Saturday, March 28, 2015

Spain Linocut with Original Watercolour

Well here they are; the linocut with watercolour works from my residency in Spain.  This has been such an amazing adventure, and I've loved every minute of it. My time here is winding down, with just a few days left until I fly home. I feel it's been productive. I have a portfolio with 10 each of 8 different images, meaning I'm coming home with 80 finished works. I've learned so much, made some incredible friends who I will keep forever, and had fun teaching  workshop at Estudio Nómada in Barcelona this past week.  I was very impressed with the set up here in Penedés.  It is really conducive to working, and it's just a wonderful lifestyle.  There's no tv or anything, but once a week our hosts set up a projector and we screen an art movie on one of the huge white studio walls while we curl up on the sofas. They do a weekly artists lunch as well, provide rides into the train station so we can visit barcelona once in a while, and otherwise give us space to create as we please.  There are bikes to ride in to the nearby villages, and a garden with veggies and herbs that we can access.  There are 5 of us here, and we each have a comfy bedroom and our own washroom/shower. We share a kitchen with everything we need (amazing what can be done with a two-burner hotplate and a toaster oven).  If you're an artist and looking for a residency recommendation, this is a fantastic one. Google Estudio Nomada residency and you'll find it. I'll edit and add a link when I'm on a real computer. 

For those of you who pre-bought works from this trip thank you again. I couldn't have done it without you, and it was fun to think of each of you as I was working away; wondering which pieces you'd choose. These photos are off in colour (the paper is actually true white, and the painted colours much more intense than shows here) but it gives you an idea. I'm planning to leave a couple of each piece in Barcelona at a gallery. If you already know which image type you prefer please email me. I'll send you photos of what I have finished and you can let me know which one you want so I make sure I don't give it to a gallery. 
I'm bringing all of the original watercolour sketches home, so if you bought one of those no worries.  I'll post them all once I'm home with a better camera/internet combo. 

Casa Calvet 
This gorgeous building snuck up on me. I just looked up and fell in love. I didn't realize it was one of Gaudi's works until the piece was underway. 

Casa Battló
Another Gaudi Casa. I love how the building seems to be doing so much more than just standing there, and have tried to capture that movement in this piece. There were swarms of strangers lined up out front while I was there, so rather than trying to capture them I imported one of my favourite couples into the scene.  Any guesses who they are? 

Parc Güell
For those of you who've been there, you know I could have done a whole series just in this park. It is a visual feast. I enjoyed trying to suggest some of the actual landmarks in the view beyond the park out towards the sea. Sagrada Familia in three swipes of a carving blade or less?  Why not ;-). The couple will the camera (may need to zoom in to see them) were fun to capture. 
Crystal Palace 
This structure sits in Parc Buen Retiro in Madrid. The whole park is amazing, but the Crystal Palace held a special surprise for me. Read my earlier post on the wonder I found inside. The metal umbrella and speakers you see through the windows here were on top of the installation described in the post.  I've done some of these with blue/purple skies, some with yellow. This one with the pinks (much 'hotter' in real life) is my fave at the moment.  

Passion Facade 
Every inch of the Sagrada Familia is fascinating. I chose this facade as my first piece (yes, there will be more) because I fell in love with the embracing couple to the left of the door.  Reminded me of why I'm heading home after this residency ;-). The cranes of course are not there because they're updating, but because it is still only partially finished. Same with the netting you see down one side. Just another couple hundred years and we can pop in and see the finished project.  That's some incredible long term vision. I was interested in Gaudi and his work before I came here; now I'm awestruck. 

Metropolis
This corner is just off Gran Via in Madrid.  In a city full of beautiful buildings I think that Metropolis my fave.  I kept spotting it from different perspectives and thinking 'oh, there's my building!'

Floristeria
This is a composite of a few of the many flower shops I came across in my travels. It was fun piecing all my favourite elements into one piece. 

Me:"Hey Ladies"
Ladies: "Hay?"
These ladies are our neighbors here at Mas Els Igols. They have been my source of dairy for the past month.  The farmer is there every day at 5pm. We get on one of the old bikes they've provided for us, ride about 600 metres up the hill with a big plastic jug and 'fill 'er up'. We've dubbed these two 'Clara y Cana' which are your two choices if you're ordering draft beer at the pub (Clara has lemon in it, Cana is plain old draft). 
Thanks ladies. 

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