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Saturday, December 27, 2014

Museum Labyrinth of the Sciences and the Arts

One of the newest museums in the city of San Luis Potosí city in México is Laberinto de las Ciencias y las Artes, Labyrinth of the Sciences and the Arts. I've heard it was a interactive museum for children. So it wasn't a major attraction for adults, but there's a game changer exhibition advertised all over the city. The temporary exhibition is called Body Worlds Vital. Real human bodies were plastinated using a technique created by a German doctor, his name is Gunther von Hagens. So I went to check it out yesterday. I asked permission to sketch, since photos and videos weren´t allowed just for that exhibition. I had to write a letter to the director of the museum to request permission. So I did, what could I loose? I returned today to deliver the letter and they granted me permission minutes later. Wow, lucky me! 

This is the side entrance of the museum near the parking lot. The facilities are great, worthy of first quality exhibitions like this one. This temporary exhibition was supposed to be over at the end of December, but it´s been so succesful that the museum is thinking in extending it for another month.

The quality of the pieces is very good. You can see muscles, tendons, nerves and little ligaments even veins. Two or three pieces are just jaw dropping, so complex to draw, so I sticked to those pieces that my limited talent could manage. 

Here it is the Diver, the body of a woman separated in half. The front half, where the face is, has what it looks like the hands, but in reality its oly the ligaments! The back half, where the brain is, has what it looks like like the hands, but it´s only the bones and nails, and at the center, it shows the organs. These pieces are not only educational but art as well! Who ever chose that pose has an artistic mind. I could describe the technique but I don't want to get into trouble or pay a fine.


If this exhibition comes to your city, go, you won't regret it. I thank to the Director of the Museum María González Flores for allowing me to sketch part of such an interesting collection.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The newspaper stand.

I lived 19 years in San Luis Potosi city, Mexico, until I moved to the United States. It's always nice to visit family here. I remember this newspaper and magazines stand being there forever. I sat  down across the street and the vendor kept looking at me suspiciously. I found it funny. Three cars parked in front of me in one parking spot during the skecthing time, so I had to stand up several times to continue. Two young men came out of one these cars and asked me kindly if they were blocking my view. I politely replied no, they actually were blocking my view, but I'm too nice to say otherwise, ha! They asked me if I was drawing and if they could see my drawing. They were pleased to see it. They turn out to be architects, one of them told me he wasn't good at drawing by hand, and right after, he asked me why did I choose to sketch the newspaper stand, he said I should sketch La Caja de Agua, a well known monument in the city. I told him I already sketched it (click here to see it). I explained I belong to a group called Urban Sketchers and our purpose is to show the world one drawing at a time, and I want to show the newspaper stand to the world as they are still exist all over Mexico. They were satisfied with my answer, congratulated me and left. When I added some color to my sketch ( I finished it at home) I went to show it to the vendor. He thought I was drawing the school behind. How come two persons thought the newspaper stand is not worth to sketch? Carlos, the vendor's name, told me he's been the owner of the stand for 27 years! Oh yes, I do remember that long ago I used to buy there my Cabala Spanish puzzle magazine, but I vaguely remember him. It took me only 29 years to know his name.




Sunday, December 21, 2014

A great heart


Dad is great example of taking care himself. I accompanied him to see his cardiologist for a routine check up. The building across the street is the Hospital Angeles in the city of San Luis Potosi. The orange buildings are doctor offices only. The two story building on the left is the hospital. There's an underground parking lot. I sketched this one from a 3rd floor. Nice view. My dad had to wait for me since he was in and out the doctor's office in no time. Glad to say his heart is great! 




Thursday, December 4, 2014

Inside the actors studio

My husband and I are watching our friends' dogs while they are out this week. Our friends love Dachshund. They are very responsible and an example of how a dog owner should be. The care and love our friends give to their dogs is amazing. A way to see how much they love their dogs is looking at their colorful beds. Each dog has a bed carefully prepared for their enjoyment. There's a Christmas theme blanket full of a variety of stuffed toys. Some still as a whole, others not so lucky. I can image the countless adventures they have had playing with them. I thought their beds looked so cute so I sketched them. The first bed has a legless crab, a lighthouse, a clueless cow, a big lamb, an oversized bone, a pink bird, probably female, a shy porcupine, a Christmas Snoopy, a pumpkin and a snowman in a position that I swear is ready to sacrifice it's life at the mercy of the dogs' teeth.



