I have spent many years drawing and painting outside en plein air. It is something I have always enjoyed and I have introduced many people to its obvious delights. Some years ago I was in Prague at an exhibition of a friend's paintings. She knew of my love of outdoor sketching and introduced me to Rajesh Dhawan, a founding member of the Urban Sketchers Prague chapter.
The origins of the urban sketchers stem from a Spanish journalist and illustrator, Gabriel Campanario, who was living in Seattle, USA, working for the . It was there he promoted journalistic drawing in a blog called in 2007, which was broadcast as a blog on Flickr. The idea was to combine drawings with stories, which provided the background of the real-life situations where the drawings were, which had the effect of spreading the ideals of urban sketching worldwide. Symposia were organized, festive gatherings of artists literally from all over the world. These three-day events were held regularly until the pandemic. Thankfully they have now reconvened and the next one will take place this year in Auckland, New Zealand. Since encountering the Prague chapter of urban sketchers, I have been extremely delighted with my association. Meeting the founders and gaining an insight into the methods of putting together an urban sketching chapter has been very useful.
