People in the Metro

The best place to draw is the metro.Although the you are bvery close to the subjects. everybody is busy reading, hearing music or playing with their phones

Playing with phone



















Passengers reading a book, a magazine and the IPad

It doesn't matter how uncomfortable it could be.

There are certain faces that fascinate me

People bring all kind of things with them

Angel's share

I recently saw that movie. It is about some troubled kids, that stole some bottles of some expensive whiskey. In the film they explain that the angel's share is a term used in the manufacture of whiskey that refers to the amount of  whiskey that evaporates in the barrel as part of its normal elaboration process.
When I got some painting commissions I felt always a little pressure. In order to loose myself and be relaxing when painting, I use the following strategy: I will paint another extra painting, something where I can be free to experiment and play with colors.  For Xmas I got two paintings in commission and this the painting I did along them: "my angels share"

The watercolor is based on a sketch done on a rainy day in Alexander Platz.  

Press

Interview with Berlin Artparasites.

Artparasites! Isn't it a great name? If you want to know something about Berlin art jungle, you should visit this webmagazin. A few days ago they make an interview about our Berlin Urban Sketchers group. You can read the interview  hier. They use my image below in the article.

From left to right: Bo Soremsky, Katrin Merle, Kerstin (from Berlin Artparasites), Laura Nieto, Catalina Somolinos, Rolf Schroeter, Oona Leganovic. Were also there, but not in the image: Juan Alonso and I,  Omar Jaramillo.

Forget the Eiffel Tower

From all the places I wanted to visit in Paris, the number one was Cafe Le Select. Rick Tulka has been drawing scenes from that Cafe for many years. His drawings are fantastic character studies. Through  his drawing this place had to me  a mythical aura. I have to go there to see it by myself.. and wow I even recognized some of the people!

I had not time to contact Rick, so I didn't found him there. Well the guy doesn't live there, although the amount of drawings gave the wrong impression.  He wrote me later that he usually is in the afternoon there. I hope next time in Paris I will be able to meet him. So here is my drawing.


Here is a Sketch of the Paris Metro.

I also met some Paris sketchers. We had lunch together and later we went to the Pont de Neuf to sketch.

Second on my list was the art supply store Sennelier.  The Store founded in 1887 was the place where Cezanne and Picasso used to buy their materials. Of course I had to be something..just a Pentel brush pen.. .but I hope next time I had more money to buy some of their famous watercolors..

I spent only a day in Paris, not much time to see anything, I have to come back again.

From Clermont-Ferrand to Paris

The Festival in Clermont Ferrand was exhausting, we spent most of the time in the exhibition and later we would have dinner

..and sketch each other of course!

On Monday I woke up early to at least see something of the city,  so I walked up the hill in direction of the cathedral. I did some fast sketches and I will try next year to come with more time to draw the city. I was fascinated by the views from narrow alleys.

Later I took the train to Paris, and what it seemed to be a pleasant  ride, became a nightmare.

The train got damaged and we got stuck for 3 hours in the middle of nowhere.


We got off the train and waited, so I met some other people who were also in the Festival in Clermont Ferrand, like the writer Frederic Debomy. Here he was looking at a nun walking in the foggy landscape. 

No person is illlegal

For a few months refugees have camped at the Oranienplatz in Berlin. They have been protesting for improvements with their legal status in Germany.

I was looking for faces that can tell something about their lives.

A small girl. Her jacket was still too big. she carries her toy everywhere, as she would be afraid to loose it.

Rendez vous de Carnet de Voyage

My Stand

I spent a fantastic time in Clermont Ferrand meeting old and new friends. I am so looking forward for the next Urban Sketching Symposium in Barcelona to meet them all again.

I went to Clermont-Ferrand, for the pure curiosity of knowing what it is about. Their website was a little confusing even if it is (partially) translated to English. And although I had asked some people who where there before, many things  were still not clear to me. For esample the festival used to be every two years, that is why you find in some places still the word Bienale, but due to its success now is every year.

my books

Like Graphic Novels, illustrated Carnet the Voyages are very popular in France. French publishers houses are more open to ideas and projects that the ones from other countries. That is one of the reasons to go, but also to get the opportunity to meet many great artists and get inspiration and ideas.

I arrived on Tuesday to Clermont Ferrand. I got a place to stay with a wonderful local family thanks to Coach Surfing (that is also a great way to travel and meet people: people host you for free in their houses, we got a USk group there too)

After eating something I went back to the station to draw with David Magli "Emde". I decided to draw something big, since I didn't have much to decorated my stand.

