Archaeological sites in Chiapas

Fineliner and watercolor on Moleskine 3.5" x 5.5"

The archaeological site of Yaxchilan is in the banks of the Usumacinta river on the Mexican side. It is only reachable by boat. The ride takes about 45 minutes. I never heard of Yaxchilan. It is so mystic. For some reason the archaeologists left the trees that grew in the city for centuries, right there in the middle of the plazas. It is different from other Mayan sites where all sort of invading vegetation was removed. As a result, hiking these sites under the blasting sun makes the experience very uncomfortable, but not in Yaxchilan. The moss that grows in the humidity and the shade of trees covers the surface of buildings and rocks, that's why is called also the green city. It is a special place known by doorway lintels and stelae with hieroglyphic text. In reality all the place is a self promotion of the last ruler Bird Jaguar, despite this, it is still a fascinating place. On my way back I sketched the long pointed boat, I wanted to remember the peculiar view, to the left Guatemala and to the right Mexico. I would barely make it to our next stop that afternoon to the small place Bonampak, known by its murals.

Fineliner and watercolor on Moleskine 3.5" x 11"

We spent a full day in Palenque, I sketched this view from the Temple of the Cross, the largest in Palenque in which it is still allowed to climb. From left to right: Temple of the Sun, Temple XIV, Temple XV, in the far center of the sketch Temple of Inscriptions or Tomb of Pakal the Great and to the far right is The Palace.

Pen & ink and watercolor on Hand Book Watercolor Journal 8" x 8"

Behind the Tomb of Pakal, out of the view in the sketch is the Temple XIII or the Tomb of the Red Queen (which it is still allowed to enter the pyramid to see the red sarcophagus). I'm mentioning this because the offerings found in this recently discovered tomb (1994) were not at the on-location Museum of Palenque which is home to this collection. They are here in San Cristobal de las Casas as a temporary exhibition, in the Museum of the Highlands of Chiapas Ex-convento de Santo Domingo. I sketched it here, before it was taken back to Palenque. I'm glad that the museum wasn't busy, so I wasn't blocking the view to a lot of people. I took my time, I even watercolor it on location.

The last day of this side trip we drove from Palenque back to San Cristobal de las Casas and stopped at two more water sites, Cascadas de Agua Azul and Misol-Ha. No sketches though. Oh well, I promise to show more sketches of San Cristobal de las Casas....or somewhere else. 

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Rivers in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve.

We arrived at the first location in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve almost at dawn. I could hear the roar of the falls and the River Santo Domingo. The force of the water in this river was quite intimidating, it was getting dark, I would find my chance to sketch next day. At night I would leave the windows open for the sounds of the river and falls lulled me to sleep. Next morning at breakfast, I sketched the view from our table. 

Fineliner and watercolor on Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook 3" x 5"

That afternoon, we visited the River Tzendales which joins the Lacanja River. It is a beautiful river in the Lacandon jungle. It's a green paradise for watching wild life. It's narrow and windy passages require a skillful boat driver to maneuver the ride. The river is covered by vegetation so dense and high that there is no reflection of the sky in the water. The afternoons are not the perfect time to watch birds but because we had an overcast day, we could see plenty of birds that otherwise would be forced to find shelter deep in the shade in an otherwise hot sunny day, out of the view from watchers, so we were lucky. Marco was our  guide/boat driver. He is a very skillful one in many ways. He spotted so many creatures from the distance, invisible to us. Picture this, a person who has to put his  eyes on the river to ride the boat safely and also looking for animals for us to watch, that is impressive to me. I wish I could sketch animals, but I had an opportunity to sketch Marco in our way back to the departing location. 

Fineliner and watercolor on Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook 3" x 5"

This is a list of animals we watched all wild free, it's a reminder for myself really, but I'm happy to share with you if you care to keep reading: Crocodile, black hauler monkey (or Sarahuayo monkey), green parrots, the endangered specie scarlet macaw, kingfisher, spoon peak heron, hummingbird (the size of a little finger), royal or real toucan, little toucans (another specie), woodpecker, bag maker bird (named after the shape of its nest), bats, bat eater hawk, long tail cowboy cuckoo, yellow long tail and white cheeks golden oriole (oropendula), spider monkey and flora species like Ceiba and mulatto trees and eater insect plants. All of that in the course of 90 minutes!

The night of that day would be a scary one, well... just the first moment. I listened listened to the hauled of the black hauler monkey and tried to sleep for the next 3 days with this sound, I couldn’t, I was fascinated.

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The Lakes of Chiapas

Beyond our base in the colonial town of San Cristobal de las Casas, one can go deep into the jungle close to the border with Guatemala to see the wild and remote areas in the state of Chiapas. We took some days to visit those areas were access to internet doesn't exist. The dense vegetation and the mountainous geography make it difficult and the places we were about to stay in would offer internet service for just few hours at day. Our goal in this side trip was to visit the Zone of Lakes in the highlands, seeing wild animals in the jungle of low lands, and to visit Mayan archaeological sites.

