The Strip on a strip of paper

I had totally forgotten about this sketch. A good friend of mine sent me this handmade accordion sketchbook from Melbourne. I brought it with me on the road trip during Christmas. James went to play poker and I sketched the Strip from one of the pedestrian bridge. Not sure if you can see it but the far left corner is the Trump Hotel. We also went on the roller coaster. I don't remember being so nervous when I was young but I guess things change when you are almost 40.

2017 Christmas road trip

If I were in another part of the world, I probably wouldn't have put Las Vegas on my list to visit. But here we are in California and therefore Las Vegas became one of the destination of this road trip. The city, or I should say The Strip, is not much different from Tokyo or Taipei, where neon light signs dominate the streets and the sky. James and I visited most of the casinos/hotels on The Strip and a few of them are quite unique. We of course tried our luck in the sin city. The result was good enough for us to eat seafood buffet for 3 days.

 I was trying to capture The Strip during the day from our hotel room located on the 28th floor. Unfortunately I was overwhelmed and impatient so the sketch turned out to be an unsatisfactory attempt.

 After 3 days in Las Vegas, James and I were quite ready for some peace and quiet. We pushed on to the Grand Canyon NP and took a walk along the south rim. This sketch was a bit flat before I re-touched it with my Kuretake brush pen (water-soluble ink). Although the view was paler in reality, I think the sketch looks better with a stronger contrast.

Along the south rim of Grand Canyon

 I thought the Grand Canyon is amazing but I was blown away by the view in Death Valley NP. Like James said, it was ridiculously quiet. Not wind, no sound at night and we saw a magnificent sunrise there. A view that I haven't figured out how to capture with watercolours.

Desert view in Death Valley National Park

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)