25th SketchCrawl Bologna 21.11.2009

The days before I though it should be a not so good SC. Some people said they wouldn't come and no special route or place was decided. But at the end many new people came and it was a great day.

There was a stand of a local radio station too, with a stupid host shouting and putting on shitty music. I decided to ignore it on my drawing (it was on the right side of the building entrance) and so I gave attention just to the architecture.

We went to Piazza Galvani were I drew this statue of Mr. Galvani and since I finished it quickly I decided to draw my drawing fellows.

This is Viola watching a sketchbook (with drawings made by yours faithfully).

San Francesco's Church at dusk.

Left: people on the bus while I went to our appointment. Right: Andrea and Marco.

We ate at the Osteria del Sole. Left: people at the next table. Right: Benedetta.

At the end we went to Modo, a bookshop where there was the presentation of a comic book.

Left: Daniele Caluri, one of the authors. Right: people listening his speech.

It was a great day.

The Fortress of Vignola

These are drawings made in Vignola, a little town 30 km far from home. The main sight is the Fortress. I passed about 10 minutes to chose this angle...

...only to discoverer afterwards that I'm not so original: it is the angle of all the photos that illustrate the covers of every Vignola's guide. At least, no doubt it's the best angle at all.

This is the decoration of the arch over the entrance to the castle in the courtyard. Of course they are eagles spreading wings and legs, but while I was drawing them, I couldn't help thinking of electrocuted chicken.

Sketch & The City

I started this sketchbook on october 25 at the Bologna SketchCrawl. Then I decided to use it just for SketchCrawls and urban sketches for the Gabi Campanario's Urban Sketchers blog. It contains drawings made in Bologna, Casalecchio Lyon and Verona between october 25, 2008 and february 26, 2009.

Music: W. A. Mozart (1756-1791) "Eine Kleine Gigue" K. 574

(Mitsuko Uchida, piano, 1991)

SketchCrawl in VIlla Spada

Villa Spada is a great place for drawing. It's a big house of the XIXth century with a big garden full of amazing places and views. It was the first time I was there and from then on I've come back several times. Here's a video that gives some idea.
In the garden there's a row of 12 statues that cought my attention. They are quite weird, with some particular motifs and attitudes. First 9 are women and last 3 are old men with some resemblance to Emperor Palpatine. I decided to draw all them and color just the shadows but about noon the day got cloudy. At that moment i had made just 4 of them so I must finish a week after. In the meanwhile I must reload my waterbrushes, and it's because of this that color changes from the 5th on.

A SketchCrawl at the Children's Book Fair

Sketches made on 25.03.2009 on a special SketchCrawl organized at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

Open publication | More

21th SketchCrawl in Bologna

This SketchCrawl was planned worldwide for january 10, but here in Bologna we couldn't make it (someone was snowed under with work, someone was snowed under with flu, someone was snowed under with fear... to get actually snowed under with snow).
We decided to make an alternative SC last saturday and here are the sketches I made. There was many people from off-Bologna and many new faces. Why don't we make it more often?

More stuff here.

20th Worldwide SketchCrawl in Bologna

These are the sketches I made last saturday in Bologna during the 20th SketchCrawl. I had to deliver a job so I must work all night on friday, I went to bed at 7:00, woke up at 9:00 took a shower and went to Piazza San Francesco were our first meeting took place. It was a funny day (as every SketchCrawl) and I forgot my tiredness till I came home (and went to bed at 9:00 and slept 11 hours in a row). More stuff here.

19th Worldwide SketchCrawl in Bologna

Some days ago I went to Bologna for the 19th SketchCrawl (Bologna's 2nd SketchCrawl and mine too). It was a very hot day and we tried not to go beyond the shadows (maybe we behaved as vampires but sun could actually make us become ashes). Any way it was a great day and I made a lot of sketches: 28 on my Big Partner and 12 on my little moleskine notebook.

These were all made on my big sketchbook (13 x 21 cm) with a Pentel brush pen and a Niji waterbrush loaded with Parker Quink brown ink, I must lighten it with much water since it was too dark on the firs sketches.
(Click on the image to see it bigger).

These were all made on my Moleskine notebook (9 x 14 cm) with a Pentel brush pen.
(Click on the image to see it bigger).

My first Sketchcrawl

Last saturday I went to the first Bologna Sketchcrawl (18th in the rest of the world), organized by my friend Christian Cornia following the great idea of Enrico Casarosa. It was a sunny day and I sketched from 10:00 to 16:00 and crawled till 19:00 with about 10 people, most of them art students. I was the older one (this happens usually on the last times). It was really funny, and Bologna is a really beautifull town to crawl and to skecth.
I used Fabriano 180g watercolor paper, HB 0'7 and 1'4 leads, Pigma brush pen, Copic drawing pen, and watercolors applied with a Niji water brush.
My hand was quite stiff on the first moments but, as the day went by I felt much looser.


10:15 Torre degli Asinelli from Piazza della Mercanzia.


10:45 Angolo in Via Castiglione from Piazza della Mercanzia.
I was on the same place of the first drawing but looking backwards.


11:15 Piazza della Mercanzia from Via Caprarie.


11:45 Via degli Orefici from Palazzo Re Enzo.


12:15 Piazza Maggiore, Duomo


12:45 Piazza Maggiore, Mayor's Office from Palazzo Re Enzo.
(sitting on the same stairs, now lookin on the right side).


14:00 Corner in Via Rolandino from Piazza San Domenico


14:45 San Giovanni in Monte's Church.
I drew this with my sketchbook leant against the roof of an old Fiat 500.


15:30 Santo Stefano's Church.


16:00 Santo Stefano's Square.
I drew the previous sketch sitting under the first arch on the left.