3月よりUSK Japanのmonthly sketch meet-upはやらなくなり、外へ出て描きに行こうという気にもならず、文字通り缶詰生活をしてきた３ヶ月。お籠り中はスケッチには気乗りじゃなかったわけですが、それでもsketch meet-upの代わりに始めたweekly challengeだけはやるようにしていました。限られた対象物に対し、お題によって普段しない目の付け所を探ったり、画材や表現を変えることで、同じもの、景色を何度も描くことになったのですが、結果それはそれで意図しなかった収穫、気付きがあったと思います。それぞれのスケッチにはその時の現場の様子だけじゃなく、その時の自分の感情も記録されていくので、みるたびに思い起こされると思います。まだ付き合っていかなければいけないこの禍と向き合いながら、少し先の将来に振り返ってみるときに少しづつ違った景色が加わっているといいなと思います。でも今は肉食獣の気配に怯えながら水を飲むインパラ（と言ったらインパラに失礼でしょうか）みたいにリラックスできないで出かけるのは気乗りしないですが。 For more than three months of staying home period, I kept drawing same view repeatedly in variety of method, and approaches. Thanks to USK Japan's weekly challenges, I have forced myself to sketch at least once a week. This activity actually helped me to realize various things. Without those experimenting occasion, I wouldn't have done thus wouldn't have learned. ( sketch above, theme 1 : drawing with your favorite color) ( theme 2: sketch same location in different time or method) ( theme 3: ske...

Koinobori (Jap. 鯉 の ぼ り 🎏) - those same fish on sticks, a mysterious emoji for those who are not familiar with Japan. I like the animalistic character of the cultural symbols here, and it is inspiring. Biophilia? Something in this is very attractive to me, a biologist.  Carps swim among the clouds. We have many visitors in the neighborhood park. 住んでいる松戸市、岩瀬、自治会館前に鯉を飾りました。コロナですけど、公園にお客さんが多く来てます。鯉のぼりは人気です。 毎日たくさん親が来て、小さな子を連れていて、写真を撮ったり、遊んだりします。スケッチでドキュメンテーションしました。 I enjoy these seasonal traditional decorations. Unfortunately, nowadays people do not have much space in their garden to place the decorations as big as those. So as a manager of community area, I think it is good to have at least one gorgeous decoration for everyone around to enjoy the celebration. 

It’s already been eight weeks since we started a weekly online sketch challenge to make up for our monthly meet-ups, which we can’t do now. If you don’t know about it, check out our Facebook and Instagram . We announce a drawing prompt every week. Please join in by sketching following the week’s prompt and sharing your drawing online. USk Japanの Facebook と Instagram でウィークリー・スケッチ・チャレンジを始めてから、あっという間に8週間が経過しました。ご存知ない方はFB・IGをチェックしてみてください。毎週お題を出すので、それに沿ったスケッチをして、ソーシャルメディアでシェアするだけの簡単なチャレンジです。 In January last year, we started monthly sketch meet-ups. Through the meet-ups, the group got a lot of new members and grew big. We are good friends and inspire each other. As an admin, I don’t want the members to lose this connection just because of COVID-19. Instead, I want to encourage them to keep drawing, both inspiring and inspired, and stay connected to this community. That’s why I suggested doing an online challenge. Other USk groups are also doing similar things to keep them together and ...

