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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

USk Chicago Sketch Seminar 2016

These are the sketches I made on Saturday evening in a workshop during my free time. Capturing Chicago's Rhythm and Energy by Lisa Flahive. 



But this year I experienced the seminar behind the scenes.  

Everything started by getting the courage to submit my proposal for a workshop last January. Alex Zonis and Barbara MacCafertty Weeks received my proposal with excitement. We went through some details and they suggested to add a word to describe better my workshop: Fearless Sketching with Pen, Ink and Watercolor. Once my proposal was accepted I had access to the planning team and to be fair, I was more of a watcher than a doer. I realized how the planning group was organized in different teams. I had no idea how much work and time it is involved in the process of putting things together to make of this event a hit. The countless volunteer hours this team spent to make this Seminar work is beyond my understanding. These are people who have jobs and families and yet they found the time. It has to be for the love to art and the pride of putting Chicago on the map. As an instructor, it was a joy to learned that the participants who gave me the opportunity to share to them what I do by signing up to my workshop were very warm and welcoming! I assure you I learned more from them than they from me. I learned that the kindness and cheer spirit of the people who attended and organized this Seminar made of it an unforgettable experience.

Kudos to this team. Chicago is ready for a bigger event, no doubt.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Not fireworks in the sky but birds.


I drove aimlessly yesterday in search of a scene to sketch. Yesterday was a quiet overcast Sunday and the solitude of this place matched this day. BUT, sketching is one of those activities that helps to improve a situation in a split of a second. Sketching takes me out of stress but also from boredom. I took at look a this sketch and noticed how light the washes of watercolor are reflecting the mood in which I was at that moment. I thought about putting more color but on second thought, I told myself no, it is what it is, a genuine record of your mood. Leave it alone. I just added a little of contrast on the left side and added those birds flying away when I parked there. I don't have fireworks to offer today but here it is my display of birds in the sky. Happy birthday to the United States of America.