Watercolor of a Corner in Viana do Castelo
2026-08-01
Watercolor of a Corner in Viana do Castelo turned into my favorite from a full day of drawing, back in early August, when PoSk organized a trip there and we met up with the USk Minho crew to draw the streets of the historic center.
Making the most of the last days of summer, we gathered a good group of urban sketchers on a sunny day, the perfect excuse to get to know the city a little better. I’d already passed through Viana a few times before, but I’d never stopped to actually draw its corners and hidden spots.
Casa de João Velho, in the Morning
In the morning, I drew an alley next to the Cathedral of Viana do Castelo and Casa de João Velho. It felt fitting, for an old man like me, to draw a bit of that house.
From what I read afterward, a navigator named João Velho had this Gothic house built, and it’s said to have hosted King D. Manuel I during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, long before the Camino was popularized by writer Paulo Coelho. On the day I passed by, there was no way in to visit, which only left me more curious to come back and see Casa de João Velho from the inside.
After meeting up to share our morning drawings, we had lunch at a tasca by the river and went back to walking the streets downtown, looking for new spots to draw.
My preference, as you probably already know, always leans toward those half abandoned places, with some kind of worn out facade. Sometimes that’s all that’s left of a building, but it still works like a magnet for me. I ended up picking exactly that kind of house, more or less abandoned, though from a chat I had with a shopkeeper nearby, it should be renovated soon. Since every facade around there is protected, they’ll have to keep its features untouched.
Watercolor of a Corner in Viana do Castelo, the Afternoon Drawing
I always find that, on these full day walks, the drawings I make in the afternoon come out better. I guess it’s because my head is already in the mood of the place by then, more settled in, and everything just flows easier than it did in the morning. That’s why my favorite drawing of the day ended up being this watercolor of a corner in Viana do Castelo, with an iron street lamp standing out next to a traffic sign.
I really like sitting and feeling out a place for a while before I start drawing. That takes however long it takes, but once I get going, it’s hard to stop. I prefer finishing a drawing right there, on the street, it’s not always possible, but it’s what I like doing most.
I made both watercolors straight away, no sketch first, just fineliner pens and ink. Then came the watercolor, bringing in those stains that really give the drawing life.
That’s the record of a full day of urban sketching in Viana do Castelo, between Casa de João Velho in the morning and this watercolor of a corner that won me over in the afternoon. There’s still so much of the historic center left for me to find there, and I already know I’ll be back.