Merry Christmas.

My mate helping me demolish 24 cans of Dia lager and a bottle bubbly. It is a little bit wet here today. Wet and blustery.

Contact info'.

Tlf: 689 744 929
johncolley@hotmail.com

Subtropical Ibiza in December...

I really wasn't expecting this. It is beautiful.

Santa Eularia.

This is nice. It is the off season coastal chill I was looking for. Very relaxing, but shit for making cash. It doesn't quite cut it with Sitges for me, but it gets very close. A little too polished on the inside, a little to forgotten outside.

 

Some tacky photos :)

 

There is something very special about closed, out of season coastal resorts. They force you to switch off and relax. It is alien and disconcerting whilst at the same time very tranquil.

This is proper holiday.

 

Bon Nadal - Eivissa 2013.

Oysters and champagne at Hostal Parque, Ibiza. Rapidly becoming the must do fashionable Christmas tradition. Nice place for a winter break in out of season Ibiza. www.hostalparque.com. Very nice place. Very nice prices.

Me? I'm doing alternative Ibiza - ham and cheese sandwich with a can of San Miguel. Might get myself a nice jar of tomato and chili chutney from the Sunday market at San Juan. Here.

I like it here so far. I have paintings to do, so not so reliant on street sales. Street sales is no problem. Five minutes at the townhall for permission. I like out of season coastal resorts. You get more of an insight into what Ibiza was like before the hippies, the airport, the mega clubs and countless hotels.

It has a nice community vibe. Relaxed and gentle, but it lacks something. The police are friendly. There isn't the same commercial pressure as in summer. A typical terrace of bars will offer a stein of bier with bratwurst, spaghetti with spumante, frogs legs and beaujolais, chicken and chips... it isn't sophisticated! It seems to me that Ibiza has lost its soul like Barcelona. Given the choice of Catalan coastal resorts out of season, I would far sooner be in Sitges.

It is nice though.

Those wishing to follow the no holds barred account can follow me here: Urban75

I like to use web forums for many reasons. This is one of the best general forums on the web.

Cafe bar Esmeralda.

Every adventure starts and ends here.

The snows have returned to the mountains. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I am off to Ibiza, Majorca, Menorca and anywhere else where it is a bit less cold.

Work required as ever...

689 744 929, or johncolley@hotmail.com

Tunes in my head.

Anyone following long term (more fool you) will possibly remember my walk to the far Eastern corner of Slovakia to visit my internet buddy. He then caught up with me in Madrid last summer. This is what he is doing now. I am mightily impressed.
  Congratulations to all involved. I really, really like it. Hopefully many more will also. -------/... and chuff cguff. Can't embed a youtube at the original size, so try this with a magnifying glass instead. It may work. Oh well...

 

Work progressing.

I have finished this now. Minor alterations since this photograph.

Hello to my 100th follower.

Hope all is good sister :) x.

Work in progress.

I am very grateful for being given the opportunity to paint my favourite Granada view on a huge 2.5 Meter by 1.4 Meter canvas. Perhaps my favourite city view in Europe - not just Granada. A couple of days from finishing. I hope my client likes my style. People tell me it is an unique style. Sometimes I am not quite sure how to take that.

Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

It's the Granada trap! It is not a bad trap. A big part of life as an itinerant artist isn't so much about following calls to travel for work, it is also about knowing when to stay put. Job offers come and go. Knowing which are worth spending money and time chasing is knowledge that comes only with experience. For the time being I stay.

Wide open road.

Freedom?

Contemplar.

Well, why not?

Photography?

Where is the Money?

It is irrelevant. At about 10.30PM the wind changes direction. The air cools and people start coming to the streets. Work is finished. You just have to wait and drink and smoke. Eventually, someone will buy. The art is the waiting. You wait and wait. Another drink another smoke. You wait and watch the theatre in the street. Andalucia - even all of Spain - is a very expressive place. These people are real actors. Nobody buys. You ask yourself 'why am I doing this?'. You have another drink, another smoke. You are joined by good company. Share a drink, share a smoke. These are the moments I used to work for. This is probably why it pays much less. Life is always relative. *F*** me! Just €2 to start the day with tomorrow*. I used to spend it on the train fare to get started. These days I spend it on a can of beer and couple of cigarettes. That is all it takes to complete another day, and reach another beautiful night. No boss - no alarm clock.

