Encounter with graffiti artists (?)

It was the perfect combination between autumn sunlight and coloured leaves. I remember passing by this area numerous times but was always either too exhausted or had no painting tools with me. Also, it was a lone site out in the middle of nowhere. I was almost going to cycle past this area, but decided to turn back at the last minute and retraced my step back. The park itself was pristine, but the columns for some reason were covered in graffiti. Kind of charming, in a Berlin way. As I was working on this, a group of 3 kids were running around with the distinct clicking sound of a spray paint can...now I can see how this columned courtyard gets its decorations. One of them even stopped to check out my work, as I was putting in the finishing touches on the shadowed foreground (not sure if he could see anything from his height though) I guess we are all artists in a way?? 

A nice tree lined residential neighbourhood in Friedenau caught my eye, so I also backtracked to the traffic island to work on this. Conveniently, there was a plaque for a "Kaisereiche" next to the side walk, so I didn't even need to balance my water jar on the back of my bike!

 

Getting up early enough for the morning sun!

The flight to Lisbon turned out to be longer than I thought...it looked like it was only 2 hours. But I forgot about the time difference. For some reason everyone on the flight behaved that it was a super long haul, with people standing in the aisle and stretching half way through the flight (??) 

I didn't get to sleep in any day of the weekend. First because I was waiting for a friend's flight to arrive from the US, second because I could see how good the plaza looks from my hotel window. I didn't even make it half a block out of the hotel before I had to stop and do this twisty stair and winding road.

The actual plaza had some fascinating wave patterned tile work and I had to put in this detail. All the buildings and trees were casting really interesting shadows and I found a good spot in the shade next to a trash can (unlike other cities' unhelpful trash cans, these ones actually have a flat-ish lid/cover on top of which I could put my water jar, very handy) I accidentally made the shadow of the background buildings too strong in the beginning and had to go back with my opaque white (which thankfully I just refilled so I had plenty) This is my favourite one this trip

Just a few steps around the square there was another layered view. With the Convento do Carmo in the background, the Arco do Bandeira in the shadowed foreground, and the Arco da Rua Augusta in the very far left. This one I did from a bench because there was no strategically placed trash can this time...

I arrived at Rossio station (to catch train to Sintra) early enough to see the dramatic morning light on the building. Unfortunately I only had 14 mins to finish this, so I had to gloss over a lot of details on the building (which it had a lot!) I didn't enough had time to make sure that the shadows had the same colour lol. The Monumento dos Restauradores is in the background

Another weekend of sunshine!

I cherish any non-summer sunny days in Berlin. As October approaches, I know these days are numbered. Saturday was also a nice day out, but I had so many errands/chores to do on a Saturday that I ran out of energy before the sun set. 

I found myself a secluded spot in the shade right in front of the Berliner Schloss (for some reason I never noticed this building before seeing it in somebody else's painting, probably because I was always distracted by the sceneries on the other side of the street) It was a simple fascade that casted a long shadow and had a nice wall to lean my bike on. Just as I was starting, a man walked by and asked if I was "zeichnen oder malen die Gebäude nach". It took me a few seconds to comprehend the meaning of "nachzeichnen"- nobody has used this verb when talking to me before...And he wished me "viel Spaß" and walked away lol. Only when I was almost done did I notice the red thing behind the Berliner Schloss was the antenna of Fernsehturm. 

I already did the Deutsches Historisches Museum a few weeks ago, but I felt like challenging it the second time. This time it was the curvy reflective metal strips that caught my attention (it reflected the pink fascade of the Museum!) I feel like I underestimate the complexity of this building all the time, but the fascade's gradiant from yellow to pink is always unresistable. It was an enjoyable session, minus the constant shouting of the cup-and-ball scammers from the other side of the street...ughhhh

 

Capturing the sun, for as long as it lasts - Historischer Hafen Berlin

Another excellent location suggestion I got from scrolling through past meetup posts of Berlin Urban Sketchers. The temperature was too hot to cycle, so I prayed that this location has enough shade for me to hide under...and it did! There were plenty of trees along the Spree Kanal, and the streets were empty enough for me to park myself (and my bike) there next to the canal. A few local and tourists alike passed by. One older German lady even cracked a "mom" joke at me, claiming that my work looks nicer than the real thing. Thankfully I was able to respond in German and carry out a normal exchange with her (phew) I was debating whether to include that out-of-place modern apartment building in the background...but I guess it kinda worked?? sort of filled out the empty space on the left nicely

The second one was done a bit further down. I "borrowed" the empty tables of a cafe that hasn't yet opened. I was scared that I might get kicked out soon after, but thankfully the cafe does not open until 2pm and it just rolled around noon at that point. The Fernsehturm and old city hall were clearly visible, while the Rotes Rathaus was hiding between the trees to the left (for some reason I could never paint the Fernsehturm to any level of satisfaction) -the modern apartment block makes another appearance!

