Clermont revisited

(En español en De Vuelta con el Cuaderno)

Drawings made at the XI Biennale du Carnet de Voyage that took place on november in Clermont-Ferrand. It was short car trip with my neighbour, urban (and not only) sketcher and friend Lapin to take a look at this huge sketch reunion.
Beeing a visitor has made this second chance much different from my first Biennale in which I was invited to show my work and passed most of the 3 days glued to my stand.
Apart from the usual camels and palm works (many of them really good, I must recognize) there were many new different works. I've appreciated (and welcomed) a more open minded approach this time, not so closed to the romantic, platonic, ancien régime, Discovery-Channeled and Stanley-Livingstoned idea of travel (that I like and follow myself). Works as Laurent Lolmède crowds, Damien Roudeau's homeless and prostitutes or Julien Revenu's authopsies are good samples of a different way to look at "travels" as an experience to be told on a sketchbook, much more interesting for me than the usual turban sketches.
I met also new and old folks and sketched some portraits (and not only). I draw them on a gorgeous sketchbook handmade by Choni Naudin, an amazing bookbinder from Zaragoza. She made this special one for the first meeting De Vuelta con el Cuaderno and since I couldn't assist I filled it at the Biennale.

On these pages Laurent Lolmède, Julien Revenu, Mathieu Sapin, Cécile Quéau, Florent Chavouet, Jean Michel Charpentier, Andrea Longhi, Lapin, Joaquín González Dorao, Frédéric Rudant, Damien Roudeau (which baby sitted Marilou, 4 y.o.  page 3 left, while I visited his stand) and Sanjeev Joshi.

I needed some more pages and I continued sketching on my current pocket sketchbook.
On these pages Roberto Cariani, Laurent Lolmède again, Elsie Herberstein, Damien Chavanat and Delphine Priollaud.

The day after I went with Lapin to draw the cathedral.
It was very cold so I just made a (forced) fast sketch

Pocket Sketchbook #8

This came always with me between july and october 2009. Almost all sketches where made from life in Porec (Croatia), Casalecchio, Castello d'Argile, Bologna (Italia), Jávea and Valencia (Spain).

Music: Bobby McFerrin (1950) "The 23rd Psalm (dedicated to my mother)",

Bobby McFerrin (Medicine Music, 1998).

People here and there

Some weeks ago, while I was in Croatia, I started a new pocket sketchbook.
Even if I use to change subjects and tools, this new sketchbook took suddenly some kind of "personality" that hasn't changed so far. Now I'm on page 35 (more or less in the middle) and trying to keep the continuity till the end.

Pocket Sketchbook #7

My pocket sketchbook between april and july 2009. Almost all sketches where made from life in Bologna, Casalecchio, Ravenna and Vignola (Italy), Jávea and Gandía (Spain) and Porec (Croatia).
Music: Cesar Miró (1907-1999) "Todos vuelven", (Rubén Blades, Buscando América, 1984)

Vacation (2nd. part)

More from my vacation in Porec, Croatia. Apart from the sketches of the previous post, I made 66 quick portraits of the people around. 52 of them can be seen on the last pages of this sketchbook (at that point I ended it and started another one, not ready yet). These are some samples.

Vacation

Sketches made some days ago in Porec, Croatia.

Kraft paper sketchbook

Customized kraft-paper sketchbook (I made the wire- binding on a copy service in order to open it 360º). It's been a mate for almost 6 months in which I filled it of every idea (or non-idea) comming to my head and/or my hand: scribbles, sketches, public life, portraits, TV drawings, still lifes, designs, projects and so on. Made in Bologna, Casalecchio, Jávea and Venezia between december 22, 2008 and june 6, 2009.
Music: Chauncey Olcott (1858-1932), "My Wild Irish Rose" (Keith Jarrett, piano, 1999)

Here & There

Sketchbook made with sheets of watercolor paper wire-binded on a copy service. Sketches made in Bologna, Casalecchio, Jávea, Ravenna and Vignola between march 03 and may 05 2009.
Music: Pino Daniele, "Lazzari felici" (Musicante, 1984)

