2018 USk Symposium: First Workshop

Two weeks ago, I was one of the 800 attendees from 46 different countries who flew in to the beautiful city of Porto, Portugal to attend the 9th Urban Sketchers International Symposium.  It ran for four days.  That was my second symposium after Chicago last year and this time I signed up for the two workshops pass instead of four.   

My first workshop was with Ian Fennelly.  There is something about his style that I want to learn.  Only to discover later that Ian's three step process is the exact opposite of how I work.  It goes like this:  Start your color canvas with big shapes first (no lines), mark the lines and add the grays for tone, fill in interesting details last.

Here is a scan of what I made during his 3 hour workshop.  I meant to come back to that same spot along with others and fill in more details but decided to leave it be.  A good reminder of what it was in time.  Hopefully, I'll be able to incorporate Ian's process in my future work.

Through my Window

Delighted to see this watercolor painting I did thirty eight years ago (1980) entitled "Through My Window" hanging in my parent's apartment in Madrid.  How lucky that it survived! I suppose I was an early Urban Sketcher since this was painted on location from the  3rd floor room I shared with two other friends - brothers Ben and Augusto at the Leon Guinto Street address in Manila.  Aside from the green tin roof, I remember the papaya tree seen centered here.  Who knew it was a papaya tree, right? 

Watercolor tubes and brushes were purchased in the now defunct Good Earth Emporium in Manila. Paper was a poster board.

Warm up pose

Ok, this is not a sketching entry but rather a quick post for today.  It was about 9:21pm Portugal time when this picture was taken near the Ponte Dom Luis 1 Bridge.  Still trying how to make a post with just the iPad.  A little difficult but it should be fine for now.  Tomorrow is the official opening of the 9th Urban Sketchers International Symposium here in Porto, Portugal.  Hoping to make some nice sketches.

Going to Porto, Portugal

Out on vacation.

I'm leaving for Porto, Portugal to attend the 9th International Urban Sketchers Symposium this week.  Looking forward to seeing the friends I made from the Chicago symposium last year and ready to make new USk friends in Porto.  

BTW, I got my mini-MOO cards printed this time.  Can't wait to trade cards with others!

NOTE:  I may not post a daily blog entry for the next two weeks but I will try whenever I can.  For sure, August will be a different story.

Thank you for visiting!

The front call card info.

The various backing designs from my sketches.

The Carnival

Ah, the summer carnival!  I went to check out this week's carnival at St. Catherine of Siena, Riverside, CT.  

Found a parking spot a few blocks away.  A big turnout!  Lots of people, kids of different ages, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, teenagers and young adults.  All of them were there to have a great time.

Of course, sausage, onions and peppers was it for my nourishment!  Found a "quiet" spot by the popcorn vendor truck facing the ticket booth.  Perfect!  That booth would be my sketch view including the ferris wheel behind it.

Later, on my way out, I did a sketch of this group singing the likes of Fleetwood Mac music. 

Color wash added later at home.  Why couldn't I stop adding colors?

After adding the dusk colors.

Before messing it up with the dusk colors.

Initial sketch of the Ticket Booth.

Final sketch of the scene.

The Boathouse in Prospect Park

The weekday NYC Urban Sketchers outing was at the Boathouse in Prospect Park, NY.  I didn't drive to the city.  Just took the 8:31am train.  Since I planned on joining the 5:30PM Pre-Porto meeting later in the day, I thought I'd sketch with my fellow urban sketchers.

I thought the view of the Boathouse from the bridge was really good, I had to sketch it.  From this picture, you'll see a tiny image of me at the far left corner. (Photo credit to Amanda Kavanagh).

A view of the boathouse from the bridge.

Photo credit to Amanda Kavanagh.

Soccer World Cup Semi-Final

I had about 2 hours to kill before my Pre-Porto group meet up and introduction here at Brookfield Place.  Found an empty chair where I thought of doing some people sketching practice.  It was a perfect scenario since the attention was all about the soccer game.

The setting was loose and informal.  Two large flat screen TV sets back to back against each other.  Two opposite crowds gathered and watched at the "le Bar" terrace in Manhattan for the semi-final game between Croatia and England.  The eventual winner would face France in the World Cup Finals.

I think Croatia just scored the tying goal at the 68th minute when I finished sketching this scene.  Croatia won over England at the extra-time with a score of 2-1.

A stunner for England late in the game at regular time.

The terrace crowd watching the semi-finals game.

Abbott's Lobster in the Rough

Last week's Fourth of July holiday took us for a day drive north near Mystic, CT and its neighboring town of Noank where the famous 
Abbott's lobster restaurant is located.  Here I thought we came early but people were already lined up deep to order their favorite dish.  I ordered the Hot Lobster Roll while she ordered a Salad Lobster Roll.  Hot & Cold.  Hmmm...

I took the opportunity to sketch the view of the deck and the marina beyond.  A sailing ship was leaving the harbor.  Once our sandwich rolls arrived, I had to quickly sketch mine before feasting on it.  Yum!

Lettering and color added later at home.  A video clip at the end of this entry. 

The famous Hot Lobster Roll came with some pickles on the side and a bag of chips. 

You have to draw it first before you can eat it!

Deck view and marina.

The Hearst Tower

Back in February, for the second year in a row, the NYC Urban Sketchers group were invited and given special access to sketch inside the Hearst Tower building in Manhattan through a special invitation from a fellow USK'er, Leslie Gordon-Sim.

