Sketching in Cadiz

Yellow House artist Laura Mckendry writes the second instalment of her guest blog post from the Spanish hot & windy port of Cadiz. The atmosphere and lifestyle of Cadiz is evocatively described in Laura's writing and beautifully visualized in her expressive drawings...

 Sketching summer in Cádiz

It’s early evening, mid-summer on Playa de la Caleta, Cádiz’s old city beach. Blasting hot winds whip strong. Palm trees bend high in Atlantic gust. Parasols pinned down with sand-bags flap wildly on their leashes.

                

Under a tide of vibrant umbrellas Caleta’s sand has long-since vanished. Crowds of sun-worshippers, extended families on deckchairs, jostle for their patch. Singular brown-bellied men once stood in waves, horizon-staring, batting ball up down. Their spring solitude now ransacked by summer’s squealing children, flying footballs, giant inflatables. Somewhere amidst throngs, some brown bellies still powerwalk along the surf, trunks tied tight, an elastic Equator. 

It’s been four months and Cádiz has changed. Oranges have ripened, fallen into citric crush, purple blossom has grown heavy and dropped, tides have turned, new bars opened, others ceased. Skyline shape dominated by cruise liners the size of small villages, disembarking silver-haired tourists explore, guidebooks under arms, cameras snapping. Young Yanks extend selfie-sticks, write travel journals over morning coffee. Mercury gradually rises to mid-30s, mid-summer tourism now in full swing.

          

Time ticks along for us too, noticed only by little limbs stretching, skin browning, fair hair bleaching, teeth breaking through sore tiny gums. The pile of 300gsm torn from a pad grows with sketches, scratches, blotches. Sketchbook spine groans, inside paper buckled and wind-whipped, saturated with paint and surf-spray. Once bare textured wallpaper of apartment interior disappears under drafts, scraps of masking tape, paper ponderings.

                   

Inspired by this incredible city, extremes of bright breeze, shaded streets, calm and chaos, absorbed into sketchbook pages. Dark, cool studio, cracked stone tiles under foot, ink and rubbings mark the floor, empty olive jars stacked with pencils, I work to the sound of yapping dogs and whining scooters in street below. Other days the sea calls, out in blistering heat, back sweat running, bag spilling bottled water discoloured with paint wash, concentration punctuated by unintelligible conversation, peering passers-by. Paints trace sleeping boats, stainless steel fish skin, wax lemons. This forgotten freedom of drawing al fresco.

    
    

Local Gaditanos have welcomed us into their city, shared its hidden casino, back-alley bars, best fish stalls. Our neighbour brings fresh cheese, beautiful olives; a friend offers two carrier bags full of dropped lemons. A man one day shows me two baby birds nested in black wig inside his hat, a few days later he bundles a bottle of olive oil into my bag instructing its use as a soap substitute.

           

Cádiz has enchanted us, enveloped us. Final farewell days and weeks speed up as we plan long journey home, back to autumn London.

        

 To read more of Laura McKendry's blog musings, you can visit her regular 'Bird and Beast' Blog here

Image credit - Thank you to Georgina Hayden for the images of Laura sketching in the old town of Cadiz. With thanks to Laura's kind neighbour who not only brings olive and cheese but also took the shot above of Laura drawing on her balcony!

We're looking forward to Laura's next Yellow House guest blog post, when she is back in London in the Autumn. Watch this space for more details.