Austrian Harvest
We had a long day of travel yesterday, from Budapest to Milan, passing from the plains of Hungary up and over the Austrian Alps and then down into northern Italy. As we drove we noticed farmers harvesting crops, which I think without much certainty must have been hay. This is a composite sketch with the images of field, mountain, tractor, and sky compiled as we drove from the area between Salzburg and Innsbruck.
This is a Procreate sketch.
Moonrise over Budapest
For our last day in Hungary, our cousins took us to Szentendre, a town known for its artists, museums, galleries and gorgeous location along the Danube River. We were charmed by the setting, impressed by the work of many artists and very happy to spend the day with our Hungarian relatives. We took an enormous amount of photos, lingered over lunch in the shade along the riverbank and enjoyed a marzipan museum and confectionary shop.
It was a good day and we got back at our apartment late but happy, with just enough time to pack and make one last sketch. This is the view from our balcony looking out between the buildings as the moon rises.The challenge for me in this was showing the structure of the buildings and trees when so much of what I saw was murky swirls of dark color.
This is a pencil and watercolor sketch on multimedia paper.
Crossing Deák Ferenc Square, Budapest
Most days in Budapest we cross the Deák Ferenc Square in the Lipótváros area several times. It is a lively place where roads, metro, busses and people converge and an interesting place to sit, sketch and people watch- if you can get a bench. This sketch is from mid afternoon when the scene was relatively quiet. Later, after the Hungarian soccer team won a place in the next stage of the Euro 16 championship, it seemed like the whole city was there celebrating.
This is a pencil and watercolor sketch on multimedia paper.
Catching up, Clarifying History
My husband was once a child in Hungary. His family, like countless others, was injured by forces beyond their control including World War II, the Holocaust, forced labor and revolution. All they wanted was to live and love within their culture but what they got was death, loss, discrimination, rejection, disruption, and in some cases, an opportunity to build again within Hungary, New Zealand, Canada, Israel or America. Hooray for countries when they open their arms to people in need of help.
We have been meeting with distant cousins and catching up on family history. Since I do not understand Hungarian, I pull out my sketchbook after dinner for quick sketches that help me listen visually. The controlled facial expressions of this trio contrast to what their hands express and to me communicate the futility of trying to make meaning out of what happened to their family.
This is a pencil and watercolor sketch on watercolor paper.
Cafe Near the Music School, Budapest
This is a pen and watercolor sketch of a little cafe across a plaza from a large music school in Budapest.
On the Balcony in Budapest
We rented a one bedroom apartment with a balcony for the week here in Budapest. The complex is made up of three buildings, encircling a central courtyard. It is wonderful to sit outside, four stories above the busy downtown district, and enjoy working and sketching together.
This is a marker and watercolor sketch on multimedia paper. The weather here is humid and so watercolor takes a long time to dry. I used Procreate to edit a few of my washes and then to add back in some white lines.
Detail from Saint Michael’s Chapel, Budapest
Budapest is located along the Danube River, which totally dominates and defines the city. The river is huge, perhaps especially so to my California eyes. It is so wide that an island, Margaret Island, fits nicely into it with plenty of room for ships to steam by on both sides.
We toured Margaret Island yesterday with family and got a terrific overview of it. The island is full of tempting sketching sights which I hope to return to alone so I can linger and draw. I took photos with my phone and used one for this sketch of the detail over the door of Saint Michael’s Chapel.
This is a pen and watercolor sketch on watercolor paper.
Deliberate Sketching 