Join us for an Urban Sketch Crawl! You're probably asking "What is an Urban Sketch Crawl?" Fair question. Urban simply means an event in an urban setting with buildings, cars, people in a street setting like a city (or even a small town). A Sketch Crawl is much what it sounds like except you don't have to crawl on your hands and knees. We will sketch at one location with the opportunity to capture views of various sights within that location. While some folks may be nervous about sketching by stating "I can't draw a stick figure," getting started is pretty easy and we like stick figures if that makes it less ominous. There are no rules for being an urban sketcher. In fact you don't have to draw the whole scene in front of you. You might like to start small with a flower pot or just the door of a building.
We will start with a few minutes introduction to what such an event is and within about 15 minutes we'll all be filling an empty page with something you have seen and experienced first hand. You will need to bring your own supplies as none are provided at the event. Just bring a sketchbook or even sheets of paper. You'll need at least your favorite pencil and eraser, or a pen, or even a small watercolor set with brushes. I carry watercolors, don't forget the water! We will sketch one scene or several depending on your choice. It should take about an hour and a half. After that we will have a "throw down" where everyone's sketches will be shared with the group. No speeches or story telling is required just lay down your sketches and let us all look at them. At least half of the benefit of this activity is enjoying being together as fellow sketchers making new friends and creating images of our town. Join us for an outing to explore and capture Columbia’s built environment—discovering beauty, fostering appreciation, and shining a light on our historic architecture. Consider entering your work into our annual ART-chitecture Contest!
Our facilitator will be Dan Killebrew, AIA Emeritus. Dan retired in December 2020 after 42 years of practice as a licensed architect. While always enjoying drawing and painting he has focused his years since as an urban sketcher, watercolorist, and travel artist. Dan has created travel sketch journals of his journeys on all of his trips going back to 2014. He has had a show of 40 of his works in exhibition summer 2026 in Dallas, Texas from where he moved to Columbia in 2024. In the last 10 years he has been involved in an Urban Sketchers chapter in Dallas Fort Worth as well as being a member of Southwest Watercolor Society in Dallas.
Tickets are $10 per person.
Pencil Drawing by Dan Killebrew
Watercolor by Dan Killebrew