Sketches - Lefty Lucy Session 3 & a Virtual Trip to Madrid

Last night was the 3rd live session with Lefty Lucy Costumed in Quarantine. She moved from Facebook to Zoom for the session, and it seemed to work a bit better.

5 minute poses

10 minute poses

20 minute pose

The other day the #VirtualSketch group went to Madrid. I wandered the streets a bit and found this interesting chocolateria. I think it would be a place I would stop. I left this as a brush pen sketch.

Latvia, Part I

The next part of my trip was getting to Riga, Latvia. My nephew and his girlfriend had just moved there and were getting married there. Since I was "in the neighborhood" I decided to travel there. I was flying Finnair from Madrid to Helsinki and then from Helsinki to Riga. Since I was already near the airport I just hopped on the Hilton courtesy bus to the terminal. Things went well. I was meeting my brother, sister-in-law, and niece the following day but I had one afternoon and evening in Riga alone. After taking a cab from the airport I checked into my hotel which was in the historic center of Riga. The lady at the check-in counter was very helpful and gave me a map of the city as well as a recommendation for a place for dinner and dessert. 

The restaurant, Alus Seta was cafeteria style and very unusual inside, so after I finished eating I did a sketch of the interior of the restaurant bar area. 

I didn't realize it but sitting a little bit behind me and off to the left was a young girl who was maybe about 14 who was sketching me. She came over with the sketch she did and wanted me to have it. She was from Italy, loves to sketch, and was so happy to see me sharing her hobby. I told her I would only accept the sketch if she signed it for me. Then I taped it in my sketchbook. She was so thrilled! I wish I had something with me that I could have given to her in return. Her parents thanked me too and said that it was special for her to give the sketch to me as a gift.

In Dome Square right around the corner there was a wonderful exhibit of "Buddy Bears" which have been traveling around the world. There are 140 of them, one for each country that is part of the United Nations and each was decorated by a different artist. The exhibit hopes to promote world peace. Here are a few of them that I liked. They were so fun!

I walked around for a while taking photos in the old town and hoping to wear off some of the delicious dinner I had of lamb shanks, roasted potatoes, salad, and blintzes. I wanted to have dessert at the other place that was recommended, Rigensis, one of the oldest bakeries in Riga. It was hard to pick from all the choices but I settled for this sort of napoleon-like slice of heaven. It looked so pretty on the plate that I had to sketch it.

My only problem with Riga is that at this time of year the high temperature is usually about 76 degrees, but they were having a heat wave. Air conditioning is nearly non-existant! My hotel room was uncomfortably hot!!!

Porto Day 7

Although the USk Porto Symposium itself was over there were a lot of sketchers who stayed on in Porto. On Sunday morning Julie and I decided we wanted to sketch some of the narrow streets near R de Belmont and R de S Joao. We set ourselves up and let Sandrine from Paris know where we were. She was checking out of her hotel and leaving that afternoon, but she wanted to sketch with us one more time. Her chair was already packed so she stood and painted resting her materials on her luggage. As you can see there wasn't a lot of room to work and still let people pass by.

Here is the painting I did in that location.

And a closer view.

We went out for a relaxing lunch before Sandrine left for the airport. Hopefully we will see her next year at the Amsterdam Symposium.

Julie and I sketched again and heard from Marcy and Shawne. The plan was to meet them at the Monastery da Serra do Pilar which was on the other side of the Luis I bridge. I hadn't walked across the bridge yet so this was a treat...although it was a long walk and then the Monastery was up on a high hill. This was the view from the Monastery.

View of the upper level of the Luis I bridge from the Monastery da Serra do Pilar.

Imagine our surprise when Julie and I got to the top to find our NYC Urban Sketching friend, Mel up there sketching the view. He had the same idea as the rest of us to watch/sketch the sunset from up there.

Mel Barranco working on his sunset painting.

Julie Kessler sketching the view.

Shawne Cooper capturing the scene.

My sketch with the view.

Sunset over Porto.

My double page spread of the sunset over Porto.

By the time we walked down from the monastery we had no luck making dinner reservations on this side of the river, so we crossed back over the bridge and found Canfinho da Se' a wonderful restaurant near the bridge. We hung out there talking for a long time. We said goodbye to Mel who was heading to Madrid to visit his parents and celebrate his mom's birthday. Julie was leaving for NYC in the morning,  and Shawne & Marcy were heading to Lisbon the next day, so it was a night for goodbyes until we see each other in NY.

Porto Day 1

My Porto trip begins with my time at Kennedy Airport. I always try to get there early so my husband dropped me off about 3 hrs before the flight. I had checked in and was through security in about 10 minutes. You know that doesn't happen when you need it to happen. lol So I had time to sketch at the airport. I found a spot in one of the restaurant/bars to sit with a view toward the bar.

Then I moved on to Gate 46 where my American Airlines plane would be departing. It was crowded but I found a spot with a pretty good view out the window for my obligatory airplane sketch.

Later on the plane I sketched the flight attendants as they were serving beverages on the way to Madrid.

Just in case you want to see the size of these here is the whole page. I took along a Strathmore Mixed Media Sketchbook that is just about 8 x 10. The Madrid ticket was added later.

My next flight was on Iberia. Compared to American their seats feel like you are sitting on plastic...no cushiony feeling to the seat at all. Luckily the flight from Madrid to Porto was short. I took a cab from the airport to my apartment where I was met by the rental agent. I should have sketched or taken photos of the apartment which was great but the best that I have are photos of my view. My studio apartment was located on Largo S Domingos, a square which was filled with restaurants and people. It was a great location! I had views out in two directions. It was a studio apartment but had an area for the bed, a table with 3 upholstered chairs, a small couch with a TV, a tiny kitchen area behind doors with a two burner stove, a sink, a fridge and barely any room to prep anything. I wasn't planning to cook anything besides breakfast so it worked out well. And there was a nice sized bathroom with a big shower where I could hang laundry to dry.

I contacted my friends and met them for lunch at Majestic Cafe, an old time Porto cafe that was beautifully decorated. These ladies at a table near us were enjoying their lunch.

From there we walked to the Se' Cathedral which was sitting on a hill and had great views over the city. It was a spot that I returned to many times. Porto is a city of very steep streets, wonderful old buildings (right up my alley), great food and wonderful people.

Here's my friend, Shawne sketching from the wall by the cathedral as the sun was starting to go down. It didn't get dark in Porto until around 9:30.

My friends were going out to dinner at 9:00 but I was so tired. I had been up for almost 24 hours without sleep. I told them I had to skip dinner and headed back to my apartment. There was a saxophonist playing in the square when I got back and from inside the apartment what I heard was soft sax music as I fell asleep.