Meet the correspondents: FORT WORTH, USA > James Richards

"Hello all, I'm Jim Richards. I'm based in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in and around New Orleans.  It’s hard to express how excited and honored I am to join the roll of Urban Sketchers correspondents.

It seems most of my life revolves around drawing.  At my urban design firm Townscape, we create plans and designs for “people places” such as town centers, urban villages, public spaces and the like.  Freehand sketching is how I explore and share those visions. I’ve recently joined the faculty of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington as a full-time professor, where I teach design and freehand drawing to graduate students of landscape architecture.  Location sketching permeates all these creative efforts.  For designers, seeing, drawing and understanding what is becomes a springboard for envisioning and drawing what can be.

I’ve traveled and sketched in 36 countries so far.  My sketchbook is my passport to new places and situations, and helps me meet new friends along the way. I promote freehand sketching through magazine articles, lectures and hands-on workshops at universities across the U.S. and abroad. My first book, Freehand Drawing and Discovery: Urban Sketching and Concept Drawing for Designers, features contributions from several USK correspondents and kindred spirits, and is due from John Wiley and Sons in February 2013.

I became a member of Urban Sketchers back in 2010, and was a lecturer at the 2nd International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Lisbon.  The Lisbon experience inspired me to enlist some regional talent to start Urban Sketchers Texas.  I’m proud that we had 5 Texas sketchers at the Symposium in Santo Domingo!  

My wife Patti and I traveled to Louisiana for the LSU vs. Washington football game last weekend; the sketch here is a glimpse of the wild pre-game tailgating scene on the LSU Parade Grounds.  Students were fascinated, watching over my shoulder and offering me beers.  Who knows; maybe I’ll see more sketchbooks at the next game."

• James' blog
• James' art on flickr
• James'  website