APRIL  ART  DUMP

We have now been in Porto for just over a month. The apartment is pretty much set up, but most importantly, we now have desks and I have been able to set up my painting kit and connect with Urban Sketchers Porto. As we have explored various neighborhoods in and around the city, this is definitely a target rich environment.

  

One aspect of drawing that I have struggled with is expressing the flow of fabric, so I started with working in pencil since my painting wasn't set up. The left is from a statue of Amerigo Vespucci that we saw in Italy last year, and the right is from a painting by Otis Caulfield we saw in San Francisco. Next step will be to apply those techniques in watercolor.

On Dia de Liberdade, I was able to meet up with Urban Sketchers Porto at Ajudaris, a social and humanitarian volunteer organization. Language challenges aside, it is a very nice and welcoming group. I look forward to future meetups with these folks.

  

From the traveling sketchbook: I was able to get out and do a little more real-time sketching. On the left, we were waiting for friends at Figueres de Foz with a visit from one of our avian friends. On the right, on one of our explorations we stopped for adult beverages at Paseo dos Clerigos.

Finally got the paints out; this from a ride on the Metro. I had this clear view of this gentleman framed by other people and things on the train. I simplified the composition to focus on the main character and soften up the other people and elements surrounding him. The softening didn't come off as I had hoped, but we will see about next time.