Watercolors by Celia Blanco

My collage of  sketches   I would like to share my sketches for the month of May. I followed the topics provided for sketching  by the "Every day in May" group. It is always a fun challenge to sketch things I would not normally think of, such as a suitcase or a bucket. It is especially inspiring to see other participants come up with inspiring sketches on the same theme. Crazy springtime weather that felt more like winter got us all sick in my household, I missed a week as I was trying to catch up; I still managed to finish most of the sketches nonetheless. My favorite sketch from the month The sketch that was the most frustrating and took me hours!  The sketch that took me the shortest time but still happy about it. I didn't want to sketch a suitcase but in the end it was fun. Great lesson in keeping an open mind! My personal goal was to be quicker about my sketching, abandoning the pencil for the pen an...

CONSTABLE'S COTTAGE watercolor on paper 26 x 18 cm  value study The inspiration for this painting came from a lucky art friend who recently visited John Constable country and shared  her photos. It is the house on the bend from the Hay Wain painting. I thought it would be a good time to keep things simple and do a value study.  I used only Ultra Marine Blue and only a little Indigo to deepen the color. Now that it is May, I have started the "Every Day in May" challenge. It is a fun activity to be in, each day is dedicated to a different topic. Joan Tavolott is also participating, she has posted a nice description of the project in her blog which can be seen here.   This year I have (to be honest, I am in the process of finishing) a dedicated journal for the purpose. I have included a mix of papers, HD press, cold press, Fabriano, etc. with the hope of branching out into other mediums.  My sketchbook cover is a collage from calendars, my ...

To the victims of the recent tragedy in France, peace, prayers and blessings! ____________________________________________________________________________________ Breakfast at the bar This is my first experience of coffee shop sketching, I've been wanting to try for a while. I imagined a happy scenario, and many sketches would come out of it. Unfortunately the waitress cleared my table before I was able to say anything, oh well... people smoking and sitting with friends are allowed to linger longer. My sketch above is what I was able to get down. I'm happy with the gestural line and the few colors I managed to capture. I wanted to go back in and work on the cup more but it being an exceptionally foggy morning, nothing was drying.   A "quiet" side street in Rome Afterwards I transferred to a side street. I wasted valuable time finding an out of the way place to sketch. It is not an easy task in Rome.  Parked cars leave, people co...

I finished the last drawings and paintings from the "Every Day in May Challenge". I haven't been able to upload them here. I apologize for clumping so many together.  I did not complete just a few of them. It has been a wonderful experience which I hope to repeat next year. DAY 23. An interesting detail of a building. DAY 24. Keys Day 25. An apron, or something you wear during messy activities. Day 27. Something furry or fuzzy. Day 28. A yard ornament.  Day 29. A faucet. Day 30. A bird-feeder or bird house. Day 31. Eggs. Day 14. Something I use everyday. Day 15. Something I could throw away. If you braved it to the end, I can't thank you enough for your continued support! Have a wonderful weekend!

1. A FAVORITE FOOD I have been very bad about blogging as of late, I wanted to share this sooner. I signed on for a drawing challenge for the month of May. Everyday we have a theme to work on in our sketchbooks and we share our work on a group board on Facebook or Flickr. It is a lot of fun because you are pushed to sketch something you normally would not otherwise do. I also love the sense of community: seeing what other people come up with is a great inspiration. 2. A NEARBY TREE 3. CURTAINS 4.BOTTLE OF HERBS OR SPICE 5.SOMETHING HOT 8.SOMETHING WITH A HANDLE I would like to wish all 's a wonderful Mother's Day!