A Watercolor of the Fallen Angel Fountain in the autumn. The watercolor is on an easel and the fountain is in the background

Fuente del Àngel Caìdo November 2019

Posted on November 4, 2019 by victoria A. Olson

This autumn watercolor painting is of the Fallen Angel Fountain in the Retiro Park located in Madrid, Spain. In this September painting the flowers that surround the fountain are bright red geraniums.

Watercolor of the Fallen Angel Fountain. There are red flowers around the fountain

Fuente del Angel Caìdo September 2019

I no longer have this September watercolor with the red geraniums so I went back to the Retiro last weekend to paint it again. To my surprise the flowers had been pulled up and replaced with red, yellow, white and purple pansies…quite a change from the bold red color.

Watercolor of the Fallen Angel Fountain in the Retiro Park in Madrid Spain. The sky is blue with a few clouds and the leaves are turning a golden orcher color

Fuente del Angel Caido November 2019

This watercolor is from a collection of watercolors of the fountains in the Retiro Park. The Fallen Angel Fountain is pretty interesting when you look into its history. It’s one of a kind.

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.

small watercolor of Fuente de los Galapagos. Can see a stone fountain in the winter with bare trees in the background. There is a light post in the foreground.

Fuente de los Galápagos en El Parque del Buen Retiro Madrid

Posted on May 26, 2018 by victoria A. Olson

Fuente de los Galápagos Madrid Spain 2015 Watercolor on Arches 300 gsm – 14 x19 cm 7.5 x5.5 inches Matted 8×10 inch mat-

Fuente Isabel II, popularly called, Galapagos Fountain was designed by Francisco Javier de Marietegui and sculpted by Jose Tomas. The stone and granite fountain was inaugurated in 1832 to celebrate the birth of the princess, later Queen Isabel II. This beautiful fountain is located in Plaza Nicaragua in the Retiro Park of Madrid, Spain.

Painting a fountain isn’t just getting it on paper for me. I just like to be there, listening to the water and watching the light pass over the stone until it’s gone.

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.

Session 8

Each session is more or less three to four hours.

Session 7

The Dolphine Fountain 6

Session 5

Session 4

Session 3

Session 2

Session 1

Watercolor Exhibiton in Madrid: Small Format

Posted on December 5, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

La Agrupación Española de Acuarelistas de Madrid celebra una exposición colectiva de acuarelas de pequeño formato.

Se inaugura el día 12 de diciembre de 2016 y permanecerá abierta hasta el 22 de diciembre de 2016.

Horario de Inauguración: 17:00 a 20:00 horas.

C / Benito Castro 12 Madrid, España.

Telf. 91 409 65 11

Personalmente estaré allí el día 12; esperamos que asistas a esta invitación.

Victoria

Poppies, Daisies and Red Roses 2016

The Spanish Watercolor Society in Madrid is going to have a group watercolor show of small format paintings December 12th – 22nd.

Opening Day: December 12th, 2016 5:00 to 8:00 pm

C/ Benito Castro 12 Madrid, Spain

I’ll be there on the 12th; hope to see you there if you’re in Madrid.

Phone number: 91 409 65 11

Victoria

Watercolor of Fountains in the Retiro Rose Garden in Madrid, Spain

Posted on July 21, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

The Buen Retiro in Madrid, Spain is my favorite park. Here are a few open air watercolors from the collection of Fountains in the Retiro Park.

The Faun Fountain in the Buen Retiro Park Rose Garden – Madrid, Spain 2007

This fountain is called the fuente del Fauno. It’s located in the Rose Garden at the Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain.

The sculptures integrated in the fountains are fascinating! I should have included the Faun above the dish but I usually focus on the Dolphins.

The mythological creatures on the same fountain have opposite poles, angelic and demonic.

Fuente de Amorcillo or de Cupido

This one is called Fuente de Amorcillo or Fuente de Cupido. Again, I didn’t paint the top and ommited cupid from my watercolor. I was more interested in the base. Next time, I’ll paint the whole fountain.

Fuente del Faunito, Rose Garden in the Retiro Park – Madrid, Spain 2005

There are only two fountains with figures in the Rose Garden, so I paint the same figures over and over again. I just love to paint them.

Fuente del Faunito in the Rose Garden at the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain 2010

Here is the Faun Fountain at the Rose Garden again; a frontal view.

Fuente del Cupido in the Rose Garden at the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid Spain 2015

This is a view of The Cupid Fountain from an angle. Painting outdoors is a great experience; those of you who do open air painting know this and those who haven’t done it yet must put it on the bucket list.

Open Air Painting at the Rose Garden in El Buen Retiro in Madrid, Spain

I like to get a picture of the painting in process with the model; it’s fun to see them together.

Open Air Watercolor Painting – Fuente de los Galapagos

Posted on July 17, 2016 by victoria A. Olson

I’m catching up on posting. This is an open air watercolor I did in the winter of 2015. The fountain of the Galapagos is located in the Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain. It is from the series of Retiro Park Fountains.

I started out with a grid and a drawing.

I was painting for about four hours.

Fuente de los Galapagos, Madrid, Spain 2015

Open Air Watercolor in the Retiro Park – Madrid, Spain

Posted on March 15, 2015 by victoria A. Olson

It’s almost Spring and the Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain is full of Color.

I went to the Retiro in the first week of March to paint a specific fountain near the old zoo, called Antigua Casa de Fieras. I couldn’t go into the area because it was taped off, but I could still see it, so I was able to make the watercolor I wanted.

This is one of the many beautiful fountains in the Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain

The Retiro is one of my favorite places to paint.

Fountain by Antigua Casa de Fieras 2015
Watercolor on Arches 300 GSM – 5.5 in x 7.5 in – 14 cm x 19 cm