I learned about urban sketching - drawing on location - while browsing in Amazon.com for art books. I find urban sketching a very unique and personal way of recording one's experiences and surroundings. For this reason, I decided to try it out. Here is my first sketch on location.
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| Faber-Castell PITT Artist Brush Pen, Black Fineliner; 90 minutes |
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| Photograph of the subject I sketched: a building in Paseo de Roxas Street, Makati City |
Initially, I planned to start with a pencil draft and redraw the pencil outlines with a pen later on. In an attempt to perfect the lines and shapes, I found myself constantly erasing and redrawing lines. Realizing that I would never finish my drawing in this manner, I finally convinced myself to draw with pen directly. This technique had one advantage: it allowed me to disregard the mistakes made (there's no way of erasing them anyway) and pushed me to continue with my work.
I think it would be better if I had included the poles in front of the building in my drawing. The decreasing height of the poles as they extend to the right will put the drawing in perspective. Also, I should have drawn a passing vehicle to add life to the drawing.
I was sitting on a flagpole stand while doing this sketch. Even though I was fortunate to find a shaded place to stay at, I was continually bugged by insect bites. I think environmental factors are also part of the challenges many urban sketchers face.
