Meet the Correspondent: Marina Grechanik > Tel-Aviv, Israel$show=/search/label/Marina%20Grechanik


"Sketching is one of my passions. I don't feel comfortable when I leave home without a sketchbook and some pens in my bag. I think that my way to put things in my memory is to draw them. And taking pictures isn't the same thing.

I live in a very dynamic surrounding — Israel is a warm country with warm weather and warm people. Of course, we have seashores, which calm us a little bit. I love to sit in a corner of some Tel-Aviv coffee shop and explore relationships: between people, their environment, between myself. All this unique local mix of cultures, languages and styles is always a great source for inspiration. You need to be fast, because, as I said, everything is very dynamic. But that's why I love it so much.

Sometimes, I look around, and I find some usual items like sugar bags or napkins. I use them in my drawings to show the atmosphere. Sometimes I draw directly on placemats."

• Marina's art on Flickr.
• Marina's website.

Meet the Correspondent: Tina Koyama > Seattle$show=/search/label/tina%20koyama

"The dictionary says that a hobby is “an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation.” Although urban sketching certainly provides both pleasure and relaxation, I don’t think of it as my hobby. I think of it more as a way of life – something that has become such a normal part of my everydayness that it shapes how I view the world.

For most of my life I had both the fear of drawing as well as the desire to draw. In 2011, inspired by Gabi Campanario’s Seattle Sketcher column, I finally decided to overcome the fear. His drawings of Seattle – my birthplace and lifelong home – were of sights that I had seen many times, yet had never truly seen. I wanted to learn to see, and therefore experience, those locations (and any new ones that I travel to) more completely. Part 8 of the Urban Sketchers Manifesto, to “show the world, one drawing at a time,” has a flip side: Sketching enables me to see my own world, one drawing at a time.

In the last four years, it is not an exaggeration to say that Urban Sketchers has changed my life. I have met and sketched with many wonderful people around the globe, either at symposiums or during other travel, because the USk network brought us together. I sketch almost weekly with my local group, sharing sketches, art supplies and friendship. Even when I stay home and enjoy sketches online, I am still a part of that rich network, learning with every sketch about other people’s lives.

In May, my husband Greg and I went to France for the first time, and I sketched the Eiffel Tower. Sketching one of the world’s most famous icons felt like a dream come true – the ultimate in urban sketching. But although I can’t resist sketching world-famous icons whenever I’m fortunate enough to see them, for me, urban sketching is much more than that.

Urban sketching is a tree with its middle chopped away to accommodate Seattle’s ubiquitous power lines. It’s about a couple of women chatting over coffee, or about workers roofing the house next door. It’s about an excavator filling a hole where a cherry tree once stood. Or the Tibetan monastery I drive by frequently that I couldn’t resist because it’s bright orange. Urban sketching is a string band performing at a local farmers’ market – or perhaps in Villefranche-sur-Mer.

Celebrating the mundane as well as the famous is what urban sketching is all about. My sketches are not necessarily about “special” moments; they are moments made special because I sketched them."

Tina has been editor of Drawing Attention since 2013 and now serves on the Urban Sketchers editorial board. See more of her sketches on her blog, on Flickr and on Instagram.

Meet the Correspondent: Pete Scully > Davis, Calif.$show=/search/label/Pete%20Scully



"I am from urban north London, but now live in urbane Davis California. I sketch, I write, sometimes do things and go places and my name is Pete.

When not Davis, I sketch Sacramento, San Francisco, London, or anywhere else I happen to be. I tend to erase people and cars from my cities, but I'm starting to get over this.

Davis: calm, old-fashioned, progressive, quirky, very very hot in the summer. I use micron and copic pens, with watercolour."

• Pete's blog.
• Pete's art on Flickr.

Meet the Correspondent: Suhita Shirodkar > San Jose, Calif.$show=/search/label/Suhita%20Shirodkar

"I was born in Mumbai (Bombay) and lived in different parts of India until I moved to San Jose, California, where I now live.

Travel inspires my art, but, traveling or not, I try to view the world around me as a traveller would; so whether I’m capturing a moment of calm on the banks of the Ganges in India, or sketching over coffee at my local coffee shop, I aim to look deeply, and with wonder, at both the everyday and the exotic, the old and the new.

