Early morning, cuppa coffee, feet up, watching the path of the sunlight: first the thatch of the Palapa, then the little palm, then the edge of the waves, the beach, the wall, until all is sunlight, all day long.
That little palm was my initial delight and focal point. It lit up like a candle every morning. I couldn't stand to miss it. As the painting progressed I decided to include the Shrimp Guy, who showed up around 9AM every single day with a small red cooler filled with fresh and delicious 4 inch long (headless) cameroons. By that time, there were lots more people milling about, but I didn't want to include them in my painting. Just the bright little palm and the gentle, humble Cameroon Man. This time I set my easel up on our 4th floor balcony, which gives the viewer a more elevated perspective. Once I committed to the light areas I was free to paint any time of day, since the basic structures remained static. Omitted were all the bustle of resort life: the pool, lounge chairs, waiters, vendors, shoppers, sunbathers, etc etc. Don't get the wrong idea about me: I did NOT paint all day long! We were definitely a part of the daily bustle, enjoying guacamole and Pacifico just like the next guy! 
The next few blog posts are going to be about each of the 4 Mexico paintings I did last month…the backstory, process, experience and outcome. Don't worry, they ain't gonna be long. I am all about short and sweet!
So, once we got ourselves acclimated, inebriated, and calibrated, I went for a stroll around the grounds of Torres Mazatlan resort to find some inspiration. I don't know what you've read lately about travel in Mexico, but some people won't go there anymore (I'm talking to you, Douglas). We don't have such trepidation, but we're not stupid either. I thought it best to stay in our compound to do my painting this trip. I also wanted to be close to our room so I could escape quickly if the painting was terrible. So in my morning wandering I found this beautiful creamy wall with lots of interesting features. It was off to the side of the gardens, pretty solitary…well, except for (as I later discovered) the walking track that turned out to be quite popular in the A.M. So much for my shyness. What I especially loved was the way the palm fronds were shadowed soft and blue on the solid wall. God was painting it with the sunlight right in front of me. I took a few photos and did some sketches and then went back to our condo to lay in the early stage. This is NOT what I learned last year in the workshops; I was just so nervous about painting with people walking by. I wanted to have something that wasn't awful and avoid those averted, sad glances from the public. Once I had a passable start I gathered my gear and went OUT. Timing is everything, so the painting had to be done with the same light and once the sun moved too far, I had to pack it up. It turned out to be such a great experience! I was surprised to learn that I didn't mind at all having people walk by and it was really fun to talk with the ones who stopped to observe. There weren't many and all were lovely to me. There was that one guy who went to great lengths to not look my way on every single lap of the walking track, but there was also Barbara and Bob, who stopped and talked to me for a nice long time. I did some finishing touches back in the condo and some additional corrections and adjustments once I got back home. Every painting is a journey and this one was sweet. So, we were relaxing on the beach…may or may not have been "happy hour"….and the following dialogue took place: Me: Oh look, horses! Do you want to ride a horse on the beach? Him: I've never been all that interested in horses. Me: I wanted to be a horse when I was a kid. Him: I would have ridden you. Me: Very funny. Why don't you want to ride a horse now? Horses are intelligent and relational. Him: Like dogs? Me: Well, more like cats. I mean, they aren't as obedient as dogs. More independent-minded, like a cat. Him: So horses are like cats. I don't ride cats. 
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