Teaching Urban Sketching

It was lovely to be invited by Kate Newman, Head of Interiors at CASS Faculty of Art, Architecture & Design to come and share our enthusiasm and knowledge about Urban Sketching with their Interior Design students last month. Part of the London Metropolitan University, the Cass is a specialist art college close to Whitechapel and The City, a very inspiring and exciting location.

Thumbnail drawings from the students

Over three days myself, Nuno, Gafung and Isabel from the London chapter, worked with First and Second Year students on location at the nearby Spitalfields Market. It is fair to say that the weather was not kind to us - lots and lots of rain - but the students managed to produce a selection of great work.

A student draws people in relation to the background

For many of the students it was the first time they had drawn outside so it was great to see them have go at the exercises. Talking to them, I found that many were confident using computer drawing programmes but making freehand sketches seemed difficult.

This student drawing captured a sense of people hurrying around in the rain.

Another student sketch reflecting the wet weather

Teaching is a completely new experience for me, so I narrowed my focus to giving exercises about thumbnails and eye level, two important elements to consider when drawing on location. I used information that I had learnt from workshops I had taken with Veronica Lawlor and Rolf Schroeter on previous courses.

Gafung demonstrated sketching on a tablet

When the rain and cold finally got too much, we headed back to the studio at the University where Nuno organised a group drawing session, pitching two teams of students on opposite tables with a large sheet of paper, drawing the team opposite in a kind of sketch battle.

Students drawing in the 'sketch battle' back at the studio

Thank you to Kaye for inviting us and Janette, Suzanne, Chiara and Guy for your help. It was really nice to meet all the students and I hope they gained knowledge to help them develop their drawing abilities in the future.