Argentina - episode 1

The Urban Sketchers Symposium in Buenos Aires enabled me to visit South America for the first time in October 2024

Plaza de Mayo - BA

After a week in Buenos Aires where I had not much time to visit and sketch, I spent three weeks visiting the rest of Argentina

La Bombonera - BA

In such a big country, I had not enough of three weeks and must make some tough choices

Fletes - BA

The Buenos Aires metropolis is home to a third of the national population and the other cities are quite remote

La Boca - BA

As a mountain lover, most of the destinations I had selected were natural sites located in mountainous areas from the Capricorn tropic to Tierra de Fuego

Long bus ride

I boarded a coach to take me directly to the northern province of Salta, on a direct but very long 22-hour daytime journey

Salta's Cabildo

In Salta I realize I'm in South America: Spanish colonial architecture, Andean folk street music, tropical heat, vegetation and exotic birdsong

Tilcara's bus terminal

Tilcara in Jujuy province is a 3.5-hour bus ride away, a small town of adobe houses in the altiplano

Hostel Tierra Andina

This first day of visiting and sketching this charming place ends with this vintage Chevrolet pickup in front of my hostel

Uquia

 

I spend the day after in Uquia, a village reknown for la quebrada de las señoritas, an incredibly colourful rocky gorge shaped by the winds

El Hornocal - Humahuaca

 

The next day, I head for Humahuaca and la Sierra del Hornocal, known as the mountain of 14 colors. This sketch is the highest I've ever done, at 4300 m above sea level. I'm running out of oxygen to gallop up the slope as usual.

To be continued…

Urban Sketchers Symposium Buenos Aires

The Urban Sketchers 2024 symposium took place in Buenos Aires from October 9 to 12. This was my twelfth international meeting, and for me, my sixth participation. 

Sketching on the sidewalk of El Caminito in the La Boca neighborhood

Le symposium Urban Sketchers 2024 s'est tenu à Buenos-Aires du 9 au 12 octobre. Il s'agissait de la douzième rencontre internationale et pour moi, de ma sixième participation.

Having breakfast and sketching with friends met by chance

After Barcelona in 2013, Manchester in 2016, Chicago in 2017, Porto in 2018 and Amsterdam in 2019, I had the honor of being an instructor in the Argentine capital.

     

Après Barcelone en 2013, Manchester en 2016, Chicago en 2017, Porto en 2018 et Amsterdam en 2019, j'avais l'honneur d'être instructeur dans la capitale argentine.

The second workshop on Plaza de Mayo

The symposium is always a great party where participants, volunteers and instructors meet altogether and share in the greatest conviviality. What a pleasure to discover new talents and establish new relationships with sketchers from distant countries on other continents.

Third workshop

Le symposium est toujours une grande fête où participants, bénévoles et instructeurs se côtoient et se mêlent dans la plus grande convivialité. Quel plaisir de découvrir de nouveaux talents et de tisser de nouvelles relations avec des sketchers venus d'autres continents.

Demo making on the banks of Puerto Madero

I'd like to extend my warmest thanks to everyone who took part in my workshops and demos for their enthusiasm and curiosity.

Half of the French speakers at the BA symposium

Je remercie chaleureusement les personnes qui ont participé à mes ateliers et démos pour leur enthousiasme et leur curiosité.

 

The official group photo

USk Basel 2022

photo finale

Symposium Urban Sketchers Switzerland dans la magnifique ville de Bâle.

Mittlere Rheinbrücke

Baustelle

Münster und Basler Fähri

Barfüsserplatz

 

Porträtaustausch mit Inma Serrano

USk Swiss symposium 2019 in Zuoz

The Swiss Urban Sketchers chapter organised its first symposium in the mountains of the Canton of Graubünden on September 21/22 2019. Thanks to the huge work of few organizers (Mario, André and Heidi) we were host in a magical location: the Lyceum Alpinum of Zuoz. I had the honor of being one of the faculty teachers.

I led two workshops about "mountain sketching" with enthusiasm, in a gorgeous valley under a bright sun. The symposium gathered around fifty people and was a great success. We all hope to meet again next year for such a friendly time.

Les Urban Sketchers de Suisse (principalement Suisse-Allemands) ont organisé leur premier symposium dans les montagnes du canton des Grisons les 21 et 22 septembre 2019. Grâce au travail colossal d'une poignée d'organisateurs (Mario, André et Heidi), nous avons été accueillis dans un lieu magique : le Lyceum Alpinum de Zuoz. J'ai eu l'honneur de faire partie du groupe d'enseignants.

J'ai animé avec enthousiasme deux ateliers de "croquis de montagnes", dans une magnifique vallée sous un soleil radieux. Le symposium, qui a réuni une cinquantaine de personnes, a été une grande réussite. Nous espérons tous nous revoir l'année prochaine pour un moment aussi convivial.

USk Amsterdam 2019

 The annual world meeting of sketchers is getting bigger and bigger every year. This 10th symposium 2019 took place in Amsterdam. It was my first time in this famous city and I must admit that I was a little disapointed by the city centre, the red light streets and coffee shops, the crowd and the poor quality of the food. But when We got a little familiar with the place my opinion changed significantly

Obiously, this year's symposium was the "no time" symposium.
No time to bump into all the sketchers I know. And almost no way to have the opportunity to sketch with them. Anyway I had the chance to see many.
No time to make many sketches. I was travelling with my two kids who have not the same need to engrave their visual impressions on paper.

