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Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Stillman&Birn paper.

We, the urban sketchers of Chicago and the world, have received numerous times samples of paper and sketchbooks from one of our generous sponsor Stillman&Birn. I have Alfa, Beta and Zeta Series sketchbooks, all white. Alpha was the one I received last and never used. 

In order to use the sketchbooks better I tasted the paper samples to feel the paper using the media I like: pen and ink, pencil, koh-i-noor magic pencil, watercolor pencil and watercolor paint.

Ink and graphite pencil:
Alpha paper was the best for ink. The pen and pencil just glide on the paper, drawing curves and corners was effortlessly. The ink takes longer to dry than Beta. Still, once dried the waterproof ink doesn't bleed. The Alpha sample shows Vellum surface in this photo but now the paper is advertised as medium grain.

Color Pencil:
Next, I tried my koh-i-noor magic pencil. The best paper out of these 3 sketchbooks I  have is the Zeta series because it has a very smooth surface. Alpha and Beta have a more texture surface which makes the tip produce dust and makes the tip of the pencil to flat faster and I didn't like that.

Watercolor pencils:

The best for this use is the Beta Series since the pencil marks are dissolved almost completely. The Zeta still shows some marks after rubbing a little more intensively with a watercolor brush. The alpha series, the color dots on the top half (since I run out of paper) are right in the middle or performance. 

Watercolor paint:
The best suited for my taste was the Beta. I didn't like the Zeta series watercolor washes, the paint behaves like in hot press paper and the paint is not absorbed fast enough. It's hard to control the washes. The Alpha series was good (lower half), almost as good as the beta.

Now I know how to use best the sketchbooks I have. I'll write the following notes on each sketchbook to remind me of this observations.

The Alpha Series sketchbook is great for ink work and pencil, specially when time is invested in details. It is an absolute joy to draw in ink, but I have to be careful to not smudge the ink with my hand and let the ink dry completely if I don' want the ink run when watercolor washes are added. This paper buckles slightly because it's only 150 gms. 

The Beta Series sketchbook is good for watercolor, both pencil and paint. The paper is thirsty for ink, I don't have to wait too long to apply watercolor. I think is best to keep the line work basic or limited and let the watercolor do the rest.

The Zeta Series is best suitable for my koh-i-noor magic pencil. I like the smooth surface for it.

Happy sketching!


Sunday, August 27, 2017

What is a successful sketching day for you?


What is successful day sketching day for you?



I hosted a picnic day yesterday in Coal City for one of my newest group of friends that I wanted to know better. I wanted to make it a successful sketching day by recording the key moments of this day. I started by sketching the entrance of the place we went to while I waited for the guests in my car. Do you see the left mirror of the car on the right side of the sketch? I draw some basic lines but not enough to consider it a sketch on location, so I finished it today. 

Later I managed to sketch one my guests chatting. 

Next to her, there was another of my friends laying on a portable launch chair which was the novelty of the afternoon. Unfortunately I was interrupted by I don't remember what.

After lunch and dipping in the water at the beach, I was determined to sketch my friends playing cornhole and tossing sand bags, but again I didn't, since I was asked to participate in the game. What is a successful sketching day anyway? I don't think mine was good enough to tell a story, but I don't regret it, since I got to know these friends better by chatting and playing together, which I consider a success!

Sunday, August 20, 2017

How to make my sketch warmer?





The color line I get with my koh-i-noor magic pencil is awesome! I'm using it to sketch people. People move and I'm a slow sketcher, so the use of this pencil gives me line and color in one stroke making the sketching time shorter. The next sketch is what I normally get. 


But something was missing, it is flat and cold...what if I add a little bit of color to the skin to make it warmer?
I have a set of watercolor pencils that came for free with a purchase I did years ago and still have because I don't use them. This is the perfect excuse to use them.

I used a mix of Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red and intensified the warmth by adding more red to the nose, ears, chin and cheeks. 

Doesn't it look better?


I think it does! From now on, I'll carry on my small tin case with these watercolor pencils and magic pencil in my everyday purse. I love the quality paper of leuchttrum 1917 sketchbook for this purpose, suitable for ink, pencil or color pencil drawings. It's not suitable for watercolor washes, not even light washes, BUT it handles very well watercolor pencil with minimum water. Fantastic! 


Thursday, August 17, 2017

My sanctuary


This is the place where I spend a lot of hours. It's the office and also my studio. This is my sanctuary where I get lost and I shelter from the problems of this crazy, crazy, crazy world. 

Saturday, August 12, 2017

A day in St. Charles, Illinois


Today was a beautiful day and we went to St. Charles, a charming town next to the Fox River. It's been a while since the last time I was here, I came to a Zucchero concert back in 2007 and it was at night! So it seemed like a good idea to explore the town by day. 