Spring 2009 pocket sketchbook

Sketchbook made with sheets of a torn Moleskine sketchbook wire-binded on a copy service. It was my pocket sketchbook beetween march 25 and april 12, 2009. Sketches taken in Bologna, Casalecchio and Jávea.
Music: "Les Mots d'Amour" (Charles Dumont, music and Michel Rivgauche, lyrics), Edith Piaf (1960)

Winter 2009 pocket sketchbook

To make this sketchbook I cut some sheets of watercolor paper and made a wire-binding on a copy service. It came always with me till the last page was filled and contains drawings made in Bologna and Casalecchio between december 21, 2008 and march 25, 2009.
Music: Keb' Mo', "Am I Wrong?" (Keb' Mo', 1994)

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)

Winter 2009 Sketches

Sketchbook completed between 21 december 2008 and 25 march 2009. All drawings were made in Bologna and Casalecchio. I used 3 Lamy fountain pens (extra fine, calligraphic 1 and 2 mm), 6 water brushes loaded with different watered fountain pen inks (except for the yellow that was aniline dye) and watercolors.

See it bigger in other window

Autumn 2008 sketchbook

In november, at the Clermont-Ferrand's Biennale du Carnet de Voyage, my friend Enrique Flores gave to many of us one of this little sketchbooks (10x15 cm) for which he had made the cover illustration. I started to draw on it when I came to Bologna and finished it exactly one month after. Almost all drawings were finished at place. I used 6 water brushes loaded with different watered fountain pen inks, except for the yellow that was liquid watercolor. The black lines were made with a Pentel brush pen and 2 Lamy Safary (with EF and calligraphic nibs) both loaded with Noodler's ink. Click on the image to zoom and leaf through pages, or see a video here.

Update

This is a sketchbook that was in my pocket this spring, from middle april till the end of june. Actually it's a moleskine notebook someone gave me for Chrsitmas a couple of years ago, but since I didn't find a better use, I decided to fill it with quick brush sketches.

100th post

I started this sketchbook in the airport on my last vacation, but when I turned back home it wasn't finished (I drew the last pages only last week). This is a little movie of the whole sketchbook.
You can leaf through a better version of the vacation pages here.



This is my 100th post.
I opened this blog on 2006 but its real life started on june 2007 when I discovered EDM. It was a really great moment for my blog and so was for my drawing activity... and for me.
Thank you all.

Blue & Green

On a recent post I talked about my attraction/fear about brushes and how Enrique Flores had helped me to go ahead. We met three weeks ago, and from then on I haven't stopped drawing straight with the brush. Here is my first complete sketchbook made walking on the wild side.

This was actually a Canson sketchbook which cover got torn. I made a new one with an old folder, and since it was blue and green I decided to draw just in blue and green. I filled a Niji brush with Parker blue ink and a Tria brush with Parker green and made all the sketches from nature or from TV. I started it saturday, april 19 and finished yesterday. Never drawn this fast.
Maybe for all you brush addicts this is trivial, but I've been always glued to fine liners and this is been for me like bungee jumping. Woah!

A little bit of exhibitionism

This is my studio at home. First I used to do my pencil and ink work on paper and then scan it to color in photoshop. About one year ago I gave up to use paper and now I draw almost all my jobs straight on the tablet. It's better for productivity but I miss the touch of the pen and the paper. It's because of this that in the evening I hide the tablet under the white board... and fun starts.


This is my Little Partner (105x190 mm). It goes always with me: in the winter time I can put it in the pocket of my jacket. In the summer it goes on my fanny pack. About a 30% of the pages are my work diary (it's actually Success diary I bought in Munich at Kaut-Bullinger & Co, one of the best stationery stores I've ever known, a paradise for sketch junkies).


This is my Big Partner (150x240 mm). I carry it on my backpack (this means not always but almost always). I made it with the jacket of an old Quo Vadis diary. I fixed the rings (taken from another different old diary) with rivets. I fill both with different kinds of papers according to the technique I want to use. When I need new blank pages I file away the used ones. The holes are made with a Filofax punch.