I changed up the pace a little bit by doodling in some linework for the boat (if not, I would have left the Hafen without actually properly drawing a boat!) Sometimes I do miss the details I could put in with lines. It was a lot of fun. There was one dude sitting on the boat...at which I was staring for a good half an hour. 

Cause for Panic - London

Nothing predicted the chaos that would follow on this bright sunny Monday morning in London. What a nice morning to stroll and sketch around before my afternoon flight! so I thought. Nope! Just as I was settling in to work on All Hallows-by-the-Tower (its spire was tentalizingly visible through my hotel window for 3 days) by borrowing a not-yet-open BBQ restaurant's storefront, my phone buzzed. My 2pm flight, it reads, has been delayed to 1:00. Has there been a mistake? How could there be a delay of -1 hour? Then it dawned on me that the flight is actually delayed from 2PM to 1AM. At this point, I decided to put my paint brush down on the palette and switched to 2-hand operation. 15 mins later, the intel of UK-wide ATC failure was obtained and a refundable back up flight for 7PM was swiftly booked. Cool, now I can refocus on this beautiful church!

Since my original flight was delayed and the backup flight is not until 7PM, I strolled aimlessly along the Thames until I spotted this perfect spot. Just off a promenade deck, away from the flow of people, and plenty of space. The Tower Bridge was in maintenance during the bank holiday long weekend, so you could see that the bridge was still lifted in the previous sketch (has been for a whole weekend). By this time, they finally lowered it. The rounded green bulbous is the city hall. I uhm...did not do it justice. Just as I started walking away from the spot and contemplating which view I should do St Pauls, my phone buzzed again. The delayed departure of 1AM has been re-adjusted to just 30 mins after the original time. Great! I thought! They must have fixed the problem, and so I picked up my pace and headed towards London Bridge.

You find me 1 day later still stuck in London. In the end, both flights were cancelled (thankfully early enough in the day that I could still find a decent hotel and have dinner at a reasonable time) Since I had zero work equipment with me and my new flight was not until 3pm, I decided to continue my stroll & sketch. I saw an excellent panorama somebody did of Trafalgar Square and decided to do it too. Uhm...turns out Nelson's column is a little taller than I expected...plus the National Gallery was half in construction. But still, it was not raining and I count that as a win!

This time I finally found the right door to access Temple Church (and it was indeed open!) This is the 3rd London church interior I did (not sure if I'm getting better or worse at it ooops) My phone was buzzing intermittently throughout the sketch, telling me my new flight is now 10mins delayed, then 20 mins delayed, 40, 50...I appeared calm, but I was definitely panicking at this point.

I ended up spending a little too long doing the interior (and panicking), so instead of having lunch at DTF Selfridge, I decided to stay and paint the exterior of Temple Church and then head to the airport directly. It was a quiet courtyard with some people enjoying their lunch break

Thankfully my flight departed only 90 mins later than scheduled

June in France + bonus in Berlin

I probably undertook the longest (non-Christmas) vacation to date. Almost reaching 2 weeks! 

Starting with the fabulous Lake Annecy (while I hide under a tree's shade to avoid the mid-day sun.

I resisted a full 3 days not to draw the hotel's (hostel??) resident bull dog, but finally caved on the last day. Every morning she spreads herself on the small lobby floor, either dozing off or licking her paws, basking in the soft morning sun. Very nice

Then I dedicated a full day strolling and sketching in Marseille downtown, while friends were out at the Calanques. It was a blistering hot and humid day, so my strategy is to paint near the ocean or in the shade...and of course, spending copious amount of time eating lunch in a quiet and well air-conditioned restaurant. 

There was no way I could let a cute boat lifted in the workshop slip by. This one is called the Nini

I intentionally (or not?) returned to the same spot in La Panier. The road traffic was sparse so I had no trouble standing on the sidewalk (just by standing there I already took up the entire width of the sidewalk) Inexplicably, a group of adults turned up doing some sort of scavenger hunt?? which I guess kinda makes sense in the Panier?? Anyway I think with the sun out, this time I made the scenery much more coherent in colour.

The wind was blowing nicely from the harbour, so I decided to do a quick and clean panorama to close out the day!

+bonus, I kinda ended the France sketches on the second to last page, so I had to fit it some local scenes so I don't have to take a whole sketchbook on the road just to finish one page. So here is a random street of Berlin with some cars and nice trees

 

Maybe a little overrated? Vienna

I felt like I pushed myself a little too hard over a short trip in Vienna. The weather was as miserable as in Berlin, and the food not any better. The only highlight was an old lady first surprised that I could speak German, then whispered to me that she thinks Canada is much better than here. After this I exclusively spend my sketching vacations in truly Southern European countries.