Casa Batllo

Casa Batllo, Casa Mila and Casa Vicens are three houses that Antoni Gaudi envisioned and created. Joanna and I were lucky to visit Casa Batllo. It was amazing. The wavy wonder of Gaudi brought to life in architecture was unbelievable. We loved going up to the roof and seeing the sculptures placed at the top. They looked like chess pieces getting ready to play a game. I took a few photos and actually made some pieces out of clay in resemblance to them when I returned home. Barcelona was invigorating and really sparked my imagination for creativity. Some of the sculptures were smooth and one piece of stone while the others had mosaic tiling atop them. Both were fascinating. Being in one of the Gaudi houses felt like traveling inside someone’s sketchbook come to life. Watching two dimensional drawings turn into three dimensional wonders right in front of my eyes. It was amazing to see his vision, touch it, and just wonder what was going through his mind when he created it.

Looking back at my own sketches and notes if the experience has been quite enjoyable. I wrote my blog based on memories and then found my travel sketchbook to compare what I tempered to what I wrote down. I am pleased to say the two are identical. Here are some sketches and photographs from our actual trip. I mention in my notes that I tried to paint with water by spilling coffee on the paper and it did not bode well. Hence, the next sketchbooks from there on out, for every trip, have been watercolor sketchbooks. This trip solidified that point in my life and the transition to watercolor as my primary medium. This information was interesting for me to find because I had forgotten that key element in my life. I also used to teach at an elementary school and would always tell my students to write down as many ideas as possible. They would always try and erase so we would have long conversations to just put a line through what they did not want anymore. I would say, you never know when you may need that word or sentence someday. Well, today was one of those days for me. I am glad I took my own advice and wrote down minute details from our trip.

Thank you all for reading and following along on this Spanish adventure. My blogs have been a bit sporadic on the time schedule for consistency due to vacations. Now, we are back in the swing of things and I am planning to be back on track next week. This is the hope anyway! Have a wonderful weekend!

-Karen Hilliard 

Also, if you would like to show support, I recently joined “buy me a coffee” which is a way for anyone to contribute to the creative process behind the paintings. Fuel the artist so to speak. Here is the link if you are interested and I truly appreciate the support and the fact that you are liking these blogs, as well as my art posts. I am working hard to bring you all fresh content! Here is the link to my Instagram where I try to post daily. You can also find me on Facebook at my art page Karen Hilliard Art.
Thank you again for all of your support!