I participated in a sketching portrait party this past week. I have tried these in-person a few times, they are super fun! One time we met in a large pizza place, everyone sat around at tables, and we just open our sketchbooks and sketch one another. They are sketches, not masterpieces, and often done quickly. You can get up and move around too, if you want to sketch certain people. Then afterwards, we lay out our sketches and everyone can see one another. It’s a great way to bring people together!
Fast-forward to pandemic times. A large group sitting in an enclosed space eating, talking, and laughing, is not recommended at this time. So a local sketch group did a virtual portrait party on Zoom. I had never tried this before, so set up my computer in my daughter’s bedroom and had a go of it. Nearly two hours later, I had some fun sketches, lots of stories, and many good laughs from the 16 people I was with. It’s a little weird sketching people on Zoom, but it was sure fun! I did a two page spread and also included close-ups below. People are still a fascinating subject, with hair, clothes, glasses, hats, and accessories. As an urban sketcher, it’s a great skill to hone now, as I wait to go outdoors more and more and sketch!
