Lunch at a Vegetarian Restaurant, Barcelona
We had a late lunch today on the plaza outside a small vegetarian restaurant near the center of Barcelona. The food was great and I liked the yellow sign and tablecloths and the way they complemented the green trim of the plants, doors and windows. In this sketch I worked to capture the colors and the diners.
This is a pen and watercolor sketch on watercolor paper.
On the Train to Montserrat
The Benedictine Monastery at Montserrat Spain is a huge attraction for locals and tourists alike. It is located at the top of a mountain chain and features a beautiful old church, monastery, abandoned hermitages, views and hiking. The way up the 3,500 foot mountain is steep and most people get there by train, cable car or funicular. The six of us went to Montserrat today and my sisters posted some amazing photos of our trip to Facebook, which I shared on my FB page as well.
As we traveled the 90 minutes to Montserrat from Barcelona I sketched a fellow passenger. Her pensive body language caught my eye, especially the way she leaned forward, rested her mouth on her hand, held her knapsack and frowned as she looked out the window. I thought she seemed worried and I wanted to capture the look in a sketch.
This began as a pen and watercolor sketch done on the train. Later I made some adjustments to the background textures and color with Procreate.
Waiting For the Restaurant to Open in Barcelona
Sometimes you meet awesome people while waiting in line. Tonight we met a trio from Holland and I got a chance to sketch them a bit before their turn to enter the restaurant. They were young, well educated, and spoke English fluently. They had an easy way of speaking to each other that made them attractive and interesting to us. I show their relationship with each other by capturing their animated facial expressions and show their importance to each other by making the other people in line blend into the background.
This sketch began as a pen and ink drawing on watercolor paper in the line outside the restaurant. Later I imported the sketch into Procreate and Snapseed on my iPad and added the color.
Enjoying a Moment Outside La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
People throng to La Familia Sagrada Basilica in Barcelona, which has been under construction since 1882, mostly because Antoni Gaudi’s vision for a church that teaches through its design is just plain awe inspiring.
While we waited in the park outside the entrance for our turn to enter the church, a couple collasped onto a nearby bench. I noticed them because their body language was so joyfully tired. It was hot, they were sunburnt and droopy, but their arms were open and draped across each others, and they clearly were enjoying the contact. I liked the way they chatted, low key, happy, and easy going and wanted to convey their good spirits in this sketch.
This is a pen and watercolor sketch with some minor adjustments made on the iPad.
Mass at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral
With a little help from a rented car, we made it to Santiago de Compostela in time for mass at the cathedral, the subject of this sketch. This mass was a big deal; the bishop and some 20 priests celebrated it in honor of a group of young people who were being confirmed today. The cathedral is huge but it did not hold all the people who wanted to attend the confirmation. The pews were packed and many people sat on steps or stood throughout the service.
Today was the tenth and final day of our Camino de Santiago trip, some 250 kilometers by bike across the mid section of the Northern Route, from Bilbao to Ribadesella. We were a fun quartet. We struggled up the mountains together, flew down the mountain trails, and got a big kick out of biking across the gorgeous beaches. Checking out all the food and experiencing the range of hotels was fun too. And the two day car trip from Ribadesella to Santiago via Finisterre was a delightfully easy way to enjoy the final 350 kilometers together.
The Spanish people are warm, kind, generous and treated the four of us well. Their country is incredibly green, well kept, and bursting with history. It seemed that every place we saw was a place we would have liked to linger in. I hope to come back for six weeks or so and do the pilgrimage on foot.
This is a pen and watercolor sketch.
We rode today from Llanes to Ribadesella, 30 kilometers, in a heavy rainstorm. The views were awesome but was very cold and despite all our rain gear, we got soaked to the skin. We stopped in the first hotel we came across in Ribadesella and have been very happy here. It is on the waterfront and the edge of the central area.
Last night at about 10 PM we walked out across the bridge and sketched a bit. The challenge I had was to show dusk along with the lovely light on the buildings and water that came from the sky and street lamps.
I am having issues staying connected to the internet and so will post without saying any more.
Resting After Lunch Near Llanes Spain
The terrain was much less hilly and we we made very good time on our sixth day of biking a portion of the Northern Route of El Camino de Santiago. We began on a small paved road in Colombres and then followed a gravel trail along the coast. The sea view was to our right and the snow capped Picos Mountains to our left. As we approached Llanes we returned to the highway and lost sight of the tops of the Picos.
We ate a late lunch about 5 miles out from Llanes, sat on the patio, enjoyed the view and company and fought off the feeling that we needed a nap. I wanted to show sleepy contentment but I think I made the Frenchman in the background look a little like he is fuming, which I don’t think he was. I liked the way he took his shoes off while he ate, my feet envied his.
We are meeting more pilgrims on the trail, including a cheerful Frenchman, shown in the background of this sketch. Most pilgrims are on on foot including two English women in their seventies, who caught up with us twice yesterday. The variety of people and their approaches to equipment are interesting. It gives rise to thoughts like, “Next time we should…”
This is an iPad sketch.
Deliberate Sketching 