Sunday, January 10, 2016

Catching Up!

With the beginning of the new year, it's time to start catching up here!

So, I'll start by sharing sketches of people out and about from last year...
Some quick sketching...

A meeting at Otis College...




and sketching in downtown Los Angeles near the Central Library, where Robert Graham's "Source Figure" graces the top of the Bunker Hill Steps...

I began studying Notan (the harmony of light and dark) in preparation for my workshop for the Singapore Urban Sketchers workshop, so I did lots of monochromatic studies, including people in urban environments...


At Mission San Juan Capistrano...















...and at one of my favorite places to visit and sketch, Olvera Street, sometimes adding a punch of color for emphasis...


A pencil and watercolor sketch at Heritage Square on "Museums of the Arroyo Day"...


...on a Pasadena street corner...
Sketching at another favorite downtown Los Angeles location, the Grand Central Market...

...And then back to Olvera Street, sketching the Aztec dancers who perform in the plaza...









And a surprise appearance of a tour bus and a news crew from Telemundo, interviewing the group La Adictiva from Mexico, in their elegant, shiny gray suits...I was caught sketching and was interviewed in Spanish...sorry to say I wasn't at all sure exactly what was said there!







 More practice with Notan with some color added...




























Spending a bit more time pencil, watercolor and gouache on tan paper to try to catch the flavor of this wonderful place.  Olvera Street is the oldest street in Los Angeles, and in spite of all the tourists who come and go, there is a feeling of community here.  
And finally, my favorite Olvera Street moment...late afternoon on Friday in the Plaza, and wonderful cumbia music begins to play.  Couples start dancing in the shade of the huge fig tree...

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