Today I sketched with sticks… I had a bamboo pen, kabob skewers and a sharpened chopstick, dipping into Noodler’s Bulletproof Black ink. I really like the primitive feeling of sketching with sticks, will need to use china ink; the Noodler’s won’t dry unless it has contact with paper, so it kind of messed up a bit while watercoloring.
By the way, this was in a very nice beachside eatery, El Salpicón in Barceloneta. So, beside enjoying the sketching, I spent a nice afternoon with my family.
I have sketched a few times while having a beer at one of my favorite spots in San Juan, “Abracadabra”. This time I was in a bit of a rush, but liked the looseness and sense of informality of the sketch. I did it with felt tip pen, markers and watercolors, 8.5″x5.5″.
Today I stopped to sketch at the San Juan Cathedral while waiting for my class to start. Because of the lots of tourists passing by, there is a guy that takes this spot to sing along his guitar and harmonica.
He noticed me sketching him and took a break to see what I was doing. He liked it and asked me to write down his name: “Sención Castillo”. I had thought about leaving it in black and white, but he asked me: “Pero dale un brillito” (roughly translated “Give it a little shine”). So I did. And then he approved it.
I love when people stop by and chat; I get a lot of vibe from them. I wish it was more often. Well, Mr Sención Castillo, thanks for a nice moment.
Here is the sketch:
Bri and I arrived yesterday to Los Angeles, a surprise visit to our dear friends Pamela and Danny. We are now at the Getty Center, where I stopped for a quick sketch with markers.
Today one student told me another professor had taught him that he should never use the left side of his sketchbook. It is the second time, in two different universities that a student tells me the same thing. I would’ve thought this would be true with markers or Sharpies, because of the bleed-through, but actually both students were using pencil..
I am really enjoying finally being able to use both sides of the sketchbook, even with a heavy application of Copic markers. The Crescent RendR sketchbook is the best I’ve tried so far.
Here are some sketches I did this past weekend at an event called Pecharrette, held at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico.
This past weekend I went out sketching to La Campechada 2012, an artistic event in Old San Juan. It was an excellent atmosphere, with dozens of participants doing their art on the streets and hundreds of visitors stopping by.
I did some watercolor and coffee sketches, but I really enjoyed experimenting with markers, a Sharpie and a pen brush. I was fast and loose, even on the small format I was working in, 6″x 4″. I also did some in my letter sized sketchbook while having a beer at a local bar.
