Calgary Urban Sketchers

Six sketchers came to the Library yesterday, and one was there on Thursday. The library definitely is not the same place. It was eerily quiet when we first got there, then people started to trickle in, and I mean trickle. I did notice some may have been first timers as the cameras were out. Nice to see our library continues to amaze those who visit.

Remember to get your favorite sketches mounted on foam core for Rosso. https://calgaryurbansketchers.com/2020/11/15/calgary-urban-sketchers-at-cafe-rosso-february-2021/

Next sketch outing is December 5 – Sketch From Your Vehicle – Sunnyside.

Stay well and safe🎨🎨🎨🎨

Sketches by Jim, Norm, Gabrielle, Katie, Maria & Belinda – Library Crew

Sketches by David, Ellis, Janice & PamL – Home Crew

Hello everyone.

If you have ANY apprehension in coming to tomorrows sketching event, listen to that voice, please!!!

You are more than welcome to sketch closer to home or from home, just play the same game 🙂 I spy my little eye on something metal, or I spy my little eye on someone reading a book.

Send your image to me via my email on this website by noon Sunday, and I will post on our blog.

Stay safe and take care!!!!

Edmonton Urban Sketchers have updated their blog with their Tower sketches. Loads of talent in this group. Have a look.

Looking forward to our next event together in December!!!!!

https://edmontonsketchers.wordpress.com/2020/11/16/sister-city-sketch-1-nov-14-2020/

Due to concerns about the potential for spreading COVID-19, any prints to be displayed should be cleaned and sanitized first. Luckily, foamcore is pretty tough so we can clean the surface without much fear of damaging the image. I’m not a lab technician, so I can’t speak to how effective the cleaning methods listed below are in killing the virus. I can only follow the instructions on the label and hope for the best.

After cleaning, please wrap your sketches in a plastic bag.

My personal recommendation is product 5 if cleaning the prints at home, and product 1 if cleaning the prints in public. Hand sanitizer is now commonplace, but carrying your own bottle of alcohol might look a little strange. Remember to bring some paper towels with you if cleaning prints on site.

Product 1 – Hand sanitizer

Widely available, low cost, easy to use.

Squirt some hand sanitizer on a paper towel and continuously wipe the entire surface of the print for about a minute.

No damage to the surface of the print. Hand sanitizer appears to evaporate without a trace.

Product 2 – Wet Ones hand and face wipes

Widely available, low cost, easy to use, but no information on effectiveness against COVID-19. There may now be additional Wet Ones products that are labelled as sanitizers, but these products were not tested.

Same application as product 1, and same results.

Product 3 – Lysol Disinfecting Wipes, Citrus scent

Widely available (check the cleaning section of your local grocery store), low cost, easy to use, kills some viruses but no information on effectiveness against COVID-19.

Same application as product 1, leaves a thin film on the surface, which can be removed with a damp paper towel.

Product 4 – Steriwipes

Available at some London Drugs stores, easy to use, $23 plus tax for 160 wipes

States that it is capable of killing the virus that causes COVID-19

Same application as product 1, but should be applied to the surface for at least 10 minutes. After cleaning, wipe the entire surface with one or more damp paper towels to remove all residue just in case someone touches the prints with their bare hands before eating

Product 5 – Isopropyl Alcohol

Widely available at pharmacies, low cost, easy to use

Same application as product 1, and same results. Alcohol-based cleaners may also be available in a spray bottle. This would make it easier and quicker to apply to a large surface, but be careful not to spray the alcohol onto adjacent materials that may be adversely affected by the alcohol.

The Calgary Urban Sketchers group has been given the opportunity to display our sketches at Cafe Rosso on Stephen Avenue for the month of February 2021. All group members are invited to submit up to four of their favorite sketches for display.

All sketches must be scanned and mounted on foam core, which will be displayed at Café Rosso, not the original sketch.

Sketchbooks can be taken to the print shop at any Calgary Staples store. The staff will scan the sketch or sketches you have selected, crop and resize as you wish, and print on foamcore (also known as foamboard) in the size you specify. Letter size is the most popular so far, but sizes up to 11″ x 17″ inch prints will also work. Both Landscape and Portrait formats are appropriate. Typical processing time is 2 to 4 days and the cost is quite reasonable. You keep your original sketches.

If you prefer, you can also scan and crop the sketches yourself and put the images on a USB memory stick in .jpg format. Take the memory stick to a Staples print shop, and they will resize and print the images on foamcore for you.

