I've tried to go on organized sketchwalks in the past but something has always pulled me away from them. Maybe its the fear of meeting other sketchers like myself or maybe its the fact that it's organized. I find that I stumble upon very interesting stuff when I'm not on a deliberate sketchwalk.
At the same time, I was still curious as to going on a sketchwalk. The first one I went on was a Brooklyn (NYC) sketchwalk that I found on Meetups called Bklyn Wknd Sketchers. Since then, they have moved to Facebook. And boy that was a fun afternoon in Prospect Park! I didn't expect to stay the whole time, but Smorgasburg was the last stop and I was so excited about finally making it out to Smorgasburg. (For those unaware, Smorgasburg is basically a festival of food where 100+ food places set up stands and you get to buy food from them! It is food heaven!)
We first gathered at the Boathouse in Prospect Park and started sketching. Then regathered after an hour, discussed what we did, moved to the overall Park area, and sketched again. Then we discussed, moved to Smorgasburg and at that point we lost a few people to the food, but the intention was to draw and head home after.
The Boathouse was in a picturesque location (as I imagine most boathouses are!) There was a bridge nearby, beautiful trees and old lampposts around the area. I was brave and used my watercolors for my first sketch. It was extremely rushed because the sun was creeping up on me the whole time and I didn't want to become a lobster...
The next location, the general public area was amazing! Lots of space and very airy. You almost forget that you're in NYC. I had an interesting moment when I was sketching the large vase because I was sitting sort of off to the side, and this bird literally flew into me! Maybe it was the birds way of saying it wanted to get into my drawing...?
And the final location, and the yummiest, Smorgasburg! I was super hungry at this point so I opted to sketch first, draw later. I ended up getting wings because they actually looked like real, crispy, Buffalo wings and that was something I've dreamed of for quite a bit. In my opinion, no one in NYC seem to know how to cook wings like people in upstate NY! But I found the one place that truly knows! So after I wiped and sanitized all the BBQ sauce off myself, I found a not-as-crowded spot on a curb and sat down to draw a booth. Beware, there were literally tons of people and my drawing doesn't show the hoards of people that constantly kept blocking my view of the stand. But nonetheless, I had a great time!
Part of the sketch walk experience is sharing your art with other urban sketchers, and I did enjoy showing my work to people but I also felt like nowadays, people are so afraid to offend, that I didn't get any criticism that I could use to improve my art. This could just be me, but that's something I wish I had. I need that kind of push to improve my technique. That being said, please feel free to let me know things I can work on in the comments below!