Travel is wonderful but it is ever so nice to be home again, especially with sunflowers and irises to keep me company while I adjust to this time zone. I wanted a simple focus and so exaggerated the large shapes of the flowers and vase and then blocked in fairly flat color.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