I made two sketches that day.  One of the exterior view of the building at the street level while I was positioned next to the Subway Metro entrance at 58th Street.  Second was inside this Norman Foster (architect) designed building from the right mezzanine level looking east toward the 8th Avenue direction.  

Exterior view of the Hearst Tower.

Interior view, right mezzanine level, looking east toward 8th Avenue.

The Stamford Asphalt Plant

The area along Canal Street in Stamford must have been designated as an industrial section at one time.  I spotted this Stamford Asphalt Plant the other day and decided it would be my sketch exercise today (Saturday) from my mobile studio.  

Fairway supermarket is across the street where I found the perfect spot in their parking area.  To make the sketch view even better, I moved over and occupied the passenger side seat.  I started at 4:04PM and ended at 6:24PM.  It was easy to get lost in time while sketching.

The final sketch with a partial look of my head on the side view mirror.

Preliminary Sketch.

Light Watercolor wash added.

Car Repair

Great weather today to do something outside!   My car mechanic scheduled a weekend (Saturday) work on my car.  There's a rattling noise coming from rear driver's side and I thought of replacing the rear shock absorbers.  He said the noise problem was coming from the rear stabilizer link and should be replaced. 

As he worked on my car, I tried to sketch him.  Later, I realized the missed opportunity of sketching him in several different action poses because I was focused on making this one image I have initially created in mind.

Lesson:  Be aware. Be open-minded. Be ready to make a quick change-of-plan.

Pentel Slicci Pen 0.25
Light Watercolor wash

My final sketch.

The initial sketch capture formed in mind.

Adding color wash.

The Red Boat

We made a quick stop at the south entrance of Mystic Seaport, CT on our way home last Wednesday.  I just wanted to sketch this little red boat by the entrance to the historic whaling town museum.  There is a fee to get inside the sprawling grounds to see the historic seaport, sailing ships and other structures.  For sure, I've done the seaport tour more than once in the past but for now, all I wanted is this sketch. 

700 Harbor Place

It was a bit disorienting once I exited out of 850 Canal Street Stamford Passport Office.  I knew I parked in front of the building but this view has to be the back parking area away from the street.  However, this spectacular view of renovated industrial buildings caught my attention.  Glad I brought the sketching tools with me.  

There's a small patch of puddle showing a bit of reflection of the building in the background.  I thought it would be a nice touch to this sketch.  Let's see what happens.  Most of the time, what I had in mind isn't translated well into my sketch.

Old Lighthouse Museum

The quaint little town of Stonington Borough, CT is just a little over 100 miles north of where I live.  My brother, Russell, has been there before and strongly suggested I do the same because he knew I would enjoy this place.  On this Fourth of July, Anne and I took a day drive and it didn't disappoint.  There's an old lighthouse museum that I was able to sketch.  First done in pencil, before adding a watercolor wash and some ink lines later.  A short video clip accompanying this entry.

The finished sketch with watercolor wash.

The pencil sketch.

The preliminary color wash.

Lunch at Legligin

Last year, we sampled the lunch special at this corner restaurant in the old walled city of Valletta, Malta.  The very charming appeal of this place made me sketch the scene.  

See the wine list.

The Rye Presbyterian Church

Coming down the road from the other end allowed me to discover this beautiful stone Gothic style Rye Presbyterian Church.  It was designed by the same architect who built the Trinity Church, Wall Street, in Manhattan, NY.

It was a challenge trying to resolve how to make the sketch fit on one page especially when pressed for time.  Using the height of the outer left wall as the base measurement, it was possible to get everything in on one page.  Before I left, I wrote down the ornate calligraphic inscription carved in stone atop the main door entrance.  

Lamy Safari Pen with De Atramentis Document Black Ink
Moleskine 7.5 x 7.5 sketchbook
Color wash added later at home.

At the Corner

Last Saturday afternoon, Anne and I went for a sightseeing drive of the country side near Bantam Lake before proceeding to the historic town of Litchfield, CT.  There are small boutique shops and stores occupying the street level retail spaces in these century old buildings along the Main Street.  

The street corner diner I remember many years ago has now been replaced with a more upscale restaurant & bar.  We found a bench by the end of this corner brick building where she took pleasure in watching people go about their summer day stroll while I sketched the scene.  The oval Serendipity marker was my reference measurement in relation to the whole scene.  The patriotic flag marks the side door entrance to the "At the Corner Restaurant and Bar".  How clever use of a business name!

Pencil, Pen & Ink, Staedtler Pigment Liner, Watercolor wash.  
Color added later at home.

  

Caramoor

About one mile east of the John Jay Homestead in Katonah, NY is the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts.  We discovered it on our way to John Jay two weekends ago.  We recently had a chance to revisit Caramoor again for an afternoon of exploration in its beautiful setting albeit a chance of a thunderstorm.  

We had just finished our lunch picnic at the tranquil Sense Circle when the thunderstorm rolled in.  Fortunately, the covered Garden Courtyard was nearby and provided shelter with this very nice view of the courtyard.  Got to sketch it!  I drew the lines in pencil, two page spread, and vowed to come back to color it another day.  That second opportunity materialized last Friday.

Next sketch project in Caramoor is the Rosen House but that will have to wait another day.

Note: It's free to get in Caramoor and hear free concert music playing in the background (if any).  No need to pay for concert tickets except you just don't get to see the artists performing live.  I don't mind that.  Oh, I've seen other picnic goers having their glasses of wine, too!

My pencil sketch of the building.

I was there sketching the courtyard.

A painted mural on the far right wall of the covered Garden Courtyard.

One of two murals depicting the use of the courtyard.