Gabriel Campanario

The artist as reporter

2009-09-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

"The Artist as reporter" is the title of an inspiring book by the late British illustrator Paul Hogarth. I borrowed his title for my talk at the sketching workshop "de vuelta con el cuaderno" that I attended in Spain earlier this month. Here's the text of my class in Spanish. If enough people are interested, I will translate it to English when I get a chance.

Open publication

I'm flipping with Issuu

2009-08-09T00:48:00.000-07:00

This is something I just put together rather quickly using Issuu, a really cool website that turns multi-page PDF files into documents you can flip through online. I'm totally hooked.

I used drawings I do for my son that you may have already seen here or on my flickr before. I think he's going to enjoy browsing through them in the computer. I'll probably try this with some sketchbooks as well.

Open publication

Fun day at a beach near Seattle

2009-07-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

We went to the beach today. We are lucky to have several great beaches within 30 minutes or so from where we live. For today's outing we chose this one called Picnic Point in the city of Edmonds, which is about 15 miles north of Seattle.

Many people think Seattle is on the Pacific Coast, but it lies on the Puget Sound, a very large salt water estuary of the Pacific.

Meet my fellow Seattle sketchers

2009-07-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

Photo by Beth Polusladkaia.

Last Sunday was the first official sketchcrawl organized by USk Seattle. The turnout was great with 14 people getting together at 11 a.m. at Fishermen's Terminal. We are planning to meet every third Sunday of the month to sketch together in the spirit of Urban Sketchers.

Above is one of the drawings I did and you can see more in our group blog.

A Pirate Says Arrr!

2009-07-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Sketch and page © The Seattle Times. Photo by Steve Shay, courtesy of the West Seattle Herald. Click on images to enlarge.

My sketching gig at the paper keeps getting more interesting by the day. Recently I sketched a bunch of people dressed as pirates landing on a local beach. It's an annual event that kicks off a month-long summer celebration known as Seafair. Fun stuff.

For the first time since I started it, my illustrated column ran as centerpiece of the Local section. And the competition was tough if you know what I mean. Check the photo below the fold of a nudist group trying to set a skinny-dipping world record.

I got an overall positive response to the post except for one commenter on the blog who compared the sketch to a scribble his five year old niece could do. You can read the post and the rest of the comments here and add your thoughts or give comments your thumbs up or down if you'd like.

In the middle of the crazy scene while I was surrounded by pirates I met Steve Shay, a writer and photographer for the West Seattle Herald. He was very nice to let me use one of the photos he took of me that he also included on his slideshow of the event. Thanks Steve!

The green revolution, also in black and white

2009-06-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

I usually illustrate Sunday's opinion page guest column as part of my job at the Seattle Times. Even though it always runs in black and white, I like to do a color version of the artwork for the website. In this case, I really wanted to get some green in there as you can imagine. The article was a very interesting read by famous travel journalist Rick Steves about the situation in Iran. Everyone should read it.

Steves lives in Edmonds, so we are practically neighbors. One of these days I'd like to visit his "Europe Through the Back Door" headquarters. I have a tip or two about travelling to Spain, I hope that gets me in.

"We got you a sketcher book"

2009-06-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

That's what my daughter told me secretly to my ear Saturday night, just before Father's Day. She meant a "sketchbook" of course. I had sketched her playing with a game in the car earlier. On Sunday we had a nice dinner at a pizza restaurant we usually go to and I also sketched my son on the facing page. I wanted to have a spread with both of them to remember the occasion.

Seattle Sketcher in print and on the web

2009-06-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

As you know, in late April my Seattle Sketcher alter ego moved to the Seattle Times website. If you live in Seattle, you can also see an excerpt from the blog every Saturday on the cover of the Local section. This is what it looks like:

My latest story was about the easy to overlook historic clocks scattered around the city. It made it to the website's homepage for a brief time in the morning, enough for me to get this screenshot:

So, in print or on the web, you know where to find the Seattle Sketcher. Thanks for stopping by, for your comments and for the sketching suggestions!

Illustrators as storytellers

2009-06-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

Click on image to view larger

Click on images to view larger

My former college professor Juan Antonio Giner, who runs the newspaper consulting firm Innovation and is the lead editor of the World Association of Newspapers annual report, asked me to write an article about innovative news illustration for this year's issue, which I just got in the mail.