We will attach mounting clips on the backs of the prints with scotch tape, so the prints will not be damaged. One to four sketches per member, printed on foamcore, would be ideal. Please sign your prints (at least on the back) so you receive credit for your work and so we know who to return them to at the end of February. In case we cannot display all four, please mark, using 1-4 on the back to indicate which sketches you prefer to be displayed.

We are anticipating that we will be able to mount the prints at the cafe on or about Feb 1. With the holidays fast approaching, time is short to get the prints made. You can also submit the foamcore prints from our previous displays at the Central Library and the Judith Umbach Library in Thorncliffe if you wish.

I will be collecting the prints for this exhibit. The easiest way to get your prints to me is to catch me at one of the remaining sketch-out events this year (see the “Events for Sketchers” tab on our website for the November/December Sketchule). In case I am unable to attend one of those events, you can give them to one of the group’s administrators or we can arrange to meet sometime in January.

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, please clean your prints before giving them to me. I will provide another post shortly with some notes on cleaning the prints.

This is our time! Let’s make it an event to remember,

Jim Gillanders

Super pleased with all the submissions, just like a regular outing🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️ Nice to see sketches from those afar, and from those who have been away. If you have any suggestions to make this event even more successful, please comment below, or fire me an email. As always, looking for ideas for the coming months. Huge thank you to all that participated. 👏👏👏👏👏👏

Next outing is at the Central Library on Nov 21. I Spy My Little Eye.

Sketches by Chris M

Sketches by Janice

Sketches by Ellis B

Sketches by RodZ

Sketches by BelindaR

All grouped together. If you submitted more than one I choose my favorite☺

Stay well & safe🎨🎨🎨

Saturday, November 21 10:30 – 13:00

Taking a cue from the childhood game, we’ll narrow down what to sketch in our impressive downtown library. You have two options: I Spy My Little Eye on something metal, or I Spy My Little Eye on a person reading a book.

Location: Calgary Central Library https://calgarylibrary.ca/

Meet: Find a spot and start to sketch. Meet at 13:00 inside, in the area just to the west of the main entrance. If it seems too crowded we will move outside for our photo op.

Inclement Weather: If colder than -20 C, the event will be cancelled.

Don’t forget your masks!!! Must be worn inside the Library and when we can not maintain proper social distance, especially when we are meeting at the end for the photo op.

Please stay home if you feel unwell, uncomfortable or are exhibiting any symptoms.
https://www.alberta.ca/guidance-on-outdoor-activities.aspxz 

See Events for Sketchers tab on this website for more details

Hello Everyone! We are going to try something new, and I hope you will participate. Every second Saturday, thru the winter, Calgary USk’s are going to be collaborating with the Edmonton USk’s by sketching the same theme.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/edmontonsketchers
https://edmontonsketchers.wordpress.com/

The theme this Saturday is TOWER, which is defined by Oxford Languages as

𝑵𝒐𝒖𝒏
1. tall, narrow building, either freestanding or forming part of a building such as a church or castle. “the south-west tower is a wonderful example of late Gothic”
2. a tall structure that houses machinery, operators, etc. “a control tower”
𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒃
1. rise to or reach a great height. “he seemed to tower over everyone else”
2. (of a bird) soar to a great height, especially (of a falcon) so as to be able to swoop down on the quarry.

You can sketch any time you get time, up to and including Nov 14. You can even submit a sketch done from the past.

Requirements are:
1. Stick to the theme for Nov 14.
2. Submit your sketch to Belinda.Ramscar@shaw.ca by noon Nov 15 (.jpg format preferred)
3. Capture from direct observation. Not from a photo or image. Sketch something from in your home, out your window, or out and about.

Received images will be posted on our CalgaryUSk’s website, as per normal. It would be great if you also posted your sketches on the Calgary USk Facebook page. This can be done anytime, and hoping this will inspire others to participate.

If you have any theme ideas for future months, please enter in comments.

You are welcome to sketch each theme through the month, and again, it would be great if you posted them on our Facebook page and/or website.

Looking forward to seeing your sketches!!!!

Fifteen hearty souls joined in the haunting today. Some haunted from their vehicles, and some braved the elements. I was one of them who braved it, and let me tell you it was frigging cold when the sun was behind a cloud🥶. Having a metal mechanical pencil did not help☹.

Next outing, Nov 14, we will be trying something new. Collaborating with the Edmonton Urban Sketchers every 2nd Saturday during the winter, we are going to sketch the same theme during the same time frame. We are calling it the Sister City Sketch.   Themes will be posted at the beginning of the month.  You must capture from direct observation, not from a photo or image. This can be in your home, or out and about. You are welcome to participate all month. If you have any ideas for themes, please submit to my email or comment below.

All events for November and December will be posted soon on our web page.

Stay well and safe🎨🎨🎨