PACIFIC SUNRISE, watercolor on Arches paper

PACIFIC SUNRISE, 7.5x10" watercolor on Arches paper, painted aboard Crown Princess, cruising the Pacific toward Hawaii, Samoa and Tahiti, three weeks ago.

On our way from Los Angeles to Hawaii, we were sailing west, then south to Samoa, then east from Samoa to Tahiti, and finally north-east from Tahiti back to Los Angeles. It was confusing at first, due to my ignorance of the exact location of the South Pacific islands. So we bought an inflatable globe, to be able to follow our own ocean path with the globe in our hands. The first few weeks I got up very early to enjoy the Pacific sunrise from the ship. Then I got lazy and just enjoyed the sunset, ha ha!

MOOREA, TAHITIAN HOUSE, watercolor on Arches paper

MOOREA, TAHITIAN HOUSE, 7.5x10" , watercolor on Arches paper.

Open houses, with decks and straw rooftops are common in Samoa and Tahiti. Just floor, wooden columns and the straw roof, no walls, are called "Fale", in the original language of the islands. They are perfect for a warm weather year-round, with occasional daily warm showers. That's why they hang the clothes under the roof-top. No insects or poisonous snakes, warm air and warm water, fruits and flowers all around you, what else do you want????? Paradise!!!!!

Basket Weaver in Papeete, Tahiti, watercolor on Arches

BASKET WEAVER IN PAPEETE, TAHITI, 7.5x10" watercolor on Arches paper.

The skill and speed of this woman, weaving hats, baskets, flower crowns, was impressive to watch. Papeete is a big town, capital of Tahiti in French Polynesia. People here speak Tahitian and French. They use the French Francs as currency. It is interesting that they are not used in France any more, only here. So the French government makes the Francs especially for them. They are French, but the pictures on the bills are of Tahitian people. Very cool!

Nick Kolesnikow, painter, ink and watercolor sketch

NICK KOLESNIKOW, PAINTER, ink and watercolor sketch , 7x7 ".

My friend Nick and I painted often aboard Crown Princess cruiseship, in our recent trip to Hawaii, Samoa, and the Tahiti islands in the South Pacific. I kept a sketchbook of activities, views, lectures, visits, and books read during the voyage;  nothing escapes my pen and watercolor brushes! If you stand still for a few minutes, I get you!!!!

SAMOA BEACH SKETCH, ink and watercolor

SAMOA BEACH SKETCH, 4x10, ink and watercolor on a sketchbook page.
During my recent trip to Hawaii, Samoa, and the South Pacific islands of Tahiti, I sketched daily, sometimes a quick ink sketch with a bit of watercolor like this one, sometimes I did a more detailed watercolor. I will be publishing some of them on the blog in the next few days. Western Samoa and American Samoa are fascinating. The beach is white coral sand.

THE MASTER AT WORK, pastel

The Master at Work, pastel, 12x9 in.
This is a pastel painting of internationally known DJ Dan DeLeon, who can often be seen playing at the best night clubs in San Diego, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, in California, or in Shanghai, Singapore, Brazilia, or Barcelona, as his music takes him.

It was not love that Paul Gauguin searched in Tahiti, but paradise. He found in such luxurious vegetation, an explosion of colors...and the absence of temptation.
---It is a land, --he assured his friends-- where there are no snakes and no apples. For that reason, the women there are not dangerous. 

from Les Mots les Plus Drôles de L'Histoire, by Bernadette de Castelbajac.