Urban Sketching Off Grid

I have been going on various sketch crawls with the Vancouver Urban Sketchers. I might go so far as to call myself an urban sketcher. I think I adhere to the guidelines in the International Urban Sketchers' official Manifesto as quoted below. 

1         1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.

2.   Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.

3.   Our drawings are a record of time and place.

4.   We are truthful to the scenes we witness.

5.    We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.

6.   We support each other and draw together.

7.   We share our drawings online.

8.   We show the world, one drawing at a time.

It did strike me as funny though, to call my practice Urban Sketching, as I worked away this past weekend up at our snowy shack in the woods.  Other than intermittent cell phone reception, this cabin is fairly off grid; no electricity, nor running water, just wood stoves and propane lights. We park the car at the local ski area and walk, snowshoe or ski to the place in just under half an hour. Not really very urban at all. But what's in a label anyway? I was in bliss drawing and painting from direct observation while telling the story of the cabin, one drawing at a time. 

Snow water pot on the wood stove. Japanese cracker tin inset. 

So many small details to study.

 

The cabin is full of relics -  fertile ground for sketching!