MEXICO Baby! "Vive Los Artistas"

After 42 years as a commercial graphic designer, I finally said ADIOS to the day J.O.B. to follow my dream as a professional watercolor artist. My hope was to be able to escape the cold wet climate of the Pacific Northwest, and travel somewhere warm, and by the water where I can pick up the inspiration of life on the sea. When I return to the PNW, hopefully I will have a fresh batch of new paintings and can work on marketing my craft to the folks in Seattle/Puget Sound. My initial destinations where either Portugal or Mexico.

Mexico it is!. I have a cousin in Puerto Vallarta with a beautiful Beneteau Oceanis 45 foot sailboat (see below) and condo right with an extra room right on the beach. I have sailed Mexico several times before, but this was an opportunity to spend several months on the boat and painting along the shores of "Bahia de Banderas". After some details worked out, I rented my home out in West Seattle and headed for 6 months in Mexico. A Dream Come True !

So in January, off I went to PV to first help sail the boat 450 nautical miles from Puerto Vallarta south to Zihuantanejo and back. 6 days each way. Loaded with my sailing gear, clothes for 6 months and of course my watercolor portfolio case full of ARCHES 300 lb paper, paints and brushes we set off. It was a great trip, with stops in some new ports and a few days and nights of some pretty rough seas on the return leg.

Once we finally returned to PV in February, I was anxious to get started painting....but where? I looked an artist table at local stores (all the Big Boxes are here BTW), but did not find what I was looking for, and did not want to buy something expensive since I was only going to be here for a few months.

My cousin's condo has a beautiful and large terrace on the upper floor. The Terrace has a spectacular 270 Degree view of the bay, sounds of surf washing on the shoreline, Coconut Palms and Pelicans gliding line at eye level. There were also 2 cabinets there, on the shaded side of the terrace that might work for a work station...oooops I said "WORK", I meant painting studio! So, here is what I put together for a table area for painting, completely for FREE. I added a cardboard box to elevate my artboard to the height I needed.

The Outdoor Studio....with a view!

And "BAM"..... let the painting begin! The first was a painting of the "Pongas" (see below) which are the classic fiberglass fishing boats that are found all over the villages of the Mexican coast line. This design of boats are actually used all over the world and have been proven to be amazingly sea-worthy, beach-able and very cost effective to build and buy. They typically are all the same Teal color here in Mexico, but I added some extra color to my rendition. Each boat is proudly named as well, which adds to their charm.

Here is "BEACHED PONGAS" the first of many watercolor originals to come from this awesome experience in MEXICO. I already have the next painting in the queue! Can't wait.....Totally Stoked! Stay Tuned!

Work in Progress!

"Beached Pongas" - Original 21" w x 14" h