No time to visit many quarters of this amazing city. It was my first time there and the extreme heat of the first two days hit me hard on the head. I then had a migraine for 2 days and no energy to move too much.

Not enough time at all but still enough to have great moments, to chat, to sketch, to make new friends, to roam around and visit, to discover and enjoy Amsterdam.
Next symposium 2020 will be in Hong Kong, will I go ?
I'd love though.

Symposium USk PORTO 2018

Les rendez-vous d'Urban Sketchers se suivent mais ne se ressemblent pas. Ils sont de plus en plus intenses. Le symposium 2018 se tenait à Porto entre le 18 et le 23 juillet, et pour ma quatrième participation, j'avais pris un Sketch Pass qui m'a permis de dessiner davantage et d'avoir aussi plus de temps pour croiser des sketchers du monde entier. Quel plaisir de mettre un visage sur un nom, de tisser un plus les liens déjà noués et de rencontrer de nouvelles personnes. C'est surtout une réelle source d'inspiration pour tout sketcher, débutant ou confirmé, que de feuilleter les carnets des autres et de les voir dessiner.

Et pour ne rien gâcher, Porto est une ville magnifique enchâssée sur les collines dominant le Dourô que l'on peut l'admirer depuis nombre de points de vue. Cette semaine entière passée sur place, hors du temps, en compagnie d'innombrables camarades dessinateurs du monde entier donne l'irrésistible envie de participer au prochain symposium à… Amsterdam !

 

For my fourth participation to a symposium, I had a sketch pass that allowed me to do some more sketches and see many people of my acquaintance. That's so nice to put a face on a name, to catch up with friends and to meet new sketchers. And fortunately, Porto is a jewel that is reflected in the waters of the Douro. The different hills offer many points of view on the baroque churches, on the river and the bridges. Thank you to the symposium team and all the volunteers for making us discover their city and their country. 

The symposium 2018 gathered more than eight hundred artists, who had the opportunity to sketch every day with new mates. This moment is so intense that, at the end, you have only one obsession : attend to the next symposium that will take place in… Amsterdam !

All my sketches of Porto are in my Flick Set
La suite des croquis est à découvrir dans mon album Flickr

Chicago USk Symposium 2017

Skyline on Michigan Lake

Cet été, Chicago accueillait le 8ème symposium d'Urban Sketchers.
This summer, Chicago was hosting the 8th symposium of Urban Sketchers.

The sketchcrawl of the first day

J'avais le grand honneur d'être un des 3 reporters officiels (avec Beliza Mendes du Luxembourg et Wes Douglas de Chicago) qui devaient couvrir les ateliers, démos et conférences de l'évènement.
I had the big honnor to be one of the 3 correspondents (with Beliza Mendes from Luxemburg and Wes Douglas from Chicago) that must document the workshops, demos and lectures during the event.

Documenting workshops (Suhita Shirodkar's)

Ce voyage était mon tout premier séjour aux États-Unis et Chicago est peut-être la meilleure porte d'entrée dans ce pays.
This travel was my very first time in the US and the Windy City was perhaps one of the best destination to discover the country.

First day, sketching verticality

Je m'étais préparé à la verticalité des gratte-ciels dans cette ville qui les a vu naître.
I was prepared to the verticality in the hometown of the skyscrapers.

Chicago River

 La première semaine est bien remplie par mon activité sur le symposium et je n'ai pas vraiment trouvé le temps de faire des visites. Heureusement, je vais rester deux semaines supplémentaires pour découvrir la ville.
The first week I am so busy with my task at the symposium that I had don't have time to visit. Fortunately, I will stay two more weeks to discover the city.

 La seconde semaine, j'ai trouvé un logement dans le quartier mexicain de Pilsen
The second week, I found an accommodation in the mexican neighborhood of Pilsen

Chicago Board of Trade

 Le centre ville regorge de splendides exemples du style Arts Déco.
Downtown is full of wonderful Arts Deco style buildings.

Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate aka the Bean

Ces dernières années d'étonnantes œuvres d'art contemporain, fort appréciées des touristes, ont fleuri dans les parcs.
In recent years, amazing art objets, highly appreciated by tourists, have flourished in the parks.  

Riverwalk

Le quais de la rivière sont particulièrement bondés à la sortie des bureaux et pendant le week-end.
The banks of the river are particularly crowded after work and during the weekend.

Northwest Building at the end of Milwaukee st

Pour ma troisième et dernière semaine, je m'installe à Wicker Park, un quartier vivant aimé des jeunes et des artistes pour ses petites boutiques et sa vie nocturne.
For my third and last week, I go to wicker Park, a neighborhood known for its local hipster culture, art community, nightlife, and food scene.

Irish live music

Grâce à mes connaissances locales je peux visiter la banlieue et assister à des concerts

Thanks to my local new friends, I can visit the suburb and assist to irish music sessions

Frank Lloyd Wright's House in Oak Park

Ces trois semaines pour faire la connaissance d'une ville si riche et d'une population si accueillante sont bien trop courtes. Il me faudra revenir.
Three weeks to get acquainted with such a rich city and such warm welcoming people are much too short. I have to come back.

Warm-up for Chicago

Petit échauffement pour Chicago, je fais des croquis verticaux en prenant les plus hautes constructions du coin !

Urban Sketchers Blog

Really really proud to see a post of mine on the USk blog. Thanks to Murray Dewhurst from New Zealand who particularly appreciates the work I produced in Manchester and promoted it. Many thanks to him.

http://www.urbansketchers.org/2016/10/manchester-one-week-is-not-enough.html