There was a big turnout today when the San Diego Urban Sketchers met in Escondido at Grape Park. There were many historic buildings from Escondido’s past to sketch, including the depot and train from the Santa Fe Rail line, which is the background for my sketch. It is a much longer and much more complex building but I altered it considerably, trying to fix mistakes as I sketched along in ink. I struggled differentiating the depot and grass because I tried to be accurate with the shades of green in the grass and building. Later at home I made the grass more yellow behind and in front of the row of sketchers but there is something odd about it still.

I enjoyed sketching my fellow Urban Sketchers and found it charming that most sketchers were sketching a building to the right but one is sketching a scene to the left. I emphasized the contrast by giving the left facing sketcher clothing with color, but it does not stand out enough for most people to notice. The body language of the group shows people working in a focused manner with eyes mostly on the sketch or the subject. This sketch does convey a story, which is one of my main goals. I wanted to again send a positive message about the value of like-minded people meeting to support each other in working on a common goal.

I drew with a black pen and then added watercolor.