Inspiring Granada

Don’t you love it when, on your way to go to an appointment, your eye suddenly catches something which distracts from your planned itinerary and you feel like stopping and see what it is about? Yesterday afternoon, I was walking briskly on Plaza Nueva when I saw a man who visibly looked foreigner, sketching on the ground on a wide kraft paper sheet.

(this is the plaza Nueva. The artist was gone when I took the picture below. His spot was right behind the couple in the centre)



I came near to look at the drawing which represented the plaza.

A few euros coins given by appreciative passers-by were scattered on the left side of the sketch and on the right side, the price of the drawing read: 10 €.

Oh my God, so little money for at least a few hours work, studying the perspective and sketching with so much style and talent.

I bought the sketch and a few cards from the man and started to ask him if he considered himself an itinerant artist. He smiled and said calmly: "as a matter of fact, I'm quite professional. I am a photographer and exhibited in London, Berlin and New York". He then explained that he was now traveling and his idea when he came to Spain with 20€ in his pockets was to try to make it possible to work as a traditional artist or go back to London. He’s heading now to South America.

this is one of his cards

His name is John Haydn Colley (he’s Welsh). We exchanged blog address and web site address. John has a web site on which his photos can be seen. As soon as I got back home, I logged on to his site.

I particularly like the series of Andalusia in black and white.

Bare landscapes suffering from dryness…Factories which seem to have been abandoned.

Near Castril

Derelict house in sierra Pozo Alcon

this one above is titled "Middle of nowhere somewhere"


View from mountains above Pozo Alcon

Of course, black and white photos always look timeless and so graphically elegant. I love this series because they seem to illustrate a silent road movie. Also, these photos had been shot in august and it seems to me, you can almost feel the overwhelming heat.


I love my drawing....thank you John and good luck on your next trip !


ps: I then realized I was so focused on our conversation, I completely forgot to take pictures of the artist. oh well....