The second bed is equally charming and carefully set for their comfort. In this one there's a snowman which is imagining it's on a launch chair at the beach, a upside down bear, a multicolored worm, a Thaksgiving Snoopy, a blue bird, probably sad, a very relaxed gingerman, an earless bugs bunny, and a buried Charlie Brown.
 



The dogs are very friendly and well trained. The dog sitter stays overnight but works during the day, so we go twice during the day to check them out. Both dogs are rescued: Roxy 11, who we've took care of on previous times and we know her well; and Slinky 3, he is the new member of the family. We've been 3 days with Slinky so far to get to know him. Both dogs enjoy visitors. As soon as we arrive we waste no time to let them out their cages for them to stretch, greet, run, bark, drink water, explore, pee, poo, play and let us rub their bellies. When is time for us to go, we called them to come into their cages. Roxy knows what to do, but Slinky...oh...Slinky. When I say cage, he switches to acting mode. Now he can't walk. His brain is divided in two. It commands contradictory orders and Slinky knows it. He looks at me begging for help. His back legs are paralyzed, they don't move and his rear end is on the floor, the front legs are baby stepping in slow motion towards the cage door, dragging painfully his whole body. Three feet of agony and suffering. I watch and wait patiently. I'm the audience. When Slinky's hands are inside the cage, the paralyzed legs are no more and he walks proudly few steps like a normal dog to finally get inside the comfortable cage. The act is useless now, is over. I close the cage and clap. Bravo, Bravo! I leave the house smiling, knowing that I'll watch the same performance worthy of an Oscar and enjoy it the next day.....twice.

Friday, November 14, 2014

Metra in a cold day

I had lunch with friends in Chicago yesterday. We met at the Metra station in Joliet to take the double decker train.  There's a temporary ticket office because the main building is closed. The new access to the platforms consists of two staircases made of concrete, one of them with an elevator. The waiting area in the platforms looks more like it belongs to a modern city, but this is something so needed in old Joliet. My friends didn't mind me sketching them, they look very calm because we were paying attention to whoever was talking in our group. In my opinion, it's better to sketch listeners instead of the ones who talk, since they don't move. My pen was the one that kept moving because of the train motion, so lines are a little shaky, I show respect for those who sketch in trains, it's quite a challenge to draw a straight line. It's a shame a sketch of my face is not included, it would be interesting to see myself, since it's been reported to me that I look like I'm upset when I'm focus, but it's just the opposite, when I sketch I'm usually calm. 



The trains are huge, double decker. I sketched the outside train from indoors, actually, everybody was waiting indoors, Chicago is very cold now. I added people later at home as a reference of size. 


    
 
 
Once inside  the train I tried to render the height of the train and watercolor it later. I had fun chatting, eating, shopping, and of course, sketching.

 
   
 

Monday, November 3, 2014

Illinois Route 66

I've heard so much about the famous Route-66; I know it crossed the United States from the Midwest to the West Coast, but .... does it still exist? In my quest to know, I found that part of the old road still exist and passed through nothing more and nothing else than Joliet, the next town from where I live. So last Saturday, I drove there and South to sketch some of the roadside attractions in three different towns.
 
The first one was the Rich & Creamy Ice Cream Store in Joliet. Once my husband took me there when I moved to the United States years ago. I wasn't impressed, I thought it was dated and old. With my limited knowledge about this country, I had little appreciation of what I was witnessing. That has changed.  Now I like anything vintage and that has history. I sat on the shade across the road, it was cold, but I captured the Blues Brothers on top.
 
 
Next day, Sunday, I headed South to the Village of  Dwight in Illinois. There's is a beautiful historic place call the Ambler's Texaco Gas Station. I LOVED the vintage gas pumps. This time I wasn't going to let the cold weather get to me, so this smart girl parked the car with the trunk's window facing the building. I sketched in the trunk very comfortably and stayed warm. I love the result.
 

 
Finally I headed back North to the town of Wilmington to make a stop at this statue made of fiber glass, the Gemini Giant. Now a restaurant, it started as a stand selling only hot dogs. I believe old Route 66 is full of this giant statues, something in vogue then. I had a great weekend on Route 66.
 


