Bright Shade

This painting is from a reference photo taken on a beach in Mexico. The beach was busy with umbrellas, restaurants and people walking and playing. I loved the movement of the trees, umbrellas, people and water. The photo reference had a grayish sky and I struggled with the colours until I changed the sky and it finally made sense. This painting was really different and challenging for me as I don't generally paint people and the photo of the beach was so busy with details.

"Bright Shade"

12" x 24" Oil on canvas in black drop in frame

#20127218

Travel Sketches in Rincon de Guayabitos, Mexico

 While waiting for our bus in Melaque to go to Rincon de Guayabitos I took out my trusty travel sketch book and worked on what I was looking at in the room. I tried not to pay to much attention to the person across from me as whenever I looked at her, she looked back. The top drawing is done with an ink pen only (no chance to erase).

The sketch on the right in done in ink pen and then watercolour added to it. Some of the homes are painted very brightly and seem to layer up on each other all the way up the hill. The view is from one of the decks in Gord's sister Leslie and Carl's winter hideaway in Rincon de Guayabitos.

Rincon de Guayabitos, Mexico holiday sketches

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!! Thank you for browsing my blog, hopefully some inspiration is found for your artistic soul and journey. I thought I would start the new year by putting the last of my sketches from our Rincon de Guayabitos last minute holiday. I am hoping it will help inspire me to sketch more often, especially urban sketches.

We met lovely Isabel on our bus ride from Puerto Vallarta to Rincon de Guayabitos and she gave us the name of the restaurant she was working in over the holidays. It took us days to find it but we finally did (we had walked by it many many times on the beach). The large palapa roof obsured the name. I drew this between enjoying cold beers, salsa and body surfing the waves.

This is the last urban sketch I did from a beach side restaurant. It was so fascinating to watch the very busy beach of Mexican vendors and families enjoying their short time ocean side.

Isabel's thank you gift

This is a painting of the building that Leslie and Carl are renting (top floor). I try to bring a frame to places we go/rent in case I have the time to paint a small picture to leave as a thank you gift.

I had made a sketch from the end of the pool in my sketch book and enjoyed it enough to do another one using real water colour paper and my water colour pencils to paint the same picture. Her building is painted the red/orange and yellow.

Isobel's family owns the building and she looks after the business and lives on the second floor. She was both gracious and generous allowing us to stay with Leslie and Carl from Dec 25 until Dec 30. She was happy with her gift and enjoyed showing it to her family members arriving for New Years.

Breakfast beach view and sketching

I sketched this view before and after breakfast from the Stephanie Villa restaurant, beach side. The beach was really filling up and the colourful umbrellas were everywhere. The surf was picking up as well so there was a real feeling of a lot of movement. We have never gone away over Christmas and this is sooooo much fun with all the busyness and people enjoying themselves in Rincon de Guayabitos, Mexico.

Leslie (Gord's sister) and Carl have rented the top
apartment in Calle Gar4denias #9 in Rincon de Guayabitos and they have very generously shared it with us from Dec 25 until Dec 30. It is a few blocks from the beach and is a wonderful reprieve from the celebratory beach busyness. I sat at the end of the pool and sketched then painted the sketch with water colour pencils, what a glorious way to spend some quiet time!

I was sitting on the beach sketching when I looked up and a young vendor was intensely watching me. Gord asked him his name and age and we learned Ricardo was 8. He was so engrossed in what I was doing that I just kept sketching. I showed him my other drawings in my book and he seemed very pleased. Next time I come I will bring pencil crayons and colouring books to share!

Sketching on a bus in Mexico

We had our family Christmas on December 23 as both of our kids and their partners were going to be able to come. Our plan was to head out to Sicamous B.C. until New Years, staying at our cabin there. With the weather cold and snowy, we started to dream of where else we could go. We have the wonderful opportunity to use our "parent benefits" with WestJet to travel inexpensively so we looked at where they flew and thought we might get to London, England. Getting there was no problem but coming home the flights were almost full. We talked to Leslie and Carl in Rincon de Guayabitos, they were happy for company and had an extra bedroom so off we went!! As our flight left at 1am, I did not feel like doing any sketching but decided to pass some time away on the bus from Puerto Vallarta to Rincon de Guayabitos. Couldn't see much forward so decided to draw what I could see (the inside of the bus). I was so excited to be in a warm climate again and on our way to visit with Leslie and Carl!