Paper and Threads

We just returned from 12 days in Madrid, Seville, and Barcelona.  It was hard to find time to sit down to do a quick sketch as we traveled, so some of my time I carried an open sketchbook and sketched our walking tour guides, and an interesting roofline or something to remind me of the places.  Each tour (except Santa Cruz in Seville)  is about 3 hours and 2-3 miles.  The Santa Cruz tour was as long as the others, but that area which is very old is very small with winding alleys.  I have 5 of these journal pages, one with a watercolor wash, and 4 without.  Since this is "Inktober Month" I may leave them unpainted.

Walking Tour of Madrid - from Plaza Mayor, through old Madrid and then up to the Palacio Real, Cathedral Almudena, and Opera.

Seville Walking Tour of Barrio de Santa Cruz -  the tiny old section that was occupied by the Muslims and Jews from at least the 8th C until 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella expelled all non-Catholics from Spain. 

Walking Tour - Highlights of Seville:  This tour began at the Seville Cathedral, then extended to the Real Alcazar, the Archives of the Indies, the Harbor, the Bullring, and the Spanish Pavillion. 

Granada:  We took a day trip from Seville to Granada to see The Alhambra - lots of hours on a bus, but worth it. 

Barcelona - We loved the city, but had a very disappointing tour guide.  We've done these walking tours with many companies in many cities, and this was the only one that we left before the end, partly because it started to rain!

We were traveling with another couple, friends for 45+ years.  Only my husband was in Spain previously and then only in Madrid for a few days for a meeting.  So glad we finally saw these 3 big cities, and hopefully we will return to Barcelona to explore this amazing city in the future. 

Posted by Shirley at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Several weeks ago I went to a Fashion Illustration session organized by Simon Levinson at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park.  Simon is the leader of the Meetup Group called Drawing New York.   I had no idea what to expect, but it was great fun.  Figure Al Fresco prepared me for drawing clothed figures, but not the exaggerated proportions of fashion illustrations.  It was fun to see the stylized drawings of some of the experts. 

Here are the main models, certainly part of a time warp.  These photos came from the event website.

The first pose was 10 minutes, the next 4 were 15 minutes, and the last one was 10 minutes.  I sketched on paper that was too large to scan, so these were photographs.

A beautiful blond woman, that was dressed looking like a man in the clothes she wore.  But the shoes are gender specific. 

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It is hard to stay away from this exhibit!  Last Wednesday was a humid rainy day in NYC and Eunice, my friend from Sydney, was back in NYC.  MoMA was incredibly crowded, but it was still possible to sketch more of my favorites.

The two views of the small brown clay figure of a women sitting is his first sculpture, created in Barcelona in 1902.  The other 2 sculptures on this page are from his last years - and are from the "sheet metal collection."

There are 6 Absinthe glasses in the series and this is another one I like, drawn from the reverse side of the one I painted during my 2nd visit.

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Kongo:  Power and Majesty

This exhibit just opened at the Met and the sculptures are very powerful.  I was attracted to the Mothers and Child and the one I chose to sketch was one of 4 created by the Master of Kasadi. 

http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2015/kongo 

And the New York Times Review for information:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/arts/design/review-kongo-power-and-majesty-at-the-metropolitan-museum-of-art.html?_r=1 

The Glittering World of the Yazzi Family:  The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in New York has a fantastic special exhibit of Navajo Jewelry created by the Yazzi Family.  I don't especially like silver and turquoise Indian jewelry, but Turquoise and Gold or Coral is gorgeous. 

http://nmai.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item/?id=890 

Posted by Shirley at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I LOVE the Picasso Sculpture exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art and went with an out-of-town friend last week.  As I wandered through the 11 galleries, I chose random sculptures to draw - ones that really spoke to me.  He used many different mediums and before the exhibit ends in January I will probably draw/paint many more.

I sketched them in the museum and took a picture so I could paint them later.  They are not drawn to scale.  The Head of a Warrior is the largest of this group. 

XXXX 

Posted by Shirley at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)