Urban sketching is drawings or paintings created on-site, the act of placing oneself in a space, attempting to capture and interpret a particular moment in time. 

An urban sketcher whose work I really admire is Paul Wang. I found him through the urban sketchers website in 2018, and he immediately came to mind when I read our new brief on urban sketching an location drawing. Paul Wang does his location drawing mostly in Hong Kong and Singapore, capturing the busy nature of their streetscapes. According to the artist, "The sights, sounds and smells we encounter on location all provide important sensory inputs for the story we want to tell. This invisible sensory information can add another dimension to our expressive lines, colours and textures in our sketches". 

Paul Wang uses expressive watercolour techniques such as splashing, blotting and scrapping. His sketches have made him more aware of how he sees the world and tell the story of his surroundings, the places where he lives and travels. The artist fills the page with busy sketches and paintings, using layered colours and shapes. His sketches are mostly about his environment and the architecture he encounters. Paul Wang enjoys using ink and watercolour as they have taught him to take delight in the mistakes he makes.

​While I am unable to find any information on this artist (not even their name), I have followed them on Instagram for a long time and am a big fan of the way that they work. The artist uses their sketchbooks to record a mix of still life, portraits and location drawing. They seem to primarily use fine liners to draw, sometimes using brush pens to add colour. Looking through their Instagram feed, you get a sense that this artist draws as much as possible, wherever they go, recording everything they see. What inspires me is their ability to turn what they see into a drawing, how skilled they are at using line and texture to depict what they are looking at. Even on their coffee shop trips they will sit and draw the scene of the coffee shop on their coffee cup or a spare napkin. They are an artist who is constantly, looking, observing and recording.