Tag Archives: Puerto Rico

Frankie

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5"X7" Acrylic on board

I don't often take on commissions, quite honestly I find them terrifying, especially animal and children portraits. I made an exception for this one as at least the subject was known to me.

I didn't really have any very good photos so I had to use a composite of several, mostly my own but some taken by someone else.

Every morning at around 5:30 Frankie likes to go for a walk on Sandy Beach in Puntas. This is a very famous surfing beach, but there aren't too many surfers this early in the morning.

SOLD


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Waiting for the Surf

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5"X7" Acrylic on board

I nearly called this one "Not the Jersey Shore", although there is a good chance that these are Jersey Boys. Most of the surfers in Rincon seem to come down from New Jersey. This is Pools Beach in Puntas, on the Atlantic side of Rincon. Some of the best surfing in the world, I am told.

As I write this the Jersey shore is being evacuated in the path of Irene, while the surfers are flocking to the beach in the hope of catching historic waves of 20 or 30 feet. It takes all sorts I guess.
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Waterfall, PR

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7"X5" Acrylic on board

Somewhere in the Cordillera Central, between Mayaguez and San Sebastian. We walked up the creek from the farm. It was probably only about half a mile but pretty heavy-going. It was worth it though to come upon this in the middle of the jungle. My photographs were terrible. I didn't want to risk taking my "good" camera with me so I only had my little camcorder. Sometimes that is all you need though, just an aide memoire to get you started.
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Grackle

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3.5"X2.5" Acrylic on paper ACEO

Still trolling through my Puerto Rico pictures. There is a restaurant in Boqueron, called "Paddys" or something like that. Anyway it has an Irish theme, hence the green tablecloths, I guess. There are shamrocks and leprechauns everywhere but the patio sits out over the water with a view of the pier, sailboats and the tropical bay, and it serves the best mojitos.

Both times I have been there the grackles seemed to rule the roost. They sit on the tables and clean up the scraps, not very hygienic I suppose, but quite entertaining.

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La Chata

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2.5"X3.5" Acrylic on paper ACEO

The oppressive heat and humidity we have been having here recently has made me think nostalgically of the sea breezes in Puerto Rico. This boat, "La Chata", was pulled up on the beach at Rincon. It was well above the tide-line and looked as if it hadn't been used for a while.One of these days I may turn it into a larger painting.

I have been vowing recently to start working larger, and what do I do? I move back to ACEO size! I am not sure why but I am still struggling with composition and this tiny size does help to get a good idea of the "notan".
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Hacienda

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7"X5" Oil on board

I have been very uninspired by my surrounding countryside of late. Perhaps because I have painted it all already and can't think of anything fresh to say. So I used the humid heat of the day to help me get into the mood for this one.

My sister and her partner have an orange farm in Puerto Rico. It is really just a few orchards carved out of the jungle, very different from the neat, orderly, flat orchards you find around here in the Niagara Peninsula.

This is the farmhouse, they don't live there, so it has a rather sad an neglected air about it. I think I took my photo at around nine in the morning (after working for three hours) the heat was already becoming uncomfortable so my sister and I took a walk up the creek to look at the waterfall. I may try to paint that although my photographs are very poor so I  will have to employ a fair amount of memory and imagination.


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Palm Trees

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7.5"X5" Mixed media in Moleskine

This is actually the same tree from two different vantage points. The fist was painted at ground level, looking up slightly, the second from the porch, you can see the ocean (Atlantic) in the background.

Even before the events of last week, the people of Rincon were very aware of the various perils that Nature can inflict upon them. They have suffered from  devastating hurricanes and earthquakes within recorded history and there is a clearly marked Tsunami Zone in the downtown area. They are currently in the process of moving the schools out of the Tsunami zone, onto higher ground. There is discussion about "how high is high enough?" My sister likes to think that their house is "high enough" and she is probably right. It certainly seems like a pretty steep walk back up from the beach, even though it only takes a few minutes.
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Tropical Leaves

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Various sketches in Moleskine

I have been back from Puerto Rico for several days but recovering from the culture shock and time change has taken its toll. Combine that with the horrific things going on in the world and I have had little heart for posting.

I didn't paint very much when I was down there, but did some sketching and took lots of photos, so I will try to create some pictures before I forget what it felt like.

Banana leaves are fun to draw, they are interesting plants too. They are the largest flowering herbaceous plant and can grow to 7.5 metres. After producing fruit they die down to the root and new "trees" grow up.





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Morning Walk

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7"X5" Acrylic on board


Still in Rincon, looking north-east on "Sandy Beach" at about 6:45 am. This is a surfing beach but not too many are here this early in the day.

With practice we learn to paint certain subjects. I have never been a big fan or the Bob Ross method, "this is how you paint a tree" but nonetheless we learn that certain conventions work in certain situations; one kind of brush, a certain mix of paint. Palm trees are almost entirely new to me and I am realizing that it might take me a while to learn how to paint them. So far they all seem to look like feather dusters.
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