Sunday, October 26, 2014

A piece of art in the library.

 
I went to the library to check out a book. I knew about it on my search for more information about the public art in the city of Joliet. The book was The Great Columns of Joliet. I was pleasantly surprised, since the book not only had illustrations and interesting information, it also had poems! The book about art is a piece of art itself, how lovely!
 
 


Saturday, October 25, 2014

The Great Columns of Joliet


Driving around in the city of Joliet, I've always seen these sculptures on top of mosaic columns. There are around 42 columns in the city. It is part of a program created by a non-profit organization in Joliet called Friends of Community Public Art, if you want to know more about why, check their link here.

 
I sketched one back in June 2013, see it here. Today I went to sketch two more. Each column/sculpture represents the nature, history, culture and economical backgrounds of Joliet. The first one I sketched is called The Barn Owl and the Moon. The barn owl is native of the state of Illinois. The mosaics represent the plants of the wetlands in Rock Run Preserve. My husband didn't come with me this time, but a woman volunteer to pose for me for a minute to show a reference size.
 
 

The second sculpture is called A Informed Mind Can Make Better, it is in the Black Road Branch of the Joliet Public Library. I bet you wouldn't know if I didn't tell you this but here's a secret: the sketch of the bronze sculpture shows 5 books, but it has only four <well, we have been taught to embrace the errors that happen when sketching directly in pen and ink, right?> Every book has a carved word: Art, Democracy, Music and Science.
I have to mention again, that the public service here in the United States is outstanding. One can hold a book online, and if they don't have it on the library they will bring it from any library that has it available to the library of your choice for you to pick it up. I ordered already a book I want to read, The Great Columns of Joliet. Wonderful! I can't wait to read it.
 
The next sculpture, Spirit of the River, is located in Route 66 Park, next to the Des Plaines River. I sketched this one a week later, the same day I sketched one of the side attractions on Historic Route 66  that I posted later in this blog, you can see it here.
 
 
 
 
We had a break from freezing temperatures today, so I did this last sketch of this sculpture Tiller of the Earth in the parking lot of a school. The symbols represent the two main crops cultivated in Illinois. Soy to the left and corn to the right.

 
 
 
 
Although the temperature was only 55°F, my hands were numb and red. My drawing materials behaved so strangely due to the high humidity. One of the pans I refilled with watercolor paint yesterday was literally melting  causing a mess on my hands, and the wind was folding the page I was working on as if it was soaking wet. It was good day though because I finally, after almost a month since I started this series of drawings, I filled the spread pages of my moleskine.  

 

 

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Grey and little pink Open House Chicago

For second time, I was fortunate to visit 3 buildings during the Open House Chicago weekend, presented by the CAF Chicago Architecture Foundation. Alex, one of the administrators of the Urban Sketchers Chicago group was the host this time. During this event people is allowed to come inside buildings that are normally closed to the public. Here's a map that I sketched the previous day to get familiar with the zone.
 
A4 Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook, Pen&Ink EF, Platinum Carbon Ink, W&N Watercolor Paint.
 
Our first stop was The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, a spectacular building dedicated to Mother Cabrini. I decided to make two sketches of every building, one from the interior and another from the exterior; for that I needed to manage my time very well so I worked small frames. Although the walls and ceilings were covered with frescos, I skipped them and focused in the overall building.
 
A4 Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook, Pen&Ink EF, Platinum Carbon Ink, W&N Watercolor Paint.
 
Our next stop was The Elks National Memorial, a monument dedicated to the members of the Order of Elks who served and made the ultimate sacrifice for this nation during World War I. Again, I omitted the exquisite murals all over the walls and ceilings. The overwhelming architecture was enough for this sketcher, so I focused in the dome, the marble columns and the iron work of the windows.
 
A4 Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook, Pen&Ink EF, Platinum Carbon Ink, W&N Watercolor Paint.
 
 Here is a close-up:






 
 
The last building we visited was the Second Church of Christ Scientist. At this point I was cold and hungry. So I did only one sketch, and to be honest I was tired of the grey day and grey buildings too, so, to have fun even more, I painted this one in neon pink, yes, PINK, I like pink......pink, pink, pink, pink.....pink....pink.... hurray for pink.
 
