One Sketch #140) Old Renault Four

I can't say that I've felt before
Much feeling for a Renault Four
And yet this Renault seems quite fun
While baking in the Spanish Sun
A feeling that it's hard to foster
Even on this Spanish Costa
But to this aging Renault car, though
I say my Costa Blanca Bravo!

I actually first saw this car yesterday. I made a mental note, and popped back today. Yes, it was there, hence the sketch. I can't say that I've ever given much thought to the Renault Four previously, but I have to have respect for a car that must be between 40 - 50 years old which is still on the road.

Saturday 11th August One Sketch #139) San Isidro

The town bakes in the morning sun
Time slows to a gentle crawl
As we creep towards siesta.

I ventured out on my own by about 11:30 on Saturday morning, knowing that I had a relatively short window of time before it would become too hot to do absolutely anything at all. I made the quick line and wash sketch of the town , and then went and sat in my favourite public space in San Isidro. Again, it's a place that I've sketched before.
The local train station here is very new, and was only built within the last few years. Now, when they demolished the older station which stood there, they re-erected the platform canopy, and the wall of the station building which faced onto the platform, in a street in the town. I’ve never been there for a performance but I understand that they do have music there sometimes. There are a couple of benches though, and it was pleasant to sit in the shade of the canopy and sketch a couple of the houses opposite. It would have been very pleasant if not for the flies. Both elbows and my right calf copped it from them, and are itching like hell this morning.

Friday 10th August One Sketch #138) The Casa Me Duck

Wherever one wanders
Wherever one roams
Be it ever so humble
There's no place like
Somebody else's home.

This is my in-laws' house in San Isidro, which is a small town in the Alicante area. So called because John is from Leicestershire originally, where I believe 'me duck' is a term of endearment. I sketched the casa last year as well, although that was a watercolour and ink sketch and prominently featured my mother-in-law's Smart Car somewhat to the detriment of the house.

Thursday 9th August One Sketch #137) Atocha Station, Madrid

From one chair to another
Speeding towards family
across a brown, parched land.

Yes, the end of my time in Madrid, although not the end of my time in Spain. On Thursday I took the train across country from Madrid to stay with my in-laws in Alicante. With a long time to kill I went for a walk along the Paseo del Prado and then came back to the station. I know that this sounds silly, but my train was at 12:15, and I didn’t want to go back into the station until the previous Alicante train – the 10:45 – had gone. To be honest, the Atocha station in Madrid seems to be going through a bit of an identity crisis, as I’m sure it thinks that it’s an airport. Before you could go into the Departure (Lounge) Area, you had to go through an airport style luggage check. Then when you got into the Departure area you couldn’t go onto the platform until your train was called, in the same way that you get called to the Departure gate in an airport. For all of that, though, the system seemed to work. I sat in one of the more comfy chairs which faced the glass doors onto the platforms and sketched one of the choo-choos which was waiting there.
When they allowed us onto the platform at about 5 to 12 I had time to quickly sketch the outlines of some of the people waiting, and when we got on the train – 5 minutes late so no bonus points to Renfe there – I completed the shading. The blokey sitting next to me seemed very interested in what I was doing. Finally he started talking to me, and even after my standard apologetic – ‘soy Ingles, no hablo Espanol mucho’ he kept talking. I kept picking up the odd word here and there, and after he pointed to my sketch, then the colourful logo on his T shirt I gathered that he was saying that my sketch would be a lot better with colour. Everyone’s a critic. I tried to show him the watercolour sketches in the book, but he wasn’t interested in a retrospective of my Madrid period, and said nothing. So, in an act of revenge, I noisily ate my crisps and drank my drink at him. That’ll teach him. I’d like to think that when he got off at Cuenca he had seen the error of his ways.
Fair play to the driver of the train. We left Madrid late, but we arrived at Alicante early.

Wednesday 8th August - One Sketch #136) Palacio Cristal

I'm risking the raising of groans
By saying, in serious tones
That men and that mouses
Who live in glass houses
Should really just never throw stones

Sorry about that. Last full day in Madrid, and one of the day's highlights was a visit to the huge Buen Retiro Parque in Madrid. It's so big it has several buildings inside it, and my favourite was this, the Palacio Cristal - that's Crystal Palace. Like it's London namesake it was erected for an International Exposition. Unlike the London original this one , although built so that it could be dismantled and moved elsewhere, it never was. Here's the rest of the day's sketches :-

On this, the last full day, I did manage to find what I think is Madrid's signature bridge. This is the Puenta de Toledo, and it's actually much nicer than I've made it look in this picture.Shame there's not much river passing beneath it at this time of year.

Tuesday 7th August One Sketch #)135 - Madrid Cathedral De Almudena

I find that I like to take stock
Of Cathedrals so highly Baroque.
Their domes and their towers
Transfix me for hours
I'd never be tempted to mock.

This is right next door to the massive Palacio Real, and it is literally so huge that I couldn't get far away enough from the façade and the aspect on the main road to have been able to make a sketch without straining my neck. Then, on the Tuesday, I approached it from another direction and found a bench with this perfect vantage point.

Here's other sketches I made on the same day:-

Monday 6th August One Sketch #) 134 - Madrid Guitar player

I play for myself,
Most of the time,
But should you put your coins
In my hat,
I won't refuse.

This chap was playing his guitar sitting cross legged on the pavement right by the royal palace. I put a few coins into his hat, and asked if he minded me making this sketch. He didn't say that it was okay - but he didn't say that it wasn't either, and for me a nod's as good as a wink. Here are the other sketches I made on Monday:-

Sunday 5th August - One Sketch #133) Bristol Airport

Yes, dear my friends, I am still in the land of the living, and I have still been sketching every day. I'm going to post the photographs of my sketches now, but I the photo quality isn't great, so I will probably scan them all when I get back in 10 days.

These first three were sketches that I made in Bristol Airport while waiting for the flight to Madrid last Sunday.

The febrile atmosphere mounts
As we sit and wait
To get on the plane
Where we will sit
And wait.