A Vase for June Flowers

Posted on June 16, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
A Vase for June Flowers

A Vase for June Flowers

Today’s sketch is a variant of yesterday’s. It is a sketch of the same bouquet but with some of the leaves removed. This time I wanted to make the vase more transparent and used highly diluted paint for most of it, leaving some more opaque portions for contrast.

I also continued painting without first making a drawing and felt much more comfortable with the process. It is interesting that the diluted paint dries with an edge that resembles a line.

This is a gouache sketch on Derwent black paper.

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June Flowers

Posted on June 16, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
June Flowers

June Flowers

I have wanted to learn to paint without first making guidelines on the paper. The flowers are everywhere this June and I picked a bouquet to practice with, thinking that if the parts did not fit together properly that it might still look natural. I made three similar sketches and by the third some of the worry about accuracy left. I used a waterbrush on the vase and think that the way it pushes the paint onto the paper helped convey the characteristics of water and stems.

This is  a gouache sketch on black Derwent paper.

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So, Let’s Talk About How to…

Posted on June 15, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
So, Let's Talk About How to...

So, Let’s Talk About How to…

Our son, a programmer, came home for a few days to help his dad set up some experiments. It is wonderful to have him home and to listen to the collegial talk between them as they work together. I cannot help but think about the little boy he once was, the young parents we once were and how talking together over the years has led to so much fun and growth.

I sat across the table and made several sketches before I caught the body language I was going for. The idea they are searching for is abstract and it shows in their gazes. Although they are sitting together with a pile of paper, their eyes look past each other, not at the papers and not at each other. People learning from each other pretty much maintain eye contact; people trying to pin down elusive ideas together pretty much look off into space. Although their discussion contained many moments where ideas were exchanged, I wanted this sketch to show the body language of thinking new thoughts.

This is a pastel, ink and gouache sketch on Derwent 135 pound black paper. This paper is new for me. It is a bit sturdier and has less tooth than the Moleskine and Semikolon paper I have been using. Its smoother surface takes the gouache differently and I am still learning how to best apply it.

 

 

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Story Creation, Telling a Story | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

A Last Sketch from Cuernavaca

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
A Last Sketch in Cuernavaca

A Last Sketch in Cuernavaca

I was sketching in a cafe off of Cuernavaca’s city square while my sisters were taking a salsa lesson. When they came to get me I was not quite ready to go. Although I told myself I would finish this later, I never did. You can see some of the quick pastel marks that I made to organize the sketch as I started, most of which would probably have been painted over or erased by the time I finished the sketch.

Sketching in a cafe off of Cuernavaca's Zocolo

Sketching in a cafe off of Cuernavaca’s Zocolo

One of my sisters took a photo of me holding up the sketch and it shows the greater context of where I was working.  How great is it to be serenaded by mariachis while sketching? (There was a large graduation celebration off to my right.)

With Students at CONALEP Plantel Temixco

With Students at CONALEP Plantel Temixco

As long as I am posting photos of myself, this second photo shows me explaining my process and materials to students at the CONALEP Plantel Temixco, where following my sister’s presentation earlier in the week, I gave a short explanation of daily sketching. I loved the enthusiasm of the students and got a kick out of answering their questions, showing them my small kit for sketching, and encouraging them to find time to draw.

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Telling a Story | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Zócalo de Cuernavaca

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan

Zócalo de Cuernavaca by Sarah Sullivan

Zócalo de Cuernavaca


Although we are no longer in Cuernavaca, I still have a few sketches I would like to post, including this one of people enjoying the central square of Cuernavaca. This is an in-the-moment sketch, that is, a sketch where I just tried to record as much as I could of a complicated and dynamic scene.

I enjoyed sketching this group. The man on the right was reading something funny to the others from his device. At times they would laugh so hard that the waiters would go over to get in on the fun. I think I caught more of the look of listening than the look of laughing but this is a good memory of the cheerful crowds at the  Zócalo de Cuernavaca.

This is a pastel and gouache sketch on black paper. 

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Cooking Together at Rocio’s

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan

Cooking Together at Rocio's by Sarah Sullivan

Cooking Together at Rocio’s


Rocio is one of our Spanish teachers and she offers a cooking class in her home. The participants go and buy the ingredients and then, under her supervision, make a Mexican meal. It was a wonderful opportunity but I found the opportunity to sketch the others even more appealing. It was fun to try to convey the chaos as the bunch of us alternated between completing tasks and talking.

I like the feel of people bustling around in this sketch. However, this is more of an assembled sketch than an accurate portrayal of a single moment. I had to capture most of the figures separately as no one stayed in the same place for long.  It was an entertaining evening and I have another partial sketch of this same scene that I may finish in the next few days. 

This is a pastel and gouache sketch on black paper. 

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Sheila Speaks to Students at CONALEP Plantel Temixco

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Sheila Speaks to Students at CONALEP Plantel Temixco by Sarah Sullivan

Sheila Speaks to Students at CONALEP Plantel Temixco

My sister Sheila Polk gave a presentation to students at CONALEP Plantel Temixco, a technical high school near Cuernavaca, and I jumped at the chance to go along. Retired or not I still love going to schools and this one was awesome. They have a strong career prep program and it was a delight to talk with students about their studies and plans as we walked through the campus.

I was able to make a very sketchy sketch which captured the basics but did not do justice to the youth and attentiveness of the students or the composure of my sister speaking in Spanish to the 150 students in the auditorium. I took quite a few photos and plan to use them as reference for a second try at this subject. I hope to better convey my sister’s animated style and the intense and respectful expressions of the students.

This is a gouache and pastel sketch on black paper.

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Learning, People Learning | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments