Sketching in Sicily IV - Palermo

 

The day before I flew back home, I sketched at Piazza Fonderia, which at that time of day was a very quiet place. The weddings which are held here very often were done already, all that was left was some glitter on the ground in front of the entrance.

 

It was a warm day and after the sketching the reward was a wonderful meal in one of those nice trattorias. 

In the evening I was invited by my good friend Francesca of USk Palermo to a soirée with about 30 creatives. Great time, great honour, great energy and like always in Sicily: Great food.

Sketchbook Sicily, Palermo in...out and about

 

Sicily Sketchbook  Entry 3, Palermo, in.....out and about

The following days flew by and I sketched like there is no tomorrow. Often just small thumbnails or sketches which I combined in double spreads. 

I also drew the view from my room in Palermo 

with the Ikea curtain and the plants in front of the balcony. You could hear the hustle and bustle of the never sleeping city...

 

If we went out at night I did some nightsketching like this one, I  made when we went out for the aperitif after a long day of sightseeing. 

There often come yummi plates of snacks with the drinks (which I inserted into the right side of the sketch).

Still the night temperatures were over 25 ° C, so it was really comfortable to sit outside.

At a table besides us (not in the photo) a guy fell from his collapsing seat. The small chairs are not really made for heavy North Europeans. It was quite surreal.

That one was sketched in a place nearby

 

Here I used a different paper, which was a bit strange after my usual sketchbook paper. 

Then the next day:

My next sketch shows our view from a breakfast place at Ballaró market. For us it was already second breakfast. Btw our hotel offered a wonderful breakfast.

We were sitting directly opposite this vegetable stall.

At Ballaró there were not that many people as years ago, which made it more easy to walk without bumping into too many people.

Then we went further as we wanted to see a church (Chiesa dell'Immacolata Concezione) at Mercato do Capo (another market closeby), but sadly the doors were closed (it was a tip of Palermitain sketcher Maria Francesca Starrabba to go to the mercato and the church). There we had another coffee, with a good vista onto the gates of famous Mercato do Capo. 

This view was sketched with a very thick pencil and I like the rough look. 

 

My sketchbook was full then and I had to change to a different one. 

 

Lots of bits and pieces from now on into a very different sketchbook, like the rondel window of the church I spoke about before at Antica Focacceria...

 

... and Piazza San Domenico, where you can find a nice café with fresh pastry and good coffee. 

The sketch I began at Palermo cathedral was never finished because of the masses of people there (...I began to feel uncomfortable...)

This is probably one of my longest posts ever. I tried to combine everything in one ... oh, and I nearly forgot the part of that beautiful house I drew...

Hope you liked my insights into Palermo sketching. 

 

more from Sicily very soon...

Brown Ink and Watercolour Sketch

 

Lately I am experimenting a lot. I rediscovered a little jar of brown ink I never use. My watercolour friend Gaby ordered it for some of our watercolour group a few years ago. I did not want to fill it into a fountain pen, so I watered a large brush and dipped into the ink. It turned out to be quite fun and the ink could be diluted for shadows - just a little more water on the brush and then it works. 

My subject is an angel which I saw at Piazza San Domenico in Palermo. I did not do any preliminary drawing and just started with the ink. The background in watercolour was done later.

Have a look at your old stuff and try some new things with it...

In letzter Zeit experimentiere ich wieder mit anderen Materialien. Ein kleines braunes Glas, das jahrelang in einer Box im Schrank schlummerte ist nun wieder aufgetaucht. Der Inhalt: Braune Tusche von meiner Aquarellfreundin Gaby. Die habe ich jahrelang nicht verwendet und war nun neugierig, wie sie sich mit dem Pinsel vermalen lassen würde. Den dicken Pinsel habe ich nur vorher angefeuchtet und dann direkt, ohne Vorzeichnung losgemalt. Toll ist, dass man mit nasserem Pinsel die Schatten noch verwischen kann.

Mein Thema für diesen Test war einer der Engel auf der Piazza San Domenico in Palermo. Der Hintergrund in Aquarell kam erst danach. 

Also Leute, schaut mal in euren Schränken, ob bei euch nicht auch so ein Fläschchen im Schrank steht und probiert mal damit zu malen...

Sketchbook Sicily - New Art Cafe

In this sketchers paradise I could draw probably any street café I see. Before picking up my rental car I had some second breakfast in a sweet street cafe called the New Art Cafe run by two young girls. If I would have stayed longer I probably would have drawn also the fruit shop next door, but as I said it is time to pick up the car...

I began this sketch again with the few coloured pencils I have brought and coloured with watercolour.

In diesem Sketchers-Paradies könnte ich tatsächlich fast ständig malen - aber das ist zeitlich einfach nicht möglich. Bevor ich nun mein Mietauto abhole, mache ich erstmal zweites Frühstück in einem netten Straßencafé, das New Art Café heißt und von zwei jungen Frauen betrieben wird. Der Name ist irgendwie passend. Wenn ich länger Zeit gehabt hätte, dann hätte ich noch ein Bild vom Obst-Laden nebenan gemacht, aber ich musste ja das Auto abholen...

Die Skizze habe ich mit meinen neuen Buntstiften begonnen und mit Aquarell etwas plakativer bemalt.

