RAMBO

             Broke out the watercolors and started a quick painting-sketch. My objective for this exercise was to control color by not mixing it from the pallette but straight on the paper itself. There were several times I caught myself falling back to old habits but I kept on chugging anyway and redirected my stubborn hand to follow the technique, so Im quite happy with how the color turned out. This took about 2.5 hrs to do which is something I could easily get used to, just as long as the result goes according to plan.

TALES OF THE WESTEND

The Urban Sketchers collaborated with another group group called the Heritage Vancouver. Every so often they meet at a neighborhood coffeehouse for the opportunity to talk about growing up on the West End of Vancouver. We join in the fun and sketch the unique expressions of storytellers. The event is supported by WE Arts, Heritage Vancouver, and JJBean Coffee Roasters. This is a watercolor sketch on-site of one of the mainstays. His name is Gary and comes down from Sunshine Coast in Sechelt just to particpate. Talk about dedication!

URBAN SKETCH: MILANO CAFE

One of my resolutions this year is to strictly use watercolors whenever I attend a meet up. I would usually experiment with different media but this year, I decided to focus on this medium. We were about 20 artists who showed up that morning. The smell of freshly brewed coffee, the buzz of morning chatter, music playing in the background and being in the company of people you enjoy is just the perfect to enjoy a Saturday morning. I sat at a long table with 4 others. This is my view in front of me, 6 pretty women who were also probably drawing us.

PRACTICE PAINTING: FACE AND COLOR

I felt my last painting had too much purple in it. I thought I'd use all the colors and see how it might turn out. I kept my sketch fast and loose and started painting away, thinking about contrast this time and also trying suggest volume of hair without painting everything in. I had a bit of fun letting the pigment run as well as finishing touches with splatters after.

PRACTICE PAINTING: KATEY PERRY

Taken from a page from a GQ Magazine, I thought of doing a quick watercolor sketch trying out colors on my palette. I spent very little time on the pencil sketch, forcing myself to simplify my lines and be loose with it. I took note of  how I was laying down the paint and how to fade. It could still use more contrast to punch up the features but at the time, this was more than I expected of myself. So the verdict was, DON'T TOUCH IT ANYMORE!!!

PRACTICE PAINTING: FACE AND HAIR

I needed faces to paint and this I found a picture of  a dear friend of mine (who probably until now, doesn't know I did this.) She had beautiful wavy long hair and and I wanted to see how I could simplify it. Well, it wasn't achieved, but it did get me thinking about it. She wore black and red in the original picture but I thought of doing a color shift from purple to pink instead for a more feminine feel. 

I JUST HAD A BABY

                                     Well well well, it's a boy!

The Baby Jesus Bread as Mark endearingly called it was brought in by Heidy and Jaime to commemorate Rosca de Reyes, the arrival of the Three Kings. It's an amazing sweet bread shaped like a ring. Hidden inside were 5 baby figurines. It is hidden to represent the fleeing of King Herod's orders to rid Bethlehem of all young male children. It reminded me of Ensaymada which I haven't had in such a long time!  The baby figurine sits comfortably with the baby T-rex, making sure I stay honest and do work-related tasks while at work.

THE FORBIDDEN CITY

THE FORBIDDEN CITY exhibit @ the Vancouver Art Gallery. These were some of the things that caught my attention. There were so much more that I found very interesting but when I looked at the time, I had only one hour left to sketch something. The entire time I was standing either in some corner or slightly off to the side, trying to get out of people's way, holding my sketchbook and pencils in one hand, while drawing with the other. I experimented with toned paper, some colored pencils and white charcoal. I asked a friend to write the Chinese pictographs as she had a much better penmanship!