On Sunday I fly to Auckland New Zealand for ten days. From 19-22 April 2023 I am attending the 11th International Urban Sketching Symposium. What is it?

Hundreds of sketchers from around the world gather together to attend workshops and demos and lectures. We connect with sketchers from around the world and meet old friends and make new ones. Read more about it here.

I have registered to attend the following. Each Workshop is 3 hours and will be a steep learning curve.

1. Stephanie Bower – Soaring spaces: about sketching what you see when you look UP
2. Marina Grechanik – People in motion -marathon for a fearless sketcher
3. Joaquin Dorao – Sketch is just the beginning: design your own sketchbook spread using different elements

I have been to two previous Urban Sketching Symposiums – in Barcelona and Manchester. Both were amazing experiences. I am so excited about attending Auckland. It is also exciting to travel internationally again.

I have started my travel journal already. I am taking my usual sketchkit as well as the special supplies I need for the workshops I am attending. I usually sketch the following It helps me prepare.

a map

my sketchkit. I always list my pencil colours. They generally stay the same from year to year, with a few changes.

My clothes.

My packed bags.Sketched the night before ie now

The second part of Auckland holiday is a bit of family nostalgia. My parents lived in Auckland in the late 1960’s and I was born there. I am revisiting places they lived and visited. I have old slides, postcards, reel-to-reel audio tapes (sent home to family) and Super 8 film.

This is old souvenir kiwi they bought home. I want to see a real kiwi when I am there!

Below are two other sketches of old New Zealand souvenirs I did a while ago.

I will be sketching everyday for 10 days, outside of the workshops. There will be sketchers everywhere! I will post to instagram daily at alissaduke1 and you can follow me there.