Puerto Vallarta - Sketchbook

Here's a page from my sketchbook. The view was from my balcony looking north toward the other resorts and the mountains.

It's about 5 x 8, black ink. Took about 10 minutes.

Mountains in Puerto Vallarta

Sometimes paintings work and sometimes they don't. I think it's fair to occasionally post something that I'm not thrilled with.

The view from my hotel room in Puerto Vallarta was fantastic. Really lovely. I could see the beach and ocean and mountains and palm trees and hear the waves.

I tried sketching them (leaving out the neighboring resorts). Needless to say, this isn't good. I'll blame it on the new materials and my lack of experience with watercolor. Much as I liked the convenience of the pens, the set came with primary colors. They are rather bright and harsh; I was having trouble working in subtleties.

As I said, it's a matter of practice.

Oh -- 4x6, watercolor on paper. Probably 10-15 minutes, tops.

Pacific Ocean

View of the Pacific Ocean from the beach in Puerto Vallarta.

Watercolor, 4x6 inches on paper -- same size as a wish-you-were-here postcard.

As you can see from my recent ACEO post, I spent a few days last week in Puerto Vallarta basking on the beach. To challenge myself, I took some watercolor brushes and did a little sketching. I've never been brave enough to do that -- I mean, what if they stink? What if someone sees me?

So, I compromised. I didn't paint in public. I painted on my balcony, sometimes from life (see upcoming post of mountains - what did I say about something stinking?), sometimes from memory (as this one), and sometimes from photos.

I spent one evening playing with my camera at sunset, trying all the settings that I never use. Got some great shots and some interesting ideas for paintings.

Stay tuned...