Parks, flowers & Shakespeare

Ink & watercolour. ©Sue Pownall

To continue my blog catch up...

The other week I ran away to Barcelona, just for a night, leaving Degas with a dog sitter. It's my favourite city, and I really want to move there. Unfortunately, circumstances are conspiring against me, for now.

I stayed in a hotel with a fantastic view of the Arc de Triomf, but chose to relax in the shade rather than sketch the view. My batteries are in desperate need of recharging.

Parc de l'Estació del Nord. Watercolour in A5 sketchbook.

That evening, I had arranged to meet friends and fellow sketchers Cesar and Miguel at a performance by Parking Shakespeare who were performing Much Ado About Nothing in Catalan (Molt Sorroll Per Res).
I can only understand a few words, but love Parking Shakespeare's outdoor performance, and first saw them in 2012. You can see the previous sketches here. Having wandered around the area and arrived at the park early, I sat down to paint the amazing mosaic mountain as I love the intense blue.I think the painting is tonally flat, but I enjoyed painting it. Then it was time for the Shakespeare and a similar drawing to last time. Again, I got caught up with the action (even with very limited understanding) and stopped drawing to watch. If you are ever in Barcelona in the summer, I would thoroughly recommend going to one of the shows: lovely setting, great acting, and it's free.

Molt Sorroll Per Res. Blue Micron in A5 sketchbook.

 The next day, I started the day with a sketch over breakfast (top). I'd spotted the building whilst heading for dinner the night before. It took me 2 cups of tea and almost an hour, which is looonnngg for me as I have the focus of a gnat. The rest of the day was spent wandering around and going to MACBA before heading back to the airport.

Unfortunately, my quick trip took rather longer than anticipated, as my car broke down on the way home from Heathrow airport. I tried sketching under the streetlights as I sat perched on a bank overlooking the M25 and my sick car, but the motorway was uninspiring. Here's the proof.

 Where is your favourite destination to run away to?

Shakespeare & starlight

© Sue Pownall 2012

I have had the opportunity to go out with the Barcelona sketches twice more since the SketchCrawl.First, I met the group at Parc de l'Estacio del Nord for an outside performance of Love Labour's Lost. The play was performed by Parking Shakespeare www.parkingshakespeare.com who are very good.

Parking Shakespeare performing in the park.

© Sue Pownall 2012

Despite it being in Catalan, and understanding about 10 words, it was really enjoyable. Most of us sat together drawing whilst watching. I have to say the most impressive was the scene drawn by Sagar sagar but as always I like my new friend Cesar's drawing too, and can't wait to see it finished on his blog.

Barcelona from Hotel America © Sue Pownall 2012

Shot with my Galaxy I at midnight

Last Saturday, we met for a night sketching session. The amazing artist Miguel Herranz (Freekhand) freshly back from the Urban Sketchers Symposium was with us. It was amazing to look through his sketchbook and see his drawings and to hear the stories from the symposium. We started on the roof terrace of the Hotel America after a wander through Barcelona's streets.

More walking followed as we went for something to eat before going to our last locations. Some of us chose to draw La Pedreira (Casa Mila) whilst others another impressive building nearby. Cesar lent me his Sailor pen, which I now covet, which was perfect for the solid black lines. At midnight the main illumination was turned off, leaving the roofline lit, and I headed back to the apartment.

© Sue Pownall 2012

I think Barcelona is the place this nomad can finally settle, so am starting to see about returning after my contract finishes in Muscat. Watch this blog for more details.

*****

Sorry about the quality of the pics, I didn't pack my scanner.

The Tempest

On a stormy evening, I went to a brilliant performance of the Tempest held, luckily, inside at Cressing Temple Barns. A benefit of going alone was that I got a seat in the front row alongside the reserved guest seats, and so I sketched and painted the barn behind the scenery before the performance started. As is normal with a Shakespeare performance I  got a little confused in a few places, but the terrific acting made up for it. It was performed by the professional touring group: The Festival Players Theatre Company. The beautiful setting added to the fantastic performance, so did the musical elements.

I sketched a few of the actors in the first half (adding the colour later), but found the performance too engaging to do much and put my sketchbook away in the interval. I may add a figure into the stage setting later, as that is what I planned when I drew it.

The sketchbook pages.