I organized the story into different groups of illustrators I admire for the storytelling nature of their work: combat artists, visual essayists, reportage illustrators, sketchbook artists and multitasking cartoonists. Some of the illustrators I was able to talk to are Paul Madonna, Olivier Kugler, Veronica Lawlor, Steve Brodner and Walt Taylor. Thank you folks for taking the time!

'Best friends,' by Olivia

2009-06-06T22:43:00.001-07:00

My daughter is really getting into drawing and coloring. She turns four next month. A few days ago she drew this picture of herself -on the right with three eyes- with her 4-year-old neighbor, who only got one eye for some reason. She drew it with chalk on the concrete floor of the garage and Michelle was really smart to take a photo before it got erased. She said Olivia called the artwork 'Best friends.'

I'm starting to put her drawings on a Flickr set so there will be a record of her progress. As you can imagine, I'm a really proud father!

Sunday morning at the church of coffee

2009-05-31T23:05:00.000-07:00

This morning I went to the "church of coffee" Starbucks at the Mill Creek Town Center. I met my friend Pete there. He's even newer to Seattle than I am. Only lived here since last year. He's an industrial designer and is just getting the urban sketching bug. After coffee we moved across the street for a sketch of the singular architecture of the coffee house, where instead of bells on the church looking tower you get the twin-tale mermaid logo. Pete did a good job, I hope he'll get a Flickr account going soon and join Urban Sketchers.

La información punto com

2009-05-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I set up a portfolio website and decided to get serious about seeking freelance illustration work, contacting people on both sides of the Atlantic.

This is one of the first projects that has come up thanks to Chiqui Esteban, an art director at lainformacion.com. Chiqui is also a former graphics editor of Público daily in Madrid, and author of the blog Infographic News.

The illustrations are for a series of short stories about how the internet has changed people's lives in the past decade. It was a very fast turn around. I've been doing one every night for the past ten days. I'm exhausted!

The art of Susan Jouflas

2009-05-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

We talked a bit about the iPhone New Yorker cover in the newsroom yesterday. Five of the seven people I work more closely with at the Seattle Times' art department have iPhones.

Susan Jouflas, the features art director, is one of them, but she hadn't tried Brushes until yesterday. It didn't take her long to create her first iPhone fingerpainted masterpiece: a self-portrait with green hair and a sleepy eye. I loved it. I said she may enjoy iPhone drawing at night too, just like Stéphane Kardos with his sunset paintings.

But instead of night sketching, she tested the iPhone backlit screen in the darkness of a closet. A not so itsy-bitsy spider was about to eat a fly and she captured the moment. Classic Susan. Her striking whimsical style never fails to hit a nerve on your brain. I am really lucky to work just a few feet away from such a talented illustrator.

Check out more of Susan's work like the page above on her website and at Visual Editors.
I keep telling her she should start her own blog. The world awaits.

New Yorker cover drawn on iPhone

2009-05-26T07:52:00.001-07:00

New York based Portuguese illustrator Jorge Colombo drew this week's cover of The New Yorker on his iPhone using an application called Brushes.

Judging by the size of the iPhone art Flickr group, there are many iSketchers out there. Stéphane Kardos and Xoan Baltar are two of my favorites. Kardos' sketches of Southern California sunsets actually inspired Colombo to explore iPhone sketching.

I asked Kardos about his iPhone sketches back in February on this interview for the Urban Sketchers blog. He said he likes the iPhone because "you can paint very quickly in the dark or capture a sunset as it's going down on location; the screen is backlit, it’s perfect."

For me, iPhone sketching makes getting one practically irresistible, but I'm going to stick to my plan of not buying things I don't really need. I'll let you know when I succumb to the temptation.

Related links:

Story behind Colombo's cover at the New Yorker site.
Interview with Colombo aired at ABC News.

Coming soon

2009-05-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

I plan to resume this blog as a more personal view of my work and life. You may follow Seattle Sketcher on my new blog at the The Seattle Times website and in print every Saturday on the Local section. (You can still find links to my old blog here at the bottom of the sidebar. Or just click on "Older Posts" to access all past content.)

