Howdy Sketchers,

Well the time has finally come! We will be going live and in person on May 1, 2021. We are still Zooming for the time being. The next Zoom will be April 17th and there will be no May 1st Zoom. The Zooms start at 10:am and in the future Zooms will only be held on the third Saturday of the month. If you would like to join the Zooms or need more information about joining this Urban Sketchers group please email Spader @ spaderart@gmail.com.

On Saturday May first of 2021 at 10 am we will meet in person once again. It is important that we still wear masks and maintain social distancing also please do not gather in groups and certainly not in groups of ten or more. We will not be going to lunch as a group and instead of grouping up at the end we will come around and photograph your work, where you are, for the next post. Remember some folks may not have been vaccinated yet and some folks are still uneasy about being too close to others so please respect each others right to clean air.

The May 1st “live” meeting will be on the UNM campus at the “Alumni Memorial Chapel”. There should be plenty of parking around and other buildings to sketch. The location can easily be found by typing “UNM Alumni Memorial Chapel” into Google maps. We meet at the usual 10 am and end at 12:01pm. Here are a few photos from our most recent Zoom.

Hope to see you all at one or both events.

Stay safe, stay happy and keep sketching.

Spader

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Sketching along

Howdy Sketchers,

Happily Zooming along and hopping to get out soon. For many of us Zoom has provided a happy alternative to on location sketching. The Zoomer’s have been sketching lately from photographs of specific locations. There are photos of some of our sketches below. This Saturday’s Zoom, “February 6th at 10:am” will be from photos of Madrid, N.M. You are welcome to visit Madrid or if you prefer work from photos and send your sketches to spaderart@gmail.com. We will post them in the next post. Also, if you would like to be included in Saturday’s Zoom send a request to spaderart@gmail.com.

Hope you are all still sketching whatever you can find from your living room, from your car, or on location with safe distancing in place. We are all looking forward to the restrictions and the threat being reduced so we can all meat in person once again.

Enjoy the photos:

Stay safe, stay happy and keep sketching.

Spader

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Years End Sketchers,

This is a time to be grateful for friends, family and of course for the many gifts we have. Without question, this has been a strange and trying year. Still we have a great many things to be grateful for and better times are coming. Like a tiny breeze that stirs the leaves, we can just feel a hint of freedom and the sent of fresh air coming our way once again. With it the joys of in person meetings and on location sketching grow closer and closer.

Zooms are still on the first and third Saturday of the month. Our next Zoom meet-up will be Saturday the second of January at 10:00 am. Currently we are sketching a different location every Zoom, using photos or for those who choose to working on location. If you would like to receive the photos for our next location please send a request to spaderart@gmail.com. Also if you are not already on the list and would like to participate in the next Zoom you can send a request to the same email and we will be glad to include you.

A special thanks to all the Zoom participants who by there involvement help keep the dream alive. We look forward to an exciting new year of sketching and friends. Please enjoy a few photos from the recent Zoom.

Stay healthy, stay happy, keep sketching and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and yours.

Spader

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Holiday Sketching

Happy Thanksgiving Sketchers,

This week we had a fun Zoom. We sketched similar things from photos taken around the Albuquerque Museum area. That worked pretty well and we had a lot of fun, so much so we passed our normal two hour mark.

Zooms are held the first and third Saturday of each month. Our next one will be held at 10:am Saturday the 5th of December. We will be working from photos once again or folks can drive by and sketch on location at their leisure. We will not be meeting on location but, if you would like to participate the December 5th location is the corner of Hwy. 314 and Main Street in Los Lunas. There are some historic buildings near there like the Luna Mansion and Tiofilos Restaurante. You can drive there on your own, or if you like we will send some photos of the location to work from. For those who prefer to work from home, Zoom or not, Thanksgiving sketches could be fun or things around your home are still an option. You can email spaderart@gmail.com to receive the photos.

Thanks to those who participated and shared the photos below. As always if you would like to be included in the next Zoom, please send a request to spaderart@gmail.com. We will send an invitation to the Zoom and some photos of the location. Use the same email to receive just the photos or to submit a photo of your work for the next post.

We truly hope you are staying safe, staying happy and still sketching. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Spader

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Howdy Sketchers,

Though we are not going out these days many of us are having fun Zooming. We have been Zooming for several months now and getting a little board sketching our kitchens. For inspiration a few of us have started participating in Inktober. For those who are not familiar with Jake Parker’s challenge briefly; there is a different prompt for every day of the month of October for you to sketch in ink.

We are still not sketching on location as the Governor has asked us to stay home whenever possible. We would appreciate any and all comments on this subject, you can send your thoughts to spaderart@gmail.com.

Our next Zoom will be Saturday October 17th at 10:am. If you would like to join our Zooms please request an invite by emailing spaderart@gmail.com

We truly hope you are all well and still sketching. Here are a few photos from our last Zoom. If you are sketching and would like to have a sketch posted, snap a photo and send it to the same email.

Spader

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Still Zooming

Howdy sketchers,

Several things to cover today. First we have been Zooming and there will be photos as usual at the end of this post. The Zooms are changing from every weekend to twice a month, the first and second Saturday of the month. The meeting times are still the same 10:am till noon. We are taking a break and we will not be Zooming on holidays so our next Zoom will not be until the 19th of September. As always if you would like to be included in our Zoom meetings please send an email request to spaderart@gmail.com.

