HOMME A VELO, inkwash alla prima, plein air

Homme à Velo, 7x7,  5 minute inkwash, alla prima, plein air, sitting at a coffee shop in Paris watching and sketching people passing by.

I recently read in the International Artist magazine, the following comment by John McCartin, an artist from Australia:
"My personal idea of success is to be in a position where I can fully develop my craft without having to spend large amounts of time doing other things. To come close to reaching my full potential as an artist while encouraging and inspiring other artists along the way."
I like this, I feel it also represents me, in a way.

GAUMONT, ALESIA, PARIS, inkwash

Gaumont, Alésia, Paris, inkwash 7x7 in.
Sitting at the corner cafe, Metro Alésia , having a cup of coffee in the morning, while watching people go by and sketching. That is the life in Paris!!!

One day last week I went to the Pinacothèque de Paris. The exhibition of Chu Teh-Chun, "Les Chemins de l'Abstraction", is magnificent! Chu Teh-Chun has lived in Paris for over 25 years. He says that it's all a matter of energy, the capacity of showing with a unique brushstroke that painting and poetry are one. He says he was impressed by reading Kandinsky: "Abstract art, far from being separated from nature, is more intimately closer to nature than art has ever been."

PONT DES INVALIDES, PARIS, inkwash

Pont des Invalides, Paris, inkwash 7x7"
Quick sketch standing on the side of the Seine near le Pont des Invalides. I love to make quick sketches directly with ink, in this case a very thin pen in sepia color, and afterwards I add a little color to the sketch. 5 minutes to do the sketch, 5 minutes to add a bit of color. It's a great exercise to "keep the hand warm" as Sorolla used to say and do.

Go ahead! Draw, sketch, paint and enjoy!

Bordeaux, Port de la Lune, ink-wash

BORDEAUX, PORT DE LA LUNE, 15 minute inkwash,  plein air, sitting right here!!

What a beautiful city! Bordeaux, on the river La Garonne, an elegant city with beautiful water fountains, the river, incredible bridges, excellent wines, and good friends. What more can one wish? I even had good weather! I had a fabulous weekend in Bordeaux, and now it's back to work, continuing  my watercolor workshops in France. My friend Daniele Hoursiangou, journalist and poet in Bordeaux, has recently published another book of poems: Territoires Caches. (Hidden Lands). From there, I'm copying this poem, in its original French:

"Tout Passera
Violence d'avril
Rage du vainqueur
Tout est cru comme cuirasses au soleil
Mon propre sang m'attaque
Douleur de mes yeux
Tenailles sur mes vaisseaux trop tendres
Les broussailles glaces
Le vent aigu et les bois gris
Tout passera. "

Car in Park, inkwash

Car in Park, inkwash, 14x18, available. Sketched at the Budapest City Park, a few days ago.
Karoly Marko is one of Hungary's best known painters. Marko spent most of his life working abroad in Vienna and Italy, but he never really lost contact with Hungary. From the 1840s almost every Hungarian painter who visited Italy spent some time in his studio. His visit back for a few days was celebrated raptourously, culminating with the opening of the Marko Hall in the Hungarian National Museum, in Budapest.

New York Cafe II, Budapest, inkwash

New York Cafe II, Budapest, inkwash, 14x18cm. available.
New York Palace is a luxurius 5-star hotel in Budpest, on the ground floor is the New York Cafe, popular with writers and artists in a previous time, now mostly popular with tourists. Marble floors and columns, crystal chandeliers, a piano player at a baby grand piano, lure us inside for a cappuchino, or an ice-cream cake. Built between 1891-1895, this beautiful building still delights its customers today.

Blooming, inkwash

Blooming, inkwash, 14x18 cm. Available
Good to keep in mind:  A shape must be countered by another shape in a reflexive manner. A good painting is not "symmetric" as in a mirror image, but balanced, whether a representative or abstract painting, should be balanced. A shape answers to another shape. A "symmetry" that is never ecstatic, but that it gives the painting rhytm, as in a private dance with each other, and evocates movement and flow...

Sunset on the Danube I, inkwash

Sunset on the Danube I, Budapest.  inkwash, 14x18cm. available.
I recently read: THE CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR, by Lisa Sonora Beam. A wonderful book with many ideas for creativity and entrepreneurship about our art. She must have read my mind when she says: "If you have professional -quality art supplies  you've been saving to make something IMPORTANT with, then use them. There is satisfaction about using really good art supplies. It also sends a message to the subconscious mind that you are serious about the work you are doing." This is so wonderful! I immediately opened a new watercolor sketchbook I had been saving, and started using it, now that I have her permission!