After el blog de gabi campanario and Seattle Sketcher, this is the third reincarnation of this blog since October of 2006. I really appreciate everyone who's been following. You rock.

In this new chapter I intend to share random thoughts about art and journalism. I will also point you to the work of people whose work I admire, as well as sharing past and present sources of inspiration. As I take on freelance illustration projects or draw with my kids, I will also be sharing those experiences here. And as I go about my day, I will continue posting sketches that may or may not appear at my newspaper blog or at Urban Sketchers.

I will also try to be funny.

My last post here

2009-04-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 25th, at CatchCon.

As I announced a few days ago, your Seattle Sketcher is sailing away to a new port. This is my last post at Blogspot. From now on you can follow me at The Seattle Times website.

I'll see you there!

Zafra, Spain

2009-04-22T23:52:00.000-07:00

When you order a drink in this part of the country, the waiter always brings you a little snack, usually olives, whether you want them or not. And who wouldn't? Not only they are free, they are delicious! I had a good time sketching and snacking at Zafra's Plaza Grande. Unlike the location of the last drawing I posted, this is a unique place full of personality.

Sketching during siesta time

2009-04-21T23:19:00.001-07:00

Villafranca de los Barros (Badajoz)

We stopped at a roadside plant nursery because my dad needed to buy some specific tomato plants, but they didn't have them. At the nursery he ran into somebody he knew —in the little countryside villages everybody knows each other somehow. He was also plant shopping and recommended a store in Villafranca de los Barros, which wasn't too far away. He was going there himself so we just followed his truck. When we got there the store was still closed for siesta time. They would open in 20 minutes, at 6 p.m.!!! (Yes, even a Spaniard like me gets frustrated about this ridiculous siesta schedules.) Anyway, we waited and I had the chance to sketch this uncharacteristic view that could pretty much be any little town in Southwestern Spain. Twenty minutes after six o'clock the guy from the store hadn't shown up yet so we left. My dad managed to buy the tomato plants somewhere else the next day. He was frustrated then, but I was happy for getting a sketch done during siesta.

Seattle Sketcher is moving

Well, not me, my blog. On April 27 I will do my last post here and move to Seattle Times dot com, where I'm thrilled to join my newspaper's talented team of bloggers. The official launch is not until April 28th, but I'm already starting to post there. Comments, tweets, blog posts and any other kind of online promotion welcomed! Thanks!

Aracena, Spain (2)

2009-04-20T23:27:00.001-07:00

Two days ago I posted a drawing done in Aracena during my recent trip to Spain. Here are two more sketches in Aracena:

This is a church from the 13th century which sits next to the Aracena Castle.

And this is a quick scribble I managed to do inside the Grotto of Wonders —which I colored later as best as I could remember. The grotto is actually below the Aracena castle and church complex. According to the guide who gave us the tour, it was discovered 100 years ago by a sheepherder, even though Wikipedia says it was discovered by a boy looking for a lost pig. Whoever it was, what an awesome finding!

The inside of the cavern has several halls along an underground lake that forms a horseshoe shape. Each hall has a different name depending of the rock formations: the hall of garbanzo beans, for example, has rocks on the bottom that look exactly like garbanzos. The hall of the nudes has minerals in shapes ... well, you get the idea.

All in all, visiting this caves was a highlight of our trip. If you are in Spain and around Sevilla, I recommend the trip to Aracena.

Seattle Sketcher is moving

Well, not me, my blog. On April 27 I will do my last post here and move to Seattle Times dot com, where I'm thrilled to join my newspaper's talented team of bloggers. The official launch is not until April 28th, but I'm already starting to post there. Comments, tweets, blog posts and any other kind of online promotion welcomed! Thanks!

T-ball

2009-04-20T07:43:00.001-07:00

Watching my son (blues) play against the reds. But nobody wins in T-ball, they don't keep score. "We don't want to make them cry," one of the coaches said.

On April 27 I will do my last post here and move to Seattle Times dot com, where I'm thrilled to join my newspaper's talented team of bloggers. The official launch is not until April 28th, but I'm already starting to post there. It will mean a lot to me if you take the time to register, drop a comment and put in a good word for me. Thanks!

