Thursday, May 21, 2015

Urban Sketchers, Montreal

Yesterday we painted in Montreal's Chinatown with the Urban Sketchers group.

We met at Place Sun-Yat-Sen, facing the East Gate. I used gouache, dramatizing the lighting a little to spotlight just part of the face of the main building.

There were four of us painting next to each in one small cluster, and it was fun swapping sketching stories with each other and chatting with the people who were passing by. 

The photo is by Urban Sketcher correspondent Shari Blaukopf. Have a look at her painting on her daily sketchblog.

Afterward, we had a congenial supper together. Clockwise from left: Blue, Elise, Marc Holmes, his wife Laurel, Shari Blaukopf, Jeanette, Ubisoft art director Raphael Lacoste, and Chantal.

After the meal, I drew this little portrait of Raphael Lacoste.

Since we were all sketching at the table, we attracted the attention of a couple of very observant girls at the table next to us, so I invited them over to try out some water-soluble colored pencils and to watch a little demo on how to make something look 3D.

P.S. Yes, we saw the Benjamin-Constant exhibition! I'll post about it on Saturday.
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Urban Sketchers Montreal will meet this Sunday. Anyone is welcome to join them, and here's information about their meet-up. 
Shari Blaukopf's sketch blog

at

5 comments:

  1. MaurícioMay 21, 2015 at 9:04 AM

    Bonjour Mr Gurney.

    Let me just say I can't believe you were here. I'm a big fan and I work a few steps from Chinatown!
    Can I ask you something: are you going to stay in Montreal? If yes, are you planing to sign books or have any other public meeting with fans?

    Thank you,

    Mauricio

    ReplyDelete
  2. James GurneyMay 21, 2015 at 11:16 AM

    Hi, Mauricio, Thank you! Sorry, this was just a very short vacation trip. We have to head home today. Maybe next time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shari BlaukopfMay 21, 2015 at 5:14 PM

    It was a treat to sketch with both of you. Come back and visit soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. SteveMay 22, 2015 at 7:52 AM

    Great that you gave the kids a chance to act on their curiosity. Who knows how that will build within one or more of them.

    It appears you're wearing a press pass?

    ReplyDelete
  5. James GurneyMay 22, 2015 at 7:58 AM

    Steve, yes, you're observant. It's got a QR code linking to the blog. Helps in getting access for sketch reporting.

    ReplyDelete

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