Sketchcrawlin' in Amsterdam

Last Saturday was Worldwide Sketchcrawl day. We were lucky with the weather in Amsterdam. On Friday we had some snow but on Saturday the weather was pretty good, we even saw some sun!

Our group gathered on the top floor of the library near Central Station. That's where I drew the couple sitting at the table on the left page of my sketchbook. There was quite a nice turn-up, about 25 people all sketching and chatting together.

Waiting for everyone to arrive, I drew my dad and fellow sketcher in the fold of the spread, and then I really wanted to head outside and leave that badly lit, too warm library restaurant. A few Sketchbook Skool students joined me and wanted to do some urban sketching for their homework. So we found a spot at the waterside, and drew the view. There were two power shovels parked on muddy terrain, and half a broken down bridge. Those machines are interesting, and I also liked the muddy mess, so I drew it, with just a little line representing the buildings in the background.

 
The couragious few daring to sketch in the cold, with coffee and wine as a reward and to warm up afterwards:
 
A small group of us decided to go for dinner together. We sat down, ready to eat a good meal after a day of sketching, our sketchbooks in bags, but did you think we were done? No way, we couldn't resist those paper placemats on the table! Yeah, that's what happens when sketchers meet up.

So I drew everyone at the table:
You can see I got more confident halfway through the drawing; I started at the left. The portraits at the right half of the placemat are much stronger.
Then I did a placemat exchange with Perla (4th from the right above), who drew me on her placemat:
 
 

Sketchcrawls are so much fun! They're organized on many places in the world. So If you want to join one near you, have a look on the forum at www.sketchcrawl.com, or find a sketch group on www.meetup.com.

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