L’ARTISTE – OWEN LABBÉ
Owen Labbé is a Montreal-based artist who moves between two worlds. By day, he’s a concept artist and former art director in animation; his visual development work has shaped feature films for studios like DNEG, Mikros, and L’Atelier Animation.
Outside the studio, he’s a member of the Urban Sketchers and joined the teaching faculty of the 14th International Urban Sketchers Symposium in Toulouse last summer — sketching on the spot, in ink and watercolour, wherever the opportunity arises.
It’s this dual background, between studio precision and sketchbook instinct, that shapes his teaching.
URBAN SKETCHING/TRAVEL JOURNAL | FULL DAY
Sunday November 8th from 10AM to 5PM
Les ateliers Au Pif – 814-7 rue de Saint-Jovite (Petit Hameau)
All materials included
NOVEMBER 7
WATERCOLOR BASICS:
225 $ + tx
NOVEMBER 8
URBAN SKETCHING/TRAVEL JOURNAL:
225 $ + tx
NOVEMBER 7 + 8
WATERCOLOR BASICS
+
URBAN SKETCHING/TRAVEL JOURNAL
360$ + tx (90$ OFF)
Urban Sketching and Travel Journaling
Morning — Observing, Simplifying and Drawing
We’ll begin by discovering the principles of urban sketching and travel journaling, as well as the materials that make it easy to draw anywhere.
Through several short exercises, you’ll learn to observe a place without trying to capture everything, and to select the elements that truly tell the story of the scene.
We’ll work in particular on:
- How to choose your subject
- Simplifying a complex scene
- Identifying the main shapes before the details
- Drawing with simple shapes
- Understanding the basics of perspective without getting into complex constructions
- Creating depth with foreground, middle ground, and background
The goal: to develop a more spontaneous drawing style and learn to capture the essence of a place rather than trying to reproduce it perfectly.
Before Lunch — Composing a Journal Page
A travel journal isn’t limited to one big drawing!
We’ll see how to combine several small elements on a single page to tell the story of an experience or a place.
Starting from travel photos, we’ll learn to incorporate:
- A main subject
- Small secondary sketches
- Architectural details
- Objects, food, plants, or signage
- Titles, annotations, and written memories
We’ll also think about visual hierarchy in order to create a balanced, pleasing page.
Afternoon — From Ink to Color
We’ll then add color to the drawings made during the day.
The goal isn’t to paint everything, but to use watercolor to highlight certain parts of the page and guide the eye.
We’ll see how to:
- Choose a limited palette
- Quickly add shadow and light
- Use a few touches of color to create a focal point
- Deliberately leave some areas without color
- Harmoniously combine ink, watercolor, and annotations
Owen will give a full demonstration before guiding each participant through creating their own page.
To Finish — Creating a Journal That Tells a Story
We’ll end with a moment of sharing around the pages created during the day.
We’ll also discuss how to continue your journal while traveling: what to draw, how to find interesting subjects, and how to keep practicing even with little time available.
The goal: to leave with a complete journal page, and above all, a simple method for documenting your future outings and travels through drawing.
No refunds will be granted for classes, except in the case of cancellation on our part.
No make-up session is planned in the event of absence, as most of our classes are full.