Sunset on the Danube II, inkwash

Sunset on the Danube II, inkwash, 14x18cm. available
You can see the Elizabeth Bridge, in Budapest, from this view point. Elizabeth is still a most adored queen in Hungary's past. You remember the story: "Sissi Emperatriz" was the movie I saw in Argentina as a young girl, and everybody knows "Sissy", as a most adorable young woman, playful, falling in love with her cousin, the next King of Hungary. Unfortunately, her life was not all roses after the first few years of marriage, she survived her husband's infidelities, the killing of her son, and was herself killed. The people of Hungary will always remember her as a lover of the common people. This is the beautiful white bridge with her name.

Sunset on the Danube IV, inkwash

Sunset on the Danube IV, inkwash, 14x18cm. available. Just sitting there in this park along  the Danube in Budapest, as the sun was setting, they closed the umbrellas at the bar...the sky was so beautiful, the colors were amazing! That day I had left the residence with an ink pen, a little brush, and a very small bottle of water. I do like to vary my quick sketches, in different media. And working on VALUE only is a great exercise. I strongly recommend it. It's much easier to use color!

Sunset on the Danube V, ink wash

Sunset on the Danube V, sepia ink and water, 14x18cm. available.
Budapest, Hungary: Walking along the Danube, on a long and beautiful walk on the Pest side, at sunset, the tourists go out to dinner, and the independent sellers of tourist articles appear. This lady was offering beautifully embroidered tablecloths and napkins. Behind her, the Danube, and farther away, on the other side, you could see a couple of tunnels under the big hill that is Buda.

Ernie the Driver

Ernie the Driver, ink-wash, 4x6", available. As I've said before, I paint every day, everywhere. This ink-wash of my husband while he's driving, was done in the car, with a Tombow pen, brush and water, in a few minutes. Anything that doesn't move for a few minutes, I paint it!!

Silver Lake II

Silver Lake II, inkwash 4x6.
Did you know? Giovanni Bellini (1431-1516) introduced the oil techniques in Venice in the 1470s. He brought them from Holland, where the Dutch first thought of mixing oil with the color pigments. Soon the use of fabric or canvas for support, was also adopted in Venice, and the school of Venice was on its way to compete with the Racionalism of Florence.

Silver Lake, California

Silver Lake, California, inkwash, 4x6. This lake was totally frozen, enough for us to ice-skate and tennis-shoes skate on the lake. We were a family group of three generations playing on the frozen lake, with only two pairs of skates, so we took turns using them. The rest of us "skated" on our tennis shoes, it was very beautiful and fun! About once a year I force myself to do only value sketches for a while. A lot to be learned by concentrating on value sketches.

Mammoth Village III

Mammoth Village III, inkwash plain-air, 4x6", available.
"From the age of six to fourteen I took violin lessons but had no luck with my teachers, for whom music did not transcend mechanical practicing. I really began to learn after I had fallen in love with Mozart's sonatas. The attempt to reproduce their singular grace compelled me to improve my technique. I believe, on the whole, that love is a better teacher than sense of duty." --- Albert Einstein

Mammoth Village II

Mammoth Village II, inkwash, 4x6. Plein-air on location at Mammoth Village, northern California,  a couple of days ago.
Mountains in winter are beautiful! We wish there was more snow, like there usually is at this time of the year, but we have to accept what we have, and we have here beauty, love and laughter. We are blessed.

Mammoth Village I

Mammoth Village I, California.  inkwash, plein air sketch done a couple of days ago.
Lovely mountain town, normally totally snowed in at this time of the year, but not this year. Very little snow, yet Silver Lake nearby is frozen enough that we went ice-skating on the lake this morning. It was fun!

Isabel Guerra en el Museo del Dibujo

Isabel Guerra en el Museo del Dibujo, inkwash, 29x21cm. This is my copy in ink-wash, in my travel journal, of Isabel Guerra's pencil drawing called: "Dama Pobreza", 100x70cm. I saw this beautiful pencil drawing at the Museo del Dibujo Castillo de Larres, in Larres, Spain, about a month ago. This castle/museum is near Jaca, in north-east Spain. There are about 350 excellent drawings and paintings, distributed in 14 rooms. What a treat to be able to see all these masterpieces!
Isabel Guerra en el Museo del Dibujo, tinta y agua. Esta es mi copia en tinta, y pincel con agua, en mi cuaderno de viajes, del dibujo a lapiz-grafito de Isabel Guerra titulado "Dama Pobreza", de 100x74 cm. He visto este hermosisimo dibujo a lapiz en el Museo del Dibujo Castillo de Larres, en Larres, Espana, hace cerca de un mes. Este castillo/museo esta cerca de Jaca, en el nor-este de Espana. Hay unos 350 dibujos y pinturas, distribuidos en 14 salas. Que delicia poder ver estas obras de arte!