Barcelona’s Família Sagrada

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Sarah Sullivan

Barcelona’s Família Sagrada

Our hotel in Barcelona is down the street from the Família Sagrada, an enormous cathedral that has been under construction since 1883. I understand that it is the most visited place in all of Spain. I passed it every day and tried to sketch it several times from different vantage points. This is my favorite, I think because I made the cathedral an understated monolith by showing its shape with light washes and indicating a very small portion of its detail with a black pen.

Posted in Cityscape | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Calling the Kids

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Sarah Sullivan

Calling the Kids

We are in Barcelona this week and I have been to several museums. There is a lot of wonderful art to admire but it was two lively sisters playing across from the Miró Museum that caught my eye. I loved their enthusiasm for racing around and sympathized with their reluctance to leave their play for whatever their parents were calling them to do.

Posted in Telling a Story | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

House and Hedge

Posted on May 19, 2019 by Sarah Sullivan

House and Hedge

Denmark is full of dark green hedges and orange houses. The range of oranges and greens are captivating and before we leave Denmark later today, I wanted to capture this in my sketchbook.

Posted in Landscape | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

An Old Story

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Sarah Sullivan

An Old Story

What could be nicer than two old friends chatting away a pleasant afternoon? I liked their relaxed body language, one sitting up and explaining while the other is leaning back, deep in his chair. It had the look of two people who were very comfortable with each other.

Posted in Body Language, Telling a Story | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Canola Field Beyond the Farmyard

Posted on May 16, 2019 by Sarah Sullivan

The Canola Field Beyond the Farmyard

The yellow of the canola fields is so striking that I have had to paint it a few more times. This one is based on a photo I took as I walked passed a farmyard and could see the canola field beyond the other side. I love the way the yellow leaps up and grabs my attention.

Posted in Landscape | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Along the Danish Øresund Coast

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Sarah Sullivan

Along the Danish Øresund Coast

Today was such a great day for plein air painting, sunny, a gentle breeze, and lovely light. I had been delaying sketching along the Danish Øresund Coast, that narrow channel between Denmark and Sweden, in hopes of a day like this one. I found a place on a hill above Snekkersten with some interesting buildings and a great view of the water and the Swedish coast. I liked the shapes of the houses and trees and just did a simple sketch that exaggerated these shapes. I skipped the new leaves that are budding all over the trees because I did not want to diminish the design. It was early and there was still a bit of fog giving a faint tingle of violet over much of the scene.

Posted in Landscape | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Slangerup Canola Field

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Sarah Sullivan

Slangerup Canola Field

This is the time of year that Denmark’s huge fields of canola oil plants are in full bloom across the country. At times it seems like enormous expanses of yellow fill the view from the tip of my toe to the edge of the horizon. Today I went in search of one of these fields to paint and found one near Slangerup. It even had a suggestion of purple in the middle that set off the yellow.

Posted in Landscape | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment