Professors: Ricardo L. Castro, with collaborators Gonzalo Munoz and Juan Fernández González
Place: Saint John, New Brunswick
Dates: The dates of the course are Saturday, August 24, to Friday, August 30, 2019. The course begins with a workshop at 9 am on Saturday, August 24, and ends at 6 pm on Friday, August 30. Travel days are Friday, August 23, and Saturday, August 31.
ARCH 325, Architectural Sketching:
Seven days of supervised field sketching in selected locations outside Montreal. The course develops traditional skills in architectural sketching in pencil, ink and watercolour. Sketching is explored as a process that frames the student’s encounter with the environment and as a strategy for acquiring knowledge and understanding of the world.
ARCH 680, Field Sketching:
Seven days of supervised field sketching in selected locations outside Montreal. The course reinforces traditional skills in observation, notebook recording and architectural sketching. Students are encouraged to approach the subject critically and thematically, and to treat sketching as a mechanism for documenting experience and expressing their knowledge of the environment.
Accommodation
A wide range of hotels, motels and inns are available and students are expected to arrange their own accommodation. Google will provide you with a full list of inns, hotels, motels, B & B, chalet rentals and campgrounds. Website: http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca.
Transportation
A variety of travel choices are available to students. The School has looked into the best economical way to travel; it is by car or van. However, some of you may wish to travel by Via Rail, and local transportation will be used to connect to Saint John. You may also consider travelling by airplane.
Health Insurance
Please remember to bring with you the Quebec Medicare Card, and proof of any other supplementary health insurance you have to cover your stay in the Quebec.
Required Equipment
Watercolours, watercolour paper, brushes, pencils, pen and ink, conte crayon, sketchbooks (including the standard 13 x 21cm Moleskine with heavy-weight paper) and drawing paper of varying size and type. Sketch pads, sheet material and watercolour blocks should range from 9" x 12" to 18" x 24".
If you need to buy a set of watercolours, you could consider a set with ‘cakes’, or you could purchase separate tubes of pigment. If you decide to buy the separate tubes, you will need to develop a versatile palette. Below is one suggestion for a 12-colour palette – please note that the palette does NOT include black or white, which are unnecessary.
Reds: Alizarin Crimson, Indian Red
Blues: French Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue
Yellows (difficult): Cadmium Yellow Pale, Yellow Ochre
Greens: Hooker’s Green, Olive Green
Browns: Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber
Other: Payne’s Grey
Our first experiments in watercolour will be based only on French Ultramarine and Burnt Umber, which produce a surprising range of values and colours.
As for sketchbooks and pads, we recommend, in addition to the list above, a small pocket notebook or sketchpad for thumbnail sketches and experiments with wash and watercolour. A few good sable hair or synthetic brushes will also be required: a small and medium round, with a medium to large (1/2 inch or ¾ inch) flat are always useful.
Bicycles have always been valuable additions to the standard "kit" and are highly recommended. We have also found that a folding camp stool or small foam pad can make 2 - 3 hours on the cold ground much more endurable.
Please click here for additional notes on media and equipment: 
Media and equipment notes
Schedule
The dates of the course are Saturday, August 24, to Friday, August 30, 2019. This means that, for most of us, Friday, August 23, and Saturday, August 31, will be travel days.
The class will meet as a group 6 times, for 3 morning workshops and 3 evening crits.
All crits will take place at 6 pm at the:
Saint John Arts Centre (SJAC)
20 Peel Plaza (1½ blocks north of the Delta Hotel)
www.sjartscentre.ca/about-sjac/about-us/location/
The course starts with the first morning workshop which will take place at 9 am on Saturday, August 24, on the North Market Wharf (beside the Hilton, overlooking the harbour).
Here is the schedule for the week:
First workshop: 9 am, Saturday, August 24, North Market Wharf
Second workshop: 9 am, Sunday, August 25, location TBA
First crit: 6 pm, Sunday, August 25, SJAC
Third workshop: 9 am, Monday, August 26, location TBA
Second crit: 6 pm, Tuesday, August 27, SJAC
Third crit: 6 pm, Thursday, August 29, SJAC
Evaluation
During the course, students are expected to explore both townscape and landscape and to make sketches that describe what they find. Final evaluation is based on a portfolio of at least twenty pieces, the majority of which must be substantially worked. The meaning of "substantially worked" is one of the topics that will be discussed during the course.
REGISTRATION NOTE:
Students currently registered in the B.Sc.(Arch.) program are required to attend ARCH 325 Architectural Sketching. Students currently entering U2 or U3 in Fall 2019 will register for ARCH 325 with the remaining Fall 2019 courses. Early Registration is open.
Students in the M.Arch. (Prof.) program are required to take ARCH 680 Field Sketching, either before the start of the M.Arch. (Prof.) program or in between Year 1 and Year 2. Registration for the course will be with the remaining Fall 2019 courses. Please see the M.Arch. (Prof.) plan of study.
If registration (including withdrawals) is problematic, please contact Mary Lanni-Campoli by e-mail: mary.lanni [at] mcgill.ca or by telephone at (514) 398-6702, before the commencement of Sketching School / Field Sketching.
