Leslie Estevez
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About the ArtistHi everyone! My name is Leslie Estevez, and I am a sophomore student at Niagara University from Long
Island, New York. While although I love coloring books, I’ve never been a person that found major joy in art as I’m not the most skilled painter; this all changed after joining the urban sketching class I take at school. I like to add vivid colors and my own personality onto my sketches as I feel that it forms a furthered passion for art and allows me to want to better my capabilities with each piece. |
Reflections on Urban Sketching
Before joining this class, I had hardly known what the true meaning of sketching was let alone urban
sketching. So when I had first been recommended this class by my professor, I had assumed that we were
going to be drawing city skylines and skyscrapers; little did I know an urban sketch could go anywhere from
a shack in the middle of an empty prairie, to a crowded metropolis. After all the numerous exercises, weekly
sketches, and resource analysis’ we were able to do in class, I’ve been able to develop my own deeper
appreciation and understanding of urban sketching. In terms of methods and techniques, I’m grateful enough
to be able to say that I’m walking away with many practical skills that I will apply to any sketching I do in
the future. While I still don’t consider myself to be a great sketch artist, I feel as if an attempting amateur is a
rightful title to give myself. While I may know that I’m comedically far from the best, there’s is not a single
time that when I do sketch I don’t give full effort; because of this, I feel as if I was seemingly improving with
each piece which to me is the most important part. All in all, the main material I am going to take from this
course, is the sense of community that it showed me. From listening to our guest panel of urban sketch
artists, to researching them on my own an assignment, to watching them work in action for our resources
assignments, I’ve been lucky enough to witness the love/ compassion the artist have for art and the
humanity that they have for each other. The urban sketching community, in my opinion, promotes trust,
comfort, and appreciation; its warmth has even made me open to joining the community later on in life if
looking for a hobby.
sketching. So when I had first been recommended this class by my professor, I had assumed that we were
going to be drawing city skylines and skyscrapers; little did I know an urban sketch could go anywhere from
a shack in the middle of an empty prairie, to a crowded metropolis. After all the numerous exercises, weekly
sketches, and resource analysis’ we were able to do in class, I’ve been able to develop my own deeper
appreciation and understanding of urban sketching. In terms of methods and techniques, I’m grateful enough
to be able to say that I’m walking away with many practical skills that I will apply to any sketching I do in
the future. While I still don’t consider myself to be a great sketch artist, I feel as if an attempting amateur is a
rightful title to give myself. While I may know that I’m comedically far from the best, there’s is not a single
time that when I do sketch I don’t give full effort; because of this, I feel as if I was seemingly improving with
each piece which to me is the most important part. All in all, the main material I am going to take from this
course, is the sense of community that it showed me. From listening to our guest panel of urban sketch
artists, to researching them on my own an assignment, to watching them work in action for our resources
assignments, I’ve been lucky enough to witness the love/ compassion the artist have for art and the
humanity that they have for each other. The urban sketching community, in my opinion, promotes trust,
comfort, and appreciation; its warmth has even made me open to joining the community later on in life if
looking for a hobby.
Sketching Practice / Notan
This sketch was illustrated as one of our class exercises and was my first time practicing Notan drawing.
While I hadn’t had much experience in brush pen drawing, this was my favorite exercise that we did in class
as I got to further my tool experience and create what I found to have been a beautiful and balanced piece,
with a bit of spiritual self-expression with the moon and yin- yang involved.
While I hadn’t had much experience in brush pen drawing, this was my favorite exercise that we did in class
as I got to further my tool experience and create what I found to have been a beautiful and balanced piece,
with a bit of spiritual self-expression with the moon and yin- yang involved.
