Costa Rica, Part 2 of 4

Part 2 of my Costa Rican adventure was a stay at the town of La Fortuna, near Arenal Volcano National Park. Arenal Volcano is a perfectly shaped cinder cone, but you have to be lucky to see it. Of the 4 days we spent staying right by the volcano, there was one day when the clouds disappeared for about 20 minutes and saw the whole volcano. This is a quick sketch at the end of a hike up a lava flow. Volcano Arenal is currently considered to be ‘resting’ between active phases. But in a land as young as Costa Rica, you never know when a volcano will get active again.

Everywhere in Costa Rica, the rain played a big part in my sketches. Mostly it poured so much, I just couldn’t sketch. And even when I thought I could sneak in a quick little sketch, all it took was a quick cloudburst and a thundershower -seemingly out of nowhere- to shape my sketches in ways I didn’t imagine.

Here are a few rain-shaped pieces.

A barnyard where we milked the cows one morning.

My rain-splattered capture of a fruit stand:

And best of all, my pretty ridiculous attempt at trying to sketch a waterfall, while standing under it, in the pouring rain. Yes, that’s me on the left. The image in the center is as far as I ever got with my sketch. The one on the right? That’s what remains of it in my sketchbook now.

I sketched these two guys at a coffee plantation. They were playing checkers using colored bottle caps.

And this is my favorite fruit from Costa Rica: The mamón chino. A threatening looking red, spiny fruit that is Asian in origin.

More sketches from Arenal on my blog here. And part 3, in the Cloud Forests of Monteverde, coming soon.

Share

Recent Posts

International Urban Sketchers Week 2024!

March 1, 2024

We are excited to share with you that we have registered a...

Read More

Drawing Attention March 2024

March 1, 2024

  Drawing Attention, the official zine of the Urban Sketchers organization, communicates...

Read More

Open Call for USk Symposium Buenos Aires 2024 Correspondents

February 21, 2024

  ***** SPANISH VERSION FOLLOWS BELOW / VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL A CONTINUACIÓN...

Read More

Announcing the USk Symposium Buenos Aires 2024 Program Schedule, Workshop Instructors, and Activity & Demo Presenters

February 3, 2024

We are delighted to announce the 12th Urban Sketchers Symposium Buenos Aires...

Read More