Santuario Mariano Churchyard, Ecuador

I'm currently taking an excellent online Craftsy class with Montreal artist Shari Blaukopf entitled "Sketching the City in Pen, Ink & Watercolor."  I can't recommend it too highly for those interested in urban sketching. And, no, I am not connected with Shari or Craftsy other than as a student. She breaks down various aspects of sketching in the city and hones in on what to include, or not, which I am finding invaluable for my virtual paintings via Google streetview. I'm hoping to brave the weather and get out for real life sketching in the near future and I think what I'm learning in this class will be my ticket. When I lived in Hawaii, I painted on location at least once a week but I was more interested in landscapes, seascapes, and florals than urban sketching. I wish I had had access to Shari's classes way back when!

Galapagos Tortoises

These guys were fascinating to paint, with their bird like beaks, scaly legs, claws, shells that looked carved, and snaky heads.

Galapagos Island Seal

This was my fifth attempt at this seal. Previous efforts resulted in brown seals on brown rocks, ugh. Not fun to paint and not fun to see. The bold brush pen line work demanded bold color. I could have gone even more bold, and will on the next one.