Memorial Park in Jacksonville, Florida.

Pen&ink and watercolor on A5 Handbook travelogue sketchbook

After brunch with my fellow sketcher Xana Jazmin she and her husband had errands to do, so my hubby and I went to hang out to Memorial Park. The statue on the right of the sketch was named Spiritulized Life to honor Floridian lives lost in World War I. That body of water in the back ground is the St. John River. Across the water, land and trees frame the river and although some buildings and houses can be seen, I skipped them because they were too small for my sketch. 

People gathered that Sunday afternoon, with or without kids, some with heavy coats, others with T-shirts, I guess being cold or hot is very subjective. It was sunny, that and spending time with my fellow sketcher and now my dearest friend, made me very happy.

Cummer Museum of Arts and Gardens’ courtyard.

Pen and watercolor on Cold Press paper, 5 in x 5 in

Since the weather has been chill a little bit to sketch outdoors, our choice was to visit the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens here Jacksonville Florida. It’s a nice size museum to walk it all. Interesting different collections from classic to modern art. The gardens are specially beautiful, near to the St. John’s River. There’s a court yard at the entrance of the museum with a cute little fountain in the center. I like it because of its simplicity, I’m rusty, so  a simple scene was appealing  to me. 

The coffee shop in the museum has a small menu but what we ordered was all excellent. 

Fellowship continued.

 

Pencil and watercolor on Cold Press 5 in x 5 in

Pencil and watercolor on Cold Press 5 in x 5 in

We met at Brew Five Points Coffee Shop. Xana Jazmín, a resident in Jacksonville, Florida and former USK Chicago member (were we first met), gathered for a morning coffee to sketch.  If you are an urban sketcher, you’re likely to find someone who to meet with, that’s the beauty of this activity.

Portrait of me by Xana Jazmín

It was raining this morning and we sketched inside, my subject was people today. I haven’t used a pencil or painting brush in a while, I felt rusty, but sketching is very forgiving, besides our conversation made me forget about it. So neat to feel like we just continued our fellowship where we left years ago!

Last minute plan, destination Florida.

Pencil and watercolor on Cold Press, 7 in x 7 in

Plans change. Our flights to Mexico were cancelled twice this winter, what a bummer. But the best you can do is to adapt We looked for warmer destinations in the South, we were not going to rely on another flight, there were so many cancelations, so we decided to drive. We found in Jacksonville a warmer destination than the Chicago area, even though nights can be freezing, we are perfectly content with day temperatures of 50’s and 60’s °F. It’s all about perspective.

There are renovations in the neighborhood, here some workers are replacing the roof tiles. We’ll see what else is out there, until next sketch.