While you may have spotted small groups of them studying parts of our urban landscape intently, these artists may well take over the city later this month – in the best possible way.
Following host cities such as Amsterdam and Porto, the Urban Sketchers Symposium takes place in Auckland from April 19 to 22 at AUT in St Paul Street. The international organisers are expecting around 800 people from around the globe and here to gather for workshops, “sketch-walk” tours, conference talks, and the Art Market.
Urban sketching is a fast-growing artistic trend, where people explore the city through sketching in journals, using mainly pencils, pens, or watercolour. Most are relative newbies to a visual practice, while some are experienced professionals.
Tony McNeight worked for many years as a designer before putting his rendering skills to a more even paced occupation. For the last six years, Tony has run small, tailored sketching workshops in Auckland, teaching people how easy it is, and how it becomes a uniquely insightful way to see a city.
He has taken sketching tours throughout New Zealand, and to Australia, Fiji, Niue, Sri Lanka, and Spain, and is the ‘New Zealand correspondent’ for the Urban Sketchers Symposium, working with the international guests to capture events with sketches each day, then posting on the world sketch site each evening.
Family-owned art store Gordon Harris (which Studio Art Supplies is part of) is a sponsor of the event, presenting their European brands at the Art Market in the Sir Paul Reeves Building (AUT WG Block), St Paul Street. Gordon Harris have worked with these manufacturers to provide art materials tailor-made for the USk Symposium, such as the Schmincke Horadam Watercolour Urban Sketcher Set with colours selected to offer those of Auckland’s environment in autumn. Gordon Harris will be joined by Markus Giel from da Vinci Brushes, Germany, and Reka Kovac from Cretacolor in Austria.
Thes best thing about Auckland hosting the USk Symposium? Many of the events are open to the Public.
EVAN WOODRUFFE, Studio Art Supplies
#ponsonbynews #iloveponsonby #ponsonby #auckland #aucklandshippestrip #onlyponsonby #ponsonbyroad #Greylynn #freemansbay #westmere #ponsonby #hernebay #stmarysbay #archhill #coxsbay #westernsprings #art #contemporaryart #Paintings #brownschoolofart #evanwoodruffe