Quick & Lively Urban Sketching

I've included a couple of 'arty' books in this issue as I think they have a role to play and deserve space on the bookshelf. We all love sketchbooks and could benefit from some ideas for them. Thus book on 'quick and lively' sketching has some good ideas for the quick-fire line drawing that translated well into machine embroidery. It comprises a series of lessons that lead through the usual colour and composition in a fairly painless manner but the lesson which considers the factors that bring a sketch to life is a really good one. I love the pages showing the 'build-up' of a sketch, a technique which works really well with people. * Workshop on the web * March 17 Sketching isn't so much about technique as observation and confidence in your skills and materials, allowing you to get the components of a scene down quickly and efficiently. And that's very much the essence of this rather enjoyable book that manages to add worthwile material to a market somewhat crowded with what seems to be au courant. As the perceptive cover blurb says 'sketching is an act of personal expression'. The book is built round a series of lessons that include carsm buildings, people and landscapes. In truth, rather than a manual, it's a work of general encouragement in the gentle art of sketching (no smartphones, please) that's worth more than a quick look. * The Artist * Feb 2017 Architect and art teacher, Klaus Meier-Pauken, shows us how to sketch in busy locations, creating speedy animated drawings. This book is divided into seven lessons: tools, colour, composition, bringing a sketch to life, urban life, landscapes and human subjects and for each of these Klaus shares with us tips, techniques and learning objects to make our drawings better. There's plenty of inspiring illustrations too and creative exercises to build up confidence as well as skill * The Leisure Painter * Klaus certainly knows how to get us to learn without realising we are being taught. Before reading I just flicked through the pages ( as you do ) and I could see this was not going to be the usual how to manual. The book is broken down into 7 lessons with beautiful illustrations. There is NOT the usual page after page of materials and "practice this squiggle and this box" that we see all too often. Although, there is a page on perspective that made me laugh because his opening line is " The very word perspective is enough to make many newcomers to drawing shudder yet it is actually fairly straight forward" and that page sure shows it is. The chapters are set out to build your confidence and have that chapters objectives outlined in the margin with some thumbnail examples. As you read through its more like you are out having a coffee and sketching day with Klaus and he is showing you a few tricks. There are some well placed exercises in a couple of chapters but the feel to these are as if you are being told to put the book down and play with your pen or pencil and in many cases both. You soon learn that you do not need lots of equipment to capture a more lively image than a camera could and that equipment can fit into a coat pocket or small bag. Pen , Pencil and small sketchbook and a bag of enthusiasm. I usually paint en plein air ( outside ) with oils or paint and draw at home and have done so for some time. Although I have a bit of experience Klaus showed me a thing or two that are new to me. So if you would like to get into the in vogue art of urban sketching whether you are a seasoned plein air painter or beginner, this book will point you in the right direction. It will certainly give you the confidence to get out there and sketch people in cafes , buildings and just about everything around you and in your pockets. You may even join an Urban Sketching group in your area. And if you don't have one you could always start one. * John Hoffman * I always wish I could sketch like a pro. Capture impressions, record your emotions, create a

Klaus Meier-Pauken was born in 1952. He studied architecture and worked as an architect and urban planner from 1983 until 1992. He has worked at Cologne University of Applied Sciences since 1992, and also teaches perspective and freehand drawing at the FFI in Cologne. His works have been shown in multiple exhibitions.

Foreword 6 Why we draw 8 Line, shading and tonal values 10 Lesson 1: Tools and exercises 12 Pencils 12 Nibs and fountain pens 14 Lesson 2: Colour 16 Working with colour 16 Mixed media 18 Lesson 3: Image composition 22 Perspective 24 Spatial depth 25 Visual tension 26 Visual expressiveness 27 Detail sections 28 Lesson 4: What brings a sketch to life? 30 Contrast 31 Decorative detail 32 Line control 36 Colouring 39 Complementary colouring 40 Dynamism 41 Lesson 5: Urban life 42 Lesson 6: Landscapes 48 Lesson 7: Human subjects 56 Afterword 64