Expedition vs. Lifestyle

9/27/23 Maple Leaf neighborhood

9/289/23 Maple Leaf

 A member of Urban Sketchers recently commented on one of my posts in the Facebook group that my sketches seem to be made spontaneously wherever I happen to be rather than a specific location I went to with the purpose of sketching there. I have been sketching spontaneously for so much of my sketching life that I hardly think of any other way to do it, but her comment made me stop and consider.

9/29/23 Maple Leaf

10/9/23 Green Lake neighborhood

I do think that most urban sketchers can be sorted into two stacks: the “expedition” sketchers (who plan a place to go, then go there to sketch) and the “lifestyle” sketchers (who sketch wherever they happen to be). Many sketchers do both, of course, but each type takes a different mindset and, interestingly, a different type of sketch kit.

I can usually tell just by looking at someone’s sketch kit which type they are. If they have piles of different materials and media, multiple sketchbook formats, maybe an easel setup and portable stool, all packed into a humongous backpack or tote, I’d venture to guess that they are an expedition sketcher. Conversely, a lifestyle sketcher keeps a fairly basic sketch kit with them at all times in their daily-carry bag.

10/20/23 Maple Leaf

Less than a year after I began sketching, I realized I was a lifestyle sketcher. I began honing my sketch kit so that it would be an integral part of my daily-carry bag – not a dedicated bag I used only when I went out specifically to sketch. I’ve been honing that kit ever since, and now it’s as slim as it has ever been (or is likely to be).

10/21/23 Maple Leaf

10/27/23 Maple Leaf

Ever since sketching became my incentive for daily fitness walks several years ago (a habit reinforced by the first pandemic year when I wasn’t going anywhere), most of my urban sketching has been spontaneous. Ironically, with my rekindled interest in watercolors this year (and, for that matter, other media besides my usual colored pencils), I find myself building a rapidly growing auxiliary sketch kit that looks a lot like something an expedition sketcher would use (yes, I’ll show it sometime soon). It’s definitely too much for daily-carry, which is a bit frustrating because it means I’m limited to using these other materials only on planned outings instead of spontaneously.

11/2/23 Maple Leaf

11/8/23 Maple Leaf

Regardless of how that auxiliary kit develops, my daily-carry/fitness-walking sketch kit will remain the same. After all, expeditions can happen only once in a while; life happens every day.

11/13/23 Maple Leaf

11/16/23 The Brothers from the NE 80th St. I-5 overpass, Maple Leaf

11/17/23 Maple Leaf

11/24/23 Maple Leaf