Featured in Urban Sketchers Spain

Luis Ruiz, from Malaga from wrote a post in the the Urban Sketchers Spainblog featuring my work. Here is the link . I had the opportunity to meet Luis in Lisbon for the Urban Sketchers Symposium. When he heard that I was planning to visit La Alhambra in Granada he proposed to go together.

I met him first in Malaga where we went out for dinner with his wife and the next day after some early sketches we went with all his family to La Alhambra.

In the taberna

Martha with the Biznaga

the double Page in Malaga Market next morning

In downtown Malaga. We drove later to La Alhambra but that is another story, you can have a preview in the post by Luis Ruiz. (Link above)

Weinblatt, Kreuzberg

Ok, I am getting used to be a Nomad and travel from country to country, but this time I am travelling from Neighborhood to Neighborhood. Since I still have not found an apartment I staying by different friends every week. Thanks Milena, Fabio and Robert. That have the advantage that I can experience the life in more areas. Berlin is a polycentric city and every quarter is a city in itself. You have everything around you, you don't need to go out to other areas.

This week I am in Kreuzberg and I am experience Roberts "Berlin". Under his building there is this wonderful turk Place. Weinblatt, that is german for Vine leaf.

Bei the way I am also blogging now in german (with a lot of mistakes) by berlin.urbansketchers.blogspot.com

In Berlin

I went with some friends to an event in Friedrichshain. Suppe und Mucke was called and means Soup and Music, There were a lot of stands with many different kind of soups and bands playing around. The soup bowl can be eaten too. You paid 1-3 euros for it and after that you could have so much soup as you wanted. It was for raising money for a good cause.

I draw a lot of families with kids, usually I find it difficult to draw kids but they were very quiet watching the band playing.

Ok, where I was with my virtual life?

My virtual life (the blog) experiences right now a time gap of 1 month to my real life. So lets go back to Kassel and share with you what I experienced when I came back from Canada.

Cafe West End: I just love the place with the perfect light coming from the windows...

Melchior Cofee in the NeuFahrt Street with is Wi Fi (since I have to blog a Wi Fi is a good argument when I choose a coffee shop)

Enjoying a exhibition in the Fridericianum Museum (on Wednesday is free) hearing music from this installation and sketching at the same time.

and of course the Orangerie: here on a fast sketch.

And in a bigger watercolor

Hannover, Sunday August 14

I got a date at the Statue in front of the Train Station. When I was walking in that direction I heard music, nice music. A band called Glamazing was playing there. I got still 30 min. to do a fast sketch.

My meeting was "Unter den Schwanz" literary translated means "under the tail". To refer that the meeting place is in the back of the horse statue, facing the entrance of the station. There is double meaning in German with the word "Schwanz" since it is also use to refer to the male sexual organ.

While there I saw this girl waiting with her bicycle. She hardly moved, what always makes a perfect model. I was wondering who was she waiting for... a relative, a friend? but my date arrived before I could reveal the mystery.

Tango in Ballhofplatz

Same place a few hours later. There was a tango night. There was a band playing live tango music and people were dancing in the square. There were some tango shows inbetween but mostly were tango lovers dancing in the square. Some city have magic moments and this was one of them.

I love this Moleskine double page, it shows the scene the way I was looking at it. On the left the band on the right the people dancing and on the right bottom corner the people watching the dance.

Detail of the band:

Detail of the dancers:

Back in time: Hannover Now

Ok lets spring back and tell you what is happening now. I know I wrote I was going to tell you the whole story from the beginning, from my flight back to Europe, Lisbon and the whole Spanish travel but I had the urge to write about the present. And the present is Hannover, before tomorrow when also it would be part of the past.
I came to Hannover and met Ira Prussat another sketcher form this city. She invited me for a coffee and she brought me to this fantastic place called "Teestübschen", in Ballhofplatz. After a long chat and a nice coffee we started sketching the square.

I felt immediately attracted by the tea room, people seating there were having such a good time that I had to draw it. I did a quick sketch but I knew that I have to come back the next day to make a bigger watercolor.

Here is my first sketch on my Moleskine

Here is the my Darjeeling Tee with "Apfelkuchen" Painting food is something I just got from hanging around with Liz Steel in the urban sketchers Lisbon Symposium.

And here is the bigger watercolor (32x17cm)

in the Marquise you can read "Teestübchen seit 1970 in Familienbesitzt" it means " Small tea room, family owned since 1070" here is their website.

Back in the room

Hi, Sorry I have not posedt more often, I was travelling and drawing all this time. The amount of sketches and watercolors that I had produced is huge and I still processing them. But I would like to start from the beginning, from where I left you last time.

Here is my last sketch in Newfoundland, you have problably enjoyed the video too.

In the afternoon I took my flight to London.

A quick sketch in Heathrow Airport while waiting my connection to Frankfurt.

and here in the train from Frankfurt to Kassel

Thanks to all the nice people I met in Newfoundland

Here is a beautiful video done by Martin Connelly on my last day in St. John's. Martin is a fantastic multimedia journalist . There was a wind storm in St . John's that day. Things were flying over our heads. I asked him if we should called it off and he said: " No,it is ok".
It is a relieve to know that in this world there are still people craizier than me. You should check Martin's website martinconnelly.com
I love the video and how he can show in a few minutes the essence of my journey to Newfoundland: coming , sketchig, sharing the drawing and going.
Thanks, Martin and all the nice people in Newfoundland

Sketching Downtown from Martin Connelly on Vimeo.