richard merz

Sketcher Fest was this past weekend in Edmonds, WA. It marked the second year I have participated as a volunteer and Artist’s Liasson. Last year, I assisted San Francisco illustrator, Bill Russell @billrusselldraws, and this year I worked with Alex Hollmann @hollmagraphos, a UW professor and expressive watercolor painter here in Seattle. 

Alex Hollmann teaches a workshop on painting loose and bold watercolors.

The 2-day event is the brainchild of Gabi Campanario, @gabicampanario, the sketching journalist from the Seattle Times, known as a founder of Urban Sketching. He created the event to highlight travel sketching and offer workshops, artist talks, sketch walks, and a sketchbook fair to those interested in sketching on location. Some of the featured artists were as local as Everett and Shoreline, others came from across the US, and many arrived from international locations such as Spain, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and the UK. There was an underlying theme of purpose and intent this year, displayed in the work and featured in the artist talks which captured how sketching in public spaces can positively impact people and communities. It was inspiring. 

At an artist talk, Gabi Campanario introduces Santi Salles, an illustrator from Barcelona.

When you read the line up, you want to go to every workshop and artist talk. Since I was volunteering, I was only able to see a select few, but each one was great. I also made the effort to join one of the sketch walks organized by @uskseattle where I met sketchers from all over, but a large group from Portland @pdxusk. Below are a few sketches I did over the weekend.

Before the event began the guest artists and event team did a boat tour in Seattle. This sketch is from the Ballard locks.

The sketch walk around Edmonds vibrant farmers’ market was a good opportunity to capture people and produce.

While I helped at the Sketchbook Fair, I had a good view of a booth featuring Mary Beth and Elizabeth Person.

My top takeaways from Sketcher Fest:

The people are amazing!
The featured artists, community members, and fellow participants are friendly and encouraging­—even if you are a total newbie. Plan to make some new friends.

So many options.
There are lots of different events and ways to participate: artist talks, workshops, sketch walks, the sketchbook fair, as well as plenty of informal sketching and socializing.

Say yes to meeting your heroes.
They say, “Don’t meet your heroes.” These artists are the opposite. Every artist I saw was so accessible, easy-going, and nice to meet.

See the sketchbooks IRL.
Where else can you thumb through the actual sketchbooks of your artist heroes and then ask them questions about their work?

The setting.
Edmonds in July is a seaside hamlet with artsy vibes. It has a vibrant character that is just beautiful to take in (and sketch). Then there are the sunsets!

Travel sketcher, Jim Richards at the Sketchbook Fair.

If you are interested in urban or travel sketching, put this one on your calendar for next July and follow @sketcherfest for updates. We are fortunate to have such an amazing event right here in our backyard.