Cafe Sketching

One of the things that Marc Taro Holmes suggested in the book The Urban Sketcher is to first try urban sketching somewhere comfortable and indoors, just like a cafe or a restaurant. Well, I really took his suggestion to heart. Below are my cafe sketches so far:

Rustic Mornings by Isabelo

First attempt at on-location cafe sketching. Wasn't able to include a sketch of my food because it already took me a long time to finish this one. Haha.

St. Marc Cafe

Matcha made in heaven. Embracing the imperfections of my first food illustration.

Starbucks Coffee

A paint date with Jade of A Day to Dream. Made a quick watercolor sketch of our drinks before heading to an event.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

First time to meet up with Andrea (the mastermind behind Katha magazine) to be her urban sketching buddy, and my first time to sketch a person on-location without a pencil guideline.

Cafe MITHI

Had an art tambay with Pau, an artist that I met online. I indulged in some Alab (pure cacao tablea and chili pepper) and Gunita (chocnut cake) while I attempted to find out her flower painting secrets.

I plan to fill my pocket sketchbook with more cafe sketches and food illustrations, and hopefully I can create on-location sketches of cityscapes next time. :)

DIY: Portable Paints

I want to bring my urban sketching tools with me whenever I go out, so that I'll have them even for impromptu painting. I made a card that will easily fit my A6 sketchbook and attached Peerless transparent watercolors using rubber adhesive, and secured sheets of paper palette with staples and washi tape.

I also bought a tiny tin can for my watercolor half pans (Van Gogh Watercolor Pans in Prussian Blue, Permanent Red, Yellow Ochre, and Viridian; and Rembrandt Watercolor Pan in Burnt Sienna). I can now bring a portable studio inside my small sling bag. :)

DIY: Watercolor Pocket Sketchpad

I want to practice freehand urban watercolor sketching on an affordable sketchbook that I wouldn't mind messing around with. However, a Monologue A6 soft sketchbook is too precious because it's almost always sold out here, and a Moleskine watercolour pocket notebook is too expensive.

Since a dirt-cheap pocket watercolor sketchbook is not readily available, I decided to make my own. I bought a Canson watercolor paper pack with 10 sheets, which I cut into four pieces each. Then, I used a puncher and a spiral wire from an old sketchpad to bind them. I was able to make a 40-sheet pocket sketchpad, and even though it's still a crude version, it will do for now. :)

The World Through Watercolor-painted Pages

Hello everyone! Haven't been able to post anything here for the longest time. Honestly, it's mostly because I felt like it's just a shout into the void most of the time. Hahaha. However, the last couple of months were filled with tons of art-related activities, and I couldn't be any more happier. 

I've also been thinking about revamping this blog by injecting a newfound interest that helps me understand and appreciate watercolor more: on-location sketching and plein air painting. I've been reading about urban sketching, and been trying to do it once in a while. I really want to pursue it more often, and to share it with you guys. The photo above features some of my weapons of choice for urban sketching. These include:

1. Sakura Koi 24-color Watercolor Field Box
2. Monologue A6 Soft Sketchbook
3. Kuretake Waterbrush (Small tip and Large tip)
4. ZIG Water Colour System H2O Brush (Detailer tip and Broad tip)
5. Small tin can with watercolor halfpans 

What tools do you prefer? :)

Paint Date: Diving Into Watercolor x A Day To Dream in Milky and Sunny

I met Jade of A Day To Dream last October in Heima Brixton's Paper Stories bazaar. Amidst Arlene Sy's watercolor demo, Jade and I somehow managed to chat and introduce ourselves to each other. Since I'm such a hermit and introvert,  I'm really glad whenever I get to meet and befriend new people, especially those who are also into artsy stuff. 

We finally had our paint date last Sunday in Milky and Sunny in Kapitolyo, Pasig. Milky and Sunny is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that serves breakfast all day. Think pancakes, french toasts, silogs, and the whole enchilada (they actually serve breakfast enchiladas).

My wall peg.

My failed attempt at taking a decent photo of my food.
Forgot to include my milkshake. Tehee.

Just take my word for it, the pancakes were visually appealing and delicious to boot. One of my glaring flaws as a wannabe blogger is that I don't take enough photos. Maybe it's because my camera is crappy or I simply forget to take them. Is it because I'm not used to the pics-or-it-didn't-happen "rule" of the Internet? 

Anyhoo, Jade and I covered a looot of topics (mostly about watercolor, workshops, and our fangirling moments), and I learned a lot about her, her lovely art, and the magic of the nibs. Hahaha.

We also got to paint together. Yay for my first time painting in a public place! It's nice to paint side by side with someone who wouldn't mind if you're talkative one moment and quietly painting the next. Here is my quick and random portrait sketch:

Meanwhile, Jade painted a floral wreath (Forgot to take a photo again!) and this lettering:

And here is our collaborative effort at making art:

Illustration by moi and lettering by Jade.

