Facelift for La Otra Carboneria

It's not often I complain, but I had a bit of a moan to myself when I went past La Otra Carboneria a couple of months ago and saw that someone had started to cover up the amazing graffiti on the facade. At the time, I wasn't sure if it had been the administration, vandals, or whatever, although little by little the picture became clearer...

Here's the one I liked and have blogged about before. 

Pretty cool right? Everyone would crane their neck on the bus going past, or in the car and it became part of the local geography accepted by all and even the council tried to break it up (check out the bottom corner around the furniture shop, where the facade has been daubed in brown to cover up the tentacles a bit.

So, I've been waiting for a day where I've a) been walking past again and b) the weather was good for me to take another quick snap since it's been finished (a while). I think you'll agree it looks pretty impressive and a lot more colourful, too. There's also something written on the street in Catalan about fighting against prisoners or something, but I couldn't quite make that out and don't know if they're related either.

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Interview Barcelona Urban Sketcher Lapin.

I'm tremendously excited about this post. It's been 3 years since I asked Lapin for an interview, and him abviosuly being a very busy man agreed, but we never got around to actually doing it. so I was really pleased when we managed to arrange this again, a big thank you to you Lapin, and please check out his new website, http://www.lesillustrationsdelapin.com/ and you can follow him on twitter here. 

Five years ago Lapin moved to the capital city of Catalunya, Barcelona. 

It was love at first sight. He loved everything about Barcelona.

He followed every trace of the great artists, Gaudi, Muntaner, Antoni Tapies…

He loved the dusty old parts of it and the new shiny glamorous side. He loved the "cerveza-beer" and he loved the vermout, he loved the Guiris and he loved Castellers and calçots..

He loved the new building of the museu blau and million yeared dinasours inside, he loved the darkside of Edifici Colon and the cheer on the Barceloneta beach, he loved the old ones playing parchis and the young rebel voices in Plaza Catalunya, he loved the old hairdresser’s timeworn chair and he loved looking for old account books in Encants as old as that chair, he loved the the sound of the rally cars passing by, he loved the graffitis and he loved that old emblem on the Plaça del Rei, he loved the tension in the Barça games and the peaceful empty streets on the Sunday mornings. 

He loved walking through the city to rediscover, to draw, in another word to live it like the way he knows.

1. How long have been in Barcelona, and why did you move here?

I lived in Barcelona for 5 years and a half. I came for a job, I was sent by the design agency I was working for in Paris to create a filial in Barcelona.

2. It looks like you always carry a sketch pad around with you. What else will you not leave home without?

For sure my sketchbook is an inseparable part of me, as an inkpen, a tiny watercolour box, and some brushes, pencils…(see more here: http://les-calepins-de-lapin.blogspot.com.es/2010/06/my-secret-material-gear.html)

3. How long does it takes you to draw the sketches? (I realise that probably depends)

Actually, you’re right, it depends. From few minutes in the metro, to an hour to sketch a modernist building or a vintage car… in any case, it’s quick. If not that annoys me, and I lost the spontaneity of my line.

4. How do you then get them onto the website/blog with such crisp accuracy?

The scanner is a very important thing in my process, and I had to buy a professional one. Than I’m used to calibrate the tones and the contrasts.

5. It looks like you've sketched in some great cities, and my first reaction when I came across your site was the style of the Beastie Boys "to the 5 boroughs" cover on the sleeve. You've been to New York, was it tempting to do a huge skyline (bigger than the one you did)?

I wish I have done this cover ;) 
Of course I have this temptation to sketch most of the sky scrappers there, I’m totally fascinated by the big apple.
I will return there this summer… so let’s see when I’ll be back!

6. Is there any city you'd love to visit to sketch that you haven't been yet?

there are many cities I would love to sketch in fact, Hong Kong, Moscow, Chicago, Buenos Aires, (…) are just a random list of it.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that every city will have some interest to be sketched.

7. Which has been your most surprising find/a sketch you are most proud of?

more than a sketch, what I’m most proud of is the sketchbook I dedicate to my daughter Louise. I sketched her every day during the first month, and still continue to sketch her while she’s growing.

