Original artwork description:

From my ABSTRACT CITYSCAPES series. I started this series of abstract cities many years ago and it is a recurrent theme for me. I am a wanderer, a beauty seeker ... traveling a lot and I find inspiration in the beauty of the places I am blessed to see. Always my eyes are haunted by Abstract City Patterns. Everywhere I wandered, in Europe, Asia, North Africa, always I seek for panoramic views of the cities in which I am able to observe what I call the Abstract City Patterns. The rhythm of the rooftops seen from the distance fascinates me. In my personal artistic vision the architectonic details create practically an aesthetic abstract pattern, that urges to be translated in differently morphed palette knife strokes and marks interacting with each other in various ways and generating the painterly quality of the impasto textures that I love so much.

BARCELONA SAGRADA FAMILIA PARK GUELL SUNRISE is a modern impressionist abstract cityscape textured impasto palette knife oil painting. I was inspired to paint this work by the breathtaking Barcelona view from Parc Guell with Sagrada Familia seen in distance.

In 2010 and in 2017 I traveled to Barcelona and I was impressed by the unique beauty of this city. The richness of the colors, the incredible Gaudi architecture. One of the moments I'll never forget was when I saw the entire Barcelona panoramic view from Park Guell.


The original painting has been sold to an art collector from Austin, TX, U.S.






Park Guell is a magical park with amazing buildings, sculptures and tile work designed by Antoni Gaudi , who's work is admired by people around the world as being one of the most unique and distinctive architectural styles. Gaudi's work was greatly influenced by forms of nature and this is reflected by the use of curved construction stones, twisted iron sculptures and organic forms.

Sagrada Familia 's architectural style has been called ''warped Gothic''. The rippling contours of the stone facade make it look as though Sagrada Familia is melting in the sun,while the towers are topped with brightly-colored mosaic. Gaudi believed that color is life. Perhaps that's why I personally admire so much his amazing creations.


This palette knife oil painting is part of my series ''Abstract cityscapes''. I started this series of abstract stylized cities years ago and it is a recurrent theme for me. In general, I prefer to stylize the architectonic details of the houses. I paint mostly abstract cityscapes, as my main goal is to deconstruct the real architectonic shapes ( than to render them exactly as in reality) and to translate them practically in differently morphed color spots interacting with each other in various ways for generate the painterly quality of the textures, that I love so much.I love to paint abstract cityscapes under bold, vivid, sometimes tormented skies - yellow, pink, purple, orange, red, blue, turquoise, even green skies, sometimes skies ''inhabited'' by huge sun or full moon...

When I paint an abstract cityscape, I try to capture the essence of the subject, most an inner impression, a personal perception ... The city is not rendered, but suggested into an abstract manner by splashes of vibrant colors and impasto palette knife strokes.



''Park G�ell (Catalan: Parc G�ell [ˈparɡ ˈɡweʎ]) is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel in the Gr�cia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaud� and built in the years 1900 to 1914. It has an extension of 17.18 ha (0.1718 km�), which makes it one of the largest architectural works in south Europe. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaud�".

Park G�ell is skillfully designed and composed to bring the peace and calm that one would expect from a park. The buildings flanking the entrance, though very original and remarkable with fantastically shaped roofs with unusual pinnacles, fit in well with the use of the park as pleasure gardens and seem relatively inconspicuous in the landscape when one considers the flamboyance of other buildings designed by Gaud�.


The focal point of the park is the main terrace, surrounded by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent. The curves of the serpent bench form a number of enclaves, creating a more social atmosphere. Gaud� incorporated many motifs of Catalan nationalism, and elements from religious mysticism and ancient poetry, into the Park.
Roadways around the park to service the intended houses were designed by Gaud� as structures jutting out from the steep hillside or running on viaducts, with separate footpaths in arcades formed under these structures. This minimized the intrusion of the roads, and Gaud� designed them using local stone in a way that integrates them closely into the landscape. His structures echo natural forms, with columns like tree trunks supporting branching vaulting under the roadway, and the curves of vaulting and alignment of sloping columns designed in a similar way to his Church of Col�nia G�ell so that the inverted catenary arch shapes form perfect compression structures.

The large cross at the Park's high-point offers the most complete view of Barcelona and the bay. It is possible to view the main city in panorama, with the Sagrada Fam�lia and the Montju�c area visible at a distance.'' ( Wiki )

'' Describing Sagrada Familia, art critic Rainer Zerbst said >.
The Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family, commonly known as Sagrada Familia, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi ( 1852 - 1926 ). Although incomplete, the church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Thought construction of Sagrada Familia had commenced in 1882, Gaudi became involved in 1883, taking over the project and transforming it with his architectural and engineering style - combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms.
Gaudi devoted his last years to the project, and at the time of his death, in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly, as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War. Construction passed the midpoint in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completation date of 2026 - the centennial of Gaudi's death. '' ( Wiki )

Materials used:

oil paints, canvas, palette knives

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