Today we painted Girona. Joseph chose a bit up the river with the Eiffel red bridge and a church in the background. He worked for a long time with the many sunlit roofs. Here it is important not to make it monotonous, to vary all the time, both colors, strength and shapes. It’s a very difficult thing to paint this geyser of a house roof, it easily becomes just dots and spots. On the other side of the river, the buildings stretched all the way past us. Joseph chose to finish with a house wall. The dark wall looked very good at first, but apparently Joseph was not satisfied and…

Today we went by bus to Calella de Palafrugell. We went down to the beach. Joseph warned us about painting in the sun. It looks good when you paint, but when you see the picture at home, it will be way too dark. He unfolded his board, put a piece of iron wire there as support and got a small roof against the sun. Very clever. He painted the beach with boats both in the sea and on land. He was careful with one of the boats that was swaying. Joseph said that if you make one boat look good, the others will look good too. The boats on the…

Today we painted Girona, a very beautiful city with old buildings and narrow streets. Joseph took us to a narrow passage with a long ancient staircase leading up to a large green church gate. A very difficult subject. He drew the gate quickly and easily, straight on, seemingly without much thought of composition. He was careful about the wide staircase, saying that there is no shortcut for stairs. You have to draw them, all the steps. He painted everything with a faint grey-beige color, leaving small white areas here and there. Then it was allowed to dry. Then he painted from top to bottom, sometimes a broad brushstroke, but mostly…

Today we took a bus to Besalú, half an hour’s drive from Girona. We were actually going to the beach for a seascape, but there would be thunder and rain today according to the weather forecast. Besalú is a small town, with walls for protection and a stone bridge with gates over a small river. Joseph started painting down by the water. He sketched the tower and some offthe bridge that led into the city. He emphasized not trying to include too much, draw what you see without moving your gaze. He sketched quickly, without lifting the pen too much. First put on a light layer over almost the entire…

We had the privilege of attending a workshop with Joseph Zbukvic, one of the world’s best watercolor painters. I have been trying to get a place for many years, but his courses have always been fully booked. Last year around Christmas the places for a workshop in Girona were to be released. At exactly three o’clock I managed to press the button and pay the advance on time. It was lucky, the waiting list to join in the event of a possible cancellation is over 350 people. So who is this popular artist? Joseph Zbukvic was born in 1951 in Zagreb, in what was then Yugoslavia. He is self-taught and…