Notes from Ben

Everyday number 37.

Today we walked up to the highest mountain in Madrid’s Sierra Guadarrama, over 2400m. From the top you can see Segovia, like a tiny toy city, thousands of hectares of pine forest, endless peaks. And you cross a snow and rock moonscape in the last 40 minutes or so to reach the zenith. I don’t know how that translated into the drawing above, but it did. I heard an artist say recently that one of the most amazing things about art is the pure magic of creating something that wasn’t there before you started and could never have been made by anyone else. It’s true, it’s complete magic.

Everydays numbers 35 and 36. Yesterday and today. I missed Friday, that’s OK, can’t get too obsessive about this. Making art every day is wonderful, posting it online sometimes doesn’t fit with a life with enough rest. So ‘most days’ will do.

Today: Finding a quiet place (for my wife) in my dream. (Map)

Yesterday: Quiet (View of Fields)

I watched a documentary on how to paint like Agnes Martin. I only heard of her, indeed of the whole Abstract Expressionist movement, recently. I drew this while I watched. Drawing like this is very relaxing, meditative – there are about 790 marks in this image – and I like the result. I’ve always enjoyed making abstract art like this, the results are pleasing and the process very enjoyable – which is crucial! And a good reason to do more.

Everyday number 34. Cigar man with friends and beers. Small village near Rio Tajuña, south of Madrid. Wax crayons and coloured pencils.

There’s nothing like turning up in a tiny village you haven’t been to before, sitting on the local bar terrace, and watching the people that live there go about their lives. It’s a window onto a different world. I’d like to visit a different one every day and make a drawing or photograph of what I find. Right now I can’t do it everyday even if I wanted to!

Everyday number 33. A young priest having lunch with companions in Chinchón, in a quiet plaza behind the main square.