A4 Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook, Pen&Ink EF, Platinum Carbon Ink, W&N Watercolor Paint.
 
After that we took the photo of the group and the sketches we made,  then off we went for a drink and food. It was a nice day and well organized. Thanks to Alex Zonis for hosting this event.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Joseph.

Ninety one years old. We got together to celebrate Joseph's birthday, my father in law. It was a fun night we spent at one of his favorite places, the Croatian Club with his favorite band playing live, Harvest Moon. This is the man who has been very supportive to me through the years, the very first person who ever paid for any of my painted doodles and he has it still on one the walls of his house. I tried to render his melancholy eyes and his beautiful smile (he still has all his teeth, never wasn't fond for sweets), when started to sketch the lips he close his mouth! Oh well. I added a little more of color at home, since it was a little dark there to see the real colors. This is my humble gift on your day, Happy Birthday Joseph.
 
 

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

My neglected survivor plant.

I bought a tropical plant 10 years ago. This plant has been a survivor after all it's been through. First, I don't know why did I get it knowing myself. I like how cozy a plant in a house can be but that involves maintanence. I rarely water it or fertilize it. I just do it when I notice (and it may take weeks for me to notice) that leaves are down or becoming yellow. Second, it's in a small planter, how can a plant grow this 7 feet tall in such a small planter? Actually the planter is disintegrating, literally. Third, it spends long winters with minimal water. Family have helped me water it during this periods to keep it alive but I've been gone for 2 or 3 months without help and thinking this will be the last time I see it alive, and when I return BAM!, it's still there! So I decided to sketch it, who knows how long this plant will live. I don't know if it will survive another winter in my absence, I hope so, as for now, I think it is a miracle.
5x8 in, Moleskine, pen and watercolor.
 
 

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Mexican truffle.

We made 20 checkpoints out of 24 in the corn maze. The farm is in Spring Grove Illinois, check their website here. The farm claims that it has the largest corn maze in the world. At the beginning it was overwhelming just thinking the word "largest", but once inside everything seemed smaller and doable. It took us two hours to do it, less time that it took us to drive there, since we got lost... but found our way. When we finished the maze we sat in a bench outside the maze to enjoy the view.
 
 
 
The interesting thing about this visit was the finding of fungus in the maze. This fungus grows sometimes in the earns of corn, and it's edible! It is considered a delicacy in Mexico and is commonly known as Huitlacoche. I couldn't resist to grab some to cook them. I can't wait for lunch.


A5 Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook, pen&ink and W&N watercolor.

 
Update: Although I had all intentions to eat this delicacy, actually I cooked it, it didn't taste right, it was bitter/sour, so I discarded it. Too bad, I was very happy to find it, not always things come out the way you want. 


 
 
 

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Pesdestrian Bridge Mistery

I received a pamphlet of the city of Shorewood by mail weeks ago. The front page showed photos of places and buildings in the Village of Shorewood. One of them interested me, it looked like a bridge. I wanted to find the location to sketch it. The photo showed a plaque on top of the bridge that I tried to read unsuccessfully with a magnifier, but I ventured to google what I could read. Fortunately I found it, and sure I went to sketch it yesterday. The bridge crosses the DuPage River. The plaque shows the name of the person who is dedicated to, David A. Barry, in 1986. I don't know if that is the year in which it was constructed or who that person is or was. Google didn't help this time.  I'm sure one day destiny will answer that question, if fact I could ask the Mayor (I hope no more awkward moments happen this time,see why here). He may know something about it. I will sure post any further updated information, but for now, I'll stick to the joy of finishing the last page of my sketchbook with a mystery. 
 
 

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Beautiful feet

We are at the hospital for a routine test. The doctor is late so we are waiting for him. My husband is watching TV and I am sketching. My favorite part of this sketch are my husband's feet. When I contoured the feet I realized that we as humans, have body parts that are so weird, if you think about it. I can image an alien analyzing our body, asking itself: why do they have such long arms? e.g. The test results came out well. We are out of the hospital that same morning. We feel good.

