Ch'ng Kiah Kiean

The Art of Urban Sketching is both a comprehensive guide and a showcase of location drawings by artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel. This beautiful, 320-page volume explains urban sketching within the context of a long historical tradition and how it is being practiced today. It includes profiles of leading practitioners, a discussion of the benefits of working in this art form, and shows how one can participate and experience it through modern-day social networks and online activity.

The book is illustrated with over 600 beautiful, contemporary illustrations, and includes artists’ profiles and extended captions where these urban sketchers share their stories, how they work, sketching tips, and the tools behind each drawing. With sketches and observations from more than 50 cities in more than 30 countries, the book offers a visually arresting, storytelling take on urban life from different cultures and artistic styles, as well as insight into various drawing techniques and mediums.

About the author

Gabriel Campanario is a staff artist at The Seattle Times and the founder of Urban Sketchers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the art of on-location drawing. Campanario’s newspaper column, Seattle Sketcher, was recently awarded first place for blog writing in “The Best of the West” journalism contest. The blog and weekly print column, which combine location sketches and written stories, have quickly become popular in the Seattle area, where Campanario has been featured in TV and radio appearances.

A native Spaniard, Campanario moved to the U.S. in 1998 and has lived near Seattle with his wife and two children since 2006. His journalism career spans two decades, working for newspapers in Barcelona, Lisbon, California, and Virginia. Campanario has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain.

Publisher: Quarry Books, an imprint of Rockport Publishers