Testing my tools

Where to start?
I am one of the lucky ones to have registered at the 4th International Urban Sketching Symposium before it sold out after only two hours. It will all happen in Barcelona in the middle of July.
Not only will I hopefully meet a lot of the artists whose blogs I have been following for months and years, I will also learn a lot and draw even more.

I did not have all of the art supplies for some of the workshops, so I ordered some of what I was still missing:

Mijello : Folding Plastic Palette 18 BLUE

Daniel Smith Watercolour 15ml : Aureolin (Cobalt Yellow) S3

Daniel Smith Watercolour 15ml : Alizarin Crimson S1

Daniel Smith Watercolour 15ml : Ultramarine Blue S1

When I updated my watercolor pan palette last year, I spent enough money for the shop assistant to entrust me with the last tube paints of what she said to be a discontinued line of Lukas paints.

So, I decided to try out the new palette and those older paints, just because they were not going to get any fresher anymore.
The permanent green paint was still creamy, the others were already quite sticky.

I really could get used to tube colors ☺.

Still need loooots of practise though.

Goodbye cookies

It's my last day at work tomorrow. It's been a crazy year this year. In some ways I am sad to leave my fantastic team and colleages from the other departments. The relationship between work mates was one of a kind, and I will not be saying goodbye, because I made friends there and we will keep meeting up and hanging out.

On the other hand, it is time. 

Stress has worked its way right up to my gums which are painfully inflamed now.

I cannot even eat the yummy goodbye cookies I made tonight!

Surprise visit

I traveled to visit my sister for her birthday this weekend. It was a surprise visit. Next day we were joined by our brother and his wife, which was the second surprise. I love a good and pleasant surprise like that!

Getting there proved to be a bit tricky as there was severe weather the night before, and parts of the train tracks were still flooded and full with fallen trees and torn off branches. The fast trains were cancelled, the loudspeaker information was not always as informative as it could have been but in the end we got there. 

When I say we, I mean a group of four lovely ladies (sisters + their daughters) from the States and myself. I was glad to have a bit of company as we made our way towards the big city with the regional trains and the rain replacement bus service. 

I'd like to think I was able to take out some of the stress that comes with public transport hiccups in a foreign country for them. Thanks for the company!

So, traveling did not go too smooth this time as on the way back I had quite an upset stomach, but I did  manage to do a sketch or two of my fellow passengers.

First day of summer

We skipped spring and went straight to summer last weekend.

I enjoyed the sunshine around my neighbourhood but got instantly sunburnt. I will need a big summer hat for the Barcelona Urban Sketchers Symposium!

Letztes Wochenende wurde der Frühling übergangen, hier machen wir nach dem grauen dunklen Winter gleich mit dem Sommer weiter. Ich genoß die Sonne in der Nachbarschaft, bekam aber sofort einen Sonnenbrand. Ich werde einen großen Sommerhut für das Urban Sketchers Symposium in Barcelona brauchen!

IF: children

Winding down with a watercolor sketch after a long day that started at 6 with running, then work, then 5 hours of laundry and late spring cleaning. 

Spring cleaning is not done yet, but getting a head start makes a huge difference.

Why do I spring clean only now? 

Because after the longest and darkest winter and spring, the sun finally has decided to show itself.

What do I learn from this sketch? Use a bigger brush first and fill larger areas with much more paint.

I still can't get myself to load a lot of pigment on my brush in the first stages.