Before I head to describe the sketch above, I'll jump to our first stop. We went to the Koi Whisperer Sanctuary and Japanese Garden that seems to be very popular but it's open only on Saturdays. It's the backyard of a private home. I have never fed koi fish in my live. The owner gave us small containers with finely diced fresh fruit, watermelon and cantaloupe. The pond is small but  looks very deep to hold very well fed big fish....many, like two dozens. 

A family was feeding the fish, the platform was quite small so we waited upstairs and I sketched the view with my magic color pencil. 

When they finished we went down to the platform to feed the fish. Feeling the fruit being sucked from your hand was the most weird sensation. It made me laugh. I sketch one of them with watercolor, it seemed the appropriate medium. 
I was so funny and entertaining.
Here the big mouth.
Our next stop was the Pottawatomie Park, there we ate something and I sketched the food stand on a A5 size sketchbook with basic pencil line work and then watercolor. It was difficult to me to define the areas. I realized that for doing this I needed a bigger size and better paper. 
Next we headed to a pub where I went back to the magic pencil to sketch people. 


Minutes later, "Stephan", a costumer, arrived and sat close to us. How do I know his name? I'll explain myself. 

He was smoking a cigar, he asked the waitress her name, it was Lola. He started a conversation with a man from the table next to his, eventually asked him if he smokes and offered him a cigar after the affirmative answer. Later he introduced himself and announced his name, Stephan. I had a sangria, it was delicious, so did he. His next move was to yell across the patio. -Hey Lola! Sangrias for those two! This was a man who knew how to engage people to make himself present, how to own the place. He wasn't drunk or else. It was his personality. There was a aura of self-confidence which was a magnet to me. Either people was comfortable with his behavior or not, he made himself sketch-able and  now he is in my sketchbook.  

It was time to return to home but I needed to sketch a nice scene. The Baker Hotel and the bridge over the Fox River. The sun was utterly on my face and so the glare of the water  but I was determined to make at least a quick one. Next time I'll sketch in the morning when the sun is in my back. 

Good day. Until next time St. Charles.

Friday, August 11, 2017

My neighbor's backyard


There's nothing like seeing the fruit of your learning at the last international urban sketchers symposium in Chicago. This is the backyard of my neighbor which I sketched from my own backyard. She loves her plants. We have had conversations about the what's and why's of every single decision she has made to come to the final design of her backyard. I'll say for instance, the electrical boxes of cable or phone or whatever on the lower left corner, bothered her so much that she chose to block the view with pine trees, also to block a little bit of the wind. It used to bother me also but I learned to accept the situation, you'll see, I don't have a green thumb, what a shame....for I love a beautiful garden.

Friday, August 4, 2017

Asia Festival at the Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum offered the Asia Festival this evening in their facilities which will last until this Sunday. For a 3 hours opening evening, the staff managed to pack 4 activities! So I'll start with the Chinese Lion Dance.

A trio of musicians played music while the lion, handle by two man, danced and moved around and through the crowd. Minutes later they took a break to allow time for photographs, well in my case was time to sketch. Kids posed next to the head of the lion. I also included one of the man wearing the pants, which were the legs of the lion.

The next demonstration was Japanese taiko drumming. Here I sketch more, I was fascinated by the choreography, also I was impressed by a kid who was playing the drum masterfully, I would say he wasn't older than 12.




Two sumo wrestlers appeared on the stage right after the drums act, both wearing sumo robes with beautiful prints. One of them 500 lb, was from Egypt, over 6 feet tall. The other 250 lb from Japan, both renowned winners of important competitions in Japan and around the world. They removed their robes to show their belts or mawashi. They didn't wrestled, (that will happen this weekend) but demonstrated some sumo techniques and posed for the audience, that's when I sketched them.


Finally they released some Japanese lanterns in the Meadow Lake at night. It was a peaceful activity and on that note I finish my post tonight.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Technicolor People


One of the benefits benefits of hanging out with people who do the same as you is to learn what tools and how they use them. This encourage you to use them as well. I got this rainbow pencils few days ago and I'm in love with it. The lead is quite thick and there's no room for details, something that I can get caught in easily. The portability is very handy and it delivers a product that includes work line and color in the same stroke! How can you beat that! This gave me the opportunity to practice people sketching. I try to include a context around the person to tell a story, by showing what are they doing and/or where they are. This kid's pencil reminds me on how easy is to tell the story in one sentence, we all learned it in elementary school and that is enough to tell a story.




This cashier is using the cashier and for the next costumer.