Patty Stone
  
Patty's Main Page
 
Country: USA
Title San Creu 3
1991  
Medium Painting on Canvas,
Acrylic mixed with Sand
   
Size 51" square
Price $2250
Photo by the Artist, Sept 08


Spanish years &
Santa Creu

 Scroll down to read Patty's Statement on her time in Spain and on
Santa Creu


 

Spanish years & Santa Creu

 written by Patty Stone at the time her work was featured on Mostly Glass' web pages, September 08


I spent a year in Barcelona in 1990 - 91 and developed a deep love for Spanish architecture.
Living and traveling in Spain, I was inspired by its complex history of
Roman, Islamic, Christian and Jewish influences reflected in many sites.
I drew on famous places such as the great Mesquita in Cordoba and the Alhambra in Granada
but also on lesser know sites like the Catalan Hospital Sant Creu in Barcelona.

This series began a long exploration on the themes of decay, deterioration and permanence
using simplified architectural forms as a motif.
Through a mixture of sand and acrylic paint of canvas, I aimed to create a tactile presence and
evoke a sense of crumbling walls or fragments of plaster.
 
The Santa Creu paintings refer to the Antiguo Hospital de la Santa Ceu (the Old Santa Creu Hospital) in Barcelona.
We lived not far from there.
It was built in the 15th century and is in the Gothic style.
It has a beautiful courtyard surrounded on 3 sides by arcades. The building complex also contains a small church.
It functioned as a hospital into the 20th century.
The great architect Gaudi was said to have died there after being struck by a trolley in 1926
Different city institutions use the building complex today.
Catalonia's National Library is there as was a small art school when we were there.
I used to draw in the courtyard there regularly, trying to figure out the support structure of the barrel vaults and the arcades.