A5 S&B Sketchbook, ink and color pencils.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Seattle Part 6 of 6. The tale of an electric toothbrush

Ink and color pencil

Every time that we travel I take with me my electric toothbrush fully charged. It’s midnight, the night is quite. A buzzing noise starts and my brother in-law and sister in-law woke up. We are staying at their home. They looked around in their quest to find what is causing it. They think is my brother in-law’s pager. It’s not (by the way we are in the guest bedroom; we don’t hear the commotion). Finally my sister in-law finds the electric tooth brush in the guest restroom near their bedroom.  She cannot turn it off. It’s alive and it has free will. Next day I took it to our bedroom. It’s late that night. The buzz starts again and it’s LOUD. I cannot turn it off. Bad night. Next day I wanted to turn it on somehow to drain the battery but I could not do it.  I asked my brother in-law to place it outside the house, but he gave it back to me thinking he fixed it. The tooth brush is back inside the house. It was probably a better idea than leaving it outside, the backyards of houses in the neighborhood are small and if this thing does the trick again it would wake up the neighbors, yes, it was THAT loud. The buzz starts again, I cannot believe it, how long this is going to last? I cannot throw it away, I want to exchange it. I’m stuck with it. Finally I wrapped it with a towel and put it in the living room under the cushion of a sofa. The living room is in the first floor and the bedrooms on the second floor. It worked. We slept well that night, either I chose a good place to hide it or the battery drained. Next morning my sister in-law comes up from the basement; she said she hear it again. Oh no, the beast is still alive. At this point I’m embarrassed with the whole situation. Fortunately we didn’t hear it after that day. My brother in-law searched the website costumer service for me. I exchanged it already for a new one, although the warranty was due several months ago! I love the United States; the customer service is the best. Here it goes, packed in the same envelope in which the new one arrived in. I kind of feel melancholy since this toothbrush did wonders for my teeth and gums. Farewell toothbrush, it was nice to use you.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Seattle Part 5 of 6. Black and white Victoria

My husband and I decided to make a day trip to Victoria, B.C. Early morning we took the Victoria Clipper at Pier 69 in Seattle. This catamaran makes 3 hours at 30 miles, it's very steady for the water at Puget Sound, it can be rough, but we had a smooth ride in our way there. We were already on our seats at 7:00 am but the departure was scheduled at 7:30 am so I had 30 minutes to sketch the view out of my window. 



It was cloudy in Victoria, our sunny days luck were over. We took the hop-on hop-off bus. Although I was tempted to stop and sketch the neighborhoods and villas in Victoria, I didn't have a lot of time so  I chose to focus in the Inner Harbor. It was drizzling, but I found a tree and managed to stay dry and sketch comfortably....on the floor....go figure.



My A5 size sketchbook asked for a Extra Fine nib to do all the detail I wanted to sketch from this building. The pen I used was filled with non water proof ink. It's ironic that I chose to use it in a rainy day, but I went ahead anyway. After I was done with this one, we noticed people were getting inside the Parliament Buildings trough one of the side doors. We followed the crowd and it turned out they were giving free tours. It was very interesting. I learned that the main gate is only open for the Queen and heads of state. I really liked the door knobs. They had BC engraved, for British Columbia I guess. 



Once outside, I sat in the fountain right in front of the Parliament main gate and started to sketch the Empress Hotel. There was no shelter from the rain, so some drop spots can be seen in the sketches. I loved it, I brought with me not only sketches but the rain from beautiful Victoria. Click here for part 6.


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Seattle Part 4 of 6. A little mistake

We headed to the Pike Place Market to buy flowers for the wedding. Flowers are fresh and priced quite reasonable. Hanging out with people who lives in the city you are visiting is a great advantage, traffic in Seattle is not different than any other big city, locals know where to find parking spots. We parked in the North side of the market. Not long after I drafted myself from the group, and found the Public Market sign. I was very confident this one was the famous entrance. I had no clue something was missing. When I finished I phoned the group to find each other, they told me they were under the Public Market sign and I told them I was too, but we couldn't find each other. "We are in the middle of the street!", -so do I!, I replied. Then someone in the group figured out what was happening. I proudly sketched this:


Instead of this:

I had an aha! moment, the clock was missing. My pride became shame for missing this one. Now you know, that if you are as clueless as I am and you happen to be in Seattle for first time, please know that there are two Public Market signs.