On a train 電車にて At a hospital 病院にて As urban sketching is about documenting what’s happening around us here now, I think I should record what our life is like under the coronavirus outbreak and all the confusions along with it – it’s time to get out to see the world. I’m trying to be as honest and sincere to what I see as I can. 新型コロナウイルスの流行でいろいろな混乱が生じている昨今。日々の暮らしにも制限がかかってきましたが、アーバンスケッチがわたしたちの周りで現在まさに起きていることを描くものであるなら、今こそスケッチブックを持って、自分の目でいろいろなものを見、描きとめるべきという気がしています。 My simple sketch kit. I started using a MD notebook (I copied a friend sketcher) for casual daily drawing/journaling a couple of weeks ago. Together with it, I bring a few pens with me – ZIG markers, Fudegokochi pen (pen with a tip creating a brush-like effect), fineliner, etc. The size of the book is A5, so there’s enough space on a spread to combine some drawings, a text, and a sticker/shop card/museum ticket if I have. 最近のシンプルスケッチのお供。2～3週間前から日々のカジュアルなスケッチやジャーナル用にMDノートブックを使っています。ペンは気分に応じて何種類か使い分け。今は呉竹の...

新型コロナウイルス感染拡大に伴い、USk Japanによる公式スケッチ会は当面休止とすることにしました。3月の月例スケッチ会は中止になります。ご理解いただければ幸いです。ただ、個人的なスケッチ会の企画やスケッチのための外出の自粛をお願いするわけではありません。こんななかでも3〜4月に日本に滞在される海外スケッチャーが何人かいるようです。それぞれ Facebookのグループ などで声をかけあい、ミートアップするなりしていただければと思います。よろしくお願いします。 We have decided not to organize official events for a while due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The monthly meet-up for March has been cancelled. However, we're not asking you to give up on arranging an (unofficial) outing or going out sketching. It seems a bunch of sketchers from overseas are visiting Japan in March and April. If you travel to Japan and want to meet up and sketch with sketchers in Japan, feel free to suggest a sketching in our Facebook group providing a preferred date and time (and location if you have any you like). Some of us will join you. Thank you. Sketch safely everyone!

I often sketch at a place which is not a popular drawing location. In famous shrines and temples in Kyoto, for example, you'd always find a bunch of people drawing and that is understandable. But if you see someone sketching on a nameless alley or at a small local (not instagenic) cafe in your neighborhood, you might wonder why. If you are the sketcher, you might worry if you're looking weird. Well, I think myself I'm weird, picking up something that no one pays attention to, and observing and drawing it. But, so what? 何でもない、誰もスケッチしないような場所でスケッチをするのが好きです。例えば京都の有名な寺社仏閣なら絵を描いている人を必ず何人か見かけるでしょう。けれども地元の名もない通りやインスタ映えしない小さな喫茶店で誰かがスケッチしていたら、ちょっと不思議に思うかもしれません。あなたが描いている張本人なら、自分が周りに変に見えていないか気になるかもしれません。わたし自身ちょっと奇妙だと思いながら描いていることがあります。誰も関心を払わないものを観察しスケッチしている自分に。で、奇妙だとして、それが何だというのでしょう。 Two sketches from nowhere... In the first place, if you enjoy drawing for no one else but you, you don't need to care at all what others think. But this simplest thing can be often the hard...

Throughout last year, we never had rain for our monthly meet-ups. In June, it was pouring the day before the meet-up. But the sky cleared up next day (and it was quite hot as well). In September, even though the forecast said it was going to rain, it was sunny throughout the day. Then we concluded I (the only member who joined all the monthly meet-ups) am a hare on’na (a woman blessed with good weather) and bring the sun. This month though, the sun was finally not with us. We had February’s meet-up on the 16th in Ueno. In the morning, it was raining and it looked like it would continue all day. 昨年の月例スケッチ会はいつもお天気に恵まれ、直前まで雨予報の日でさえ太陽が出て暖かい一日になるということばかりでした。月例スケッチ会に全回参加したのはわたしだけ。次第にわたしが晴れ女なのではないかという冗談がまことしやかに囁かれるようになりました。ところが、今月の上野でのスケッチ会はついに太陽が味方してくれず。朝からしとしと雨が降り、一日中続きそうな様子でした。 They were waiting under umbrellas, but... But, as I arrived at Grand Fountain in Ueno Park, the meeting place, it literally stopped raining. We were like, “wow!” I was surprised myself since it was just a ...