8. You seem to have covered a lot of Barcelona judging by your google map. Anywhere you haven't managed to sketch yet that is pending?

I published this year a first volume titled “te quiero bcn”, a compilation of 100 pages of some of my favourite spots in Barcelona, and I plan to publish more volumes in the next year. I want to sketch the real barcelona, and there is still a lot to do.

This sketchbook is about Barcelona and every detail that made Barcelona so special. This is Volume I edition of the Barcelona serie and this project may be possible by giving back all the love that Barcelona had given to us.

9. Is there anything in particular a scene must have for you to want to sketch it?

dinosaurs and vintage cars are a must have in every of my sketchbooks, but I also love to sketch portraits.

10. Another urban sketcher you admire?

I have several names in mind: Veronica Lawlor from NY, Marina Grechanik from Tel-Aviv, or Nina Johansson from Stockholm…


Again, thanks a million to Lapin for the great interview, and please leave your comments below, and go and buy his book!! 


Coming to Barcelona this summer? Check out BCN Rentals for some great deals on apartments. 

BarcelonaSights Interview - Blogger Martin Brown

Happy December everyone, and after a slow start back from those dangerous 3-day-bank-holidays, I thought I'd give first post of the month as another interview. This time it's Englishman Martin Brown, who has the photoblog An English Eye on Spain.




What's your name and where are you from?

Martin Brown from London, England.

How long have you lived in Barcelona? Why did you come here?

I have lived in Barcelona for 6 years. I came here from Mexico and wanted to get back to Europe and Barcelona seemed like a good choice, combining art, design, history and culture.

Where else have you lived and how does Barcelona compare?

London , Mexico City and Barcelona. I guess the difference as much as a anything is size - both London and Mexico are vast cities, while Barcelona is fairly small and had a more laid back atmosphere instead of a heavy urban one.

What are the things you miss from home/the other places you have mentioned?

Theatre and friends.

Why did you start the blog?

I have been taking photos of the city and other places for a few years now and wanted a more public platform for these images.

What makes you think you can offer something different to the other Barcelona photoblogs out there?

I hope to take the viewer to some places that perhaps aren't shown by other blogs, small everyday details, visual things that I see as well as the more famous tourist attractions.

Is there anything you've not included in your blog yet that you'd like to?

Still a lot of pictures to upload, so keep on checking for updates. I also want to start photographing people as its something I would like to try.

Is there anything you try to avoid?

The obvious.


I'd like to thank Martin for taking the time to answer the questions, and for agreeing to the interview. If you haven't already, I suggest you check out his blog and subscribe for his unique view of the city.

Coming to Barcelona this winter? Check out these great apartments for rent in Barcelona city centre. And for a quick look at the top city sights, see this Barcelona guide.

BarcelonaSights Interview - Artist Adriano Luli

This week I have another interview, with Adriano Luli - a fantastic artist using a great technique to bring a new fusion of life to recycling and art. As always, I have received no fee in this post and I would like to thank Adriano for taking the time to answer the questions.

Adriano, you're Brazilian. How long have you been in Barcelona?

I'm from Brasilia, Brazil. I've been in BCN for 6 years.

What do you like about Barcelona? And what don't you like?

In Barcelona what I like the most is the diversity of the art. I have the sensation that art is in everything you see, but life in Barcelona is at such a fast pace, that's what I don't like.



Your art is very original. How did you think of the idea to use cans?

One day I had a ton of cans ready to throw out and I thought with such a quantity of colours I could use them to make something creative and recycle at the same time. That's how it went.

What inspires you when you have a blank canvas in front of you?

When I have a blank canvas in front of me the first thing I imagine is painting a figure full of colours and I travel into a parallel world just as real until I leave the piece and I consider it finished, given that I can never stop re-touching or adding things.

How long does it take you to do one?

To make one usually takes an average of 30 hours.

Are there any things that you haven't captured in your art so far that you'd like to?

A great question! I have an idea from such a long time ago of good and evil, but I never been able to paint or draw anything.



Tell us about the exposition you have this month.

