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Title : Crazy French artist sketches the kasbah
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Crazy French artist sketches the kasbah

[Guest Post by A. Rmyth in Marrakesh, Morocco]

 February 2018, a small chain of personal circumstances took me to Morocco, to the Hotel Kasbah Bab Ourika, to sketch and paint as their first artist-in-residence. Nothing was clearly defined so I went there with an "Inshallah" (God's will) attitude on a two-week tryout, offering to do workshops on "curved perception and sketching", arty talk/chat, and live sketches on request for any interested customers.

I arrived in Marrakesh a week before I was due at the Kasbah Bab Ourika and stayed at Marrakesh Rouge, a backpackers hostel (above). I noticed a difference from my traveling days 25 years ago. In those days we read aloud Robert Pirsig or Allen Ginsberg. Nowadays we watch Ted 2!

While staying at the hostel, I had time to acclimatize, to focus and to get into a strong sketching dynamic.

Of course, I had mental images of the medina, with narrow shaded streets full of bazaars leading to even more perfumed and colorful souks that I could sketch. It is indeed like that, except that the main perfume comes from the exhaust pipes of the many scooters darting around. I could not find a spot or an angle that was not busy, I found it too crowded with people shopping, tourists with cameras, bicycles, freight tricycles, handcarts, donkey carts and Chinese-made mopeds and scooters. I envy those who can sketch fast standing up while not breathing! That is a skill that I would like to develop.

I found refuge on a cafe terrace (above), where Europeans and Moroccans alike enjoy the February sunshine, or in a small canteen, or on the rooftop of the hostel. When the young manager of the hostel swapped me a free night for a copy of a sketch I knew the art residency program was on.

Tired from a complicated trip which should have only taken an hour, I finally got to my destination: Hotel Kasbah Bab Ourika, south of Marrakesh. In room 10 (below), the bed was striped with yellow flowers as a welcome. The hotel is staffed by Berbers, who live in villages nearby. Really friendly, there is a family spirit among the team. Before crashing, I had to sketch the room to honor their hospitality.

The next day I moved to room 21. 

The hotel is an eco-friendly, rammed-earth building made using traditional Berber methods. The atmosphere is similar to a riad, with rooms opening to courtyards and gardens.

It is in a stupendous setting with great views over the Ourika River and to the High Atlas Mountains. On some of the high peaks there can be snow all year round, this year it has snowed more than they have seen in a long time.

During the day, I painted the landscape from the hotel. In the evening I documented the cosy and warm atmosphere created by the natural building materials and the vintage furniture. I sketched in the common rooms (bar, lounge, TV room), always from a distance to respect the guests' desire for quiet and intimacy. Apparently having a genuine "crazy French artist" wandering around the hotel was exotic and added a special touch for the customers. I also enjoyed the strange privileged situation of being neither a customer nor a staff member but something in between.

I also sketched behind the scenes at the hotel. See the kitchen staff at work below. I gave the hotel staff a private viewing in my room of the panorama acrylic paintings. They easily recognized the landscapes surrounding the hotel and really appreciated the artistic gesture.

Then one evening a nice gentleman and his daughter-in-law asked me to sketch at the table of a family gathering. They were celebrating his beloved mother Lolo's 94th birthday.

Some would say it's the magic of being at the right place at the right time ... pure coincidence ... sure ... synchronicity ... maybe. I had no idea at the time that the nice gentleman was Glenn Lowry, the director of New York's Museum of Modern Art. And it got better. He bought my sketch right on the spot.

After my 18 days at the Hotel Kasbah Bab Ourika, it was time to move on, back to Marrakesh. This time I was hosted in a riad with a lush courtyard. Owning a riad appears to be a must for Europeans these days. There were so many contrasts between the lively backpacker hostel where I started my visit in Morocco and this peaceful riad with its inward focus and birdsong.

A. Rmyth lives in the "Pays de la haute vallée de l’Aude", in southern France. See his work on Flickr and his previous guest post, After Paris on Friday, no market in Espéraza on Sunday.

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