Trying to forget the incident, I sketched a park in the North end of the market. I could sketch the main entrance of the public market, just if you wonder, but after all, there are so many beautiful sketches of this view out there to enjoy. Who is going to miss mine? Click here for part 5.




Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Seattle Part 3 of 6. Ocean and Mountains in Washington State

On a sunny day we went to Shilshole beach. It's a trendy place where people like to celebrate weddings. It has magnificent views of the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Although it was sunny nobody was in the water that day.





The following day we headed to Mount Rainier National Park, 3 hours driving South from Seattle to the Sunrise entrance, North of the volcano. Another sunny day.  The day temperature while driving was 55 F, but I noticed that while driving in the dark road due to the big trees the temp drop 10 degrees in a matter of minutes. When we arrived to the last stop at the Visitor Center, and after just walking a short distance here's what I sawwwwww....(my jaw just dropped) Mount Rainier itself, majestic and intimidating. Emmons Glacier is the biggest glacier in the continental United States.



Short after finishing my sketch, we headed to another trail towards the Shadow Lake, beautiful small lake, but worth hiking and sketching. Click here for part 4.






Monday, September 22, 2014

Seattle Part 2 of 6. Laurelhurst.

I found amazing views from this neighborhood. My first sketch shows a view of Lake Washington.  I spent a lot of time playing with green colors trying to render the many shades of trees and bushes in the Evergreen State. This was my second day in Seattle and it was cloudy. I had a brief taste of a normal day here, but I knew bright and sunny days coming ahead were going to make my stay memorable! 



Later that day I went to the Burke Museum located in the same area. There they found a piece of a mammoth recently, apparently it is a big deal, it was exhibited at the museum but it was still wrapped in this white material archaeologists use to protect and transfer their finds. What impressed me was the skeleton of a mammoth inside the museum, but I decided to sketch this wood sculpture right outside the entrance. I better write in this blog what I learned in the museum before I forget. The state of Washington was under water millions of years ago, that's why they have on display fossils of marine creatures found in the area.


Someone mention to me it was looking forward to see my sketch of the iconic Space Needle. The truth of the matter is that I didn't had a chance to sketch near it. This was the only chance I had to sketch it, and I took it, a view from Laurelhurst Park. It's so small that I had to point it out. Someone my be disappointed. Sorry.



My final sketch of this neighborhood is from my visit to the Laurelhurst Beach Club. It was the last day the beach was open. The day was sunny and as clear as water, even I could see Mount Rainier at the distance. Sunny days are so rare here, that the only subject I could hear people talk about was the sun. I love sunny days, but I don't like my skin exposed to the sun. The sun was setting and the shades of trees were getting bigger and covering most of the grass. I noticed my husband and I were the only ones in the shade. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY was under the sun, all local people. We two looked like isolated weirdos in this immense shaded area and the rest, all cornered in a small sunny area. It was so funny. I guess I underestimate the many bright sunny days we have in Illinois during the summer. Something to keep in mind. Click here for part 3.


Sunday, September 21, 2014

Seattle Part 1 of 6. Two passengers on my way to Seattle

Here's one sketch more of people on airplanes.


The first passenger was a woman with matched earrings and a jacket in blue. She was buried in sheets of paper and reading the pages nervously over and over again and jumping from one page to another without any apparent order. I thought she didn’t have any electronic devices to entertain herself during the flight, which makes me think that this was the first time I saw electrical outlets in the back of every single seat in a plane. Airlines realized most passengers bring their own devices to entertain themselves, nobody watch movies on the plane screens anymore. When we landed, and the use of phones were allowed, this woman took out her smart phone from her purse and started to text. I don’t own and don’t know how to use a smart phone. The lesson here is: first don’t judge a book by its cover, and second I need to get a smart phone.



The second passenger was next to me on my right in the other side of the isle. This man was sleeping. His tattoo caught my attention. I could recognized a fish in the tattoo. After I was done sketching, I told him I liked his tattoo and showed him the sketch. He liked it (I haven’t met any person who doesn’t like my doodles, that’s the beauty of sketching). I asked him what was in the tattoo and if it has any meaning for him. He told me it was two sharks and the symbol in the center was a Hawaiian Tiki god, who keeps evil away. He was proud of it, then, simultaneously, he and his wife told me he was planning on tattooing his other arm. I wonder how people choose the image that is going to stay in their skin forever. It would be a big decision for me if I do so...but I don’t have to worry, it’s not going to happen....ever. Click here for part 2.