Niagara’s Habitat of Humanity
This sketch was illustrated on Niagara University’s campus. When thinking of a name, the first thing that
came to mind was “ Habitat for Humanity”, but I decided to stick with “ Niagara’s Habitat of Humanity”
considering its contents. I only used a pencil in this sketch since it was one of the ones that were done more
in the beginning, but I didn’t mind this considering pencil is what I’m most comfortable with. The buildings
illustrated in this sketch, are a core part of the students' lives considering it’s used by the majority of the
student population. This was the first sketch that I did that I was actually really proud of. I happen to use a
ruler for a good portion of it given that it was my first time attempting heavy line work, regardless of that I
think I did well on it and did a moderate job at depicting the scene on paper
came to mind was “ Habitat for Humanity”, but I decided to stick with “ Niagara’s Habitat of Humanity”
considering its contents. I only used a pencil in this sketch since it was one of the ones that were done more
in the beginning, but I didn’t mind this considering pencil is what I’m most comfortable with. The buildings
illustrated in this sketch, are a core part of the students' lives considering it’s used by the majority of the
student population. This was the first sketch that I did that I was actually really proud of. I happen to use a
ruler for a good portion of it given that it was my first time attempting heavy line work, regardless of that I
think I did well on it and did a moderate job at depicting the scene on paper
Buzzy Blvd
This sketch that I entitled “Buzzy Blvd”, was illustrated at a friend's house who coincidentally had a wall and
a street sign that I thought were way too cool while I was doing homework to not to attempt to draw. This
sketch happened to be my first time attempting multi-angle and perspective drawing, so although it’s not an
insanely interesting sketch, it’ll always be one that holds a memorable value which is why I chose it. Other
than the sign on the wall, I tried to add a 3-dimensional visual to each element, this was excitingly
challenging. Applying this new skill to my sketch allowed for a smoother/better transition to this technique
which was something I really benefited from. While it’s so minimal, the way I sketched the door frames are
something I’m proud of and I feel actively portrays my progression in sketching
a street sign that I thought were way too cool while I was doing homework to not to attempt to draw. This
sketch happened to be my first time attempting multi-angle and perspective drawing, so although it’s not an
insanely interesting sketch, it’ll always be one that holds a memorable value which is why I chose it. Other
than the sign on the wall, I tried to add a 3-dimensional visual to each element, this was excitingly
challenging. Applying this new skill to my sketch allowed for a smoother/better transition to this technique
which was something I really benefited from. While it’s so minimal, the way I sketched the door frames are
something I’m proud of and I feel actively portrays my progression in sketching
Bland Busy
This sketch was illustrated at the library that’s available to students at Niagara University. I titled it “Bland
Busy” because while I feel like there are a few places where the white space causes the wrong attention,
there is still happens to be so much going on. This sketch was one of the first few times I got to work with
brush pens and since it’s also one of my favorites, it holds a sentimental value which is my reason for picking
it. When looking at my paper I finished sketching this location, it was the most I had ever felt like I was
actually good, and even a little more than an ameteaur sketch artist. I happen to really like the way I did
multiple elements of this sketch including the vending machines which were my favorite component of the
sketch, the ceiling, and the items on the wall. While it is obviously not nearly as skilled, I get the same fun
vibe from this sketch as I get when I look at sketches from urban sketch artists that I’ve researched and that
means the most to me. This sketch is one of the reasons I was glad to have taken this class and overall
really proud of it.
Busy” because while I feel like there are a few places where the white space causes the wrong attention,
there is still happens to be so much going on. This sketch was one of the first few times I got to work with
brush pens and since it’s also one of my favorites, it holds a sentimental value which is my reason for picking
it. When looking at my paper I finished sketching this location, it was the most I had ever felt like I was
actually good, and even a little more than an ameteaur sketch artist. I happen to really like the way I did
multiple elements of this sketch including the vending machines which were my favorite component of the
sketch, the ceiling, and the items on the wall. While it is obviously not nearly as skilled, I get the same fun
vibe from this sketch as I get when I look at sketches from urban sketch artists that I’ve researched and that
means the most to me. This sketch is one of the reasons I was glad to have taken this class and overall
really proud of it.
Gilgo-Oak Beach-Captree
This virtual sketch was photographed at my favorite beach, Gilgo-Oak Beach-Captree, back home in Long
Island, New York. Attending university so far from home renders me to become a bit homesick after a while,
so getting the opportunity to illustrate one of the places I love and miss most in the world triggered me to
draw with immense compassion, which is why I feel that it came out so nice in my eyes. Although it’s not a
perfect portrayal of the image, I believe that I captured the energy of the environment so well and I am
incredibly proud of this sketch.
Island, New York. Attending university so far from home renders me to become a bit homesick after a while,
so getting the opportunity to illustrate one of the places I love and miss most in the world triggered me to
draw with immense compassion, which is why I feel that it came out so nice in my eyes. Although it’s not a
perfect portrayal of the image, I believe that I captured the energy of the environment so well and I am
incredibly proud of this sketch.
Urban Sketching Kit
These are all of the tools that I have acquired and used whilst my time in this urban sketching course. Brush
pens happened to be my preferred tools when sketching, as they allow me to have a lot of control while
drawing and their different tip sizes allow for the easier making of different widths within my illustrations. As
pictured, I have two different kinds of watercolor paints that I use. I prefer to use the tubes more than the tray
when sketching because of its flexibility in allowing me to mix colors with each other and use different
amounts of water. For pencil sketching, I love the hatching and cross-hatching technique as I feel that it’s
such a quick and easy way to add dimension to a piece. For pen and ink drawings, I absolutely love the
notan technique. I think the concept is such an interesting and attractive way to make art and was even
incorporated into my favorite sketch. Lastly for watercolor, I prefer and favorite the wet over dry technique
when painting. When using this technique, I feel like I have much more ability to create precise illustrations
than if I used any other technique
pens happened to be my preferred tools when sketching, as they allow me to have a lot of control while
drawing and their different tip sizes allow for the easier making of different widths within my illustrations. As
pictured, I have two different kinds of watercolor paints that I use. I prefer to use the tubes more than the tray
when sketching because of its flexibility in allowing me to mix colors with each other and use different
amounts of water. For pencil sketching, I love the hatching and cross-hatching technique as I feel that it’s
such a quick and easy way to add dimension to a piece. For pen and ink drawings, I absolutely love the
notan technique. I think the concept is such an interesting and attractive way to make art and was even
incorporated into my favorite sketch. Lastly for watercolor, I prefer and favorite the wet over dry technique
when painting. When using this technique, I feel like I have much more ability to create precise illustrations
than if I used any other technique
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