Food recipes

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Cerro de San Pedro

Graphite, watercolor and color pencil on Arches CP 7" x 10"
While I recover from a cold, I made this piece in my improvised studio, the living room of  my brother's. Cerro de San Pedro is a little mining town outside San Luis Potosi city. The population is very low, locals call it a ghost town. If you want to use your phone, there's no signal unless you pay a fee for private wi-fi. In recent years, people has spread the word about this town becoming alive and people come to visit and spend the day in the little main square and eat or drink at the few restaurants around it. Since there's no signal we opted for sitting down and have a nice conversation, drink soda, listening to the music, watching the trees moving with the wind and seeing other people enjoying themselves. This sketch above is one of the small streets that leads to the square. The action was behind me but I really liked the solitude and look of abandonment of this view.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Billboard

Ink and watercolor on Pentalic 7” x 10”

There are signs that show how cities evolve or change over time. Sierra Leona is a street with high traffic that is showing clearly this change in the city of San Luis Potosí. This area used to be exclusively a residential area, it still is, however many houses have been sold and converted into small bussines. The houses still inhabited by families have allowed companies to install billboards inside their home’s properties! This gives them an additional income for leasing part of their property but leave them with little front space left. This practice caught my eye. The big base of the billboard’s support can be seen in this sketch, this is one billboard of many. 

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

A trade with the barber.

Ink and watercolor 5” x 7”
This is the view across the street from the barbershop my husband likes to go sometimes here in San Luis Potosí city. There is a bench outside the barbershop where I sat to sketch. Minutes later the barber came out to check what I was doing, he wondered why I was sketching this corner, I saw it in his face, he didn’t bother to ask me nor did I explain the urban sketching concept. When he was done with my husband he saw this sketch and liked it. He liked it so much that he asked if I could sketch the indoor of the barbershop next time, he promised he would frame the sketch to display it on the walls of the barbershop and oferred my husband a free service next visit. How could I refuse that? So I immediately said yes!

Friday, December 14, 2018

Artist's problems.

Color pencil on Cardstock 5" x 7 "in

It is one of those boring afternoons or evenings when the sound of the TV becomes a background sound that I hear but don't watch. This strangely comforts me and sets the tone to start doodling. Does this happen to you? I find color pencils very suitable for the task when this happens. 
Some Christmas images I've seen here and there stuck with me and unconsciously came out when I started doodling. Filling the shapes with color is what I love the most, making line after line until the shape reaches the desired shade and tone. It is Zen time! However, it troubles me to figure out what I like the most, the process or the result.  Oh artists' problems.

Color pencil on Cardstock 7" x 5 "in

Friday, December 7, 2018

Greeting cards.

These are two greeting cards I made for two of my dearest friends who always send me beautiful greeting cards for every occasion throughout the year. I'm humbled by the care they put into our friendship. One lives in Arizona and the other one loves Maine.

Color pencil on tone cardstock paper 5" x 7"
The intention here was to draw a landscape in a very illuminated night by the moonlight. The tone paper came out blueish in the digital images, but the paper is more like dark grey blue. The moon circles were made hand free, it's easy to make an almost perfect circle when you repeatedly draw in the same spot until it comes out nicely round. I'm sure there's no secret here. 

I hope my friends like them.
Color pencil on tone cardstock paper 5" x 7"