Friday, August 29, 2014

Rafael Coronel Museum

I have some sketches I haven't finished but sometimes I feel like rolling my sleeves and put myself to work. This is one of them, it's from my visit to Rafael Coronel Museum earlier this year in Zacatecas city, Mexico. This building has a lot of history. It was an hospice founded by Franciscan monks in 1558, it was almost destroyed by a big fire in 1648. The Franciscan monks were expelled by the government due to the new Reform laws, but the temple continued opened until 1928, when the ceiling collapsed. A limited restoration started in 1980 with intentions of opening a museum which was finally opened in 1990. This facility was offered to the local artist Rafael Coronel to be filled up with art. He donated his private collections of popular art. Therefore the museum was named after him and it has now the biggest collection of masks in the world. I'm glad I've got this info from a book I bought at the museum, and it makes me happier to think that this sketch was worth to rescue.

Handbook sketchbook A5, pen & ink, watercolors and color pencil.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Not so Hollywood

One can imaging that after seeing Barbershop, the film featuring Ice Cube, you would believe to find African-American costumers joking and yelling at each other, making a party of their visit to the barbershop. My husband enjoys a good shave, with use of hot towels and the whole enchilada. Three times I've gone to this place with him and to my awe, I've nothing but good things to say about my experience there. The clients are well behave, they wait their turn patiently in silence, when they have a conversation they don't raise their voices. I'm so naive in that respect. Knowing how Hollywood film makers twist reality in their favor to sell, how could I believe that nonsense? I showed my sketch to the barber and the man with the blue T-shirt, and they liked it and smiled. Hollywood, how dare you?

S&B A5 Beta Series Sketchbook, Fountain Pen EF & M, Waterproof Ink and W&N watercolor

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Chicago Urban Sketchers on a water taxi.

We were lucky to have a wonderful day with a great weather. After the threat of rain on the previous days, weather cooperated with us and we could board the water taxi as planned. This event was going to be a challenge because our surroundings were going to change constantly, so I knew I needed to sketch fast. Once the boat was moving, I was I little undecided how to approach the situation, then at the first stop, I stood up and started to sketch. This is my first sketch.

Stillman&Birn A5 Sketchbook Beta Series, Lamy Safari fountain pen M, Platinum Carbon Ink, Winsor&Newton watercolor. 

Then I turned around and saw this:

Stillman&Birn A5 Sketchbook Beta Series, Lamy Safari fountain pen M, Platinum Carbon Ink, Winsor&Newton watercolor. 

Chinatown was the last stop before returning to the location we left from. The first image was made in 3 or 4 minutes, it's my rapid sketch. Later at home, with a little bit of love, I present one of those "before and after" cases:


Stillman&Birn A5 Sketchbook Beta Series, Lamy Safari fountain pen M, Platinum Carbon Ink, Winsor&Newton watercolor. 


On our way back, I drew some of my fellow sketchers. They were very focus on sketching so stayed very still. Chris and Rich are friends. Chris just came from England to stay here for 6 months. I asked him why he would spend winters in Chicago? He asked me if I have spent winters in the South of England? They are cold and wet, he prefers snow!

Stillman&Birn A5 Sketchbook Beta Series, Lamy Safari fountain pen M, Platinum Carbon Ink, Winsor&Newton watercolor. 

After our ride on the boat I noticed the rain of loud noises coming from the sky. It was the airplanes at the air show held yesterday. My husband and I walked to Navy Pier. There, the crowd who came to see the air show was leaving so we were "swimming" against a current of people. At the end, we were exhausted. Bob and I found a spot near the water, I still had energy to make another sketch. This, I hope you can see, shows my peaceful mood. 
Stillman&Birn A5 Sketchbook Beta Series, Sailor Sapporo fountain pen EF, Waterproof Sailor ink, Winsor&Newton watercolor. 

I thank my fellow sketchers for such a great day and my wonderful husband for his infinite patience while waiting during the whole day for me to do my doodles. What a great day we had. Thank you Lord.