Professors: Ricardo Castro, David Covo and Robert Mellin
Place: Baie St-Paul, Quebec
Dates: Saturday, August 29 to Friday, September 4, 2015. The course will begin with a workshop at 9 am on Saturday, August 29, and will end in the late afternoon of Friday, September 4. Friday, August 28 and Saturday, September 5 (or late Friday, September 4) are considered travel days.
ARCH 325, Architectural Sketching:
Seven days of supervised field sketching outside Montreal in the late summer, followed by coursework and fieldwork in Montreal examining architectural sketching as a process that develops an intellectual and physical framework for encounters with the urban environment. (Students are required to include Sketching School (ARCH 325) in the B.Sc.(Arch.) program.)
ARCH 680, Field Sketching:
Observation, notebook recording, sketching in a range of media in the field in Montreal and other urban sites. Seven days of supervised field sketching outside Montreal, followed by local fieldwork and coursework examining architectural sketching as a process that develops an intellectual and physical framework for encounters with the urban environment. (Students newly admitted to the M.Arch. (Prof.) program are expected to take Field Sketching (ARCH 680) right away. Please see further details provided at the end of the document.)
Accommodation
A wide range of hotels, motels and inns are available and students are expected to arrange their own accommodation. The Google.ca search engine will provide you with a full list of inns, hotels, motels, B & B, chalet rentals and campgrounds. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g316031-Baie_St_Paul_Quebec-Vacations.html
PLEASE NOTE: BAIE ST-PAUL, QUEBEC, IS A VERY POPULAR HOLIDAY DESTINATION. PLEASE RESERVE EARLY!
Transportation
A variety of travel choices are available to students. The School has looked into travel costs and recommends car or van. Some of you may also want to consider travel by Via Rail or Voyageur bus, with connections via local transportation to Baie St-Paul.
NOTE: Please book your tickets as quickly as possible.
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 Quebec. Please note that all students are required to complete the McGill University Travel Registry.
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 notes on media and equipment: 
Media and equipment notes 2015
Schedule
The emphasis is on field sketching as opposed to studio work, so we will be drawing outside every day, working individually and in small groups, and under the supervision of the instructors for the first three or four mornings of the course.
We will meet formally as a group 7 times, for 3 morning workshops and 4 crits. Our first meeting will be at 9am on Saturday morning, August 29, for the first workshop, at the Baie Saint-Paul’s Cultural Centre, le Carrefour Culturel Paul-Médéric, 4 rue Ambroise-Fafard.
Here is the schedule for the week:
First workshop: 9am, Saturday, August 29
First crit: 6pm, Saturday, August 29
Second workshop: 9am, Sunday, August 30
Third workshop: 9am, Monday, August 31
Second crit: 6pm, Monday, August 31
Third crit: 6pm, Wednesday, September 2
Final crit: 2pm, Friday, September 4
The class typically meets in a gymnasium, community centre or some other place large enough for the class to assemble comfortably and with enough wall space for two day’s worth of sketches. These 90-minute sessions provide a forum not only for a review of the work but also for informal discussions on the intentions of the course and on the process by which images and memories are formed.
This year, the crits will take place in the Baie Saint-Paul’s Cultural Centre, le Carrefour Culturel Paul-Médéric, 4 rue Ambroise-Fafard. Please visit this webpage for any changes to the schedule and meeting places.
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 U3 in Fall 2015 will register for ARCH 325 with the remaining Fall 2015 courses. Early Registration is open.
Newly admitted students / returning students to the M.Arch. (Prof.) program, will register for ARCH 680 Field Sketching with the remaining courses required in the Fall 2015 term.
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.
