Gabi’s in the News!

 

Front cover of the Sept. 28 Pacific NW magazine

USk Seattle had an exciting 15 minutes of fame last weekend when the Seattle Times published a wonderful article about Gabi Campanario, founder of the global Urban Sketchers organization and inspiration to so many of us. (Photos for the article were taken by Akash Pamarthy during our outing on Beacon Hill a few weeks ago.) In addition to honoring Gabi’s journalism career, his long-running Seattle Sketcher column, and his founding of USk, writer Erik Lacitis featured several prominent urban sketchers and reportage artists worldwide.

My favorite quotation is this one from well-known reportage artist Richard Johnson:

“The parallel between urban sketching and field or combat art is the shared necessity of experiencing firsthand what you are drawing. Drawing in-person, in situ, from direct reference, captures life through a uniquely human lens. And it captures life in such a very human way that it can transport you to that moment again instantly. It doesn’t even have to be a good drawing; in fact, it probably won’t be, because drawing live, things don’t hold still, but even a bad drawing captures more of the real moment than any sketch from a photograph. For the average urban sketcher, that entails putting yourself out there in a street and drawing what you see, all while immersed in the sounds, smells and interruptions of it.”

Here’s the part of the article where Erik quoted me:

From the minute the online edition came out last Saturday, the USk Seattle Facebook group exploded with requests for membership! The explosion continued the next day when the print edition came out in the Times’ Pacific NW magazine section. (Clipped below are images that appear in the online edition.)

I’m thrilled that Gabi is receiving such well-deserved recognition for his contributions to journalism and for changing the lives of urban sketchers around the globe. And I’m excited that USk Seattle received a few minutes of fame, too!

The print edition included a few images that aren't in the online edition, including these cool ones of Gabi's colored pencils, other art supplies and sketchbooks in his studio.