A line and watercolor wash over pen and ink of the Crystal Palace.

Line and Wash Watercolor of El Palacio de Cristal in the Retiro Park.

Posted on July 16, 2018 by victoria A. Olson

The Crystal Palace was invented by Ricardo Velazquez Bosco, built in 1887. It has a high dome in the center which is almost 23 meters high. Since 1990 it has been an annex of the Reina Sofia Museum of Contemporary Art. It is located in the Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain.

A line drawing of the Crystal Palace in the Retiro Park. You can see the palace with water in front and lots of trees.

Palacio de Cristal 2018

While I was painting, lots of different tourist groups came to see this beautiful metallic building from my same view-point. I once overheard an old man talking about this being the best spot to see the Crystal Palace so I came here to paint this line and wash watercolor.There’s nothing like painting in Madrid.

A picture of a watercolor in process in the Rose Garden. Easel and paper in front of the fountain.

Plein Air Watercolor: Fuente del Faunito Rose Garden 2015

Posted on June 1, 2018 by victoria A. Olson

Fuente de Faunito en la Rosaleda Madrid

Esta fuente española situada en el parque del Retiro de Madrid España se llama Fuente del Faunito. Recuerdo este día perfectamente bien. El jardín estaba lleno de rosas y había visitantes por todos lados, caminando y tomando fotos. El jardín de rosas solía estar abierto a todas horas. Solía ir temprano en la mañana cuando no había nadie alrededor. Ahora tiene una hora de apertura y una de cierre, por lo que es difícil pintar aquí ahora.

A watercolor of a Spainish Rose Garden with a fountain called La Fuente del Faunito. Pink and Red Roses under a cloudy sky.

Fuente del Faunito Rose Garden 2015

This Spanish fountain located in the Retiro park of Madrid Spain is called Fuente del Faunito. I remember this day perfectly well. The garden was full of roses and there were visitors everywhere, walking around and taking pictures. The rose garden used to be open at all hours. I used to go early in the morning when there wasn’t anybody around. Now it has an opening and closing hour, so it’s hard to paint here now.

La Fuente del Fauno de la Rosaleda in the Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid, Spain

Posted on December 10, 2017 by victoria A. Olson

: Fuente del Faunito en la Rosaleda Madrid, Spain

La Fuente del Fauno is the name of this classic style fountain of mythological motif. I focused on the base of the fountain so I could paint the roses with the dolphins. I’ve read that the origin of the fountain is unknown. Below is the painting process or sessions.