reddout art: UrbanSketchers Symposium '17 (USK CHI)

Urban sketchers is a world-wide consortium of artists that draw on location showing the world "one drawing at a time". Every year they have a gathering of artists that rotates from city to city: Manchester UK, Brazil, Barcelona, Dominican Republic, Singapore, and Portland--to name a few. This year the symposium was finally back in the states and 570 artists from 34 countries took over Chicago!

We all signed up for one demonstration and four workshops to attend over the course of 3 days. We also had impromptu sketch walks, sketch talks, drink and draws, as well as vendors selling their wares to tool-geeky artists!

There is no way to convey the awesomeness that was these 5, quick days. But I'll try:
-I met people from all over the world: Singapore, Montreal, Portugal, Luxembourg, Germany, England, Costa Rica, Sweden, and a ton more
-I exchanged cards with all of those worldly folks.
-I watched a Brazilian couple salsa dance to 'lil Wayne
-I got to meet some of my sketching idols: Jim Richards, Liz Steel, Rob Sketcherman, Nina Johansson, Paul Wang, Norberto Dorantes, Marc Holmes, Shari Blaukopf--to name a few
-I got to see the USK godmother Genine, work her magic at every event
-I got to partake in a laughing out loud "blind contour portrait" session with Nina Johanssen and Cina from Sweden (image below)
-I fell asleep to amazing views of Chicago from my dorm room
-I stayed in a dorm room--first time since 1996.
-I lied, I stayed in a dorm room in Massachusetts for a grad class in 2015
-Oh--and I sketched and learned a lot!