Travel Sketching in Spain

This summer is flying by, and I can’t believe we are already preparing for the new school year. We spent six weeks in Spain visiting family and friends, traveling to various parts of the country—mainly along the Mediterranean coast, the Pyrenees, and, as always, Madrid, where I’m from and where my parents live. We also managed a quick weekend trip to Barcelona.

Sketching on location while traveling with two kids (ages 4 and 7) is not easy, but one thing I’ve learned from sketching is that it doesn’t need to be perfect; a bit of practice every day is better than nothing. Most of the time, I only had 15 to 30 minutes to take out my paints and capture a place. I’m super thankful to my parents, who took care of the kids on many occasions while I was working remotely or sketching. Now, when I look back at my sketchbook, I can be transported to that exact moment in time, remembering the noise, smells, feelings, and even the hot temperatures in some cases! Sketching on location can be challenging—the sand from the beach in the watercolor palette, the wind in the mountains, the lack of seating space, the humidity—but it’s still so much fun!

Here are some sketches that summarize our trip:

Pyrenees Mountains

We were able to escape the heatwaves in Europe for two weeks, spending time in a town called Puigcerdà located in the Pyrenees. Sketching mountains was a challenging subject for me, as I normally sketch houses and urban scenes. It helped me practice with my palette and create green colors, which I don’t normally use.

Views from our apartment in Puigcerda 

White Houses and Mediterranean Nature in Alicante

During our trip, we visited some friends in a small town called Aigües (Water) in Alicante and explored nearby areas. I painted some typical Mediterranean houses—some colorful, others beautifully contrasting their white walls with the turquoise sea.

Cathedrals

In Barcelona, we played tourists for a day, visiting the Sagrada Familia and other Modernist buildings. The last time I visited was in 2019, and the construction has progressed quite a lot since then. The architecture is simply amazing, and I can’t wait to see it finished. Plans are to complete Gaudí’s project in two years. Another cathedral I painted was the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza. The cathedral is very impressive and beautiful. Our apartment was in front of it, so I woke up before the kids were up to paint our view.

Sorolla Museum

It had been a long time since I last visited the Sorolla Museum in Madrid. The house, where the museum is located, was his home and studio. You can see all the artist’s materials and how he displayed his art to show it to potential clients. Sorolla’s work is beautiful, and he was truly a master of capturing light in his art. There’s a small garden around the house, so inspired by this location and Sorolla’s work, I painted a window of the house using a very limited palette of 4-5 colors, focusing on ochre and purple to work on light and shade.

I took lots of photos during our trip, which I hope to revisit and paint now that I’m back in my studio (aka the table in our living room). I’m working on a collection of watercolor paintings based on this visit to Spain. More on this soon, both on this website and on my Instagram!