Land where the goddess dwells.
Tag: drawing
Putnarenas Catedral
I took a nice long walk around town. I could see the steeple of this church from the ship, so my mission was to find it. It was a bit farther than it appeared. The nice part was that the best vantage point was a bench in the shade; a nice addition to the music coming from the church (see my earlier post about Puntarenas).
Curaçao Cafe
Great food at this upstairs restaurant overlooking the floating bridge. The patio has the river view, but the courtyard, pictured here, is more relaxed. Service is also “relaxed”. Not recommended if you are in a hurry.
Catching up: Acapulco to Hawaii
Taking a minute to relax in Acapulco….
Founding Nigroni Society members (Charley, Michael, Mitch) on an outing in Hilo Hawaii …
With my team (Kip and Oscar) at Rainbow Falls in Hilo …
At Mt. Kilauea, home of Pele …
Drawing at Mt. Kilauea. Can you believe it?
and finally, taking in the sights at a lava tube near the volcano …
At church again…
I’m drawing a quick sketch of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Devine in St. John’s, Antigua. Quick because the wall behind me was almost as hot as the sun and the humidity was up there, too. Thanks to Charlie for the photo and waiting in the hot sun. The church was closed for repairs so we could not get inside. It was beautiful on the outside. I hope, but doubt, it will be repaired any time soon.
Man struck in front of church!
Church of the Immaculate Conception in Castries, St. Lucia. I sat in the parking lot across the street. A steady stream of people passed by (see the boy in my previous post). Some stopped and looked and chatted. Looking at this painting, I was struck that I did not include anyone.
Surrounded by coyotes
I have spent lots of days and nights (easily 200+) in the desert around this mountain when I worked as an undergraduate field assistant at the University of Arizona Mammal Museum. It is Ragged Top, at the northern end of the Silverbell Mountains, northwest of Tucson, Arizona. The desert here is very lush, with just about every plant and animal species in the Sonoran Desert ecosystem.
I assisted graduate students with live-trapping and measuring and then releasing wild desert mice to study their populations. On cold nights the mice would get torpid if they spent too much time above ground in a trap (torpid: a state of suspended/sluggish physical activity, like hibernation). We would carry them in our pockets until they warmed up, then put them back near where they came from. I could tell they were coming back to life when I felt them moving around in my shirt and pants pockets!
200+ traps were spread out in the square shape, which made about a 5 mile walk. I remember checking the traps one very dark night, alone. At one point I heard noises around me. My heart started beating a bit faster. Then I heard a hushed “yip”, a sharp, high pitched bark. I was surrounded by coyotes. An unsettling, but not frightening situation once I realized they were coyotes; mountain lions live here, too. They became quiet. The “yip” probably came from an inexperienced youngster. I could hear them running around on both sides of me. They moved when I walked, and stopped when I stopped. I could only catch an occasional glimpse. They stayed just beyond the reach of my headlamp. How many? I didn’t know. At least 3 or 4 for sure. They were with me for a good distance. I think they were hoping that I would drop a mouse. Just in case, I carefully put each mouse near a hole. Oh, and then there were snakes …
Cartagena – Ants!
Hangin’ ’round in the Port of Cartagena by myself
And I had too much of a sweet fruit smoothie
And I was thinkin’ ’bout myself
And there it was….
This is a small area in the Port of Cartagena. It was calm and tranquil, unlike the city beyond the port gates. I chose a remote bench to sit on. Only then did I notice the ants. Billions all around. I had a bad run-in with ants in Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA. Great. Maybe I’ll only do a quick sketch and color it later. But something interesting happened. Even though a line of ants was marching along my bench, none of them bothered me. So I sat and did the complete painting. I had one or two ants investigate me, but they did not bite me. I do not know if I should take that in a good way.
