Cartagena, Colombia - 3. Cafe Havana

At the hostel on Isla Rosario we met a Canadian girl, who is a big fan of salsa music and dancing. She invited us to go to Cafe Havana with her. The cafe opens at 8.30pm but the highlight starts at 11.30pm when their live band starts playing. I danced and sketched all night till 3am! I did more sketches than what is listed here. A couple of sketches were given away upon request. Those sketches got me drinks. A sketch for a drink, I think it was a pretty good deal!

One of the band members noticed me drawing and asked me to show him my sketch when I was leaving. He signed on my sketch!

Cartagena, Colombia - 2. Isla Rosario

We spent 3 nights on Isla Rosario. James spent 2 days diving so I had lots of time sketching! Most of these sketches were done sitting on the deck in front of our small hostel. This 4-room hostel is usually nice and quiet until lunch guests come to have lunch and take over the whole place with loud music :(

Xoana, the lady in the photo below is one of the lunch guests who visited the hostel. They were the nice guests and didn't play loud music to chase me away. I sketched Xoana and her friends having lunch. She asked if she could have the sketch and I agreed. Upon finishing the drawing, the wind picked up the paper and sent it to the sea! I jumped and Xoana screamed 'Por favor! Por favor!' Her boyfriend ran over and jumped into the water to rescue the paper. Luckily I was using pastel pencils and heavy drawing paper (I ran out of watercolour paper), the picture was fine and the colours didn't fade. Now the sketch is on its way to Spain. Xoana thanked me for letting her have the sketch. I thanked her for letting me have a story with a princess and her hero to tell :)

(to be continued)

Cartagena, Colombia - 1. El Centro

 James and I just came back from Cartagena, Colombia. People might think one week in Cartagena is too much, but we couldn't cover every bit of it. It was truly an interesting place.

Above is a sketch done on the rooftop of our airbnb located in a 9-story building. I like the mix of modern and old buildings in and around the old town Cartagena.

Ever since James got a haircut in Czech Republic in 2006 when we first met, it has become a tradition for us that he always gets a haircut when we visit a new country. This time he even got a shave- he said it was the smoothest shave he's ever had. While I was sketching, local men just came and went at this small barber shop. They walked in, had a shave/haircut, sat down and did some people watching or reading newspaper and left after a good handshake with all the barbers and regular customers. The music played in the shop was so charming that I went back to ask those friendly barbers what they were listening to on the day. It was a mission for us to communicate as I don't speak Spanish (I'm learning though!) and they spoke no English. Luckily an English-speaking customer was there to help me out. One of the barbers walked me to a local CD shop to pick up an album. Nice, huh?

Sometimes taking a photo is easier to capture the interesting things I see although it doesn't happen every often. These floor tiles are photos of all the Miss Colombia. Top two are the oldest, 1934-1947 and 1947-49. They also shared the same sir name. I wonder if they were mother and daughter.

El Centro is a UNESCO world heritage site. The town is just amazing with all the old buildings, towers and cathedrals. I spent my last morning in Cartagena sketching the Catedral. Unlike the often too busy afternoons, early morning in Cartagena is nice and peaceful. Street vendors were already out but not chasing tourists yet. I love the colors and energy they bring to the old town.

(to be continued)

TACO and the Pop-Up chorus group

I went to the Terrible Adult Chamber Orchestra (TACO) to sketch the musicians again today. I did use my brush pen to do some gestural drawing as my warm-up. Somehow I still kept messing up the proportion of various body parts while drawing individual musicians. I wonder if it was because I was trying too hard on capturing the resemblance. 

As it was the beginning of TACO's holiday season today, there was a pop-up chorus group singing along with the orchestra. Most of the singers were family or friends of a musician in the orchestra. 

