Food recipes

Friday, October 30, 2015

Open House Chicago 2015. Last Part. The Rookery. The best to the end.

A5 Hand.Book, pen, and ink.

The last building we visited was the Rookery. We had an hour to sketch before heading to have some food and drinks. I wanted to see the vault in the underground floor. It took me several minutes to get in there and browse the collection of original architectural elements. Once out, I picked this view on the ground floor. After several minutes a woman in uniform came to tell us not sketching was allowed. We were in shock, all of us. Oh well, we swallowed the bitter experience and moved on. I just had a chance to sketch the stairways. Ten minutes were enough after all, to resemble the signature feature of this building.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Open House Chicago 2015. Part 3. The Oriental Theather.

A5 Hand Book, pen, ink and watercolor
The Oriental Theater in Chicago was the second location we visited. As soon as got inside our first reaction was wow! This richly ornamented theater is one of those places hard to tackle. Many of us decided to sketch details, a statue or a lamp for instance. Other drew the whole scenario, and others like me, stayed in the middle. This sketch shows the top of the scenario. The light was subtle and the red of the curtains was deeper that this. There were a lot of figures and characters above the curtains. I'm sure there's a meaning for each one of them, but unfortunately I  didn't ask. I draw a little figure in green at the bottom of the sketch which is a man who wasn't there. I calculated the size of the  man using the back door of the stage in order to show how huge it is. Click here to read last part.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Open House Chicago 2015. Part 2. The McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum.



The Urban Sketchers meet-up was scheduled at noon. I though it was good idea to take the train to Chicago early, so I would have time to tour some buildings of the Open House Chicago event that weekend before doing any sketches.  The first location we met at was the McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum. We had to go down the stairway from the street level to access the Museum. The museum itself is small but has several floors. It was so tiny inside that it was better to sketch outdoor. We had an hour before we walked to the second location. Time flew. I didn't finish. Some day I will. Time to pack and move to next location.

Here, know the new face of the 2 dollar bill, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Museum. Click here to read part 3.



Monday, October 19, 2015

Open House Chicago 2015 Part 1. Metra Train to Chicago.

A5 Hand.book sketchbook, pen, ink and watercolor.

A lot of people take the train from the suburbs to Chicago on weekends. I, for instance, met with members of Urban Sketcher Chicago to attend the Open House Chicago offered by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Many buildings of architectural and historical interest are open to the public for free. During my trip to the city I sat in the upper level of the train. The view was awkward and with lots of metal bars, but I felt comfortable sketching it. This dad was busy clicking on his phone all the time while his son looked utterly bored. Click here to read part 2.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Healthy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread


10 x 7 in (25 x 27 cm) Stillman & Birn Beta Series, pen, iinkk and watercolor.
I found this bread recipe online few days ago and everyone who has tasted it says it is very good. I know there are a lot of good recipes out there, but what is surprising is how good something can taste when it is not made with the traditional ingredients our mother taught us. This bread is healthy yet delicious. And before I'm bombarded with zillions of questions about the recipe, I'll share it. If you make this bread, please feel free to leave a comment to share your opinion. Or better yet, let the author of this recipe know about it clicking here.