Hola! I’m afraid this will be an intentionally brief post as, after much trepidation over flight cancellations etc – we did actually make it to Barcelona!
I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels to be somewhere different! My eyes feel like they’re desperately trying to drink in everything I can see in a vain attempt to make up for lost time over the enforced isolation of the past two years.
The day before our flight I did mange to join the Brighton Painting Group for the April meet up.
The location was Saint Peters Church in the heart of Brighton. On arrival I spent 20 minutes walking around the church looking for a suitable vantage point. The weather was great, but cold. I had hoped to do a painting of the church itself however I couldn’t find a viewpoint that I either liked or felt capable of painting.
In the end I settled for a much more intimate view of a little café at the entrance to a nearby park.
Unfortunately after these first two work in progress shots, the adrenaline/panic of the day took over and I forgot to take anymore!
Here instead is a quick shot of me in action:
Here’s how it looked when I finally downed my brushes.
And the painting only:
Immediately after I finishing this painting I was a bit disheartened with it. It’s a little heavy-handed and overworked, however, on reflection, it’s still probably one of the most successful on location paintings I’ve ever done.
The Brighton Painting Group is making a lot of difference to my plein-air adventures and it’s great to see the group developing a healthy following and good levels of attendance at each session. It’s a really delightful group of people, all incredibly different in their approach and also all incredibly kind, generous and supportive of each other’s work.
That’s it for now – it’s raining in Barcelona today so we’re off to the Miro museum for yet more sights to drink in!
I’ll leave you with my first sketch of the holiday, a little cafe scene just around the corner from our apartment.
te veo la proxima semana
Te veo la proxima semana! (see you next week! – where would we be without Google translate!)
4 thoughts on “Brighton painting group – April meet up”
Enjoy your visit to Barcelona…I lived in Spain for a year, speaking the language and working in shops and bars…loved it! I really like your paintings. Enjoy yourself!
Ah, Carole, how I could have done with you in Barcelona! My Spanish is a disgrace! (basically a mixture of random words from a number of different languages tied together with lots of hand gestures!) – We had a lovely time and already can’t wait to visit again, still so much of Barcelona that we’ve yet to explore!
Barcelona is so inspiring, walk into any of the cafes along the Rambles and your find artists painting, taking art and enjoying the odd tipple.
Wonderful light too! Love your painting!
Looking forward to seeing your feeling of Barcelona! Oh, be careful of the poo dropping Parakeets 🤣
Thanks so much Barry! Yes, Barcelona is fabulous! Weather’s been a bit mixed so far but forecast is better for the next couple of days. Hope I’ll have some new references to work up when I get home, plus feel inspired to check out all my photos from when I last visited in case I missed anything!