Barcelona - Sketching in the Boqueria

OK, I promise, this is the last post about Barcelona! It seems ages ago now, but I just wanted to show you the sketches I did in the market, as I was really pleased with them.
  

I didn't get the chance to do much exploring during the actual symposium, what with teaching until lunchtime every day, then trying to squeeze every drop from the rest of the workshop, demo and lecture time. But as soon as it was all over and I had my free days, I was desperate to get into the Boqueria to have a go, as I had such fun last year, drawing in the Santo Domingo market.

We were given lots of freebies from the symposium's sponsors (which was lovely!), including a Japanese concertina-format Moleskin. I already have one on a shelf in my studio (a Christmas present which I still haven't used, because it's a bit intimidating), but I decided to take the bull by the horns and get stuck into this one, while I was inspired.

It was perfect for the subject - I unfolded 3 pages at a time and worked my way along the paper, doing studies of the various kinds of stalls, letting them run into one another, so it all linked up, just like the market itself.

Once or twice I lost control and the whole lot unfurled itself all over the place (once it goes, it's like a slinky and there's no stopping it), but a couple of sturdy clips sorted that out. While I was drawing the stall below, the butcher opposite brought out some crates and quietly set me up an ad hoc table.

If you are an observer of detail, you might have noticed that I am re-trying the people-catching technique we were shown by Inma Serrano: using watercolour shapes to capture the basic poses, then watercolour pencils for adding small amounts of linear detail, leaving as much to the imagination as possible.

One issue with watercolour is drying time. I hate having to wait, especially when I am in that kind of environment and am trying to squeeze as much drawing in as I can, so I always carry 2 sketchbooks, that way I'm not tempted to ruin a painting by turning the page too soon. That's why a couple of paintings are not part of the panorama at the bottom.

I worked most of the day, painting right through lunch (there's dedication indeed!), then went back again on my final morning for another quick blast before my flight. 

It can be a bit intimidating, because of all the people milling about but, if you can find a corner to tuck yourself into (I often found myself cosied up to the bins), markets are a fabulous way of capturing life in all it's colourful, bustling glory. Here's how the sections joined up:

Thank you to Moleskin for this lovely, Japanese book. I've had a look on their website and, as far as I can see, you can't normally get a watercolour paper in this format - it was specially made for the symposium. Thanks too to Stillman and Birn for the book I used through much of the symposium and for the rest of these sketches. It proved to be a good all-round book, good quality paper at a practical size and weight.