Fineliner, watercolor and color pencil on Pentalic Watercolor Journal 7" x 10"

For two days we visited the zone of lakes. Our first stop was the Archaeological Zone Chinkultic. At the top of the main pyramid, usually the tallest, biggest and builted in the highest location, we saw the surroundings. Next to pyramid was a cenote that I dared to sketch rapidly and far in the horizon we could see part of the Tziscao Lake were we would stay overnight. 

That evening we went to the Tziscao Lake. It was incredibly windy and cold, we were still in the highlands of Chiapas. Later we would go down to the jungle. Well protected from the weather I sat in a little peninsula totally exposed to the wind but I managed to sketch some cabins at the edge of water. I quickly realized I would sketch with direct watercolor to save time and finish the sketch as soon as possible. This would be the only day of the next days with bad weather.

Direct watercolor on Pentalic Watercolor Journal 7" x 10"

Next morning we visited more lakes of the Lagunas de Montebello, a National park which is internationally known for their beauty, the wide range of blue and green colors and the transparency of their waters. The lake Montebello, which gives the name to the whole zone of the 60+ lakes, is the one of the most open, I wasn't impressed, but our second stop at the group of lakes called Cinco Lagos would change that. The 3 of 5 lakes we visited was a set of lakes barely connected by narrow passages, it gives the impression that it is only one lake, but they are actually three, Lake La Canada, Lake Pena Blanca and Lake Escodido. This group of lakes are deep and surrounded by big cliffs.The local people offer rides to cross the lakes on rafts made of big tied tree trunks, very stable.  We met a young family from Switzerland at the beach area of the lakes, the only one where is allowed to swim. While I was swimming in the cold water I yelled at the family, hey Switzerland! I made signs for them to join me to swim. When I was out and dry, I heard someone yelled on the other side of the beach: hey Chicago! We witnessed how they accepted the challenge and also dared to swim in the freezing water, how fun! After that refreshing experience we returned to the embarcadero or pier. There, my sketchbook was awaiting for me to sketch the view of the rafts.

Pen, ink, watercolor and color pencil on Hand Book Watercolor Journal 8" x 8"

This sketch would be the last large size sketch I would do in order to optimized our daylight time. There were at least 10 rafters who would observe me sketching. I had fun chatting with them. At the end I asked them for a group photo, that was the moment when half of them disappeared, you see, they are shy. To the very left is Rodolfo, the rafter on the sketch with red shirt, he was wearing a black one but I took the liberty to change that. Next to him was Hermett (sorry if I got  your name wrong) who was our guide for the ride.

I'm glad we met friendly through sketching as they opened up. I'm sure this was a rare opportunity for them to see something different like me sketching the beautiful lands they love and are so proud of.
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The Cathedral, just pen and paper.

Fineliner and watercolor on Pentalic watercolor journal 7" x 10"

The South side of the Cathedral in San Cristobal de las Casas happened to be my view  from one of the benches in the little zocalo next to the Cathedral. This building also was  damaged during the earthquake and this fence surrounds it for safety 🚧. On this chilly morning 🌅 I was prepared with the proper cloth and I was warm and very comfortable, so much that I patiently added the lines of the two fences, took my time putting more people in the sketch than I normally do and even some birds (I think they were doves ) made it to my sketch. 

This confirms my theory, the more comfortable I am while sketching, the best the sketch comes out, well at least to my eyes 😎. I enjoy drawing  line work on location, direct view is essential to catch on details,  and then I do watercolor back at home. I confess I simply don't always have the patience to wait for the paint to dry or juggling with more sketching tools. There are so many different ways to sketch on location. Pen and paper is a simple one, the one I enjoy doing the most.
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The whistle of the knife sharpener.

Pencil and watercolor on Pentalic watercolor journal 7" x 10"

Many years ago, during my childhood, before knife sharpeners were available as a kitchen tool, you would hope to listen to that whistle. A couple of dull knifes from this place needed some attention, the price? I asked him, 15 MXN each (about 0.75 USD each), so I handed the knifes to this man through the window. There, while this man was working on the precious tools, I took a photo from up the window looking down to the street.  The portable sharpener consist of a monocycle with pedals attached to a chain that rotates the sharpening stone. All the transaction was made through the window. I really liked how Hello Kitty was in his key chain. This memory had to make it to my sketchbook. While he was walking away, I recorded the sound of his whistle. Did you miss it at the beginning of this post? Here it is again. 
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Waist loom

Pen&Ink and watercolor on Pentalic watercolor journal 7" x 10"

In my search for a little bag for coins I found a little interesting textile store. I stopped at the entrance and the woman in the store invited me to come inside. Her name is Rosy. She was weaving on the loom. After some minutes I asked her if I could sketch her, to my surprise she agreed. While I was sketching she told me more about the store and her work. The store belongs to a cooperative community of 60+ women who sell their work in the same store. She lives in a village called Magadalena near Altamirano. She showed me how their work is done by themselves using a waist loom, also called backstrap loom. She placed a belt behind her waist and pull the loom to create tension and wave properly the textile. She didn't follow any pattern, all was been created as she went. I ended up getting the pink little bag in the right of the sketch. If I sketched it I wouldn't make it any justice. It's indeed a beautiful work and she's a beautiful person.  
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Tamales, sketch demo.

