Title : Day 3: It is Raining Workshops while the Sun is Scorching in Porto
link : Day 3: It is Raining Workshops while the Sun is Scorching in Porto
Day 3: It is Raining Workshops while the Sun is Scorching in Porto
[By Rita Sabler, Symposium Correspondent, in Porto]
Discovering Porto with Jim Richards
Jim started by talking about how his family moved a lot when he was little, which forced him to pay attention to things that make the place what it is and become a keen observer of his new surroundings. Throughout the workshop James invited us to keep our eyes open and make a list of things that make Porto so unique. Is it its gorgeous and omnipresent azulejos? Or the intricate web of ironwork present in the railings and balconies? Or perhaps the way the city is laid out in rows of cascading streets that descend to the river making our strolls so strenuous?
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| “Drawing as Discovery: Revealing Porto’s Rich Sense of Place” with Jim Richards |
He showed us a way to compose the page that is very conducive of this method of discovery. The main area is occupied by what mostly catches your attention, perhaps a prominent architectural landmark. In composition this is called your hero. Flanking your hero on the sides are little thumbnails of very special objects that make this place what it is. They could be something like a closeup of a lamp-post or a snippet of an entire scene. Finally you could use “found objects” things like tickets, business cards and other travel trinkets that you have collected on your trip.
He promised that looking back at a spread of your sketchbook composed in this way will instantly bring a flood of memories from that moment including sounds, smells, and joy.
I tried to imitate Jim’s discovery spread before it was time to move on to the next workshop.
Capturing People and Space in the Same Gesture with Marion Rivolier
I am always stunned by every watercolor painted by Marion but “straight to watercolor” method is not something that I could ever do myself with any amount of success. I was ready for a challenge but quite a bit intimidated.
Marion has a fantastic way of teaching layering her exercises in the same patient and deliberate way as she does with her paintings until the final result is revealed, and it is fantastic. By the time I arrived her students had already mixed a palette of cools and warms and did a few warmup exercises to loosen up.
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| Non-dominant hand exercises with Marion |
5 minutes to capture a person in one gesture, another 5 minutes to do the same but with your non -dominant hand, or as Marion calls it “bad hand”, 4 minutes to do 20 silhouettes, 4 minutes to alternate shapes and lines, and so on.
Once they were warmed up Marion challenged her students to paint people and background together and showed very effective tools for separating the two before your drawing becomes one big colorful mess of runny watercolor.
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| Capturing People and Space in the Same Gesture with Marion Rivolier |
Here is my drawing of Marion coaching her student not to use a water brush pen in her soft French accent: "I see your brush is starting to dance..."
I was starting to really get into it, but it was time to look for another workshop.
Chasing Shadows with Inma Serrano
Inma’s style is another example of something I admire from a distance because I absolutely lack the ability to convert reality into the playful quirky vision that Inma is able to convey.
I arrived in time for the very last exercise when Inma was teaching her students to focus on shadows cast by buildings over narrow streets. The sun decided to be playful in that moment hiding behind a cloud every 5 minutes. “I live in Sevilla where the sun is always shining” said Inma. Here in Porto we had to make do with shy sun.
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| Inma Serrano: Calma e Fúria |
Here is the best I could do imitating Inma’s joyful whimsical style of seeing.
Róisín Curé “A page of Porto Petiscos! Signs and Their Setting for a Sense of Place
Róisín is a lovely, animated sketcher from Ireland. After I saw her sketchbook at the workshop I realized I had seen her work in one of the videos she made about her book of sketches on her trip to Nice. I instantly felt like I knew her. We got to chat Irish politics waiting for her students to show up at the Largo Sao Domingos, and I was even more charmed.
Róisín got straight to work and talked about how she likes to look for meaning and stories in places that she visits. She encouraged us to draw things that interest us personally instead of feeling obligated to sketch main architectural landmarks. “Pick one or two strong colors and use them throughout your sketch to tie things together. “ “Have the artistic freedom to change colors if it suits your color scheme better. “
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| Róisín Curé's workshop–I took her advice and changed the color of her skirt |
To build a story about Largo Sao Domingos–a lively place with human statues, restaurants and beautiful architecture Róisín invited us to start with a sign that would occupy a third of our double page spread. Students got to work drawing their signs. I wanted to fill the rest of the spread with the story of Largo Sao Domingos, but it was time to move on.
Just sketching and enjoying with Mike Daikubara
By the time I finally found my last workshop for the day–Mike Daikubara’s “Sketch Now Think Later” I was grateful I didn’t have to think. Faced with the gorgeous panorama of the Porto’s center across the Douro river there was nothing left to do than just sketch and have fun. Mike is just the most relaxed and sweet guy to have as your last workshop of the day instructor.
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| Sketch Now Think Later with Mike Daikubara |
The sun was getting particularly intense in that hour, the screams of the teenage boys jumping off the neighboring Ponte Luis I bridge into the filthiest part of Douro were matching it in intensity. Other participants were also grateful to be allowed to just draw the beautiful view in front of them. A sketcher next time me noted: “This is the best drawing I did the whole symposium!” I almost have to agree myself, at least for today.
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