Anyway, I finished 4 sketches that I was happy with. One of them was not listed here as the trombonist's wife bought the sketch. Instead of paying me, I asked the wife to donate to TACO. She did point out (complained) that her husband isn't as chubby as in my sketch. I don't think I made her husband fat but he really isn't skinny to my Taiwanese eyes! Note to myself: remember to shave of a few pounds when sketching at TACO next time.

Redwood Public Marina

It's a long weekend and would have been a perfect weekend to get away. James and I are however still sedated from the big meal on Thursday (what an excuse!). James spent yesterday playing in his man cave and I painting. We decided we should at least go outdoors today.

I like this public marina/fishing pier. There are always some activity going on but never get too busy nor crowded. While James was trying out his luck with his fishing rod, I sketched around the pier. After using up my Strathmore and Canson watercolor paper, I decided to come back to Fabriano cold press. Yes, more expensive but I just love how it responds to my paint and brush.

Thanksgiving- the real thing

Last year James and I had a very quiet Thanksgiving in Seattle. This year we were invited by our neighbour, Karen, to join her and her family and friends. It was fun for us to experience an authentic Thanksgiving. It started with a card game, followed by delicious food (yes, there was turkey- smoked and roast!) and ended with charades- James and I had never played it before.

Following Karen's family tradition, we each shared what we are thankful for at the table. I was thankful for James supporting me to follow my interest in urban sketching, which helped me connect with people.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Local soccer game

There is a soccer field very close to my house. Every weekend I can see people playing soccer there but I was never brave enough to sketch the players. I didn't think I could catch the people in motion. 

After a few sessions of sketching the musicians, today I thought I'd give it a try. Although today the players were mature players, they still ran and moved pretty fast. I tried to remember what I learnt from Marc Holmes and Suhita Shirodkar on Craftsy.com and applied the techniques. It was not an easy task but boy, I had a great time sitting on the bench!

Happy Birthday to USK- Rock climbing style!

I was determined to sketch on this special day (although I did learn from Gabi's talk and Tina's email that the real USK birthday is on Nov 4th). I carried my sketch kit as well as my climbing gear with me. Luckily this climbing spot wasn't too far away from the parking lot. 

Thank you, Gabi, and Urban Sketchers! And a special thank-you to USK Seattle, too. My life in the US would have been totally boring and isolated without urban sketchers. 

Musicians in the neighbourhood- 4

Another sketch session at my neighbour's place. Usually the music drifts in and out when I concentrate on drawing. I mean, I hear the music but I don't always hear the music, if that makes sense. Today the trio practice didn't go very smooth. There was more stopping and starting-over. At one point I could feel the frustration in the air. Interestingly, my pen couldn't move smoothly on paper either when the music wasn't flowing. I had a few sketches discarded halfway as well, which doesn't happen often. I guess my brain does listen to the music even I don't always hear it.

James playing guitar

All the sketching with local community musicians motivated me to revisit my craftsy classes- Marc Holmes' People in Motion and Suhita Shirodkar's Figure Sketching Made Simple. It's surprising that how many details I have forgotten even though I have watched the class videos 3 times. For example, I forgot that I could use ink and water to create different shades of grey. How could I forget such a simple thing? I am gonna try using this medium next time when I go sketch the musicians in my neighbourhood.

Musicians in the neighbourhood- 3

I know there are urban sketchers who sketch the same subject over and over again. Like Tina draws her maple tree and Shari Blaukopf sketches her wheel barrow in the backyard. I didn't think drawing musicians would be a thing for me but, hey, it seems that I'm collecting sketches of senior musicians in my neighbourhood.

I am definitely not complaining. After all, these musicians are great models- they don't charge me and they provide beautiful classical music. Unlike studio models, my models have no set time for a pose. They could stay in a pose for a while or just a few seconds, depending on if they are playing along or making mistakes. I have been focusing on capturing their gestures and hands, now also on light/shadow on their face and body. I did remember to shave off a few pounds on the ladies. They may ban me from sketching them otherwise! :)

Non-edible TACO, delicious to the ears

My neighbour invited me to sketch at her monthly orchestra meet-up. The group is called 'Terrible Adult Chamber Orchestra' or 'TACO'. Like Urban Sketchers, TACO is made up by adults who love classical music and want to play with a friendly group. People with all skill-levels are welcome to join in as long as they bring their own instruments, enjoy making music with the group and laugh at mistakes together. Although I didn't see any today, sometimes participants do bring their children or grandchildren to come along and play a piece of music with the group.

