My Artist Pals in Cusco

Plaza de Armas in Cusco is a busy spot with many pedlars offering handcrafts, shoeshines, taxi rides and so forth.  There are also many individuals selling art.  Generally there is a wide range of styles in each portfolio and a similar range of subjects and styles from one to another, leading me to suspect that the work, or at least not all of the work, is by the vendor.

While sketching in a quiet corner of the square, one of these art guys came over to watch.  He showed me a small sketch from his portfolio and I offered him a brush and my paints.  He skilfully added some wash in a true Urban Sketchers fashion.  Soon his competitors had also gathered around and there was lots of good natured joking and some questions to me despite my inadequate Spanish.

It was another one of those circumstances that broke down the tourist barrier and seemed a natural opportunity for a sketchcrawl type photo of all of us with our work.