The exposition is called "Las Figuras Recicladas" (The recycled figures) from the RE-Latando project (a play on words of telling a story, recycling and cans "latas" in Spanish). It expresses a story of multi-coloured figures, first drawn and then colourd using aluminium cans and some smaller ones with curcuit boards. The exposition is from the 7th May to the 7th June in Calle Paloma, 5 - Espacio de arte INUSUAL PROYECTO.


Coming to Barcelona this month? Check out these apartments for rent as a great alternative to hotels, and for a quick look at the city, check out this Barcelona guide.

Wall People in Raval

Social Media nowadays is capable of some pretty amazing things. Think UK Christmas number One single having a shift from the usual X-Factor winner last year, to angst anthem (which incidentally I love from first time round!) Killing in the Name from RATM. All thanks to a Facebook page. Then there was the recent Twestival held in Barcelona, too. So it's no surprise that social media plays a big role in this weekend's gathering of minds.



Facebook is the main player for this weekend's Barcelona WallPeople gig, which is a very cool idea - basically making the biggest photo murial in the city and all by volunteers (near to 500 now, so should be great!). The idea is simple: fill the wall behind the CCCB basketball court (Calle Valdonzella number 20) with photos, portraits, whatever, and stand back and admire. Starting on Saturday at 5pm, the idea is to fill the wall, and then from 5:30 to 7pm present the wall as an exposition. You can take away someone else's photos or collect your own, and if you'd like the person who takes your photo to contact you, you can leave details on the back (email, number, etc.). Hopefully that part won't be abused by some, and it's all just a great laugh for society and joining in. Being hosted in my favourite neighbourhood in the city (Raval) then I'm sure it'll make for a fusion of cultures, colours and fun.

Are you planning on attending? Let me know your ideas about the project and it's implications for you - feel free to leave a comment.

Coming to Barcelona this month? Check out these apartments in the old town on Barcelona for a real experience away from hotel rooms. And for a heads up on the rest of the city, see this quick Barcelona overview.

Cool Sculptures in Barcelona

I wanted to add this post as there are hundreds of popular monuments in Barcelona, but some of them take all the glory (understandably so). However, when I was an English teacher, I used to work on Rambla Catalunya, in the Barcelona neighbourhood of Eixample which is a very central, tree-lined avenue parallel to Paseo de Gracia - probably the city's most famous street aside from Las Ramblas.

Rambla Catalunya, like Paseo de Gracia, has many terraces from some great bars, cafes and restaurants, and is a top place for shopping. But I'm not going to talk about either of those aspects on this post, rather the head and foot of the mediterranean boulevard. This is about 2 of the coolest sculptures in the city.

The Asociacio d'Amics de Rambla Catalunya presented two sculptures to "the city of Barcelona" in 1972 - one at the top and one very near to the bottom.

At the top, which is where Rambla Catalunya meets Avinguda Diagonal, there's a great sculpture of a giraffe which you can see from the image here, is lying down, coyly swinging it's tail around one leg. I think it's really cool, and is a great contrast to the serious street that it tops.



At the bottom, just touching Gran Via, is another sculpture of a bull, but in the pose of Rodin's The Thinker. Again, this makes me smile every time I see it (and it was a lot when I used to work there) and is something I always point out to friends or family if we happen to be passing by there.

I have no idea as to why two animals have been used at either end of the street, and especially a bull, which is traditionally a Spanish emblem, and pertains to bull fighting in Spain, something which is frowned upon in Barcelona. Maybe that's the point? That we should think about the use of bulls for spectator sports? Either way... I love them both and wanted to share them here, so I hope you like them too!


Thinking of coming to Barcelona? Why not consider renting Barcelona Apartments for your next trip - you can be closer to many cool local sights such as the Bull and Giraffe sculptures featured here today!

They're back

Back in January, I had been debating on posting about some odd artwork that I'd seen in the streets of Barcelona's old town. In fact, I wasn't really sure if you could call it art work or graffiti.


If you didn't read the post, then I'd found some walls which had been...well, splatted with paint which at first didn't seem so interesting, but then I saw another very similar one which made me think it had been done on purpose. Since then I haven't seen anything else similar. Until yesterday.

I was going up to Park Güell with my cousin, and as we got out of Vallcarca metro station, there is a brand new building or apartment block, which has been...ahem...decorated in the same manner. Given the height of some of these paint splodges, I'm pretty convinced that they must have been done with balloons/water balloons or perhaps a catapult? Any ideas of how it's been done (or who did it!) welcome!