The first two sketches were done on pre-tinted paper. The guest conductor's hands made me smile. His left wrist moved in a distinctive way.

Cathy, who was a pianist in my sketch before, is the founder and conductor of TACO. I admire her commitment and hard-work to keep TACO running since 2011. There is a lot of off-scene preparation involved to accommodate 50-60 people play music together once a month. Thanks to her and many volunteers, TACO continues to provide social opportunities and musical education to the community. 

In my last sketch I decided to capture a few individual musicians just to show cast different instruments. The tricky part was to connect the subjects together without making the whole picture too messy. I decided to try some technique I saw in Charles Reid's video and I like how the sketch turned out.

After sketching intensely for 3 hours, I was exhausted. But the experience was amazing and no, TACO was not terrible at all! I'm hoping to make it to their December meet-up so I can sketch the orchestra with some choir groups. 

An improvised sketchwalk in downtown Palo Alto

I went to downtown Palo Alto for lunch with a friend yesterday and saw this street scene. At the time I didn't have my sketch kit with me so I went back today fully equipped.

 It wasn't easy for me to draw a busy street scene but to be honest, I was quite happy about how the sketch turned out. I felt good while applying watercolour on the paper. The mix of colours didn't turn into muddy puddles in the process.

Just when I felt it was time to call it a day, I rode pass the Apple store. At the time I thought it would be a good idea to sketch the store as the modern glass building looks quite different from the other brick buildings. Alas, what a mistake! The sketch looks dull and the glass house doesn't appear to be as shining as it is in real life. Oh well, at least one of the sketches for the day was satisfying.

The tree and the sketch itch

I've sketch this tree before. It stands on the street corner located about 10 metres from my house. I drive and ride pass it everyday. I do wonder if the owner of the house planted all the flowers around the tree and fire hydrant deliberately. The composition is just lovely. Most of the time the sun is already high up or down when I pass the street. The other day I was out early in the morning for an appointment and wow, the morning sun made the spot so attractive that I promised myself that I had to go sketch it one day.

After sketching this tree, I felt the itch to sketch more. I got on my bike and rode around to see what caught my eyes. Well, in the end it was my stomach got caught. I wanted to have a slice of pizza for lunch so I stopped at a pizzeria which is on a plaza. With my sketching kit and a slice of pizza, my hunger and sketch itch both faded away in the California sun.

Another flea market, more people watching

Coliseum Meet and Swap isn't really like what its name suggests. There is no swapping for sure. Most of vendors there are selling new goods instead of old, secondhand stuff. Nonetheless it is a great place for people watching, perhaps more so than the other markets I've been to. Many men (and little boys!) wear a mustache, cowboy hat and pointy leather boots. There was even a rodeo bull, which I sketched while watching people falling off it :)

Maple tree

There are quite a few maple trees in my neighbourhood but most of them are still covered with green leaves. A few have started to change their colours but the red isn't bright orange red. Instead it looks muddy. So when I saw this beautiful red maple on my way to the supermarket, I had to stop and sketch it. The red maple leaves looked even more vibrant with some green trees and a couple of tall pines.

Halloween

I saw pumpkins on porches for Halloween decoration in Seattle last year. I lived in Downtown Seattle so can't say I had many chances to look around the suburbs. Here in Menlo Park the Halloween decoration begun at the beginning the October and now I can see almost every house has pumpkins and skeletons and many with giant spiders and fake cobwebs. I'm looking forward to seeing Halloween in action.