Before and After

Here a before -pencil, and after - Pencil + watercolor wash from a photo.  This was  a good exercise for I definitely need to see about simplifying  this type of drawing when in the field

Sagrada Familia
9 x12 Pencil + Watercolor.

Beach Stand

This is a beach stand (small bar) that caught my eye when walking the beach. I liked the small structure from this angle that was somewhat hidden among the palm trees. It's a  bit messy sketching on the beach because of the wind and sand but I've come to miss it when sketching "in town."

9x12 Ink and watercolor.

Tough Day

This was a really tough cookie. I like sketching at the beach (a lot!) but everything that could go wrong did.  For the angle I liked I couldn't use my small stool so I had to sit on the edge of a skiff with the watercolor pad and water container (small bottle) slipping and sliding all over. There was a lot of wind so, at times, everything (including a charged brush I laid down for a second) went flying. I had to use some white gouache to  fix some of the blobs but that's the way it goes...

Practice, practice, practice....

I have an upcoming trip and want to do some 'on site' sketches so I decided to practice some on what I'll be seeing when abroad.This a Watercolor sketch of a photo I took when we last visited Barcelona, I think this is the Passieg-de-Gracia building. The area is beautiful but what caught my eye was the contrast of the orange roofs against the quite blue sky.

9x12 Pencil and watercolor...

This was today at our beach. I did a sketch yesterday but was not satisfied with the way it came out. I think this one is a lot better. I've added a couple of photos of the progress and the final sketch.  

Nautilus

This is a nautilus shell on our balcony. I looked left and happened to liked the way the light was striking it (with afternoon sun from behind). Tried capture the transparency of the light though the shell. I'll try again next time

Fishing Skiff

Went to the beach to do a sketch, had not walked 3 paces when I saw this fishing skiff that had  just came in from a day's work. I was halfway though the sketch when they were about  to move it.  Had to beg the fisherman not to who was gracious enough to leave it "as it was" long  enough for me to finish...