Painting the Parkway

"Follow your bliss," advises Joseph Campbell.

Anytime I can combine two loves: painting and camping,

well, that's bliss.

I don't "do" watercolor and I really am not a "plein ar" painter.  So what possessed me to attempt both?  The lure of spending time along the Blue Ridge Parkway while camping had a certain cachet about it.  A friend nudged me along suggesting I should paint all along the entire parkway while compiling a visual and written journal of sorts.  When my husband bought into the crazy idea of cycling all 469 miles of the park we were committed!  

Here is a bit of a peek into our first 10 day outing.  Our "Flying Pig II" housed us beautifully in the two most northern national campgrounds, Otter Creek and Peeks of Otter.

not a bad studio I think

our home away from home

very long uphill climbs but Bob got 107 miles completed

I hope the painting gets easier, watercolor is so 

unforgiving...

we were running low on electricity and I "had" to finish

some last marks so I would not forget my scene

I love this photo of my biker all set to take off

this is "Sharp Top" one of the 3 Peaks

of Otter, I even got it stamped at the Visitor Center.

Now that we are parked, unpacked and showered I can hardly wait to go again.  There might be a viable project in this fun after all and I certainly did enjoy the slow rhythm of camping and painting.  Mighty glad I am not on a bike but happy to meet my crazy husband along the way for picnics.  More later, I am still processing all of this.

Blissfully Yours,

Cindy

Hasta La Vista San Miguel

We are home!

We decided to cut the trip short and get my ailing husband to his own doctor...which proved to be a good idea.  He is now on the road to recovery and feeling 100% better, there is a lot of comfort in familiar surroundings, especially when it comes to questions of health.

So plans change and I bring my color studies back to Florida to tackle them in a new light, literally.  Meanwhile, San Miguel remains a colorful influence and I can hardly wait to finish all the work that I started while painting from my little zen cottage on the Simple Choice farm.  I will pretend the days are dry, the mornings and evenings very cool and that I can hear the roosters crowing while I pick cilantro.

I finished my little (6" x 6") watercolor studies of some of the intriguing doors of the city.  They are matted to a 9 x 12 size and will be on my Etsy and Facebook shop during the coming week.  I just love the doors there and remember the first time I saw the area how surprised I was to discover the treasures they hid behind them.  (Framed versions can be viewed below.)

These are the blue doors of the Colmena Bakery, Relox 19A & 21, well known spot for traditional Mexican baked goods.

The green bi-fold doors are beautiful in contrast to the red walls of the city and they open up onto a lovely art gallery, La Galeria de Arte Contemporaneo at Relox 46.

This very narrow but elegant door way is the entrance to a home on Canal Street.  The little oval plaque by the door reads "Mi Casa, Canal #58."  The doors were heavy and old and ornate and had a wonderful heavy door knocker on them.  Wish I could have managed an invite inside!

I took plenty of photos and started several pieces of the Bajio Mountains which surrounded us.  I hear that the already colorful area really comes alive with blooms when the rains start...and you can be sure I am pondering a way to make a return trip during that time of year.  Meanwhile, I will re-enjoy it all via my notes and photographs.  

Here is the watercolor series framed:

Have a great weekend, I hope to be back on schedule by Friday...we appreciate your concerns about Bob and thank you for enjoying the sights and sounds of Mexico with us.

Color Fully Yours,

Cindy