We need a Travelsketchers Manifesto. I am an Urban Sketcher who wholeheartedly supports and embraces the Urban Sketchers Manifesto, only tagging posts with #usk if they conform. But I am also a travelsketcher, as are the majority of the Urban Sketchers out there, I have travelled with sketchbook in hand for 25+ years. So why a Travelsketchers Manifesto?

First a bit of history. In 2007 Urban Sketching (USK) began in Seattle, WA, the area where I lived for the last 35 years before moving to France. Gabe Campanario began posting sketches on Flikr, the idea spread as other artists posted – Gabe started an Urban Sketchers Blog, and started the first USK group. In 2009 Urban Sketchers was established as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit group. Since then the movement has grown to chapters in 60 countries and 336 cities. There are over 120,000 official members and thousands of unofficial members such as myself that practice and embrace the USK Manifesto. Gabe deserves so much credit for stimulating sketchers around the world to connect and share what they do, thank you Gabe.

So why a Travelsketchers Manifesto? Let’s begin with a quick look at the USK Motto and Manifesto.

Urban Sketching, “Seeing the world one sketch at a time.” The USK website declares their manifesto and values:

1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.

2. Our drawings tell the story of our surrounding, the places we live, and where we travel.

3. Our drawings are a record of time and place.

4. We are truthful to the scenes we witness.

5. We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.

6. We support each other and draw together.

7. We share our drawings online.

8. We show the world, one drawing at a time.

Here is an USK I did on a trip to Rome a couple of months ago – done on location one cold early morning from a cafe across from our hotel. It fits all of the criteria for an urban sketch.

Here is a sketch I did yesterday from a visit to Jorge Castle in Lisbon. We had a wonderful time, climbed way too many stairs, and enjoyed amazing views of the city. However when I posted this sketch on Instagram I did not tag it #usk for one reason, it was not done on location, it was done in the hotel room from a photo I took earlier in the day.

My mantra, that followers of this blog hear frequently, is that we sketch to capture the moment. Ideally that aligns completely with the first item of the USK Manifesto, and it is by far my preferred situation. Sitting down to do a sketch, rather than the take-a-selfie-and-run style of travel, lets you experience the time and place in a way like no other. In these situation USK and TSK are the same.

Often, in the realities of travel, the luxury of always having an hour or so at a place is not realistic. If you are with a group, on a tour, or have a tight schedule you still want to sketch, but may need to make some adjustments – even if your travel partner is as supportive of me taking all the time I need, as Tricia is.

One adjustment is to learn to do really quick sketches, five minutes or less. Here is one I did in Sintra, Portugal this morning, and it does in fact align with the USK guidelines – but it is pretty loose to say the least, pretty much just the skyline outline of the Moorish Castle. It took no more than one minute, it would have been nice to do something more complete, and I may do that yet.

So if I was to write a new Travelsketchers Manifesto it would include all of the USK Manifesto, with a couple of tweaks.

The Travelsketchers motto would be: “Capture the moment, share a place, then relive a memory.” The day before we left France to come to Lisbon I flipped through the pages of a sketchbook from earlier in the year, many of those sketches brought back memories and even the emotions of a time and a place in the past, this is one reason I sketch.

The major tweak I would make would be to allow sketching from photos you took while traveling. When Tricia and I travel we usually spend our evenings in the hotel room, she sorts her photos that she will use in her blog, while I sketch from a photo I took during the day’s wandering. These evenings are one of the favorite parts of our journeys.

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear them.

Whatever you do, keep on traveling, capturing the moments as you go, sharing the sketches for us to enjoy. Here are few more recent sketches some Urban, some Travelsketches, some both.