Capturing the City Through Art

The Bag-iw Sketchers is a community of artists based in Baguio City who are dedicated to documenting the city’s history and culture through their drawings. Their journey began with spontaneous weekly “art tambays” at coffee shops and other inspiring locations. As their passion for creating art together grew, they decided to incorporate outdoor activities which developed the idea of urban sketching. 

Joining the Global Urban Sketchers Community

Through the connections with Baguio artists with Sir Aurelio from Urban Sketchers Quezon City, they led to their involvement in the global Urban Sketchers community; a worldwide organization dedicated to on-location drawing. While the group is still in the process of becoming an official chapter, they’re excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

A Welcoming and Inclusive Community

The Bag-iw Sketchers is an inclusive and passionate group that welcomes artists of all skill levels. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, you’ll find a supportive and encouraging community here.

Urban Sketchers: A Global Community

Urban Sketchers is a global community of sketchers. Bag-iw Sketchers is on its way to be vetted as an official chapter soon. Once they’re officially a chapter, Bag-iw Sketchers would finally be “Urban Sketchers Baguio.” Furthermore, “Urban Sketchers, or USk, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of Washington, USA, supporting and representing a grassroots community of sketchers.” Their mission? “To raise the artistic, storytelling, and educational value of on-location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people worldwide who draw on location where they live and travel.”

Urban Sketching Manifesto

The urban sketchers follow a guideline for their work to be called an “urban sketch.” Here’s a brief layout from Bag-iw’s Facebook Page:

Overcoming Fears and Finding Inspiration One Sketch at a Time

As a testament to the power of community and support, they’ve discovered the joy of creating art on-location and capturing the unique beauty of Baguio City.

Here are some testimonies from the core group of the Bag-iw Sketchers: 

Donna Chamos Bayquen shared that she pays more attention to her surroundings and notices a lot of details. Some of the challenges also in urban sketching that she shared is you have to try to sketch fast before the weather changes and when people or things move or leave in the middle of your sketch. Also, putting in too much detail and making the process too long.

“But even with these challenges, I still try to practice urban sketching because it helped me get better with my sketching. I noticed that it helped with my memory too because I get to easily remember things that happened on days I sketched. And lastly, I also get to be in a community that is welcoming regardless of where you’re at in your sketching journey and we get to learn new things from each other which makes urban sketching more enjoyable,” Bayquen added. 

Here are a few of her sketches: 

Devonne Soliba initially started sketching on-location late last year. She started doing it because she wanted to branch out from her usual fashion illustrations and portraits and to get out of her creative block. “When doing illustrations I tend to gravitate towards the details. Doing urban sketching pushes me to be looser and more organic in my illustrations and sketches,” Devonne shared. 

Here are her creations:

Carol Abarabar, another urban sketcher shared that she is someone who is afraid of drawing and sketching because she knows where her strengths and weaknesses lie, and definitely these are not one of her strengths. Fortunately, her friend encouraged her to try and sketch what’s in front of her. According to her, her first sketch was definitely not good (by her standards). “But it gave me a new perspective about sketching: that imperfections are welcome and there’s a lot of room for improvement,” she reconciled. 

“Urban sketching has definitely boosted my confidence and helped me to be more observant of my surroundings and be more keen on details. The community we have here is very welcoming, kind, and definitely very helpful. One aspect that has always been a challenge for me is perspective, but through practice and the helping hand of amazing fellow artists, I believe I can progress and do better,” Carol added.

Here are some of Carol’s creations:

Marco Lag-ey also shares that urban sketching parallels his affinity to street photography. “I have always seen life with a rock n’ roll ideology, where rawness, chaos and loudness meets beauty, vibrance and balance. The synergy of these variables enables me to function in harmony for these elements have always been an effective fuel for my creative process,” he added. 

As an urban sketching enthusiast, he said that one of the challenges would be time. “Urban sketching always requires focus and continuous practice since it would force you to simplify how you see things. The journey alone is a perfect avenue for self-improvement. The sense of achievement raises our hormones, dopamine and anything that deals with happy chemistry. With life coming to more difficulties as we age, urban sketching, for lack of a better phrase, is our elevated chi if not a balanced chakra,” Marco added. 

Here are some Marco’s sketches:

Husband and wife Joel and Rae Rigonan also sketched together with the names mentioned above. For Joel, he shared that he is a first-timer in urban sketching. He was challenged to get into the scene, to force himself to observe the details that would translate into a sketch. But he shared, ”You need not to “go-by-the-book,” rather, how the scene is impressed on you becomes your playground.” He shared his style, too, he said, “For quick sketches, I have learned to apply continuous contouring. This technique only focuses on the obvious lines you see in the scene before you. Just follow the lines by observing and not lifting the pen from your paper. Then when your lines take form, you can proceed to color, which is the most fun part of urban sketching.” 

Here are some sketches of Joel:

Rae Floresca-Rigonan, on the other hand, started urban sketching in 2022 when she actually didn’t know that what she’s doing was already urban sketching. She didn’t do it too often as she always felt intimidated by perspective in drawing. “I am scared to go wrong and I always feel like I do not know what I am doing but thankfully, our community keeps pushing me to keep trying and practicing.” Rae also added that urban sketching is a good exercise for mental health. “The fact that you are being observant makes you practice being mindful and being present to the place where you are sketching and towards the subject and is a great creative outlet as well.” 

Here are a few sketches of Rae:

Urban Sketcher Jemalyn Tulian recently started urban sketching and fell in love with the practice as it helps her enhance her drawing and painting skills while trying out different mediums.

When asked about its challenges and benefits, here’s what she has to say; “Urban sketching is more challenging than it appears. It can feel like trying to capture the vastness of the sea or fit a mountain onto a sketchbook. There are specific rules to follow, and I still struggle with creating realistic drawings and accurate perspectives. Despite these challenges, urban sketching provides stress relief and a break from my monotonous and demanding work and life commitments. It helps me escape overthinking and connect with different people and their stories.”

Here are her notable urban sketches: 

Rea Abance, one of the core members also of the community shared how urban sketching keeps her engaged in many aspects. She shared,” Being a part of Usk has given me the opportunity to learn and grow as an artist. The community is filled with such amazing talents that uplift and inspire. Friendship and guidance are also huge values for me, while patience and understanding build our relationships.” Here are some of her works:

Join the Urban Sketching Journey

If you’re passionate about art and love the city of Baguio, Bag-iw Sketchers invite you to join the  community. Together, you can continue to document the city’s history, culture, and beauty through our art.

Follow their social media accounts to keep yourselves posted on their next sketching events in our city!

Facebook: Bag-iw Sketchers

Instagram: Bag-iw Sketchers