Maya faces 4

Los Voladores 3, watercolor 25 x 30 cm

Maya faces 3

Los Voladores 2, watercolor 25 x 30 cm

In the previous post I said that the face was overworked. But while working on this one, I realized how much I enjoyed examining all facial features and trying to depict them. So, while part of me would like to finish a painting in a few expressive brush-strokes, another part, the one that takes control, finds pleasure in the details. One day these two will probably come to an agreement. But for now, it is what it is. I'm happy with the result.

Maya faces 2

Los Voladores 1, watercolor 25 x 30 cm

I couldn't sleep last night, maybe due to the time change. So, instead of tossing and turning, I went to my "studio" and painted for an hour, until I felt sleepy. When I got back from work today, I was eager to continue. Here is the result. The face is a bit overworked, but I think it isn't bad.
The photo is of one of the "flying men" (Los Voladoers), whom we watched performing an old Mexican ritual. It starts by dancing at the top of a very high post, after which four of the men launch down on ropes, spinning until they reach the ground. I was surprised to see that the performers were not young at all. And I was happy to be able to take a few good shots of their faces, which seemed so interesting to me.

Maya faces

Mayan woman 1, watercolor on Langton paper, 21 x 23 cm

Mayan women, watercolor on Langton paper, 30 x 25 cm

Mayan woman 2, watercolor, 13 x 16 cm

I've been so busy lately, having no time for either painting or blogging. So, as soon as I found a few free hours this weekend, I grabbed the brushes and did these studies. They are based on photos I took on my vacation in Mexico.
In the mean time so much has happened in blog-space... I am eager now to catch up.

Pueblo del Rio at night

Pueblo del Rio at night, watercolor on Langton Prestige paper, 38 x 28 cm

Pueblo del Rio

Pueblo del Rio 2,
watercolor on Langton Prestige paper,
28 x 38 cm

More sketching in the sun

Under the gray sky
The last day started with clouds and drizzle. I hid under a beach umbrella to paint this.

When once I shared with a friend my fear of painting outside, due to potential observers, she said "I love people watching me paint, they only say nice things." And she was right. Most passer-by-s last week would simply mind their own business. The few who stopped and looked at my activity, were very encouraging.

Here are the rest of my vacation sketches. Have a very nice week, everyone!

Flamingos, watercolor in a sketch-book

The straw umbrellas

These lanterns, situated along the path-ways in the resort
created a somewhat mystic atmosphere

Fruit and wine - a subject inside the room.
I completely failed with the bougainvillaea
flowers, but I like the bottle and am proud
with the glass, done without any masking
or white paint

Sketching in the sun

Sea, Sun and Sand, watrecolor sketch on Arches travel book

I am back from a week's absence and eager to see what everybody has been up to and to catch up on blogging.

I spent the last week at a beach resort in Mexico, escaping from the knee-high snow, traffic chaos and the chores at the office.  I made a point of doing at least a couple of sketches every day. I tried choosing simple subjects or simplifying the scenery. Though the sketches often didn't turn out the way I wanted, there was something good in almost every one of them and I felt that I was learning about the different subjects. The whole point of sketching is sketching itself, not producing masterpieces. The little Arches travel book (25 x 15 cm) proved a perfect size to carry around, with quality paper allowing to paint on both sides of each sheet.

One thing really surprised me - how humid  it was there and how different it was to paint in such conditions. So far I have been wondering how fast some artists must be painting to be able to keep wet edges and do a good wet-on-dry technique. So, you people from the British isles, now I know what advantage you have with your humid climate too! :)

I'm posting a few of my sketches. More to come in the next post....

Pueblo Rio at night
This was the commercial part of the resort, with
picturesque buildings situated along a salt-water river

Sketching people at the beach with watercolor only, no pencil,
as people move and there's very little time to capture a pose

A pelican by the sea
On a sunny day the sea really has these intense colors

Northern lights

Northern Lights, watercolor on Arches cp, 40 x 30 cm

This scene may be a little exaggerated, but isn't that the whole point of art...

Winter scene

Winter, watercolor on Langton cp, 40 x 30 cm

I painted this quickly, with the largest possible brushes and standing. I have tried to paint standing up before, but it didn't feel comfortable. This time I didn't make a point of doing it, it just came naturally. I guess, what I'm trying to say is, that sometimes it is hard to follow the advices from experienced artists, before you have naturally matured into them. So, dear friends, don't stress over following the rules. Just enjoy the process!
Unfortunately, now the back-pain that's been bothering me in the last week, got even worse. Maybe standing was not such a great idea after all :)