This year's annual international symposium of the Urban Sketchers took place in Amsterdam from 24th till 27th July 2019. It was a huge success, with more than 500 'official' symposium participants who took workshops and sketchwalks, and another +/- 700 'symposium-off' sketchers, who invaded literally the city. Hats off to the excellent organization by the team of USK Nederland.
Luxembourg may be a tiny country but it was well represented!
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| The Luxembourg Watch by an unkown Dutch Old Master(at the Oosterdok after the final sketchwalk) |
Here an overview of sketches and comments of some of the participants from Luxembourg.
Annie Zeler
"Des lieux de sketchwalks bien sélectionnés parmis des sujets à croquer à tous les canaux et tous les coins de rue...
Beaucoup de concentration dans les groupes de sketchers, presque de la ferveur mais des échanges aussi, les "meilleurs" très ouverts aux questions des "moins meilleurs"...
j'ai vu beaucoup de sketches qui ressemblaient plus à des oeuvres d'art qu'a des croquis!
Ambiance très détendue malgré la surchauffe ambiante!"
Felix Chabod
Felix was our youngest symposium participant (13 y), but certainly already a very talented urban sketcher. He became a real Amsterdammer as for the duration of the symposium he lived in a houseboat on one of the canals. No wonder he made a sketch of it - with a keen and graphic eye.
Monika Bunzenthal
Monika attended the symposium sketchwalks and she sent us a selection of her prolific, sensitive sketches in delicate colors.
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| Cafe de coin vers"Magere Brug". |
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| Depart de la Gaypride-Parade le 27.07.2019 vers Westerkerk |
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| La peniche à Westerdok, sur la quelle on était logé pendant le symposium |
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| Drink and draw des ami-sketchers au café |
Malou Mathieu
(English version below)
"Meng Impressiounen vum Symposium zu Amsterdam:
Ech war schons 3 Deeg virum Symposium zu Amsterdam fir Zäit ze hun Stat och e bëssen kënnenzeléieren.
Dënschdes virum Symposium war ech mat puer Sketchkollegen op Zaanse Schans, wou et nët nëmmen Wandmillen z'entdecken gett mee et ass och e ganz flott Dierfchen, mat eenzegarteger Architektur. Ech hat den Workshop Pass, hun un 3 Workshopen an enger Demo Deel geholl. Hun während den Workshopen ganz vill bäigeléiert. E grousse Merci un d'Rita Sabler, d'Eleanor Doughty an d'Anne Rose Oosterbaan déi super Coursë gehalen hun. An natiirlech och un den Rob Sketcherman deen eng super gutt Demo gemaach huet. Hun et e gelongenen Symposium fonnt, vill néi Léit kennegeléiert, vill Léit remgesin, eng Klengegkeet hätten déi Amsterdamer awer kéinten besser maachen: Op der Ofschlossfeier haten se bei wäitem nët genug Häppercher, sou dass een mat Méih just en Häppchen ergatteren konnt.
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My impressions of the Symposium in Amsterdam:
I arrived in Amsterdam 3 days before the beginning of the Symposium, which allowed me to get to know the city a little better. Tuesday I travelled with some sketcher friends to the Zaanse Schans, where there are not only windmills but which is also a beautiful village with a lot of nice architecture. I had a Workshop Pass for 3 Workshops and one Demo,where I learned many new techniques. A big 'thank you' to my teachers: Rita Sabler, Eleanor Doughty and Anne Rose Oosterbaan and also Rob Sketcherman for his very good Demo. For me it was a succesful Symposium, I met a lot of new&old friends. One little thing they could have done better: more food at the closing party, it was difficult to grab a bite."
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| Rembrandtplein |
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| Rijksmuseum |
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| Zaanse Schans |
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| Workshop Anne Rose Oosterbaan |
Gaby Krein
The symposium in my numbers:
- over 400 km one way by train
- a week of very hot weather
- 56,91 km of walks
- 3 amazingly inspiring and instructive workshops
- met uncountable nice and talented sketchers from all over the world
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| my work in the workshop with LKBing |
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| fled the heat |
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| near the Amstel |
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| two immovable heads, Mark Manders |
Jean-Pol Léonard
Jean-Pol attended two symposium days in Amsterdam city and spend another two days visiting - and sketching - some picturesque spots around Amsterdam.
Arnaud De Meyer
It was difficult to make a choice between the zillion masterful sketches of Arnaud...
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| Thorbeckeplein |
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| Groenburgwal |
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| Amrâth Hotel |
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| Port d'Amsterdam - Oosterdok |
Carlo Müller
"un grand merci aux ami(e)s-sketchers qui m'ont soutenu et aidé; malgré mon petit accident de vélo, cette semaine à Amsterdam restera, pour moi, un souvenir inoubliable; en tout cas, une vraie amitié existe entre les urban sketchers et à chaque fois, j'ai hâte, de vous retrouver toutes et tous"
Leen Van Bogaert
"A particularly successful symposium in a city that, in spite of the tourist crowds, has fully retained its picturesque character.
I did three excellent workshops: Eduardo Bajzek showed us how to obtain painterly results with only pencil and eraser; Johanna Krimmel taught us to play with ink and water in a very delicate and sensitive way; and humorous Uma Kelkar took us by the hand for sketching with rythm and dance.
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| workshop eduardo bajzek |
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| workshop johanna krimmel |
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| workshop uma kelkar |
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| cigar box oil sketch at oudeschans near oosterdok |
It was my fourth symposium and I was very happy to find back some old friends and familiar faces - and, not to forget - to make some new friends.
I made ink and oil sketches - which you can find in this Flickr album"
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Do you want to have an idea of what the thousands of sketchers in Amsterdam have sketched?
Then you can click
here (Instagram) or
here (Facebook).
P.S. Next year the symposium will be held in April in
Hongkong