I love color. My sketch kit consists of Extra Fine Sharpies (the fact that they bleed into the paper as soon as they touch it works really well for me—it forces me to work super-quick), a small set of Prismacolor pencils and a little watercolor travel set".
• Blog
• Flickr

Meet the Correspondent: Omar Jaramillo > Berlin$show=/search/label/Omar%20Jaramillo

"I was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where I studied architecture. I moved to Kassel (Germany) in 1999 to accomplish a master degree. Although I have always drawn and paint, it was not until I started studying in the Uni-Kassel, that I started keeping a travel sketchbook. I had a teacher there who used to do a lot of sketches when he travelled on university excursions. When he retired, I helped to organize an exhibition of his sketches. He brought a huge box full of sketchbooks he had filled since he was an architecture student. I spent a whole day selecting the most interesting drawings. It was a wonderful experience that opened my eyes to a new world. In the last 10 years I have the feeling of being in a long journey. I like to discover the cities where I live, to understand why a place is the way it is and what makes it different and unique from others. Drawing is for me a way to learn to love a place, to become part of it. I like to draw architecture but I am more attracted to urban scenery, portraying how people live in the city. Since I’m a foreigner, everything that locals find normal and taken-for-granted, for me is exotic. I always carry a small watercolor travel set from Windsor and Newton and my sketchbook in my bag. I always thought that drawing was a solitary experience until I found Urban Sketchers. It was amazing to find so many people doing the same thing. It is a great place to share!" • Omar's blog. • Omar's art on flickr. • Omar's website.

Meet the Correspondent: Luis Ruiz > Malaga, Spain$show=/search/label/Luis%20Ruiz

USk Talks

Next USK Talks: April 25, 2021 3AM GMT live on YouTube!

With guests: Captain Tom (Tomas Pajdlhauser) & Marina Grechanik
And your host: Rob Sketcherman

In this episode we talk to two artists and educators who find poetry in the chaotic life of streets and urban spaces. These sketchers come from different backgrounds and two distinct artistic styles of drawing. What unites them is their passion for showing ordinary people coming together for food, community, and everyday life.

Tom Pajdlhauser will join us from Ottawa, Canada. Captain Tom has traveled and captured many countries in his sketchbooks including Palestine–the work he will be sharing with us during the episode. His professional work as an art director for TV shows and movies has trained Tom’s eye to zero in on the perfect composition and timing to tell the story.

Marina Grechanik will be joining us from Ra'anana, Israel. Marina is a beloved USk Instructor, professional illustrator, and a veteran urban sketcher whose quick and simple captures have the unique ability to show the essence of characters she encounters. In her own words: “To dare sketching in the middle of the street, public space, which reveals us to the eyes of all, can be challenging, especially if you're a shy person. I feel that sketchbook and pencil case are my superman costume, which turns me into a different person – friendly, open, ready to share and to listen. Sketchbook breaks invisible walls between me and a street, what separates me from reality dissolves, and I become part of it, part of a colorful scene. I’m not separated, don't look down, I’m part of this mess of people, places, smells and sounds.”






Urban Sketchers is excited to be back for Season 2 of USk Talks! 

The USk Talks team has crafted this season with a special focus on storytelling and drawing reportage. Episodes are lined up to inspire you with insights from the leading artist-reporters from around the world, exciting projects from our reportage proposal finalists, chapter highlights, art history, sketching challenges, tool demos, and much more. 

Join USk Talks starting January 3, 2021 at 3:00 PM GMT live on Urban Sketchers YouTube channel (Click to subscribe and be sure to Turn on the Notifications) and be prepared to get inspired, learn, and connect with other sketchers. 

Throughout Season 2, USk Talks will be showcasing sketchers from around the world whose Reportage Proposals were picked by the selection committee and represent the storytelling potential of our community. It is our great pleasure to announce the winners for the call for USk Talks Reportage Proposal. 

Find here USK Talks Season 2 weekly challenges, write-ups and episodes! Catch up and get inspired all over again.

Ep. 2 "What is Reportage?" January 10, 2021
Ep. 3 "1H1KM & Explosion in Beirut" January 17, 2021
Ep. 4 "Sketching Venice with John Ruskin" January 24, 2021
Ep. 7 "Visual Storytelling: Practical Tips" February 14, 2021
Ep. 8 "Save our Stages & Coppersmiths' Alley" February 21, 2021
Ep. 9 "How a Ships Starts her Life" February 28, 2021
Ep. 10 "Passion for Pencils" March 7, 2021
Ep. 11 "Victorian Women Sketchers" March 14, 2021
Ep. 12 "Artist as a Reporter" March 21, 2021
Ep. 13 "How to Sketch a Country" April 4, 2021
Ep. 14 "Story of USK Chapters" April 11, 2021

To join the livestream: 

  1. Go to Urban Sketchers Youtube Channel. 
  2.  Click to subscribe and be sure to Turn on the Notifications. 
  3. Tune in every Sunday on 3:00 PM GMT every Sunday, starting January 3. Find your local time by typing "3pm GMT" into your Google search. 
  4. Type your comment, say hello, ask a question under Comments.
  5. If you miss it, you can view the show on Youtube afterwards. 
  6. Stay connected and strong through this time. We are all in it together.

About USK Talks

Social distancing doesn’t mean we can’t still connect and learn from each other. In an effort to bring us together USk started a series called USk Talks. Every Sunday we will bring new guests to talk about what inspires them in this moment and to share their sketches, favorite tools and to answer your questions live!

If you have a suggestion of a topic to discuss on USk talks, a question or would like to share an inspiring story with the rest of the community please contact us at education@urbansketchers.org






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