ARRIVAL IN USHUAIA, ARGENTINA, watercolor

Arrival in Ushuaia, Argentina, watercolor, 4x6in
South American Cruise series # 34

After cruising along the Beagle Channel since sunrise, we approached the border between Chile and Argentina mid-morning, arriving in Ushuaia, the Southernmost city in the world, at noon on February 27th. The wind, the clouds sliding in the sky, a wild West setting, home-made houses, colorful, timeless, this is Ushuahia.  The architecture is uneven, chaotic at times. The Beagle Channel created a frontier and a passage. The port/harbour of Ushuaia is exempted from taxes, so it is filled with many factories. Thirty years ago, Ushuaia was only a town. Why do people stay? Why do others come? At the end of the world, swept by winds, with an average temperature of 41 degrees Farenheit throughout the year, Ushuaia can have four seasons in the same day!

SUNRISE ON THE BEAGLE, watercolor

Sunrise on the Beagle, watercolor, 4x6 in.
South America Cruise series # 33 (continued after a few days break)

I am back from another wonderful trip, so I will be continuing now publishing this series of paintings done during February and March this year, along the 5 week cruise we took to South America. The Beagle Channel at the very end of the South American continent, has been named after the ship that carried Charles Darwin in the mid-1800s: "The Beagle". It was impressive. At sunrise on the channel the light changed every few seconds, painting directly was impossible, so I took many photographs during this sunrise cruising and painted afterwards. It was the end of February, so that is the end of summer in the southern hemisphere. It was very cold, we saw some glaciers on the mountains in the continent side, and also on the mountains in the islands side. Cruising along, in the Beagle Channel, a couple of months ago...