Hot Andalucia.

According to the internet, the highest recorded temperature ever in Andalucia was 47.5º Centigrade. I am sure I have experienced higher even if I didn't bother to record it.

Where are the 'kids from Pozo Alcon?'.

This is almost 10 years ago now. It is why I love photography. Where are they today? What are they doing? I hope they're all well. I'm thinking about visiting Pozo Alcon and asking around.

Anyone reading recognise...

Where next?

I don't know. Promised work is not happening (thanks for that). As much as I love Granada I simply cannot afford to stay here much longer. You can live on very little if you have to. Not for me presently. Very difficult to make money here. You would never guess as a visitor - it is glam and beautiful on the surface. Itinerant life. Love it. Sometimes hate it. I'm moving on soon. Anyone got any suggestions as to where I might find work?

August 9 years ago.

9 years ago! Doubt it has changed much. Rural depths of NE Andalucia.

Cafe Bar Esmeralda, Granada.

Every adventure begins and ends here. Back in Granada after a very eventful few days in Madrid. Met some great people as ever. Thanks for the support in the comments. Thanks to everybody who bought sketches, or gave work. Just letting people know I'm back.

Madrid bound...

Itinerant artist is on the move again. Short trip intended. Madrid from tomorrow (the 12th). Work required. Find me in the usual places, or call me 689 744 929. johncolley@hotmail.com

Total Internal Reflection.

Impresiones Gigantes Nº2

I am ready to print. Pre-orders welcome :) Saturday, May 25th. Paseo del Salon, Granada.

Believe Granada - Be Live!

I'm playing with QR codes and lino printing :) More later. Anyone reading here who doesn't already know: Impresiones Gigantes auction (with live entertainment) is this Friday, May 17th. www.impresionesgigantes.com

Why is good art more difficult to sell than shit art?

Why is that?

Impresiones Gigantes 2

Exhibition from May 7th. Colegio de Arcitectos, Plaza San Augustin. Granada.

A print from each artist will be sold to raise money for charity. Other prints will be available from international artists.

Impresiones Gigantes

Springtime in Granada.

Or, is it already summer? With temperatures hitting the 30's regularly now the streets during the afternoon a far too hot for anything. Siesta needs to be accommodated. Working hours have to be adjusted. As an artist you can't waste time if you want to make it work. This means working/selling outdoors from 10am -2pm. Lunching and administration, organising and generalising from 2pm - 6pm. This is also studio time. From 6pm onwards it is back to the streets. Nor uncommon to find me still out selling in the early hours during summer. Relying mostly on passing tourists as I do, summer is time to save cash to get you through next winter. Hopefully.

Here's a washy coloured sketch that got wet (someone spilled a bottle of water on it). Stuff gets ruined on the streets. You have to accept that.

Easter Sunday in Sunny Spain.

Those who only know Granada in summer will struggle to believe these photographs. Although, it can rain BIG in August also.

I can't remember the last dry day we had here. The rain has been relentless and the forecast still looks horrid. After a 20 minute cloudburst this afternoon the drains finally popped. Full of everything the drains of an old, small city can expect when the population more, or less doubles for Semana Santa. Not pleasant!

Contact details.

(34) 689 744929

johncolley@hotmail.com

I think the bats have gone back to bed.

And, who can blame them?

Not sure where the swallows went. Seems like 10 days of relentless rain. Not been able to work, so here is a photograph from a very wet London 10 years ago just to remind me that things could be worse weather wise.

The Bats are Back.

A single swallow does not a summer make.

That's OK - I saw at least 10 today. On the second weekend of March every year, without fail, someone flicks that big switch. Summer is coming back :) For someone who spends almost every waking hour outdoors this is important.

The bats are back and they know stuff we don't!

Paseo de los Tristes.

Granada in the rain.

Murals.

Sketched directly on your wall. I enjoy these.

An old one and contact info'

689 744929

johncolley@hotmail.com

Sketches, photographs, paintings etc can be ordered online and sent anywhere.