Barri Gotic

In the Barri Gotic neighborhood of Barcelona.

I did this drawing at about 22:00 sitting under a lamp post at the Placa de Catalunya .

In Barcelona

Went walking in the L'Eixample area of Barcelona yesterday and stopped here at this inner courtyard known as Pati de les Aigues . It is a popular local swimming area - lots of children playing and swimming and splashing around. There is this huge brick water tower in the middle of the south side of the courtyard and the swimming pool next to it. I didn't have a container for my water so I poured water from my water bottle into the cap. It worked fine. Today I think I'll walk down to Barri Gotic and see what I can draw there...

Relaxing with Alex in Halifax

I visited Alex this past weekend in Halifax. I drove up on Friday and returned Sunday. I knew I wouldn't have much time to sketch but I managed to do these 2 "unfinished" sketches (I don't know why I said unfinished here - it seems like all my sketches are unfinished these days). The top one is of Annies Place, a cafe in downtown Halifax. The other is of Citadel Hill. After I drew it I thought it would be cool to have these army guys overlay the sketch. The execution is not good but the idea is there if I ever want to try it again and do it better.

I like these photos that come from the photo booths you see in malls. Most of them turn out really good - maybe because they catch people at a relaxed and happy time - when they are out with friends/family shopping and having fun. This is Alex and I and Princess.

Joni

Joni is one of my favorite musicians. When Ed (see post below) and I were in architecture school we would have these all-nighters working on projects that were due the next day. At around 1 or 2 or 3 in the morning one of us would call for a "Joni Session" where, for 15 or 20 minutes, we would turn off the lights and lay on the floor or couch or anything horizontal, close our eyes and slip into Joni's world for awhile. We'd travel on planes with Amelia, sit in coffee shops with Coyote, light candles in churches. Then, we'd either turn the lights back on and keep working until our first class or, more often, we'd be consumed by the "bag monster" - a terrible, soft and fluffy creature that sucks you into his mouth and lulls you to sleep.

The Harbor

I love sketching. I look at this image and it all comes back to me. Being there in that place. A warm and windy day. I sat on the landing for awhile and ate my lunch and looked out out over the harbor thinking about what I wanted to draw but couldn't settle on anything. Then I just started walking and ended out on the one of the docks. I was in the middle of the oceans parking lot. I brought my brand new stool with me (thank you for the tip Gabi) so I felt free to sit practically anywhere. It was a bumpy place to sketch and hot and windy. I was sweating but the sweat cooled quickly in the wind. And the air smelled salty and a bit fishy. I love sketching.

Life Drawing

Every Tuesday night there is a Life Drawing session up in Belfast at Waterfall Arts Center. I would like to go more often but it's hard to find the time. My first life drawing experience was in college. I remember the novelty of going to the class and realizing that people actually took their clothes off so we could draw them. I thought it was pretty cool. I still think its cool and very nice that others are so comfortable in their own skin to allow others to draw them like that. This particular model had a very interesting face so it was that I spent most of the night trying to draw her face. These were quick 3-5 minute sketches;