A Painter's Abstraction

Judging by this painter's canvas it might seem the picture is an abstraction. From my position, he seemed to be portraying a totally different scene. Considering the brush, this was merely the background, the first strokes on his sketch. It is hard for me to tell whether this is going to be an exact reproduction of the bar's terrace or a free approach although on the left side, next to his shoulder we can clearly see two or three well outlined heads. Maybe someone among you is more familiar with painting and could talk about this part of the process. As to my image. I don't like to play too much with the color on black and white effect but I wanted to highlight the notion of a new reality created out nothing, from pure black and white into a striking colorful canvas: abstract or realistic.

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Spanish Paintings in Las Ramblas, Barcelona: Collage

Here is a collage of Spanish paintings about topics such as bullfighting and flamenco plus some everyday scenes of Barri Gotic or El Raval streets, two quarters nearby Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Paintings like these are frequently ignored by Barcelonians and I guess this happens in other cities like say Paris, London...,but they obviously trap tourists like ants on a sugar lump. I don't say it isn't art but they are mostly centered on cliches and contribute to enhance them. When we visit Paris or London they do the same to us and we bite on the bait! Come to think of it I would do the same if I were to paint for money. So this is not the artist's fault, it is the cultural authorities' responsibility to promote a more representative art without forgetting, and I stress this, the cliches which are also part, in this case, of Spanish culture.

Painting at Port Vell in Barcelona

When you visit Maremagnum as you sure will, don´t forget this shaded arcade between the shopping center and the aquarium. Surrounded by terraces where you can hide from the summer heat you can find these permanent exhibitions of paintings performed live for you by the skillful artists that abound in this area. Art together with some coffee or a couple of beers is a perfect blend.