Atenas Painters Association Art Show - Reminder

I haven’t posted much lately. Getting ready for the art show has taken up a fair bit of time. I finally finished and varnished the big piece I will have on display and for sale. Here it is and also another new painting that will also be at the art show.

Once the show is over, I will have more time to talk about our new home town, Grecia.

In the meantime, don’t forget our art show!

Atenas Painters Association - 3rd Annual Art Show

Hope to see you there at Hotel Colinas del Sol. Seven local artists (including me) will be exhibiting new work.

One Week in Atenas

Our art show last weekend went very well with my painting "Tranquilo" going to its new home at a cattle ranch not far from us. We'll be meeting sometime this week to discuss the show, what we want to do in the future, when to hold the next show and so on.

Our septic tank was overdue for a cleaning and that was an interesting process to observe. Now we know where the septic tank is located.

Yesterday, our gardener Byron was here and he finished up just as a storm moved in. The rain was quite intense with lots of lightning and thunder so he stayed until it eased off and he could get back up the mountain to his home. I hope he managed to hitch a ride because he was carrying a heavy, professional style weed wacker, a can of gasoline, and a backpack with his protective clothing in it (face mask, leather apron, harness for the weed wacker). In Costa Rica, a lawn mower would not work on the mountain sides.

As we were sitting outside, the power went off -  probably due to a circuit breaker being hit by lightning as we heard a "pop". We also felt a small earthquake. Our cat had zoomed off somewhere once Byron started working. Cat (that's what we call him) eventually came home once the storm passed but he was quite wet. Not much of a problem in a tropical climate as the rain is warm.

Since we were having a cold Asian noodle salad for dinner, the lack of electricity wasn't much of a problem and it came back on after a few hours.

One of my orchids is flowering - the scent is incredible and the flowers are weirdly wonderful.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Lately, I haven't been posting as much as I want to. My excuses are:

I have to finish preparing my Canadian income tax forms and have them in the mail before the end of April. For me, this is torture.

We've been experiencing a bit of a heat wave the last couple of weeks. Today the high was 92.1F. The nights and mornings are always wonderfully cool (below 70F) so we aim to do chores before 11:00am or so. This could include having the laundry done and on the line to dry, going into Atenas for groceries, cleaning the house and so on. The rest of the day, for me, will be spent lolling in my hammock doing the New York Times Sunday crosswords, watering my orchids, thinking of a cold meal to prepare for dinner ... sounds so lazy but I love the life.

We've been doing a fair bit of pet and house sitting lately and all the properties have had a pool so I can include swimming several times a day as a cooling exercise.

Good news, art wise. Our Atenas Painters Association is presently in the planning stages for our second annual art show to be held August 26th, 27th and 28th at Colinas del Sol, where we held our very first and successful art show two years ago.

I will have four large paintings on display (one pig, one goat, one Brahma, one young Hereford cow) and two smaller oxen paintings. Also hope to do a horse painting.

Look at this:

Our dear neighbor Sharon gave this to me this morning. It's a hand carved cow head made by a Costa Rica artist. I just love it. We're going to be house and dog sitting for Sharon starting this weekend (the famous Diogi Border Collie).

Our lives here are very rich.

 

Progress of a Painting

Just for something a bit different, I've decided to photographically chart the progress of a painting I have just started.

The size is 36" x 36", gallery wrapped canvas and I am using acrylic paints. My photo reference is courtesy of Gloria Navarro McDermott.

In this first photo, I have finished my basic background. Ultimately, the bottom third will become grass and I may or may not retain the sky the way it is now. I have roughed in my Brahma bovine with white chalk.

 

This morning, I started painting the shape of the animal. There is going to be a second cow on the left - just the head peeking out from the grass. Once I am happy with the layout, I'll start adding more paint by glazing and adding layer after layer of paint to achieve depth, shadows and light.

To see more of my horse and cattle art (and sometimes dogs and cats) go here.

 

 

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My Lucky Day

Yesterday morning, I decided to walk into Atenas to see if my order from Art Depot had arrived at the bus station. I had placed the order yesterday, over the phone, and they popped it on a bus going to Atenas from San José for minimal extra cost.

