domingo, 24 de julio de 2011

Working at Kinokuniya bookstore



I made this sketch one year ago, I was in Yokohama's Kinokuniya bookstore when I realized how organized were the shopkeepers, same cool costumes, always willing to help, and always ready behind the counter, prepared for charging the costumers and dont make them waiting too much in the queue, they were like warriors waiting for a consumer army including myself.

miércoles, 20 de julio de 2011

Sketching japanese Part 2



More people sketchings, on the left page trying to study some old people figure. On the right couple and families. Some of them taken in situ in Yokohama, but some made after at home from the pictures I took with my camera.

domingo, 17 de julio de 2011

Sketching japanese Part 1



Lately I have been coloring my old people sketches in Japan. In the last few months I have been starting to use watercolours with my ink sketches, so I thought It was a good practice.

The page on the left are people drawn in Yokohama, the first one a young mother with her baby, second is a young salaryman and the third one is an old man reading the paper.

The second page, this one was inside of a small mcdonald in Tokyo at 2:00 o'clock, my friend Chris and me after drinking we went there to eat something, he entered at the same time of us, and after he finished his burguer, we suddenly realize that he felt sleep in that strange position, he should be really tired, I took a picture and I drew him because the position seemed physically impossible.

The next one is a young woman reading a book at Kinokuniya bookstore, the next is a woman taking a walk with her mini-dog, and the last one is a salaryman sleeping in the train.

miércoles, 13 de julio de 2011

Engaku-ji



El tren, que durante media hora se arrastraba chirriante por la herrumbrosa via, vomito en un segundo a sus difuminados pasajeros, y con ellos mis maltrechos huesos, que lejos parecia ya la ciudad del Oxido, mi querida y odiada Osaka, en aquel cartel se podia leer en Hiragana 'Kitakamakura' un santuario de gigantescas secuoyas se erguia orgulloso ante nosotros, tal era su verdor y frescura que me hacian preguntarme de que sustancia primigenia se nutrian, el asfalto, el tiempo, las maquinas?, todo aquello parecia un lejano suegno, era esto el nirvana?

Sin pensarlo, me adentre en el descomunal bosque para acceder al primer templo de Kita-kamakura, Engakuji, en ingles podia leerse que se construyo durante la guerra contra los mongoles en 1282, centro de meditacion, y del estudio del zen durante el period Koan.

Aqui deje de leer, mientras me dirijia hacia aquel desgastado mausoleo de madera milenaria, el tiempo y todo lo demas desaparcio, mire hacia dentro y ahi estaba, mirandome, aquella femenina representacion de buda, mecanicamente saque los lapices y empece a dibujar, a diluirme en las entranas de aquella colosal frondosidad, al cabo de un buen rato termine el dibujo empapado por la humedad, recogi los bartulos y me diriji a la entrada del recinto, donde compre una refrescante lata de cafe "Boss", mientras bebia el sabroso brebaje, recorde mi nignez, mis infantiles ensonaciones con aquel mitico extremo oriente, y sus lejanas criaturas, por un momento pense que tal vez en aquella epoca, en aquella lejana tierra que yo ahora pisaba, otro nigno imaginaba como seria la mitica Europa, quizas nuestros suegnos se entrecuzaron, aunque...un momento, yo no sognaba, yo estaba alli, en las entragnas de aquel milenario bosque, a las puertas del sagrado Engaku-ji, en la mil veces sognada tierra del sol naciente.

domingo, 10 de julio de 2011

El Castillo de Salobreña



Yesterday instead of going to the beach, I went out for drawing, the day was clear here and the castle's view from my house was impresive, finally I got the inspiration, so I took my pencils and I went to a near hill to draw the castle of Salobreña, the main monument here.

From the X century, the arab sources give information about that castle, It seems clear that It was built for defensive reasons.

In the Nazari period, It was used a palace, and also as a royal castle to lock up defeated kings, and many muslim monarchs suffered prison inside its walls

In 1489 Salobreña surrended to the christian armies who took the control over the castle and the city, three years before The Conquest of Granada , Francisco Ramirez de Madrid was appointed as the castle's gobernor by the Catholic Kings. And the castle was an important defensive building for the spaniards until the XVIII century.

The castle belongs to the Nazari style,k a mixture of musulman and christian influence, the entire structure is nazari, but two of the towers were built by the christians in the XV century, and they have a typically castilian style.

After the XVIII century the castle became in ruins, and in 1849 is abandoned because it was militarly useless.

In the XIXS century is reformed again, and today is one of the most visited buildings in the south of Granada.

sábado, 2 de julio de 2011

Tourists



This is my first sketch in this hot July in South Spain. Today, I went to Granada city to buy some books, and after that, I tried to sketch some buildings but I wasnt inspired at all, unlike Japan, where I think is easier to sketch, in Granada the feelings and sensations are all around, so its quite difficult to focus and start sketching, so I gave up that day, and I decided to just walk through the beautiful city, but when I arrived to the Cathedral's Square I saw tourists everywhere, they were from everywhere, north europeans, some of them looked from east Europe, japanese...etc I found quite interesting to observe the different characters and styles, some of them were sitting on the terraces of the rerstaurants, but some of them were just sitting on the thick stairs of the square, like myself, finally the inspiration came and I drew few characters.

I found the sketch unfinished, so i drew two more tourist when I was waiting inside the bus Station to go back to my parent's house in the coast of Granada, an old man, north european for his look, and a young asian girl, of course they came separatly, but they were the only people sitting right in front of me, very convenient to sketch.