VILLEM'S BOAT, watercolor

Villem's Boat, watercolor, 12x9 in, painted during the South America cruise aboard Carnival "Splendor", from Los Angeles around Cape Horn, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Look at the preview and buy  the book of watercolors from the trip: LOOKING FORWARD, here at Blurb:

http://blur.by/1bmi8fi

I visited LACMA's (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)  Calder exhibition this week. Very small, compared to Calder's exhibition at the Musee Pompidou in Paris a couple of years ago. The Pompidou had several floors of Calder's contraptions, while LACMA had just a few of them in a big room, so I was disappointed, but still, Calder is Calder, and it was fun to see them. 

CARNIVAL SPLENDOR, FROM PUERTO MONTT, watercolor

Carnival Splendor, from Puerto Montt, Chile, watercolor, 4x6 in.
South America Cruise series # 30

Puerto Montt, the city of roses, it was beautiful to see our cruise ship from shore. Carnival "Splendor" is a new ship, born in 2008, in Italy. We were about 3,000 passengers. Some of us made some friendships aboard, I certainly did with other painters. So much so, that we created our "painters deck", and "painters' corner" on deck 10. People would come over to see our new paints. I painted daily, sometimes for an hour, sometimes for several hours, depending on the day's activity. This watercolor I sketched and painted from shore, sitting at a park bench.

PUERTO MONTT, GERMAN HOUSE, Chile, watercolor

Puerto Montt, German House, Chile, watercolor, 9x12 in.
South America Cruise series # 28

Puerto Montt is set among lakes, fiords, and rivers, and nestled at the foot of snow-capped mountains. Beautiful homes surrounded by parks in an ideal setting were all along the drive to Puerto Varas and Petrohue. We visited the Feria Artesanal Angelmo, an artisan market with Chilean products: woven items of wool and alpaca from Chiloé, the big island off the coast nearby.  Such a beautiful day in that area, I highly recommend visiting Puerto Montt and its surroundings!

CATEDRAL DE LIMA, PERU, watercolor

Catedral de Lima, Peru, watercolor, 12x9 in
South American Cruise # 16

Continuing with  my publishing of paintings done aboard Carnival Splendor while traveling south on the Pacific Ocean towards....the end of the world!! When we stopped in Lima, our friends Amparo and Eduardo graciously picked us up and drove us around town, ending with a fabulous lunch at the Club Regatta.

Heard today, at La Jolla Art Association, from Rodger Heglar, artist: "There is nothing sadder than a dry brush."

HAMACAS SUDAMERICANAS, watercolor

Hamacas Sudamericanas, Ecuador, watercolor, 9x12 in
South American Cruise series # 14

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep".
                                                                                                               ----Scott Adams
"Anytime you blame others and complain about your situation, you are choosing to be a victim. By playing the victim role you are putting yourself in an ineffective and weak position. It is virtually impossible to allow incredible miracles to enter your life when you chose to remain in this negative mental state."                                                                                         ----Sonia Recotti

Now go paint!!!!

BEACH IN MANTA, ECUADOR, watercolor

Beach in Manta, Ecuador, watercolor, 4x6 in.
South American Cruise series # 11

As I was saying, the sea food in Ecuador is out of this world!
Seven  cultures inhabited the province of Manabi (Manta) in Ecuador from 4200 BC to 1530 AC: Valdivia, Machalilla, Chorrera, Guangala, Bahia, Jama-Coaque, and Manteño, Huancavilca. When we crossed the actual "ecuador", or equator, the whole cruise ship celebrated that we were not "polliwogs" anymore, now we were "shellbacks"! Lots of fun aboard the Carnival Splendor Cruise ship.

CABO HATS, MEXICO, watercolor

Cabo Hats, Mexico, 9x12 in, watercolor
South American Cruise, watercolor 5

Our fist port in the Carnival Splendor South American Cruise was Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on the tip of the Baja California Peninsula. It is a very beautiful spot. We had lunch at the Brewery, walked along the promenade, and took a boat to Lover's Beach and Divorce Beach. One beach is on the bay, with soft sand, the other one is facing the Pacific Ocean, with sharp rocks. Guess which is which?

TANDOOR RESTAURANT, CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

TANDOOR RESTAURANT, Carnival Splendor, 4x6 in (10x15cm.) watercolor
South American Cruise, painting 3.

First day at sea, we were comfortable in our cabin, even at the lowest price. No noise, excellent mattresses. This Indian restaurant, Tandoor, was my first try. Delicious! I finished reading The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss. In it, I read: "To paint a leaf, you have to sacrifice the whole landscape." It goes with what Giacometti said, that to paint the head you had to give up the whole figure. Interesting.

Port of San Pedro in Long Beach, watercolor

Port of San Pedro in Long Beach, California, watercolor, 4x6 in.
South American Cruise, watercolor 2.

First day at sea, I was on Deck 10 of Carnival Splendor, painting with three of my traveling companions: Nick, Valerie, and Villem. We liked a particular spot, a bit secluded, good light, glass windows we could open when and if we wanted, good tables and chairs, and a place where we could dispose of our dirty water without causing any mess. We had bathrooms nearby, and the food courts and restaurants downstairs floor 9. We were in heaven! Some of the views, like this one of Long Beach, I painted from photos I took with my iphone.  Enjoy, and follow along, exciting adventures await you!
Si quieres leer esto en español, abre con Google y pide la traducción. 

LOOKING FORWARD, watercolor

Looking Forward, watercolor, 4x6 in. (10x15cm.)
South American Cruise , watercolor 1

Sorry for not publishing my blog for over a month. I was in a cruise aboard Carnival "Splendor", featured here above. We left the port of San Pedro, near Los Angeles, California, on February 3rd. I brought my watercolors with me. We were three couples friends from before, in a cruise ship with 3,000 passengers. I will now start blogging about the 6 week trip, starting in Los Angeles on the Pacific Ocean, and ending in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the Atlantic Ocean. Come along!!!!!