 

Sketchbook Sicily - Sketching into the night with Maria-Francesca from USk Palermo

Maria-Francesca (USk Palermo) and I had an appointment at 6pm on a roof terrace in the middle of Palermo and we were both happy to meet again (even in such difficult times). We wanted to keep our meeting just between the two of us and not all the friends from USk because of the actual situation. 

We had a lot to catch up with, as our last meeting was about nearly a year ago. 

Our  todays goal was to draw the Panorama as it was getting slightly darker. In the hills behind, the lights were turned on and the sky was getting darker. I saw Maria-Francesca placing plants of the terrace into the foreground and borrowed the idea from her for my own sketch. Here is my whole double-spread:

 

Maria-Francesca brought her new illustrated book of the "Unusual Gardens of Palermo" and she gave me the book as a present as well as a print of a large panoramic view she drew about five years ago at this very same place. Very beautiful. Thank you Maria-Francesca. You can order her book by using the ISBN number indicated on the backside of the cover if you are interested in purchasing it. The book has an english version booklet within, as well as 10 of Maria-Francescas accordeon sketchbook prints in real size in the front pouch of the book. Beautiful masterpieces and a great idea.

Maria-Francesca von USk Palermo und ich trafen uns auf der Dachterrasse und malten in den Abend hinein. Die Lichter am Berg in der Ferne gingen an und alles wurde etwas dunkler. 

Sie brachte mir ihr Buch über die ungewöhnlichen Gärten in Palermo mit, das sie illustriert hat. Das Buch hat eine ISBN Nummer auf der Rückseite (siehe unten) und kann daher auch bei Interesse bestellt werden (die Kindle Version gibt es auf italienisch z.B. bei Amazon). Es enthält ganz wunderbare Zeichnungen der Gärten von Palermo. Die italienische Ausgabe hat eine englische Übersetzung und Drucke von Maria-Francescas zehn Akkordeon Skizzenbücher, die jeweils für einen Garten stehen sind in Originalgrösse in der vorderen Tasche des Buches enthalten. Echte Meisterwerke und eine super Idee.

click to enlarge

 

Es war schön Francesca wieder zu treffen und wir hatten eine vergnüglichen Abend. Sie hat in der gemeinsamen Zeit ein sehr schönes Abendbild gemalt und wir hatten jede Menge Spaß. Es gab wieder sehr viel zu erzählen, denn wir hatten uns ein knappes Jahr nicht gesehen. 

Vielleicht haben wir beim nächsten Wiedersehen wieder die Möglichkeit ein Treffen mit all den anderen Mal-Freunden zu verabreden.

 

 

 

 

 

This was our view in the beginning from where we were seated. 

In the end it was close to dark, just the little lamp on the table was there to illuminate our drawings for the final photo of our watercolours.

Thank you Maria-Francesca.

 

 

My Sketchbook Sicily 2019-I (Video Flip Through)

My Sketchbook Sicily 2019-II (Video Flip Through)

Sketchbook Sicily - Caffetteria del Corso

 

The best granità in Palermo - so they say - could be found in the Caffetteria del Corso and so went there to try it. It is a very small shop located at a beautiful boulevard with a scenic view to decorated houses and gates.

The owner of the caffetteria was a very nice elder man. The few green seats outside were occupied by some people and lucky me I got a table. I drew the couple within my sight while sipping on the granità limone. What a luxury to be here in the sun I thought by myself. 

Die beste Granitá in Palermo - so wird gesagt - kann in der Caffetteria del Corso gefunden werden und das wollte ich natürlich ausprobieren. Es handelt sich um ein sehr kleines Geschäft an einer schönen Prachtstraße mit gutem Blick und sehr aufwendig dekorierten Häusern und Toren.

Der Besitzer des Cafés war ein sehr netter älterer Herr. Die wenigen grünen Stühle draussen waren besetzt, aber ich hatte das Glück noch einen Tisch zu ergattern. Die Stifte hab ich dann auch gleich ausgepackt und das Pärchen mir gegenüber skizziert, während ich meine Zitronen-Granità zu mir nahm. Was für ein Luxus hier in der Sonne zu sitzen und zu genießen. 

Sketchbook Sicily - Palermo first Morning

First morning in this city of wonders.

The hotel we stayed at inmidst Palermo has a beautiful roof terrace with a 360 ° view to the city. I chose it mostly for the possibility of sketching there and this is what I did on a warm day with the mountains still within some clouds. 

 

The Breakfast on this roof terrace overwhelmed me. The domes of the many churches are all coloured differently...like green, greyish blue, yellow or red...besides, the weather was quite nice. The sweet pastries smell awesome and the coffee is a dream. Let's dive deeper into Sicilian citylife...

 

Das Hotel, das ich für unseren kurzen Aufenthalt in Palermo gewählt habe hat eine grosse Dachterrasse mit einem 360 ° Blick. Genau dieser Blick war entscheidend für mich, denn ich wollte von dort aus natürlich Panoramabilder malen. Dieses Bild ist morgens an einem sehr warmen Tag, mit den Bergen im Hintergrund, entstanden. An den Bergen kratzten die Wolken...das süße Gebäck riecht unglaublich gut und der Kaffee ist ein Traum. Jetzt aber auf... ins sizilianische Stadtleben...