Urban sketching goes international at the Porto symposium

(Jo Dungey writes) The ninth international Urban Sketchers Symposium was held in Porto, Portugal, from 18 to 21 July 2018.  An estimated 800 sketchers and instructors from 48 countries thronged the streets of Porto and the banks of the River Douro.

The symposium is an annual event which offers workshops, presentations and sketchcrawls.  Most of all, it is a chance to sketch on location and meet others from around the world who also enjoy this.  In 2016 the symposium was in Manchester and in 2017 in Chicago, USA.

James Hobbs: Ferreira Borgese, Porto

Here are sketches of Porto from two of our London correspondents: Lis Watkins and James Hobbs.  Sketches from Porto can be seen on the international website: www.urbansketchers.org and on the Facebook page: USk Porto International Symposium.  Sketches are also posted on social media such as Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #UskPorto2018

Lis Watkins: Porto sketchbook

The 2019 symposium will be in Amsterdam from 24 to 27 July 2019.  For the Porto event, tickets were put on sale on line in mid-February.  The symposium has a reputation for tickets selling out quickly.

The Netherlands Urban Sketchers and the international organising committee have taken on a huge challenge – remember that all urban sketchers activities are run entirely by volunteers.  Detailed information about the Amsterdam event is not yet published.  A link at the head of this blog will provide information as it becomes available on the international urban sketchers website.

Urban sketching goes international at the Porto symposium