  the Houston Zoo, a South African safari and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Some of the cameras views are interesting, others less so.  It depends on your timing.  Look around.  Feel free to find your own live animal cam.  You may need to freeze the screen to draw. Clicking your mouse or tapping the screen sometimes works to pause things.  Experiment.

https://wildearth.tv/safarilive/
https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatizoo/
https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams
https://www.houstonzoo.org/explore/webcams/
https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams


POSTING YOUR WORK
Post your work to our Facebook Group page at 11:55. We’ll be taking a one hour lunch break.  Meet back at our FB at 1 PM again.  Post the afternoon work at 2:55.

1)  Please add the letters - NUS  to you post your work.  It means “Not an Urban Sketch”  acknowldeding  the fact that we are not following the Manifesto during the pandemic

2)  Add #nycurbansketchers to your comments so your sketch is also visible in Instagram

3)  Be generous with your supportive comments to other people’s work.  It’s how we acknowledge each other and show our support.

Weekly Theme: Medieval Times

If we were meeting on a regular basis this week the Weekday Group would be visiting the Cloisters.  One of the treasures of New York City, the Cloisters offers us an opportunity to walk through history, feel the atmosphere and shape of a long ago time that has been represented in paintings, film and literature.  This week lets try to capture it in our sketchbooks.  

The subject is rich with images:  Damsels in distress, knights in shining armor, the Crusades, the cloistered monks, illuminated manuscripts,  magnificent churches,  stained glass windows and the Allegory of the Unicorn.  

Visit the Metropolitan Museum on line for pictures of the clothing, armor, and artifacts.  Look at the cloistered gardens, the  Unicorn tapestries, the icons and statuary at the Cloisters. Use Google Earth to see the exterior of the Cloisters in NY or the cathedrals in Europe. Following the project this weekend, make a map of the Crusades into the Holy Lands.  

Whatever you choose, let's take time to transport ourselves out of our apartments to places far away and long ago.  Enjoy the adventure and remember to post your pictures using NUS (not urban sketching) when you upload them to social media sites.