Every Wednesday is market day. There are plenty of street dogs around, either patiently waiting for leftovers or simply using the shade to take a nap.
Nice to see that the people and dogs at the market are very polite to each other.
Tag: Drawing
Colour confusion in Malinalco, Mexico
Surprisingly no beetle in sight on this street. Also the green house is a bit too bright for my taste. But it certainly caught my attention. I prefer the other one. Well, or I should rather say, the formerly green house.
I went for a walk this morning when I passed the house again and first I didn´t realize that it is it, and then I thought wtf am I colour blind or is my memory failing me completely!?
They have started to paint it dark red and in order to paint over the green they have smeared some yellow over it in the front… so it looks rather wild right now. I will try to capture the process maybe tomorrow.
Same thing happened just yesterday. There is this gift shop here in my street. I took this picture last weekend.
And this was when I passed the place yesterday and I thought my eyes are playing tricks on me…. wow, I felt confused.
Streets of Malinalco, Mexico
Green house is my favourite so far.
On the streets of Malinalco, Mexico
These guys napping in the shadow during the afternoon heat. There are plenty of street dogs around here but most of them look well fed and they are very friendly towards people and vice versa.
They didn´t even blink once when I passed and watched them.
In Malinalco, State of Mexico
Moving on from Tulum.
After a week in La Ciudad de México (CDMX) I got to Malinalco. I had no idea what this place was about before I arrived here. 115 km south west of CDMX in the State of Mexico. Elevation 1740m, population 8000, very rural and it is considered a Pueblo Mágico…
And most importantly it has way less air pollution than CDMX which I highly appreciate and approve of.
It is certainly very colourful. During my first walk around town.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico XIII
This is the last one from my bike tour around Tulum. These guys are selling tepache de piña, a fermented pineapple drink. Unfortunately I did not get to try it yet.
Otherwise you can find a lot of really cool street art around Tulum.
And then there was this place who probably got rid of the guy who did the spelling… No, the name of the place is not Restaun. I checked.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico XI
What can I say, I took a lot of photos of dogs. This one just stood there for a while not sure what to do next. Then he started to wander off.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico IX
One thing that struck me while wandering around was, how clean the streets are. Saw this guy doing his business on the palm tree with a can dedicated to chicle – chewing gum. On the tree beside it was a can for cigarette butts.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico VII
I haven’t seen this many VW beetles since… I can´t remember. They got rather rare in Germany and if you see them, then you never see them in anything else than perfect condition. Here, they just are. I saw several of them and they are just lovely. What do you think about them?
I´m still trying to figure out where and how much white space to leave when colouring with these watercolours…
Observation: Lots of beetles around here.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico VI
Plenty of colourful houses around here. What colour is your house or you would like it to be?
Observation: The brighter the better.
Finally finished this one.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico V
Based on a really bad snapshot I took during my bike tour through the town of Tulum.
Observation: Cables, cables everywhere!
And the before in my sketch book. The other one is still unfinished…
I did like their slogan… Mas por menos.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico IV
Another truck. I enjoyed watching them while they were throwing boxes and bottles up and down.
Observation: There is so much green around here.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico III
These big delivery trucks where pretty much everywhere.
The first draft looked like this. I really start to have fun with the water paintbrush that I bought. I think it gives you a completely different watercolour experience than with a normal paintbrush. Also it is less messy.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico II
Encountered these two on my bike tour around town. It seemed to me that it was the big brother who had to pick up the little one, but big brother was not too excited about walking down the street with little brother.
On the streets of Tulum, Mexico
What struck me most, the first time I visited Mexico, was the diversity of culture, landscapes, nature, people and especially the extreme poverty and wealth, and everything in between, that can be seen at every corner.
On the first windy and cloudy day since arrival, I seized the opportunity and went for a cycle around the town of Tulum. I don´t want this to become a travel blog but rather put down some random impressions that I got along the way. Like this girl who ran after her pug to catch him, after he had escaped from the house.
When you look up Tulum, you get all those beautiful beach photos, the ruins and the expensive beach resorts that will cost you 200$ plus per night.
What most people wont see are the slums in the middle of the forest, where people most likely live of 200$ per month, situated right between those fancy resorts and the town centre.
I usually don´t take a lot of photos, but Tulum had a lot of beautiful street art, even in the poorer parts, that I tried to capture because of the colours.
Tulum, Mexico
So I have been in Mexico for roughly 2 weeks now and I am loving it. I have been here last in 2014 for ca 3 months travelling around the southern parts of the country. I also spent a good amount of time on the beach back then because I had never been to a Caribbean like beach before and it was simply incredible.
So I wanted to start my trip by getting my much needed vitamin D on the beach in Tulum, Quintana Roo, after spending yet another winter in Iceland. I went back to the same hostel my boyfriend and I stayed in 3 years ago because it is a 5 minute bike ride from the beach and it has this beautiful hangout area with a small pool, hammocks and lots of plants.
So here it was that I made my first attempt of sketching with the watercolours and pens I brought with me. I have to admit it partially felt like a struggle as it took me some time, but in pleasant 25 degrees with my morning coffee next to me it was also quite enjoyable.
Visit at the ice cream parlor
The last picture in my series of ice cream dedicated drawings for the moment. I am pretty sure I will revisit them at some point. I think it was a fun theme to practice drawing and those water colours on.
I was bored the other night at a friends place where I tried out a beautiful set of Japanese watercolours. The inspiration was a photo of the Valdís Ice cream parlor in Reykavik. They bake their own waffles in the back so you always have that delicious waffle smell in your nose upon entering. The ice cream is quite delicious too.
I´ll not only take a break from ice cream but also the land of ice – Iceland – as I ´ll be heading to Mexico for 2 months! To do what, I don´t know yet, but my priorities are to learn Spanish and to get some sun! But I also have my drawing stuff packed and I will see what I come up with while on the road.
Until then, enjoy your ice cream!
Sunday brunch with ice cream
Last day of the week and I thought that a nice pancake lunch would be perfect to finish it off. So dig in!
Had a lot of fun doing these 7 day drawing challenge and might do another one soon. I also ended up buying more watercolours last week so lets see what happens.
Relax and enjoy your Saturday ice cream
I love whiskey. Especially the slightly smoky kinds like Talisker and the more well rounded ones like Glenlivet are perfect on a cozy evening.
Vanilla ice cream is the perfect starter for this Saturday night.
Your well deserved after-work-treat
I am really enjoying this themed 7 day challenge. 2 more days to go.
Finally its Friday and what is better than a cold one straight after work I thought?
Melanie Franz 