Alhambra de Granada

This summer I was part of a road movie. I went to the Lisbon Urban Sketchers Symposium and decided I will be back by back to Germany back by cars, buses and trains. This not a linear story so I will just tell one random chapter and you should put the pieces together at the end.
You find me in a car with Luis Ruiz and his family direction to Alhambra...
Luis Ruiz is a fellow Urban Sketcher whose work is amazing. You can see his blog here. It was an honor when he proposed me to go there together.
We went to the Alhambra with the goal to draw such a beautiful place. I think both were still feeling the euphoria of the Symposium... like we can draw everything now.
We wanted specially to draw the Lion's courtyard. You only have 30 minutes to visit the Nazaree Palast, so we walked fast expecting to arrive soon to the courtyard and have more time to draw. It was a big deception when we discover that the courtyard is in restoration..... :-(
So here is my drawing with the tittle.. lion's courtyard without lions

But of course it is not the only beautiful place in La Alhambra


here some paramedics feeding the birds

Museums Night Berlin

There is a night when museums are open until very late and and with one ticket you can visit all. That is the theory, in the practice you don't have enough time to visit everything if you want to enjoy part of the performance or bands that are playing there. I think that is better to go just one day and enjoy just one piece for 20 minutes and leave the place...otherwise is just another way of cultural mass consumerism, what I am against since I am an urban sketcher.

This time I choose a building and the green area in front of it.

Market in Kreuz Kölln

There is an area in Berlin called Kreuzberg that had became very hip in the last years. There are many galleries and bars and bio-stores. Whenever you find a bio-store you should be sure that apartments are not cheap anymore.
Well close to Kreuzberg is Neu Kölln. It was cheaper of course and people start looking for cheap apartments there and be close to the cafes in Kreuzberg and somebody (probably a realstater) coined the name Kreuz Kölln ....and the bio-stores did already arrived ..
Well in that area there is this nice market on the Maibachufer a small river..

There is a lot of young people living around that area. They use to sit in a wood terrace facing the river, eat,drink and talk. Very often street musicians play live music. There was where I met the band Resha. The musicians are form Uruguay and Argentina. The beautiful and unusual sounds come from this new instrument called hang (invented in Switzerland)you can check their music in the website www.reshasound.com

Häckeschen Hoffe, Berlin

Tango In Hannover

I already told some friends , but now that is official I will tell you about this wonderful project I am going to be working in January-February in Hannover, Germany.

I am going to be sketching the Ballet company of the Hannover Staatsopern. The Choreograph is Jörg Mannes and the music will be tango.  

I will be following the rehearsals and I will be telling stories in a blog about this wonderful world that is a theater. I got thousand ideas, things I want to  try and experiment. There is going to be an exhibition in the Staatsopern on March 28 and there is also a catalog will be available.

Here are some drawings I did on April 2011 when I visited the Theater to discuss the Project:

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