Here is the train station in Clermont Ferrand. Grey and black edding markers and white tipex over a brown supermarket paper bag. ca 80 x 35cm

My highlights of the Festival:

Portable Scanner from Lapin

Materials: Portable scanner from Lapin and a China Sign Pentel Pen from Adolfo Arranz (I bought one in Paris but it is not the same quality)

Buttons: brought by the Belgian Sketchers

Zines: Zines where everywhere. Zines are small little self-publications. They were very popular  as part of the punk-anarchist culture. Just a a Photocopy Machine and you can share your thoughts and drawings. With self publications services online, they are experimenting a comeback. (I see them in Berlin everywhere) Every sketcher should do one. It is also a great way to show your work to potential publishers and  to even to make some money. The Festival got a self publishing shop for the visitors, that was very popular . We should do that in Barcelona, too.

Books I bought:
All zines from Andrea Joseph. Her work is fantastic! I found a lot of inspiration in her zines. Fantastic quality for such a small price. I am sure they will be collectors items in the future.

Luis Ruiz Padron during  dinner

Palestine dans quel etat? by Emmanuel Prost and Maximilien Le Roy. I don't understand French, but Emmanuel drawings and portraits are so intimate.

Zines from Nicolas Jolivot, he got a  series of litle books concentrated in food in diferent countries, I bough one about Guyana and Marroco.

We really didn't have much time to see the city and draw. We did  portraits of each other during the dinners. And on the morning of the 19 before taking my train to Paris, I did walked in the city and made a few fast sketches that I will post soon.

Wrangel Strasse

Maybe you are bored to hear about this street. Well I live there and read the newspaper and take my coffee in Cafe Mukkefukk almost everyday. So I happen to see it everyday, but every day I see something different. Life there, is like a musician playing the same song , but every time he introduce little nuances.
So and last Saturday there was indeed music, a DJ mixed music over an improvise platform in the sidewalk. So come on and watch my street, an also take your time to visit my exhibition in Cafe Mukkefukk. (until the 6th of November)

Here is picture of the Cafe incase you might get lost.

And here is a like of my interview in Berlin Art Parasites. There is a video!

And here the interior the day of the vernissage. A record Store share the space.

Kick off Party Berlin Art Week

Berlin Artparasites organized a kick-off party for the Berlin Art week. The event took place in Stattbad Weeding. The location was fantastic. The bath-units were use as exhibition spaces for the artists. I was invited to sketch the event.

From left to right Lorena Garoiu and Beatriz Crespo talking about Beatriz painting.

Lorena Garoiu makes wonderful portraits. I was very impressed by her work. I try to paint her. Check her website!

I draw the corridor first and then the people coming and going.

Simon was also sketching.

The Party started at 10 Pm

Here a detail of the drawing

Curry Wurst 36

If you go to New York, probably you will try a hot dog, and in Italy you might try a pizza. If you are in Berlin the thing you have to taste is a "Curry Wurst" (It is a sausage with tomato-curry sauce) and the place to go is in the Mehringdamm street 36, the place has the very practical name Curry Wurst 36. No way to get lost, I would said.

A few days in Copenhagen

A few days with my family in Copenhagen

Here are the Crown Jewels

The Cafe in front of the Castle.

A busy square

The bridge tower. The guy responsible for opening the bridge would be here 24 hours.

The Art of Urban Sketching in German!

Das Buch "The Art of Urban Sketching" ist ab den 8. Oktober  in Deutsch zu haben!

Man kann dort meine Zeichnungen aus der Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten und Italien sehen

Aber es ist möglich online vorbestellen! Hier ist der link!

Acklan Museum Store Urban Sketchers Exhibition

I am currently participating with 2 drawings in the Urban Sketchers Exhibition at the Acklan Museum Store (USA)

My watercolor in the local newspaper.

The exhibition.

Praca Comercio, Lisbon

Jüdische Kulturtage: Abschlusskonzert Pianisten Nacht

Jazz has always been my favorite music for sketching. It gets inside me and without noticing, it starts to influence the way I draw. I get looser and tend to improvise. I have to say, that this was a fantastic concert.

I love the space in the Synagoge Rykerstrasse.


Here you can see a detail of the previous drawing. The Pentel brush pen allows me to do very fine detail.
From left to right: 
Anat Fort (piano), Karen Malka (vocal), Haggai Cohen (bass), Ziv Ravitz. (drums) 


Omer Klein on the piano with Haggai Cohen (bass)


Yaron Herman (piano), Karen Malka (vocal), Haggai Cohen (bass), Ziv Ravitz. (drums)


From left to right:
Yaron Herman (piano), Haggai Cohen (bass), Ziv Ravitz. (drums), Omer Klein (Piano)

Omer Klein (piano), Karen Malka (vocal), Haggai Cohen (bass), Ziv Ravitz. (drums)
Jüdische Kulturtage (Berlin)


From left to right: 
Anat Fort (piano), Karen Malka and Omer Klein (vocal), Haggai Cohen (bass), Ziv Ravitz. (drums), Yaron Herman (piano)

If you want to hear Omer Klein's music check his website here. There are some music samples!