Just before I left, a car pulled up to our gate with a parcel for me. This was the order I had placed with the company Royal Palm Interiors for a quart spray bottle of a product called Concrobium Mold Control. Royal Palm are the Costa Rican distributors of Concrobium. They use it a lot because they are situated in Uvita, Zona Sur, where mold is a big issue.

We're trying it out because it apparently eliminates mold and mildew, prevents mold growth and kills musty odors. It actually destroys the mold spores and lays down a protective barrier that prevents mold growth. This was lucky because we have a number of areas and items with some mold problem and I didn't want to delay treating them.

I had just walked to the corner of our road and Routa 3 when one of our neighbors stopped and offered me a ride. This was lucky because it was starting to feel hot from the sun and I was thinking I should have left earlier.

Leticia dropped me right in front of the bus station - some more luck. Thank you, neighbor!

My luck was holding - my Art Depot order was ready for me to pick up.

I decided to walk to the Coopeatenas Supermercado from the bus station and, along the way, I met one of our taxi drivers - Mario. Always nice to see our friends. Three minutes later, another taxi driver friend of ours, Diego, pulled up and asked if I wanted a lift to the Coope (not very far and no charge). So perhaps meeting Mario gave me the luck to be right at the spot where Diego was driving by.

It's always good luck to meet friends and I met four of my fellow Atenas Artists Association members at Coope.

Wait! There's more! The BBQ chickens were cooked and ready to buy. So many four leaf clovers on one day.

My good luck streak was still holding. Diego had gone into the grocery store and not left so he was there to drive me back home.

At the Coope checkout, I was given a ticket to fill out for a raffle they are holding. Maybe I'll win. I read the other day about a couple in Costa Rica who bought raffle tickets from two neighborhood boys to raise money for their school. They bought tickets to support the school, with no thought of winning or what the prize was. Guess what? They won! The prize - a live pig!

That might not be so lucky.

 

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Atenas Painters Association, Costa Rica - First Art Show

The Atenas Painters Association's first art show was a resounding success from all accounts. We are a group of, presently, seven painters living in Atenas and surrounding area. Each of us has different styles of painting - abstract, realism, etc., and we offer high quality work. We are hoping to add Tico artists to our group in the near future.

Our show was held at Hotel Colinas del Sol in Atenas, which was a perfect venue, with plenty of parking and an excellent restaurant and bar.

Friday night, August 29, 2014, was a private wine and cheese opening reception. Saturday and Sunday, August 30 and 31, we were open to the public. Turnout on all days was excellent and sales were made.

Considering this was our first ever show, we think it went very well and we will definitely be holding more shows.

Many thanks to Gordon Balter for organizing us, Sharon Balter for welcoming guests at the door, Al Alexander and Pete Snyder for making the panels, easels and hanging the lights and Colinas del Sol and staff for all their assistance. Thank you to all who attended our show and made it such a success. Special thanks to Claudia and Barry for the lovely bouquet of flowers they brought me.

Sold! My work, "In Tandem/En Tándem" acrylic on canvas, 34" x 42"

Al Alexander's art

Jocelyn Farquhar's art on the left and Harriet Sheppard's work on the right.

Pete Snyder's art

Sheila Nelson's art, on the right

Sheila Nelson's art on the left.

My display

On the left, artist Julie Jones, and my work to the right of Julie's.

 

 

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Atenas Painters Association - Art Show

A reminder - the recently formed Atenas Painters Association is holding their first group exhibition this weekend - Saturday, August 30, 2014, from 2 - 7 pm, and Sunday, August 31, 2014, from 2 - 6 pm. If you are in the area, please stop by.

Where: Hotel Colinas del Sol, Calle Boqueron, Atenas, Costa Rica. Colinas del Sol is 600m east of the high school gym, 100m east of the Roca Verde gate. Telephone 2446-4244 or 2446-5803. The bar and restaurant will be open.

The Atenas Painters Association is composed of seven painters. Here is one of my paintings that will be displayed - "In Tandem/En Tándem", 34"x42", acrylic on canvas. This matched pair of oxen were in last year's Atenas annual oxcart parade.

 

 

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Art in Atenas

If you are in our town of Atenas, Costa Rica, on Saturday, August 30, and Sunday, August 31, I hope you can attend the Atenas Painters Association art show. There will be six painters exhibiting, myself included.

Here is the information:

 

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