PUNTARENAS II, COSTA RICA, watercolor on Hungarian paper

PUNTARENAS II, COSTA RICA, 5x7 in. watercolor on Hungarian paper, sold to a lovely lady yesterday afternoon at the Glashaus, studio and gallery, 1815 Main Street, San Diego, California.

I've just finished reading GRAIN BRAIN, by Dr. Perlmutter. I've learned that my brain weighs 3 pounds, and has 100,000 miles of blood vessels, contains more connections than there are stars in the Milky Way, and how apparently there is a direct correlation between the amount of wheat and gluten consumed, and problems in your brain, from headaches to other serious diseases. Amazing book! Very interesting! I recommend it!

Volcan Poas, Costa Rica

VOLCAN POAS, Parque Nacional, Costa Rica.  Watercolor and ink in my art-notebook.

This is one of seven active volcanoes in Costa Rica, a country with hundreds of volcanoes! Poas has an average water temperature of 40 degrees Centigrades (a little over a hundred Farenheit), a depth of 300 meters (over 900 feet) and a diameter of 1320 meters (over 4,000 feet). When you visit volcan Poas, you can see the crater and the lake inside if you are lucky. It is often covered by clouds. When I went last month, I couldn't see it at first, covered by clouds, my friends and I took a one hour walk around Laguna Botos nearby, and when we returned...the clouds opened up! It was beautiful! Being able to see it after after our walk felt like an award for our patience and effort.

LIBRERIA LA PUERTA, San Ramon, Costa Rica

Libreria LA PUERTA, San Ramon, Costa Rica. I walked in with curiosity, walked out an hour later in awe. A tiny garage-like hole in the wall. A smiling woman with no formal education, surrounded by books in several languages, and walls filled with poetry hand-written by customers and visitors. Diana, the owner, is a poet and holds regular meetings there with poets, writers, musicians. Her world keeps expanding. She's a savior of souls.

I was so impressed with her simplicity, lack of formal education and role models in her life, yet SHE LOVES TO READ! When she was younger, her family thought she was crazy to prefer to spend time with books instead of talking, or doing something else. She didn't have cards for her bookstore. So I painted this small watercolor, and had cards made with it, and gave them to her. The original watercolor is also in her bookstore. When you go to San Ramon, visit Libreria LA PUERTA, diagonal from Cafe Delicias.

Unica Mirando Al Mar, watercolor sketch

UNICA MIRANDO AL MAR, watercolor sketch in my art-notebook. This is the title of a novel by Fernando Contreras Castro, published in 2009, which depicts the hard life of homeless people in Costa Rica. It is an ironic denunciation of the courts. Unica is the only support for hope in the garbage dump area where the homeless have made their precarious home. She saves lives...up to a point. Excellent short story.

As usual, I wrote a summary and commentary of the novel, with a ink and watercolor sketch in my art-notebook.

DREAMER, pastel on grey Canson paper

DREAMER, pastel on grey Canson paper, 16x12 in.

This painting is in exhibition at the Juried show of the Pastel Society of San Diego in Gallery 21, Balboa Park, San Diego, California. Reception is TODAY!!! from 5:00-7:00 pm. It is an awesome show!!! Come over and invite your friends!

THE MASTER AT WORK, pastel on black Canson paper

THE MASTER AT WORK, pastel on black Canson paper, 12x9 in
This is a portrait of international DJ Dan DeLeon. He's playing in several venues in California this month, then he does an Asia tour:  Beijing, Singapour, Shanghai. He will return to California for a few days, before embarking on his playing tour of South America: Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. Check him out! Get your tickets early!

This painting will be in exhibition  at the Pastel Society of San Diego Members show at the Point Loma Library, in San Diego, California,  from May 3rd till August 3rd. Reception will be announced soon. Stay tuned!

LAUREL II, pastel portrait on suede board

LAUREL II, pastel portrait on suede board, 20x16 in.
I painted Laurel's portrait in 2007. Her unfortunate brain cancer and untimely death some months later, at 13 years old, was a tragedy. The family was devastated.

I didn't know what happened to the portrait for several years. I found it last year in a very poor condition. For seven years that portrait must have been exposed to strong light, humidity, and a lot of movement , to judge by its condition. I offered to "fix" it, still not sure how I would do it, but it was very sad to see the state that portrait was in.

 I have been working over my original Laurel's portrait for some weeks now, and finally was able to make it look similar to the original. So this is the "fixed" version, finished today, of that original portrait painted seven years ago, and later ruined.