Some days in Javea

Some days ago I came back after a little trip to Javea, a little town on the east of Spain: beach, sun, swimming, good food (we were in the middle of the paella land), and obviously... sketches.
These are taken from a little sketchbook I started in the airport (and almost finished at the end of the trip).
Click on the image to see it bigger.

Four months have passed since I posted my last EDM challenge, and even if it seems I don't follow the thread anymore, I think this blog keep on beeing always that thread. Thank you EDMers. This sketch is the 9th of a series I started a year ago (and I don't know when I'll finish).

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.

In the verdant hills of Tuscany

The door on the left side is the entrance to our friends G&K's house, and the place is a little borgo called Bonazza, near Florence. We were here last weekend for our italian, english, spanish and of course american Thanksgiving. I made this sketch with the intention of adding some watercolor wash at home, but since I had used a not waterproof pen I couldn't do this way, so I put color with photoshop.

EDM#18 The view from two windows

I drew this last weekend looking out of the window of R&C's House in Naples. The churh on the center is Santa Teresa degli Scalzi. On the background Sant'Elmo's Castle and the Charterhouse of San Martino. I took also some photos that you can see here.

I've found this a week ago lost in some folder. I made it in august 2003 sitting in the balcony of our house in Zola Predosa, where we lived since our arrival in Italy (july 2001) to august 2005 when we moved to our current house. I didn't know I was making EDM#18 "Draw the view from a window".

People next

We were in Gardaland, a fun fair near Garda Lake about 130 km from home. After a sandwich break the kids were all fresh and bouncing, while big people needed some coffee (or better some siesta).

Back from vacation

I've been in Lech, a little town in Voralberg, the westernmost region of Austria. The idea was trekking in the morning and swimming in the afternoon, but half the days the weather didn't agree. We seized the rainy days to visit some wonderful places as Bregenz or Sankt Gallen.
I was really amazed by the facades.

I wanted to work on light and tone and so I carried only markers and fibre pens. No much color in this post.


There were two Orthodox Jews playing chess on the the top of the Rüfispitze (2.632 m)

It was because of the weather that most of my sketches were made dinning at the restaurants...

...or having breakfast at the hotel

which restaurant had a marvelous ceiling.

Next two were made at the S'Achtele Restaurant,
that really deserves the link.




The next 4 were all made while having breakfast at the hotel.

I finished the crosshatching of the next at the swimming pool
(it's easy to guess it from the stains).

Next two are EDM #128 from both sides of the door


This was made after a whirlpool bath (a very relaxing sketch).

EDM #13 and some forgotten pages

Heat is not the best for creativity, and so I took one of the nearest things so I must not move too many muscles or shake too much gray matter.

Last week I must go again to the dentist. I sat on the same chair of the last time and I obviously want not to draw the same motive (see this). Instead of looking in front of me I looked to the left where this plant was. (I touched the sketch with some watercolors at home).

After the plant there was nothing interesting to draw. I resigned myself to draw the fire extinguisher, and to finish my descent on boredom, I let my hand rave.

EDM #14 (3 versions)

This is what I see in the morning when I get up. Actually, when I get up I see almost nothing because everything is dark, this is what I see after putting up the blind.
I did it this morning and seems I was not attacked by an outburst of inspiration, so I tried 3 takes before giving up, here they are.
For a more objective, descriptive, realistic and scientific approach, see this.

Beauty and the beast

Last week I used a working trip to Seville as a pretext to visit some friends in Cadiz and my family in Madrid. I thought I could sketch pages and pages but the only chance happened while waiting to board: a little girl in loud clothes ate a donut near a black dressed security guard.

EDM #02 and #105

I started timidly to draw a lamp for the EDM challenge #02. At a certain moment my hand became intelligent and went ahead without consulting me and what must be a humble sketch of a lamp became an indoor landscape. She often behaves this unruly way but I don't know when.

For example, I don't know where she was when I tryed this scissors (obviously she held the pen but she wasn't there). I must finish the work all alone (isn't it evident?)

Who's afraid of the dentist?

I went to the dentist's and had to wait a little. I felt fortunate to be a sketcher and have something better to do than leafing through gossip, car and yacht magazines.

A week on the beach

I've spent the last week on the beach. Me and my family went to Cesenatico, a little town 100 km far from Bologna, in the area of the Adriatic shore called Riviera Romagnola.
Obviously, I had sooooo much time to skecth.









This was my "studio" while making the previous two sketches.