Nextly we are all getting a little tired of being inside. I know for myself I am beginning to feel a list to the port side starting to develop. With that a couple of our members have expressed a desire to start meeting on location again. We are for the most part adults and have every ability to social distance and wear face masks and act responsibly but there is a problem. The governor is still requesting that we not meet in groups larger than five. My wife is a teacher and they are teaching, at least thru the month of September and part of October, on the internet. Without going into too much detail here as an administrator I feel we should strive to be part of the answer and not part of the problem. If we are to error it is imperative in this instance that we do so on the side of caution. So for now we are still not going to be meeting as an official USK group.

For those of you who would like to meet in groups a little smaller than our usual 20 we have an alternative. If you would like to meet-up with other USK members you can send an email to spaderart@gmail.com giving us permission to pass your contact information to other members who are looking for someone to sketch with. Be sure to include your contact info and method of contact you prefer eg. text, call, email. We know that some of the members have been meeting this way and having a good time with it.

Your input on this subject is welcome at spaderart@gmail.com or you can comment on the website.

These photos are from Zooms the past couple of weeks. The screen shot, with thanks to Malinda, was taken two Zooms ago. If you would like to share a recent sketch of yours please send it as an attachment to spaderart@gmail.com and we will include it in the next post.

Thanks so much for your patience during this trying time.

Spader

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Lets Sketch

Howdy Sketchers,

Hope all is well where you are and that you are finding a way to keep sketching during this in home opportunity.

As our time with C-19 rolls on I will be slowing down to one post every other week. The Zooms are still happening every week, except Saturday the 1st of August as I will be unavailable on that date. Last week’s Zoom was a lot of fun, we even had a visitor from out of state. There are a few photos following the post. For those of you who have not yet tried a Zoom with us we would love to see you there for the next one. It will be Saturday August 8th at 10:am and run until noon. As always if you would like in on a Zoom please send your request to get on the list to spaderart@gmail.com. You will receive a notification for every Zoom we have from then on.

We have had a few problems with photos sent in from Google Photos, they are a link to a file not an attached Jpeg file. If you would like your sketch to be in the next post please send it as an attachment in your email. The easiest way I have found is to snap a photo with your phone and send that to spaderart@gmail.com.

For those of you who are running low on ideas to sketch here are a few from several sources. Try sketching and painting with only a primary set of colors. To avoid groups maybe try sketching something you like while sitting in your car. Sketch with your other hand, it makes for a looser sketch. Sketch someone you know or something you both know then have them hold up your sketch, take a photo and send it to someone else. Do a sketch with pen or pencil then put color only in your center of interest.

Stay safe and keep Sketching.

Spader

Here are a few photos.

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Lets Zoom!

Howdy Sketchers,

This weeks Zoom was a lot of fun. There were only a few of us but we had a great time. Next week’s Zoom will be at our normal time, 10:am Saturday morning. If you would like in please email spaderart@gmail.com and let us know. Also, don’t hesitate to send photos to the same email of current sketches you have done so we can post them.

This coming week we will Zoom sketching from our photographs and or things around the house. Hope you can make it.

There is an art show July 11th thru September 27th at the Open Space Center, 6500 Coors N.W. One of our own, Margy O’Brien, is a participant in the show. Please check out Open Space Visitor Center on line to make sure they are open before you go.

Keep safe, keep your spirits up and keep sketching.

Spader

Here are a few photos and one from the last outing that didn’t make it in last time.

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Bike in Coffee / Zoom

Howdy Sketchers,

Bike in Coffee was a lot of fun. There were barns and bicycles. There were trees, shade, old trucks, lots of people and lots of bicycles. Everyone had a great time and it was so good catching up with folks. People were social distancing and wearing masks.

As I say there were lots of people at the Bike in Coffee, though we were able to social distance several of us chose to sketch behind a barn as it was easier to stay apart from one another. Bike in Coffee is a great location for sketching and lots more. That said we will not be announcing a new sketch out for the near future as the C-19 numbers are going up in both the country and the state. So once again we will be taking a wait and see approach and continuing to Zoom.

This Saturday we will not be Zooming as it is the Fourth of July. Our next Zoom will be from 10:am to Noon on Saturday, July 11. If you would like to join the zoom please send your, one time, request to spaderart@gmail.com and say “I want in” or something to that effect. We will put you on the email list to receive an invitation and password for the next Zoom.

Stay safe and I hope to see you Saturday the 11th for a fun Zoom.

Spader

P.S. Here are the photos from Bike in Coffee.

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We Are Out Again,

Howdy Sketchers

Just a little reminder. This Saturday, the 27th, 10:am to 12:pm, is our “Welcome Back Sketch Out”. The location is the Bike in Coffee, 949 Montoya St. NW in Albuquerque. Please send your R.S.V.P. to spaderart@gmail.com, be sure to bring a mask, and of course, practice social distancing.

This weeks Zoom was fun. Lots of good conversation and sketching. There will not be a Zoom this Saturday the 27th as we will be at the Bike in Coffee. If you would like to be in on the next Zoom and you are not already on the list please send an email to spaderart@gmail.com and we will sign you up. Although we had a handful of folks attend the Zoom we There are no photos this week.

Be Well, Be Safe.

Spader