Aracena, Spain

2009-04-16T22:52:00.001-07:00

Back to the Spain sketches. This was in Aracena, a town in most southwestern province of Spain called Huelva. We came here with my parents to check out the "grutas" of the same name. They are underground caves with amazing mineral formations. More on that tomorrow!

Seattle Sketcher is moving

But not to Spain! On April 27 I will do my last post here and move to Seattle Times dot com, where I'm thrilled to join my newspaper's talented team of bloggers. The official launch is not until April 28th, but I'm already starting to post there. It will mean a lot to me if you take the time to register, drop a comment and put in a good word for me. Thanks!

This just in: The Seattle Sketcher is moving!

2009-04-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

That's right, but not far away!

On April 28th I will stop blogging here and start doing it at Seattle Times dot com, where I'm thrilled to join my newspaper's talented team of bloggers.

The official launch is not until April 28th, but I'm already starting to post there. It will mean a lot to me if you take the time to register, drop a comment and put in a good word for me. While there are things on the new blog you may not like, blogging on my newspaper's website will allow me to get better at drawing and writing and ultimately make a better sketchblog for you to enjoy!

Mariners home opener, an eye opener for me

2009-04-15T22:53:00.001-07:00

April 14, 12:41 p.m. Fans head to the stadium for the Mariners home opener against the L.A. Angels. [View larger]

Yesterday I stopped by Safeco Field to check out the scene before the doors opened. I had other things to do in the newsroom but enough time to do a quick sketch. It was three hours before the game and people were already getting there. A food stand with "Seattle's very best sausages" was already up and running.

The owner of the food stand was wearing a shirt with the number 8, for Hasselbeck. I had to Google that to realize Hasselbeck is actually a Seahawks player. So much to learn about football and baseball. I can tell you who Sounders' Montero is though!

Anyway, I leaned against one of the pillars supporting the overpass and sketched away as people passed by.

You won't believe that I've never been to a major league baseball game. I only saw the Everett Aquasox once. All the happy looking folks heading to Safeco field made me want to learn more about this sport. We actually have tickets to see them play against the Oakland Athletics on May 3rd. That'll be my initiation to baseball. It's about time, considering I've lived in the U.S. for 11 years now and my son just started T-ball. I better learn fast. I don't want to be a clueless dad when I go watch him play.

Nice to meet you Lapin

2009-04-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

View larger

There is another sketcher I met during my vacation in Spain. A very special one: the first correspondent of Urban Sketchers I meet in person and one of the original founders of the blog. He actually did the first post when we launched in November. I'm talking about Lapin (pronounced la-pən.) I've been a fan of his work for a long time and was delighted when he accepted my invitation to join USk without hesitation, when we had no idea how this experiment would turn out.

Even though I hardly spent any time in Barcelona I managed to see him and his girlfriend at their awesome loft in the Poblenou neighborhood, which is just a few blocks away from the beach and the Olympic Village.

We talked non-stop about our shared passion for drawing and sketching and how cool it would be to have an urban sketchers meet-up somewhere. We also had some Estrella beer, salchichón and Italian cheese he had just brought from Bologna. A sketch was obviously mandatory to mark the occasion.

Having met Lapin now, I think I should travel around the world and meet as many urban sketchers as I can. It may take me a lifetime but I sure want to do it!

Sketching over Greenland at 578 mph and meeting a sketcher

2009-04-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

On our way to Spain I did this sketch of another sketcher on board. She was drawing nice compositions of planets with a blue Micron pen, which instantly caught my eye because I use the same type of pens.

A few hours later, when light was starting to peak through the windows and they were about to serve breakfast I told her I had been sketching her while she drew. I also handed her my sketchbook. She liked my drawing and even showed it to her mom, who was sitting next to her. It's a good sign when people want to share your drawing with others. It means they like it.

I then introduced myself and she did the same. Her name is Cristina and she's an art student in Seattle. I gave her my business card with the URLs of my blog and the Urban Sketchers blog written on the back, suggesting also that she joins our Flickr group.

After we landed in Amsterdam we said goodbye. Cristina and her mom went on to catch a flight to Prague and we went on to catch ours to Barcelona.