Chani's Creative Space

There are many watch towers in Southern Spain, all along the coast. I have always thought it would be nice to take a sabbatical and hike or bike from one to the other, reading about their history. Some of them are surrounded by nature, others are situated directly along the road (where it is difficult or impossible to park) or even in town, lost between concrete. Here are four of them, in three different provinces. The most beautiful area is, without hesitation, Caños de Meca, as it is a protected area. And from there, if it is not too foggy, you can see the Rif mountains in Morocco. Almuñécar (province of Granada) Torremuelle (Benalmádena, province of Malaga)   Harbour of Benalmádena (province of Malaga)  Caños de Meca (Barbate, province of Cadiz)

Days are heavy in Southern Spain in the summer, mostly too hot and too noisy, but the reward is there too: nights with a light breeze and no dew, making it possible to sleep under the stars, immersed in nature. Sleeping under the stars

It is July, even hotter than June, although June was extreme this year. Those temperatures make us all lazy, I try to keep working but it is difficult. I wish I were one of those tourists who are here on a holiday and can swim and sleep as they like. But I also wish I could spend those summer months on a quiet island. City centre

June is a special month! In our Northern hemisphere, it is the start of summer, and the longest days of the year have something magical. June has to do with vitality, energy and light. And hot nights spent outside with grilled sardines and wine, looking at the stars. The magic of summer solstice

Twenty-five years ago, in August, we travelled to Asunción, Paraguay (with technical stops in Brussels and Dakar), and I began to work there two days after arriving at the airport. We only stayed until December, but those months were so instructive, astonishing, frightening and beautiful that Paraguay, in spite of everything, will always remain a special country and hold a special place in my heart - with its smells: yerba mate , lapacho (pink trumpet tree), fresh chipas (cheese-flavoured rolls)...  Working and living a daily life in a country is not comparable at all with having a holiday at the same place (even a long one). On a holiday, I may (try to) read local newspapers to understand the political situation, but I will (normally) not go  to the doctor,   pay taxes, have to deal with corruption.  Those sketches are made with India ink on paper , based on the pictures that my Paraguayan friend Olga made a week ago in San Bernardino, a small touristic town on ...

Andalusia is full of hidden gems. One of them is Fornes, with its lake Embalse de los Bermejales (province of Granada, Andalusia, Spain). At this time of the year, days are hot, but nights are still fresh. I wish I could have stayed longer in the old country house we rent for two days, listening to the horses and swallows, and in the evening, to the frogs. Here two sketches with India ink and some pictures. Enjoy!   Fornes (India ink) Embalse de los Bermejales in Fornes (India ink)   Embalse de los Bermejales in Fornes   Embalse delos Bermejales in Fornes    Harvested field in Fornes Field in Fornes

Incredibly, how time flies. It seems it is always New Year or summer, and for the group of illustrators of AnimalAlphabets on Twitter, always A or Z ;-) Six weeks already have passed since we have begun a new alphabet with endangered species, and here they are, letters A to I!