ArtTraveler explores Nerja Sunday flea market searching for stolen art

Kitch art? Or something else?

Fuzzy love art.

Cuddle with me art.

Concept art?

Approx. 50 X 70 cm petit-point (machine made?); nothing known but it looked damn good and no doubt was damn cheap.

Installation art?

The art of Spanish grandmothers gearing up for a lean but bountiful Christmas or as they have it, Three Kings fiesta, beginning 5 Jan., I think.

I felt as though I were on a mission for God, some kind of pseudo-super sleuth chasing a few original pastels and charcoals of animals, elephants, lions, tigers, cats, dogs, some framed.

Someone stole them last Sunday from Kate Morris at our mini-rastrillo for our animal charity, CAT (Canillas Animal Trust), at our (I'm co-founder and volunteer.) Competa Sunday sale.

Who would have stolen these original works from our charity shop? We're three days from Kate's first show of her animal pictures at Cerezo's Bar - Cafe- Gallery in Canillas de Albaida.

There is no secondary market for Kate's works, or is there?

I decided to think like a thief. It's 20-plus percent unemployment here, Depression not just the Great Recession as pundits refer to it. People are hungry, poor.

The Nerja Sunday flea market is huge and very successful, an institution where people come to buy anything used and cheap.

Original watercolours for sale..

One vendor and his best friend.

Plenty of oddities.

A fairly typical assortment of stuff.

Street musicians working for lunch.

The City of Nerja cops were busy fundraising.

 As I walked through the rastro's public parking area, I found two local police writing tickets for up to 20 cars, which in typical Spanish form, had driven up onto the sidewalk, straddled pavement and created their own special parking places.

Obviously  very special: 200 Euros for all-day or one-hour parking.

Seems one victim followed another, blind leading the blind, into what would be the folly and shock of coming to the rastro to score something cheap and find you bought yourself a sizeable parking fine.

One cop told me to my amazement that each ticket is for 200 Euros. "So much during La Crisis (depression)?"

The cop sputtered: "Inmigrantes!" Or, immigrants. I didn't know if he was dissing me or the Brits, Germans, French, Russians, Romanians, Moroccans, Poles, South Americans and others who immigrated legally or illegally to Spain.

But this was some kind of discriminate punishment. almost like a sting operation. Wait until the unsuspecting are comfortably walking and gawking and then nail them.

The waiting game or just people watching?

Barbies and other bits and bobs.

Waiting for Godot?

This is where I'd flog the drawings and for anything I could get.

Kate says she feels devasted, like someone has stoeln part of your soul.

A new, evolving talent, giving half proceeds from any modest sale to charity,  being ripped off! And then only days before her first exhibition.

I found other originals on offer, watercolours and allot of cheap prints. But none of Kate's animals. I'll hit the Nerja market next week.  Meanwhile, I share some fotos I took from todays multiple sweeps of the Nerja Sunday rastrillo.

Rock on and practice peace. And check out ArtTraveler's videos: http://bit.ly/h1vruw

Stefan, the ArtTraveler(TM)