Spain
Plaza Mayor de Madrid.
After our time in France with the WSU students, we flew to Madrid. Our first night, we went to Plaza Mayor and had dinner then started sketching. We had to stop sketching as we lost the daylight. Loss of daylight was replaced with wonderful crowds and street performers. We came back the next morning and finished our sketches from the same restaurant.
Plaza Mayor de Madrid.
I was attracted to this detail of the courtyard roof with glimpses into the interiors.
Rooftop of la Pedrara or Casa Mila.
After Madrid, we flew to Barcelona.
My first trip to Barcelona in 1997 was when I started field sketching in earnest.
Three of my sketches on this trip were to re-visit earlier sketches from that 1997 trip.
The chimney pots of Casa Mila were one of my first sketches that trip.
Mies van der Rohe Pavilion Interior.
Originally the Barcelona Pavilion from the 1929 International Exposition. Spent a hot afternoon in the shade sketching the interior.
Interior View - Barcelona Pavilion.
This was a sketch I attempted three or four times on my 1997 trip, but kept turning the page and starting over as I wasn't happy with the imperfection of my "straight" lines. Each time I turned the page, I made the same mistakes. I learned from this that I needed to keep going as the completed sketch would be complex enough to keep the "imperfection" of my wavy lines from being distracting. I also learned that if I turn the page, I will keep making the same mistake, so I needed to learn to accept the imperfection that is a hand sketch or to redraw right over the first line and keep going.
Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Barcelona.
This is another re-draw from a 1997 sketch. The earlier sketch didn't really show the cathedral "reaching" up to heaven and came out short and squat. My professor on that trip, Jose Bernardi, sent me some postcards from his future trips noting that they contained the correct proportions.
I think that I have finally gotten the proportions correct, Jose.
Sagrada Familia, Barcelona.
A hot day spent sketching from the shade of a nearby avenue instead of waiting in line to view the interior. We came back at dusk to no lines and spectacular light from the stained glass flooding the interiors during mass.
France
Art Nouveau interior at the Muse d'Orsay.
We did quick sketches of aspects of art nouveau interiors at the end of our time in the museum.
Fountain in Petit Parc near the old Bibliothique Nationale.
Some of our days would start here with a lesson of what we were going to experience that day before heading out into the city.
Grand Trianon, Versailles.
We all stopped for a half hour and sketched from the steps looking into the garden.
The Louvre as viewed from an arcade.
Stopped here for lunch on our last day in Paris. Found the perfect table to sketch this framed view.
Marble Bust, Palace of Versailles.
As we waited for the students to finish a tour of the palace, I took a few minutes to sketch this marble bust.
View of Notre Dame from the Seine.
After touring the cathedral, we took time to sketch from the quiet bank of the river.
Interior of Sainte-Chapelle.
After a day of touring the monuments of the ile de la Cite, we returned for an evening concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the chapel of Sainte-Chapelle.
Rooftop Garden of Villa Savoye.
We took the train to Poissy for a morning experience at Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye. This is such an accommodating site. You can go in all the rooms, sit anywhere, touch everything and take as much time as you want to enjoy this icon of modern architecture.
