The Castle of Montemolín


[By Gabriel Campanario in Montemolín, Spain] The Castle of Montemolín, “el castillo” as I’ve called it since I was a kid, is one of more than 300 medieval fortresses embedded in the landscape of Badajoz, the Spanish province where my ancestors hail from. It started as a Muslim fortification in the XII century and it later […]
Workshop rewind: Sketching in northwest river town of Bothell


A weekend-long sketching class in a walkable urban setting with an interesting mix of architecture, history and nature. That’s the basic idea behind the workshop I have started teaching in Bothell, Washington, a charming little river town 15 miles north of Seattle. It is hosted by Cloud 9, an all-ages art school run by super-organized and talented local […]
Low tide in Edmonds


[By Gabi Campanario in Edmonds, WA] I’m not a summer beach kind of guy. Without a ton of sunscreen, I get sunburned fast. Also, the sand gets on my nerves. It’s so sticky and hard to wipe off! But if there’s a time when I can tolerate some beach going in the Seattle area, it […]
#SeaHomeless: A City Without Homes


[Group post by Urban Sketchers Seattle] Seattle’s homelessness problem is a growing crisis. A count taken in 2016 found 4,505 people without shelter, an increase of 19 percent over the previous year. To raise awareness of this critical issue and work toward finding solutions, more than 30 local news media outlets created a media blitz […]
USk News: Workshop in Ischia, Italy, “On Assignment: Reportage from Ischia Island”


USk is pleased to announce a new workshop led by Gabi Campanario (guest artist and instructor), Simo Capecchi and Caroline Peyron (instructors), Cristina Portolano (guest correspondent) and Franco Lancio as art director. in Ischia, Italy October 4-8, 2017. In this year’s participants will explore practical tips for sketching and reporting from the field using the […]
I spy Vancouver’s Trump Tower


[By Gabi Campanario in Vancouver, Canada] When I recently saw photos of Vancouver’s Trump Tower in the news, the building looked familiar. This is why: I unknowingly sketched it during a trip to Vancouver in November! The north-facing view from our room on the 19th floor of the Century Plaza Hotel included three skyscrapers that I […]
Same boat, different takes


[By Gabi Campanario in Seattle] I rarely sketch the same subject twice, let alone three times, over a short period of time. But that’s what happened recently when I drew the Arthur Foss, a historic tugboat moored on Seattle’s Lake Union. What does it mean that I drew the same boat three times within just […]
Sketching in Tacoma!


[By Gail Wong, Gabi Campanario and Virginia Hein] This past weekend, over 150 urban sketchers converged on downtown Tacoma, Washington for the 4th Annual West Coast Urban Sketchers Sketch Crawl. Sketchers came from up and down the west coast of the US–from California to Canada, and several from Arizona! Local organizers Frances Buckmaster, Kate Buike and […]
A blond pickup truck for Flaf


[By Gabi Campanario in Seattle] You probably saw the call for car sketches in the recent issue of Drawing Attention. A wall of car sketches from all over the world in memory of Florian Afflerbach, who died unexpectedly last May, will be displayed during the upcoming Urban Sketchers Symposium in Manchester. My contribution to the […]
Vacation rocks


[By Gabi Campanario in Hiddenite, North Carolina] At first glance I thought the sheer cliff was a product of nature, but I was wrong. Rocky Face Mountain is the site of a former quarry that has long been closed. The park ranger said it operated back in the 1920s and 1930s, until the owners ran […]