8/9 March sketching meetup cancelled

My apologies, but I am no longer be able to make it to the Otaki Kite Festival to run a sketching meetup on 8/9 March. Sorry everyone!

Of course, the festival itself is still on, and will be terrific, so feel free to head up there and sketch away on your own if you are keen.

I will sort out another March date for a meetup. Any ideas or places you want to go? Email Wellington dot sketchers @ gmail dot com if you want to suggest a sketching location or event in March.

Sketching Meetup: Thorndon / Botanic Gardens

Wellington Sketchers will be having a sketching meetup to sketch around Thorndon. We'll meet at the Founder's Gate entrance to the Botanic Gardens on Glenmore St in Thorndon (Tinakori Rd becomes Glenmore St past the gardens). We can either sketch around the Botanic Gardens or sketch down Glenmore St/Tinakori Road in Thorndon, whichever option strikes people's fancy. We might have a coffee afterwards at a nearby cafe. 

The Founder's Gate entrance to the Botanic Gardens on Glenmore St, Thorndon

Where: Meet at the Founder's Gate entrance to the Botanic Gardens on Glenmore St in Thorndon

When: 2.30pm, Sunday 23rd Fenruary 2014. Sketch until 4-ish?

How: There is parking up on Glenmore St (I think it might be coupon parking there, 2hr limit), or you can catch the Karori number 3 bus from Wellington Station, which stops right at the Founder's Gate.

As usual, if the weather is awful, we will postpone. I will notify anyone who has rsvped to me in this case. You don't have to rsvp and you are very welcome to just turn up, but if the unforeseen happens and my car won't start, my train is running late etc, I can only text people who have rsvped to wellington dot sketchers @ gmail dot com.  

PS - I have put up a poll on our website for where we will go sketching for the 43rd Worldwide Sketchcrawl on 19 April. The poll is anonymous, so vote away! You are not committing yourself to coming along by voting.

Some new urban sketching books on the market

A couple of ¨how-to¨ urban sketching books have come onto the market this year. These books have lots of examples of people's sketching work, but also practical tips for sketching/painting on location.

Urban Sketching: The Complete Guide to Techniques, by Thomas Thorspecken. I have pre-ordered this one (it is released in 17 days) and will bring it along to a meetup as soon as it arrives in the mail, if you want to take a look at it.

Sketch Your World: Essential Techniques for Drawing on Location, by James Hobbs. Incidentally, this book seems to change cover design alot (???), so you may see it with a different cover (same name though). I already have this one and have found it an interesting read. I'll bring this one along to the next meetup, if you want to have a flick through it.