I'm fairly intrigued about it all now, and I'm sure there must be more around the city (and possibly even a myspace site or a blog out there, too?!) so any hints or pointers in the right direction welcome!

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Modern Art? Don't Ask Me!

Regular readers will know how much I like Barcelona Graffiti, and that I consider it a great way to spruce up some of the terribly drab alleys and shutters around Barcelona's old town and the other neighbourhoods, too. For me, those talented guys and gals are the real modern artists. Check out this really cool no parking sign at Calle Angels I spotted the other day.



It's the old Ghostbusters logo, which has been adapted for the no parking sign. Classic, and always something to make me smile.



Now let's compare that to a recent trip of mine up to Montjüic and the sculpture garden next to the Miró Foundation. It's the first time I'd been in the garden and it's just behind the Greek Theatre, a little walk along from the Funicular. It has to be said that there's not a great deal in there, and if I didn't know that it was supposedly the sculpture garden, I would have had no idea this is supposedly "modern art" - ok, maybe the metal plaques with the artists' name and title of the work could have been a giveaway.



Just to whet your appetite, there is a tiled roof on the floor, a trolley with some glass being transported somewhere and a rather large concrete triangle with some blue paint splashed down it (yes, that's my little boy running around in the picture). I have a cringing suspicion that these all probably cost a fortune and were unveiled in some fantastic ceremony a couple of years back - please tell me I'm wrong if anyone knows!! Now I don't pretend to understand anything about art, and more so if it's "modern" like this, but I'll tell you one thing - give me the ghostbusters no parking sign anytime!!

Like what you're reading? Please leave me a comment and let me know!

For more information on Barcelona, see this cool Barcelona guide and for accommodation in Barcelona look no further than BCN Rentals.

The Coolest 7 square metres in Barcelona

Barcelona's old town surprises me all the time. I've touched before on some funky old town art galleries and wanted to share another one, which is perhaps a little more famous than the last one I wrote about.

7metros is a great space offering some cool expositions, and is located on Carrer Riera Alta, 60-62 This is the space at the front of buildings often used by some of the more innovative residents, who have macro-shops selling jewellery, bags, or other small necessities.



The idea behind 7metros, is that the space is a mere seven square metres, and if you check the web link above, you'll see some of the previous entries.

This week being Carnival accross the world, it was no surprise to see a festive filling to the 7 square metres. The window had a display with "María Escoté" and a coaster for "Le Swing". Cool.



Anyone else seen some cool fillings of 7metros? Please share below, I'd love to hear about it.

For more information on Barcelona, check out the Top 10 Barcelona Museums and don't forget apartments for families in Barcelona.

Barcelona Graffiti

This is all about Barcelona Graffiti. Certain cities in the world are renowned for their graffiti - I remember being handed a leaflet as a backpacker in New York City years ago with "10 free things to see in NYC" and one of them was to take the "X" train (can't remember, sorry) to see the amazing graffiti. Now Barcelona is not far behind with some amazing artwork, especially at designated places that the artists are let free - bottom of Paralello going round to Montjüic and the Parc de 3 chimineas nearby are 2 great examples, but there's some local graffiti that you can just as easily see, and this is more than legit - it's even paid for.

It's funny, as I've actually been preparing this post for a while, as the pics I'm going to add speak more than the words I could add to describe, and recently Barcelona Metropolitan had the exact same feature but obviously more in depth and with interviews, etc.

The idea is that local shop owners are sick of having drab, stupid scrawls and signatures on their already grey metal shutters at night, so what better way to combat this than siding with the enemy, and getting a graffiti ad for your bar/shop/venture. This is obviously at a prime in the old town, especially Raval and the Gothic quarter, and as the graffiti code goes, you never graffiti over another artists work, so the result is a great peice of modern art, an ad for your business if you happen to be closed at the time people pass by, and also pretty much a guarantee of saving yourself from gritty scrawls and nonsense in the meantime.

There are so many I see when out and about that I love, and I'm probably going to add to this as I see more that impress me, but here are a few. Enjoy.

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