Last Thoughts: Prepping for a Symposium

Gail, Tina and Jackie

OK, I’m sure these aren’t the last thoughts I’ll ever have about a three-day international urban sketching symposium in Barcelona, Spain, that I had been fantasizing about for a year. ☺ But they’re thoughts I had after writing my last blog post about what I learned, and I thought I’d offer some practical suggestions if you are planning to attend a future symposium:

1. Your No. 1 priority – way ahead of art materials – is having shoes you can comfortably walk several miles in. I never travel without such shoes, so I didn’t think much about them, but I didn’t realize how important they would become. Each workshop required walking some distance, usually no more than 15 or 20 minutes, but in one case, we walked for 40 minutes before we reached our destination. (One symposium participant in a different workshop decided, after her class had been walking for more than an hour without yet reaching their destination, that she didn’t want to walk anymore and took the subway back to her hotel, bagging the workshop altogether.) I heard several participants complaining about blisters or bad knees because they hadn’t realized how much walking would be required.



Kay, Tina and Nina

2. Have realistic expectations about the workshops. I attended the 4th International Urban Sketching Symposium with the same expectations that I have when I attend any art class: A workshop is an opportunity to get an overview of an instructor’s particular approach and techniques, and it’s up to me to apply them to my own work so that I can eventually find my own style. Taking a three-hour workshop might change one’s attitude (as Inma’s did mine!) or approach, which may eventually lead to significant changes in one’s sketching style. But the only improvements that come from workshops are the result of continual sketching practice long after the symposium is over.


Sketchers at Arc de Triomf

3. Manage your art materials. Unless there’s a specific medium or tool that a workshop instructor is requiring, and it’s clear from the description that that medium or tool will be the main focus of the work, don’t bother buying something new unless you want to try it anyway. As you saw in my photo of the swag we were given, you can get away without bringing any of your own materials if you’re not picky about paper or your favorite pens. If, like me, you are picky, then feel free to bring your own favorites. But often an instructor will suggest a specific paint color or a pen by brand name because it’s his or her personal favorite, and anything you use instead will work just as well.

Joao and Omar's workshop

4. Get to know other sketchers. My most memorable moments in Barcelona are about meeting sketchers I’ve long admired online; chatting with fellow participants about our local sketching communities, exchanging cards and promising to stay in touch; and sharing a common passion even when we barely shared a common spoken language. After the paint has dried and the last sketchbook page has been scanned, the Urban Sketching Symposium is ultimately about people.


5. Carry protein bars and water at all times. You never know when a compelling sketch (or getting lost) will keep you from your next meal.


Liz and Tina



Inma's workshop