YORKSHIRE sketchers are capturing scenes across Keighley and beyond as part of a continuing tour around the region.

Urban sketching is a new creative phenomenon taking place internationally, but there’s a real “buzz” right here in Yorkshire, says artist Louise Garrett.

Armed with paint, pens and a sketchbook, you might have seen the group admiring ancient buildings and statues to create drawings live – no photos allowed.

Louise first joined Urban Sketchers Yorkshire – a Facebook group where people organise meet ups and share their creations ­– as she looked forward to retirement.

Urban Sketchers was founded by Enrico Casarosa in San Francisco when he attempted a drawing marathon, sketching everything around him, non-stop, for a day.

It was then launched overseas with Sheffield artist Lynne Chapman leading the way in Yorkshire until she passed the baton on to Louise.

And while it’s a chance to get arty, it is so much more than that for many of the group’s members.

Louise said: “When we have sketched in Bradford district, people have been amazed.

“People approach you and talk to you – I like that. People say ‘I used to do art’ and they whip out their mobile phone or they tell you about the building you’re looking at and they tell you stories – personal stories – about what happened to them.

“I know more about architecture now than I ever did before.

“Now I like the backs of shops as you get the fire escapes and ladders and different qualities of what’s going on.

“You look at things a bit more slowly. You stand and stare at a building for 15 minutes and you never do that otherwise. Stand and really look slowly and you notice some really incredible details. Those little details above eye level, above the modern shops, and there they all are - just fantastic.”

Sketchers have captured some of the district’s most intricate features over the years, whether it’s the sculptures on some of Keighley’s oldest buildings, brass industrial interiors of Saltaire Brewery or Bradford’s City Hall.

The coronavirus lockdown put a temporary stop to their Urban Sketchers events but it hasn’t stopped avid artists from getting creative.

Breaking the no photo rule in unprecedented times, the group has also been exploring the world by Google Maps – stopping by Italy and France.

But for 75-year-old Terry McAllister, nothing beats true urban sketching.

He’s been hiking Aire Valley’s hills for more natural artwork pieces throughout the pandemic.

He said: “I’ve been drawing all my life but it was about four years ago I joined Urban Sketchers.

“It’s a great community, you get together in various venues throughout the day and you meet up and show each other what you’ve done.

“I’ve been sketching all my life, since I was able to hold a pencil. I’ve always had a particular interest in buildings.

“I think there’s a challenge of drawing a sketch that looks something like it’s supposed to. You learn about buildings through sketching.”

Gina Glot, who joined the group in January 2017 and fell back in love with art after years away, says she has met Urban Sketchers across the world.

It’s an international affair – she is currently learning how to draw people thanks to an Urban Sketcher in Galloway, captured Paris with a fellow French sketcher and is a member of two Urban Sketchers groups in Lancashire.

She said: “You can all look at the same scene and it will look totally different.

“You don’t know until you get to a location what you’re going to do.

“It’s quite meditative in that you sit down and start drawing somewhere or something and you get absorbed into it.”

There are more than 70,000 sketchers across the UK and thousands more globally.

Mike Duckett has worked with sketchers from Saudi Arabia to Scandinavia but finds this district is just as inspiring. “It’s a nice way to feel at home,” Mike said.