Bicycling & Sketching in Chicago and Indianapolis

Roberta and I took our folding bikes on Amtrak's Empire Builder to Indianapolis with a short stop in Chicago. We love these two cities and look forward to returning for more bicycling and sketching.

The "Bean" by Roberta.

Buckingham Fountain by Roberta

The Surgery Museum from my journal.

General Logan, my sketch

Union Station & Indy, from my journal

Union Station, sketch by Roberta

Amtrak conductor, sketch by me

Soldiers & Sailors Monument, sketch by me

Lion, Indy War Memorial, sketch by me

Canal Walk, sketch by Roberta

White River Park trail, sketch by Roberta

Roberta & I biking the Indy Cultural Trail

UPDATE: Roberta and I were so impressed with Indianapolis, we moved there! 

Sketching in Cuba

Roberta and I just returned from a sketching trip to Cuba. Cuba is a beautiful island with a proud, heroic history and architecture of many styles spanning centuries.  The Cuban people were very friendly and showed a lot of interest in our sketches.

Havana and Viñales are wonderful places to sketch. We brought our Brompton folding bikes with us and the Bromptons were very handy for getting us around the narrow streets of the old city. Cuba is still emerging from the "Special Period". Many buildings in Havana are in dire need of repair and some have collapsed.  The good news is a lot of those buildings are being repaired. If you are considering a sketching trip to Cuba we suggest getting the assistance of an travel expert. We recommend Cuba Production Services. For more sketches of Cuba, check out Urban Sketcher Jim Richard's wonderful Cuba sketches on his blog.

The following are a sample of our Cuba sketches. Click on the images to make them larger. We will post more sketches on Instagram (@avidorart & @robertaavidor )

Horses tethered to a banyan tree in Viñales (Ken).

The musicians at a Cabaña, a good restaurant (Ken).

The statue of José Marti in the Parque Central (Ken).

There's music everywhere in Havana. 

Motorized cannon in front of the Museo de la Revolución (Ken)

Our favorite musician in one of our favorite paladars (Roberta).

José Marti in Parque Central (Roberta).

Lots of annoying exhaust comes out of these old Russian cars (Roberta).

A street scene in Habana Vieja (Roberta).

Another street scene in Habana Vieja (Roberta).

The lovely, serene Viñales valley (Roberta).

Us in front of the "Granma" depicted by Cuban artist José Fuster.