I bought some tamales in the municipal market Jose Castillo Tielemans today. It was until I arrived at home that I saw they were so cute, that I decided to sketch them and take some photos of the process...and share it with you of course, ha!

I first drew some big shapes in pencil to place the 4 tamales in my sketchbook.

Then I did the main shapes with pen and ink and drew lines inside the shapes with a sepia fine liner to add the texture of the corn leaves. 

Then I apply a first wash with yellow ochre and added some burnt Sienna in the shaded areas while still wet.

Then added some purple blue dark for contrast.

Then I painted the shadow in purple.

I edited the final sketch to add a little bit of photoshop drama. Your pick.

Pen&ink, fineliner and  finetec watercolor on Pentalic Watercolor Journal 7" x 10"

Wondering if they they tasted good? Yes! And not only that. I could smell and taste a smokey flavor. These tamales were probably cooked with wood fire. Mmmmh mh!
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Arco-Torre del Carmen

Ink and watercolor on Pentalic Aqua Journal 7" x 10"

Many churches and tall buildings in Chiapas were damaged by the earthquake in September 2017. Among them is this Moorish style landmark, the Arco-Torre del Carmen. The structures are still under repairs and many are surrounded by a fence. The walls in this particular tower had white repairing patches ready to paint. I had a inner debate of whether to sketch them or just sketch it as if it was finished. Well I took my artistic license. If you noticed, there is a peek a boo face. That's the head of a statue behind the fence, I think it looks funny, that I didn't skip, just because it makes me smile 😁. Click here for the next post about Chiapas. 

The tzoltzil dress.

Ink, watercolor and color pencil on Handbook Watercolor Journal 8” x 8”

The different groups of people in this town are easily identifiable. Foreign winter birds, backpackers and native people. Women in this region are particularly fascinating to me, specially the way they dress. Not all native women dress traditional tzotzil outfits, but those who do, I observed carefully for several days. I put this drawings together to illustrate them. They all wear a short huipil or blouse, black enredos or skirts of different material, Teddy fabric, wool, embroidery fabric and yarn, some weaved by themselves. They hold the enredo at the waist with a cotton faja or sash and sometimes they cover themselves with a color violet/purple chal or cape with embroidery flowers or a colorful short sweater. It feels weird to listening to their conversations spoken in tzoltzil, a Mayan dialect. The weirdness fades away when I see them smiling at each other. 

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Temple of Santo Domingo

Mix media on Winsor & Newton CP watercolor paper

The temple of Santo Domingo in San Cristobal de las Casas is under construction, all the carved wood altarpieces covered in gold which locals are proud of, were covered with plastic film due to the construction works to repair the damage caused by the earthquake in September 2017. I peaked behind the plastic to see part of the altarpieces or retablos. Some parts are really damaged, wood either cracked or have big gaps. It was ironic to me to see such beautiful work with such pretentious finishes in one of the poorest states. An image of a virgen near that web of wood poles holding the dome ceiling from falling, the Virgen of Rosary, seemed to be the only humble thing here that people of this town could relate to. Even her image looked very similar to the women here with long black hair. That thought had to be recorded as a sketch. 
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Hello San Cristobal de las Casas!

Pen&Ink and Watercolor on Arches CP 7" x 10"

The night ride from the airport to the town of San Cristobal de las Casas was spectacular, not the road, but above. The thousands of stars in the sky were stunningly breathtaking. A shiny night I haven't seen since my whale watching excursion in the desert of Baja California a decade ago. We are in San Cristobal de las Casas in the state of Chiapas, the poorest state in Mexico, but not culturally. It's been a delight to my eyes since we arrived two days ago. I stopped at Plazuela del Cerrillo to do my first sketch today. The  side of the Iglesia Santo Domingo is in the center of the sketch. The beautiful mountains full of trees surround the town. The air is crisp and clean and the smell is fresh. 

Fineliner and watercolor on Handbook Watercolor Journal 8" x 8"

Roofs with red tiles is the norm in town. This is the view looking out the window of our rental. A quite place where to sketch for the second time today. I have spotted multiple views already and took photos to remind myself what to sketch later. I look forward to show you this beautiful town in the Southern most corner of Mexico. 
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A long delay.

Pen&Ink and watercolor on Watercolor Moleskine 3" x 5"

One of the downsides of having all Mexican connection flights centralized in Mexico City is that when its airport is shutdown, the whole country does. The early dense fog in Mexico City yesterday morning forced the airport to shut down for few hours, but that was enough to delay our flight for 10 hours and 20 minutes. The frequent announcements of estimate departure time was a parade of false hope and frustration, so many that I finally dared to take out my sketch book and do a little sketch. It is a relief now to be settled in our final destination (which I will show in my next post) after 5 more hours later. The best thing to do in these cases is to remain calm and joke about it, the airline employees were polite all the time and we should be to them too, it's not their fault. They were making everything in their hands to fix what Mother Nature throw at all of us yesterday.