Toronto Urban Sketchers Exhibiting in the Subway

A couple months ago, I posted about the Sketching the line contest organized by PATTISON Onestop, encouraging sketchers to apply. The purpose of this project is to feature the works of established and emerging artists, as well as those who enjoy drawing as a hobby, on digital screens of Toronto’s TTC subway stations and Edmonton’s LRT stations. Sharon Switzer, National Arts Programmer and Curator for PATTISON Onestop, states that “This exhibition explores the medium of drawing as well as the social context that the artists worked in, and the influences that affect their practice. Sketching in public is not only a useful tool for observation, it is a raw and immediate expression of the artists’ unique vision."

I am please to announce that  3 of the selected 10 sketchers this year are from Toronto! So if you find yourself using the subways in Toronto or the LRT in Edmonton, be sure to check the digital screen to see sketches of the commuters by Marek, Wil and myself, as well as sketchers from Richmond (BC), Newton (MA, USA), Berlin (Germany), Edmonton (AB), London (UK) and Brooklyn (NY, USA). 

For more details on the selected sketcher, be sure to check out the Sketching the Line web page. Also, feel free to tweet @arttransit using the hashtag #sketchingtheline if you snap a shot of the screen too. It's a great way to promote and encourage more artistic projects like these.

Immersed in Their Own World Riding the Subway

These are the latest people I sketched in the subway. A lot of people spend their time reading on their electronic devices and it's interesting to see the various postures they have while they are immersed in their own little world. The dude in the middle blocked my view for a little while. His coat had interesting details so I decided to sketch him as well. I can't help but think that he would fit in a manga series featuring a mysterious character, perhaps a secret agent or detective. He had big shades on too. 

Keeping Warm in the Subway

I really like sketching people in public transportation. There's a lot of diversity in subject matters and the unknown limited time limit makes for a nice challenge. These are the sketches I did over the last couple weeks. It's been rather cold in Toronto. I'm told, colder than usual, so people are very bundled up and keeping warm the best they can, while adding a little style here and there. The more I draw these people, the more I'm finding myself wondering about them when I look back at the sketches. Some look tired, some look sad, some look fully immersed into what they are reading or listening too or thinking about. As I get better at this, I find myself paying more attention to the emotion that emits from not only what they are wearing, but their posture, their facial expression, their choice of clothes, etc. 

Tomorrow a group of us will join the Toronto Subway Sketchers. I'm looking forward to it. It should be fun.

Toronto Subway Musicians Project

I was contemplating new themes for a urban sketchbook and came up with "Toronto Subway Musicians". I've seen and heard a couple of them and find they are such a great asset to the city and to people's daily commute. My goal is to draw all of them this year while they are performing in the subway. This should be fun.  

I did a little bit of research and found out that the musicians are professionals, selected every three year by TTC to perform in various subway stations. I'm currently looking for the list of selected musicians and their location so that I can sketch them all. Unfortunately, I could not find that information on the TTC website. It's too bad because I imagine this would also be beneficial to the musicians. Something like the Music Under New York (MUNY) website would be nice. Anyway, I sent out in a request and I hope to hear from them soon. 

In the mean time, I started with these two guys at Eglinton Station, one was playing the electric guitar and the other one was playing the cello. They were really good and created a really nice atmosphere. 

TOUSK Meetup #5 : Union Station and Subway

On our 5th meetup, we first went to the Union train station. It's a beautiful space with lots of great architectural details. I could spend hours sketching in this space. We had planned to go to the Skywalk as well but it didn't work out that day. There was way too many people for our group to comfortably find a spot to sketch, so we went back to the union station for a little more sketching before heading towards the subway station to meet the Toronto Subway Sketch Group. It was really fun and we had a great turnout. It was funny to see the reaction of some people entering our cabin and seeing a couple of us with our sketchbooks sketching people.  I managed to do a couple sketches, but I always wish I had done more :) 

We're lucky to have Mei, who's also a photographer, in our group. She took quite a few awesome photos  of us during the event. Check out her facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/meicphotoart) to see more from our latest meetup as well as several other sketching events and her own sketches. 

Our next meetup will take place at the Toronto Christmas Market on December 7. Then, the next day we'll join Sketching Around the City to sketch at the University of Toronto Campus downtown.

Bits and Pieces from the Toronto Subway

I often don't have time to sketch people while in the subway as they move around and don't necessarily stay put or stay visible long enough to do a proper sketch. It was a little frustrating at first, then I started to do little vignettes of details, not really worrying about being able to draw everything. As long as I get to draw a piece of something : a shoe, a hat, a pair of glasses, a cup of coffee, etc. Put together, they strangely tell a story about the people who regularly take the subway and perhaps their fashion sense.

It's interesting how some sketches still tell a story, or at least a hint of a story, like the guy on the top left who was reading with his sunglasses on. Was he really reading? Could he really see the words on the page or was he just faking it?

Sunday night ride

On my short ride back from a life drawing session sunday night, I drew some of the people in the subway. Most look really tired. It's interesting how drawing people in the subway teachers you to draw faster. The colours were added as soon as I got back home.

Subway Sketching

Long before I even knew about urban sketching, while I was still in Ottawa, I found out about the Toronto Subway Sketchgroup. It's a group of artists who meet every Sunday in the subway to sketch people. I thought it was an awesome idea and kept it in mind in case I would get a chance to go. Now that I'm in Toronto, I'm looking forward to get some time to meet up, but in the mean time I practice whenever I get a chance. On my way back from Caribana I took the time to do a couple sketches of people in the subway. I always try to draw people who look like they will be still long enough for me to draw them. It's an interesting guessing game as well as a study into human behaviour. The man sitting on the left was reading while eating an apple. I thought it was cool that he had a purple tie to add some colour to his black ensemble. On the lower right there was a couple sitting and paying attention to their baby.