Degas & sunflowers

Sunflower 24th September, watercolour

 As a quick interlude in my Brasil posts, here are my sketches and watercolour experiments from this month. The sketches of Degas have been done with a Super5 pen and all have been done in the watercolour Moleskin I got at the recent Urban Sketchers Symposium.

15th September

17th September.

After Paul Heaston. 18th

21st September

27th September

27th September

28th September watercolour

29th Sept. Soluble ink and watercolour experiment I

29th Sept. Soluble ink and watercolour experiment II

 What have you sketched this month? Why don't you leave a comment below? You are welcome to link to a post too.

BRAZIL! Pt. 2 Búzios

 After Rio, with fellow urban sketcher Béliza, I travelled to the far end of the state to the resort area of Armação dos Búzios. (You can read Béliza's account here: Goodbye jetlag). We decided to explore with a mini-sketchcrawl starting at breakfast in a delightful café overlooking the beach. Whilst sipping freshly squeezed orange juice and munching on croistants we set to painting the scene. The boats were so colourful they cried out to be painted.

Breakfast sketching with Béliza

After breakfast, we wandered along the seafront and stopped near a couple of sculptures, which conveniently were near both shade and seats. Even having someone to sketch with, I struggled all day to draw taking ages to settle and decide on subjects.Whilst my friend started her second sketch in that location, I finally made a poor attempt to capture a blue building nearby. 

A bit further on, we stopped for a drink, and I quickly painted (with no under-drawing) the couple sat in front of us. Having wandered around, my final sketch of the day was trying to capture the hews of a nearby tree and the yacht club beyond, but it failed badly.

Yacht club

On our second day, we took a boat trip. Even thought the water was cold (it is winter in Brazil) I swam at one of the bays we stopped at, but chose to stay warm and dry at the next one and tried to capture the turquoise sea of Ossos bay. (sorry the scan has changed the colour)

 

The following day, we took buses the other end of the state, massively delayed due to the Tour do Rio and I did this last sketch staring out of the bus window, not moving through Angra Dos Reis.

 

Part 3 is to follow. What do you think so far?

BRAZIL!!!! Pt.1 Rio de Janeiro

A magical view from Sugarloaf mountain.

Part 1 Rio sketches.

When I'm stressed I find it dificult to draw, even sketch, and my default creative outlet reverts to photography. As many of you know from following me on facebook (www.facebook.com/suepownallartist), I recently went to Brazil for the 5th Urban Sketchers Symposium. Looking at the posts now appearing, I am jealous of the sketching others have done in that beautiful country. Whilst I had a fabulous time, both in the week preceeding the symposium and at the symposium, I am not very happy with my sketches... obviously workshop sketches are experimentations and are not expected to be great yet... it would be nice. I'm very pleased with my photos especially Jump, which I took in Rio's Botanical Gardens and the photo of Cristo Redentor (above).

Jump, Jardim Botânico.

My holiday started in Rio and I based myself in the Santa Teresa district, which I explored thoroughly, but it wasn't until the next day when I went  to Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf mountain), after a diversion in the the Centro and the Brazilian collection in the Museu Nacional de belas Artes (due to missing a bus stop, but that's a whole different story) that I put down my camera and picked up a pen... when I got back to the bottom. Everywhere I went in Rio, there were street vendors and I wanted to capture this one at the base of the mountain. The customer is a composite person and I wish I could delete her. oh well

 

The following day, I went to the Botanical Gardens. Whilst I spent 3 hours in the gardens, this was the only sketch I did. I think it is a variety of Breadfruit / fruta pão, pão de massa in Portuguese.

Artocarpus altilis, Jardim Botânico

From the gardens I had a walk alongside the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon then caught a bus, deliberately, to Centro and the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil. I saw an exhibition by Brasilian artist Milton Machado Cabeça and had a lovely cuppa before having a wander around. The old pier supports caught my eye, but, as I'd been told not to be in the area in the evening, I had to sketch quickly with the sunsetting.

Estação das Barcas

Watercolouring in situ

On my last day in Rio I had to go to Corcovado and see Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). I made plans to meet fellow urban sketchers Jenny and Birgit, but due to train schedules we missed each other. I was up there quite early, yet it was still very busy. I found a space at the side to sit and paint. Whilst I was disappointed not to be sketching with the others, I needed the motivation, I am pleased with my painting. 

So that's the first part of my trip. What do you think so far?