Mazatlan Morning

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.

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