Meet Frieda of NYC Urban Sketchers

A conversation with Frieda Christofides about art and why we do it

This week, my online Sketch & Paint Club group was honored to have special guest Frieda Christofides in attendance. Frieda is a board member of NYC Urban Sketchers and also a great friend! Below is a paraphrased version of our group conversation. Enjoy!

What inspired you to begin sketching with NYC Urban Sketchers?

Sketching is something I’ve always done, anyway. And you know how it goes, you get invited to a sketch group, next thing you know, you are helping out with events, and then you are on the board of directors! Recently, we were able to formalize a relationship with New York Public Library, running art workshops there. I still have my own group of friends from high school that I sketch with, too.

Does it make you nervous to sketch in public or to interact with the public?

I got my first paint set at age fourteen. I was about to enroll at the High School of Art and Design. I decided to paint a bridge, the hardest subject I could think of. A passerby asked me, “What are you doing?” I explained what I was trying to do, and he said, “Well, keep on painting!” I’ll always remember that!

Part of our homework at Art and Design was that we had to draw on the subway, going to and from school. Or sometimes the teachers would say, “It’s a nice day, let’s go sketch outside in public.” It always felt natural to me.

I also hone in on something that’s interesting— ‘the world is complex, but so is a bowl of fruit’— you know? And I like to chit chat with my artist friends and paint; it helps turn everything off. But strangers wanting to talk, that offers a moment to stop, which I see as positive. Sketching in public is daunting, but fun!

What material did you use to do sketching homework on the subway?

Water soluble fountain pen ink and spit! Remember Sheaffer pens?

How do you make yourself get out there and sketch consistently?

My paintings are not going to be masterpieces. I spend at least ten minutes a day, always finding a way to be involved with art every day. Doodling, reading articles about art. Ten minutes becomes half an hour, half an hour becomes an hour.

Subject matter doesn’t matter. I always have a sketchbook on me. You know how people use those viewfinders? Don’t bother. Just sketch! Stop looking for the “best thing” and just pick something. Like scissors— they are the weirdest and most complex thing to draw! Lately, I have been sketching heads of lettuce. It is so challenging.

What do you do when you can’t get out to sketch?

During Covid there was no urban sketching. I decided to go around the world— alphabetically, every day, to every country, all 195 of them. I filled five sketchbooks. That saved me during that time. I’d wake, read about a country, and begin sketching. It kept that creative spark going, and grew, like a snowball.

Are there ever mental obstacles that keep you from making art successfully?

Yes, and they are all self-imposed. They are not real. I have friends, and they’ll say, it’s 60° F tomorrow, let’s go out and sketch. That helps. Another thing that helps is that Urban Sketchers has a rule of no unkindness to others, and no unkindness toward yourself.

I do get artist’s block. I use an idea that I got from Zoungy— I keep an Excel spreadsheet of all the shows I’ve done, gotten into or not gotten into. When you zoom out, it gives you perspective that maybe you’re doing OK.

I’ve also come to terms with this: I’m not going to become a ‘household name.’ Once I made peace with that, it became OK. I had two amazing things happen, though. I got my art on a flag at Rockefeller Plaza! The theme was ‘foods of New York.’ I also had art published in a poetry journal. The editors matched the art to the poems so perfectly.

What else is artistically exciting to you right now?

I got a new spiral book binding machine. I can make my own spiral bound books! I make them to exactly fit my backpack. A friend gave me a roll of Arches paper that I’ll have to flatten, and I’ll use some of that to make sketchbooks.

What art materials do you use to sketch at a moment’s notice?

I always have a sketch pad with me. Sometimes I’ll have little, homemade watercolor sets made from mint tins, with custom color palettes inside, and a water brush. My big kit with a folding table and stool is for when I know I’m going to paint. I have a smaller cloth bag for museums. They’ll let you bring a stool, just no backpacks.

Do you prefer working smaller or larger?

I run out of space when I work too small. Last year I took a watercolors class where we had to fill a whole sheet, 22 by 30 inches. A still life. It was great!

What color palettes are contained in your different homemade paint sets?

I have a basic primary/secondary colors tin, with my favorite versions of each. Another set is granulators, which I use to supplement the basic set.

I took a workshop with an artist who had all unusual quinacridone colors. A few of us got together and between us, bought all the colors in her palette and then shared. I’m not comfortable with that one, yet.

The last set I put together for a family trip to Greece. It was suggested that I bring a lot of blues and yellows. I had fifteen different blues and only one yellow, but ultimately I usually just use ultramarine and cobalt blue, anyway. In Greece, I used all the blues—including the ones that move towards green. For Cyprus, which is dry, I expanded my yellow set. Greece was more about the water, blues. Nothing very scientific about it. I was there three weeks and filled two watercolor books, and had to buy more in Athens.

I suggest bringing a small rag to clean off the tiny palettes in these tins.

Do you ever have trouble sketching in museums?

I was at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York. I had my full paint kit out, and no one said anything. No worries until I took a sip of my drinking water and a guard said, “ma’am, you can’t drink in here.” I think they were being really accommodating and just felt the need to draw the line somewhere.

Have you ever heard of the book All the Beauty In the World by Patrick Bringley? He was a guard at the Met for ten years. It’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. He spoke to us last week on a New York City Urban Sketchers Zoom meeting. He writes about how art can be a solo, or a group experience, different aspects of art appreciation. It’s humorous, too.

Who is welcome to be an Urban Sketcher?

It’s open to anyone. If you go to the international website for Urban Sketchers, there’s a clickable map to help you find local groups.

Why do you feel compelled to sketch?

Hmm, that’s a hard one. I think about it when I’m not doing it. I don’t know why I do it!

My mother was very religious. In church, she’d have to give me paper and crayons to stay occupied. I guess I can’t help myself.

When I draw, it changes the way I see the world, makes me feel lighter. I feel more myself. The longer I go without, the heavier I feel.

Maybe it’s genetic. My great grandfather and great-great grandfather were stonemasons, church builders. On my recent trip I saw the stone church spire my great-great grandfather built. The women, too, always kept their hands occupied— they were weavers, crochet artists. They didn’t consider themselves artists, but I do.

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See more of Frieda’s paintings at her website. Photos and paintings appearing in this article courtesy of Frieda Christofides.