Well spring has finally arrived and I had a lovely walk up the Poqueira valley from Capileira. Birds were singing and the sun was shining. Walked down to a beautiful stone threshing circle (era) by a ruined farmhouse and had an amazing view to the north of the snow covered Sierra Nevada ridge and to the south right down the valley to the Sierra de Lujar, wonderful!

Just finished this watercolour illustration of some traditional Alpujarran houses in the village of Fondales. I am working on a book, "Alpujarra Sketchbook", which I hope to have finished by Easter and for sale locally and on the web.

A watercolour / gouache sketch looking across the valley to the village of Los Berchules. Looking west through pines and evergreen oaks, the musical sound of deep cowbells rises up from the valley below.

Very strange weather. It has now turned very warm, melting all the snow and allowing me to get out and do a bit of sketching. This small pen and wash sketch in my tiny watercolour moleskin, is the view looking back across the valley to the Barrio Alto of Trevelez where I live. The GR7 footpath, that I was following, ends here as there has been a major landslide during the recent heavy rains. We are checking the state of this long distance footpath, as it passes through the Alpujarra, before our first walking clients arrive in March. So most of my sketches will be done from locations along this footpath between Yegen and Capileira.

Looking south from my window, across the snow covered roofs of my neighbours. The light grey shadows are a lovely pale-indigo blue. This sketch was drawn on hot-pressed watercolour paper using HB and 2B graphite sticks.

This is a watercolour sketch of the view down the Trevelez Valley from my house. I am confined to the house as snow and below freezing temperatures have made the steep paths and roads of Trevelez treacherous for walking without crampons. So I shall put another log on the fire and sketch from the window.