Return from Barcelona!

I've just returned from Barcelona, where I taught sketching workshops at the 4th International Urban Sketching Symposium.  It was a fantastic experience; an uplifting event in a beautiful, life-affirming city.  150 participants were registered from 30 different countries; workshops were taught by instructors from across the globe.  In addition, scores of sketchers who weren't able to register for the sold-out event came to the city anyway to draw and to be a part of this "happening."

My workshop was called "Life Between Buildings: Capturing the Energy."  It dealt with drawing city life in the public realm...going beyond an "accurate rendering" to conveying the exuberance of urban life in the streets and plazas of great cities.  So, yes, I went to Barcelona to hang out in bustling plazas, draw, share my passion with like-minded sketchers from all over the world.  Seriously, does it get much better?

I'll be posting drawings and photos from Barcelona and the Symposium here over the coming days...come back, check out the latest posts, and leave your comments...Cheers!

This is my sketch of the famous Casa Mila by the architect Antonio Gaudi, who I call "the Jimi Hendrix of 20th centery architecture." I did the line drawing on our first afternoon in the city, and returned on our last morning to add color.

This line drawing of Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia was done on our first afternoon in Barcelona, with several sketchers from France.  I added color later in the studio, trying to capture the uplifting exuberance of this amazing sight.

Working with workshop participants in Barcelona's bustling main plaza, the city's "outdoor living room."