There’s a gorgeously eccentric shop in town which sells assorted hardware and houses an impressive and beautiful collection of old radios.
The owner plays classical music which spills out onto the street, inviting passers by to enter (worked on me).
I spent a very happy hour in there yesterday sketching this French example and intend to go back again, and again and again…
Yesterday, Sunday April 24th 2016, was Concentrarte Vejer‘s annual celebration of all things arty and crafty.
Arte Vejer encouraged children to let loose their creative spirits by painting in La Plaza de España and a few adult sketchers, me included, joined the throng.
I concentrated on sketching a tiny bit of the fountain in La Plaza with pen and watercolour before the sun came round and burnt the back of my neck.
Those who read my last blog about the mini cup cakes will know that I set myself the challenge of drawing the food at last night’s Alquimia food fest.
The food was indeed divine and the company sublime; my favourite dish was the starter, a delicious concoction of grilled asparagus on sour dough bread topped with a poached duck yolk and jamon Iberico de bellota, which in English means Iberian cured ham from free-range, acorn eating pigs.
The rest of the dishes were wonderful to look at as well, but not so my sketches! Blame fatigue, over excitement, self consciousness…whatever…I attempted two more and then decided to concentrate on eating my dinner while it was hot!
Thank you and congratulations to Alquimia, can’t wait for the next event.
Q: What could be luckier than having a friend who brings homemade mini cup cakes round for tea?
A: Having a friend whose mini cup cake is the invitation for a whole evening of fabulous Alquimia fine dining!
So having painted its portrait in watercolours I happily followed the chocolate icing instructions…and delicious it was…(OK, I admit it, I ate more than one).
Really looking forward to this Saturday’s sold out Mar y Bellota event when I plan to sketch some more culinary delights before I eat them.
I’ve yet to find my New Year’s sketch rhythm but here are two pen and watercolour sketches I made during pre-Christmas outings.
Hiking through San Ambrosio (left) from Vejer it felt more like spring than midwinter….
…and the oranges shone like festive baubles in Cádiz (right)
Annie B is a Spanish food and sherry aficionado who runs cooking courses and sherry tours from her beautiful town house in Vejer de la Frontera. I was delighted when she got in touch after seeing my sushi sketch to suggest I paint a Spanish food themed Christmas card (above) for her business Annie B’s Spanish Kitchen.
I gathered sprigs of umbrella pine and Annie sourced local ingredients from the market before we raided Annie’s kitchen for extra props and spread everything out on the table in her patio.
After finishing the pen and watercolour painting (which was punctuated by a delicious lunch) I scanned it into Photoshop, added Annie B’s logo, cropped it and added a festive red border before preparing the image for printing.
The original (un-cropped and logo-less) watercolour painting (above) was auctioned on eBay to raise money for Arte Vejer, a community group which promotes visual arts and creativity in and around Vejer.
The auction was a great success, raising over 150 euros for Arte Vejer, that really made my Christmas happy.
I had half an hour to spare before my lunch date with a friend today in Barbate so I painted this quick sketch of a bicycle looking out to sea….my friend didn’t show up (she’d had a diary malfunction) but I still had a delicious lunch of shrimp cakes and octopus.
Thank you Casa Oscar.
I don’t usually remember to pack my sketch book and paints when I head out for a stroll along the beach in El Palmar but there was something in the gentle sunshine this Monday afternoon that reminded me…
I didn’t quite manage to capture the beauty of these Retinto cows in my pen and wash sketch above…
…but there’s a softness that I like in this deserted beach scene painted with sea water
This summer I spent a few weeks in London which meant that I missed out on my weekly Saturday sketch date with the Vejer sketchers. Despite the busy-ness of my city visit I made a little time to go out with my pens and watercolour paints.
The gorgeous view from my friends’ flat next to Caledonian Park in North London
The clock tower in Caledonian Park
I love a visit to a cemetery; they inspire, calm and ground me all at the same time.
I made my first trips to Highgate (above) and Nunhead (right) cemeteries this summer and found both to be oases of cool, damp, quiet wildness in the hubbub of the hot summer city.
The chaps who were restoring Karl Marx’ grave very kindly moved the scaffolding for a while to improve my view and a lady dog walker told me that her dog once refused to walk past the spot I was painting which raised some goosebumps.
my first outing with the Vejer Sketchers
Late last year (2014) I was delighted to be invited to join Arte Vejer, a community organisation which aims to promote visual arts and creativity in and around the Andalusian town of Vejer de la Frontera.
Vejer Sketchers is a subsidiary group of Arte Vejer and part of the worldwide Urban Sketchers movement.
Calle Sagasta, Vejer, pen
Vejer, pen and coloured pencil
sketching on a roof terrace, Vejer
The sketching enthusiasts, from various walks of life, of different nationalities and ages, meet once a week; usually to draw in the streets of Vejer, sometimes joined by sketchers from other towns,
Vejer Sketchers with sketch groups from other towns at Concentrarte, Vejer’s annual art street fair
Calles Reyes Cátolicos and Rosario, Vejer, pen and watercolour
some of the entrants in Vejer’s annual patio competition, pen and watercolour
Ayuntamiento Vejer, Baelo Claudia Bolonia, 47th Sketchcrawl Cadiz, pen and watercolour
sometimes traveling to join sketch groups in other locations,
sketching in the rain in Bolonia
life drawing with a model,
charcoal and crayon
charcoal
charcoal and crayon
or even drawing each other.
watercolour sketches
In this Arte Vejer video, which features stills of some of my pre-Sketchers artwork, I talk (in Spanish) about my New Year’s Resolution to join the Vejer Sketchers, saying that street sketching in a group is brave and interesting and a great contrast to my usual controlled method of drawing and developing images in my studio with photos for reference.
chorizo, pen and watercolour
Actually, the Vejer Sketchers experience has surpassed all my expectations; the group dynamic is incredibly friendly and supportive and diffuses the potential self-consciousness associated with drawing in public places (safety in numbers!).
Vejer, pen and watercolour
I’ve enjoyed painting with watercolours since I was a child and the Vejer Sketchers have inspired me to try new techniques and different formats – my confidence, speed, motivation and skill have all improved.
hibiscus, pen and watercolour
Come and join us if you can!