I'm thrilled that I finally had an afternoon out with a friend who loves to eat and paint like me. I would love to do it again, and I urge my fellow hermits to occasionally leave our comfort zones and just be out there. For starters, you can also visit Milky and Sunny in Pasig or Makati. Aside from the cozy ambiance, quaint decor, and yummy food, the crew is also super nice and accommodating. I will definitely come back for another paint date or simply to enjoy eating breakfast anytime that I want. 

Don't forget to check out Milky and Sunny's page here, and Jade's blog and page! 

I would love to hear about your mini adventures! 

Zooey

I've always wanted to paint a portrait of Zooey Deschanel (my girl crush), but for some unknown reason, this also seemed to be a daunting task for me. The photo in this article is one of my favorite shots of her, so I tried my luck and made my first "mistake" for this project - using the "correct" side of a watercolor paper.

I don't know what I was thinking when I purchased a rough watercolor sheet, so I've been intentionally using its back side because it's a struggle for me to paint otherwise. Although the texture is too rough for my liking, I'm glad that I got to overcome my nerves in terms of painting Zooey and doing it on rough watercolor paper.

What are your favorite watercolor paper brands and types? 

(Reference photo for this painting is by Sebastian Kim/Lucky Magazine)

I Know Nothing (About Painting Jon Snow)

One of the art requests that I got for my holiday giveaway is a painting of Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. Although he is not my favorite character from the series/books (Hello Arya and Tyrion), I do believe in this (Just to be on the safe side, do NOT click the link if you don't want spoilers! Sort of.)

Since I don't want to focus on Jon Snow's perma sad face, I chose this particular image as my reference. This is my thumbnail sketch:

And this is my loose sketch using my humble watercolor pad:

Although I found it harder to manipulate the paint on my old watercolor pad, it allowed me to be more spontaneous. I need to be more comfortable using better (and pricey!) paper because I feel kinda uptight whenever I use Arches. Hahaha.

Anyway, I still need to do a couple of practice sketches first before starting with the real painting. I'm starting to think that I really know nothing about painting Jon Snow. Yikes! 

* Original post from Tumblr.

Like Three Bathers For Matisse

Err, I promise that the title would make sense later on.

A few months ago, I posted my birthday/Christmas watercolor wish list . Although I still didn't get everything on that list, the items that I did get are so much better!

I'm a huge fan of Valerie Chua and her artworks. She is immensely talented, kind and humble (I haven't met her in person yet, but she's so generous when it comes to sharing her knowledge about her craft). I've always wanted to own an art print or even an original piece by Valerie, and I finally have both. Yay! (Check out her shop for her online studio sale)

First is this gorgeous art print:

Tamer of the Lake

Next is this original painting that I've been eyeing ever since she opened her studio sale in December. I was so worried every time I visit her shop to check if it's still available. Hahaha.

Cherry Picker

It's a huge deal for me to own such artworks because Valerie has inspired me to pursue painting and to put myself and my work out there. Looking at her work online never fails to make me happy and nostalgic at the same time, and even more so when I finally saw the Cherry Picker in person.

The "feels" reminded me of Henri Matisse's life story, specifically how he was deeply moved by Paul Cézanne's painting, Three Bathers. Although he was struggling financially when he purchased the painting, it had given him the freedom to explore colors and provided him "the most basic tenet of nearly all paintings he would go on to produce." When Matisse donated it to Petit Palais, he wrote a letter mentioning how the painting has sustained him morally in his moments of venture as an artist, and how he has drawn from it his faith and perseverance. (Source)

So, in a nutshell, I might not have the chance of having Valerie as a mentor (although I'm looking forward to her workshop this year. Hihihi), but her paintings have given me inspiration to overcome my inhibitions and to pursue my passion as an aspiring painter/illustrator.

Ooops, I think I got carried away. Hahaha. I apologize for the lengthy and super cheesy post. 

* Original post from my Tumblr blog.

Hello 2015!

Happy New Year everyone! 2014 has been a year of discovery and adventure for me when it comes to diving into watercolor. I can't wait to learn more this year and meet new people who are passionate about arts and crafts, too.

Before the year ended, I've decided to accept free painting requests as my way to spread holiday cheer. I feel so happy that there are people who are willing to "adopt" my artworks. *tears*

However, my progress has been slow because I've been too busy with work. I'll be shipping the original pieces and emailing the high-res copies once I'm done with everything. Here's a couple of my finished works:

Chocolate Dream

Garden Party

Birthday Girl

Groovy

How's your holiday vacation? 

* Original post from Tumblr.