TANGO EN USHUAIA, watercolor

Tango en Ushuaia, Argentina, watercolor, 4x6 in.
South American Cruise watercolor series # 37

At the end of the world, people dance tango on the street, or a sidewalk, or a park, dressed sexy and elegant, for the entertainment of tourists and passers-by. A joy to watch them, and give them a well -deserved tip inside the man's hat usually laid down carefully nearby. Another wonderful moment in Ushuaia, land of many contrasts.

PUNTA ARENAS, Chile, watercolor

Punta Arenas, Chile, watercolor, 4x6 in.
South America Cruise series # 32

This is the southernmost town in Chile. Clear, organized, calm, we were able to walk around town, use the internet at a cafe, and visit two wonderful museums: Palacio de la Sra. Sara Braun de Nogueira, designed by the French architect Numa Mayer in 1895, who brought European crafstmen and specialist workers. We also visited the Museo Regional de Magallanes, and learned about the rural life and native people of the area. This museum is also located in a beautiful mansion Neoclassic style, also built by a French architect, Antoine Beaulier.

LA SEBASTIANA, watercolor

La Sebastiana, watercolor, 4x6
South American Cruise series # 23

This is a quick watercolor sketch I started in front of "La Sebastiana", Pablo Neruda's house in Valparaiso, Chile. He had three houses in Chile, each one more beautiful and original than the next. La Sebastiana is full of his collections, colorful glasses, pictures of boats, ships, a merry -go-round hand-made original horse, a gorgeous bar with a sign "PABLO EST ICI", originally shaped windows with bottles of different colors collection, and a life size photograph of Walt Whitman. He said that when the movers were bringing in some of the pictures and things, one man asked him if that was his father. "Yes", he responded, "spiritually he is."

ARICA III, CHILE, watercolor

Arica III, Chile, watercolor, 4x6 in.
South American Cruise, watercolor journal # 21

The taxi in Arica took us all along the coast, to see the big salmon plants, where they extract the Omega 3 from the salmon, to process and sell it all over the world. I believe they said  it was the largest processing plant in the world for Omega 3. What do you know! We also went into the dry countryside to see some hieroglyphs and marks left by the ancient inhabitants of the area. Not as famous as the "Nazca lines", though. Those were too far from Arica and our ship to make it in a couple of hours. We visited a fabulous Museum of Anthropology, sponsored by the University. Modern , very well equipped, and up to date with the latest discoveries of ancient people of the area, including many mommies dated over 5000 years old;  a real surprise in such a desolate area.

CATEDRAL SAN MARCOS, watercolor

Catedral San Marcos, Chile, watercolor, 9x12 in.
South American Cruise series # 19

Beautiful church in a small town, Arica, in the north of Chile, but so close to the border with Peru, that the town used to belong to Peru some years ago. This "Catedral" was designed and built in France by Gustav Eiffel, then brought piece by piece to this town, and re-built here by Eiffel employees. What a surprise, very unexpected sight!

ARICA, CHILE, watercolor

Arica, Chile, watercolor, 12x9 in.
South American Cruise watercolor series # 18

South on the Pacific Ocean, our next port was Arica, in the border between Peru and Chile. Arica used to belong to Peru, now it belongs to Chile. Very dry area of the world, Arica has brown hills with some  ancient hieroglyphics, very interesting. This painting is also in exhibition at FROM THE END OF THE WORLD show at Gallery 21, Spanish Village Art Center, San Diego, California, till April 22nd. My paintings are exhibited together with Doreen Mellen's ceramics. Come see our work! Come to our Artists'  Reception on Sunday April 14th, from 3:00-7:00 pm. You are invited!

MIRAFLORES, watercolor

Miraflores, watercolor, 4x6 in.
South America Cruise watercolor collection # 17

Continuing with my watercolors done during the cruise. This one, while walking around Lima, and into the Cathedral, driven by our friends Amparo and Eduardo Velarde. They kindly picked us up at the port of Callao, and drove us around town! We had a wonderful experience, and got to taste delicious Pisco Sours in several bars of Lima! Miraflores is a beautiful section of Lima, with high rise buildings, modern shopping centers, colorful and fun.

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."

PARA TI, LIMEÑA, watercolor

Para Ti, Limeña, watercolor, 9x12 in.
South American Cruise paintings # 15

While traveling in this cruise, I usually painted in the morning and early afternoon, and read in the evening. One interesting book I read at this time was The Element, by Ken Robinson, Ph.D. Some highlights I liked:
"Fear keeps you down." He recommends we read Susan Jeffer's Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway. Because...we know that "it's NOT what happens to us that determines our lives. It's what we make of what happens! "
"Research and experience show that lucky people often make their luck because of their attitudes."he says. I couldn't agree more: Your attitude determines your altitude!

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?