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Showing posts with label Colinas del Sol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colinas del Sol. Show all posts

Friday, December 23, 2022

Just in Time For Christmas Art Show and Music Festival, Atenas

As I mentioned in my November 29th post, I had been invited to participate in this art show and of course I accepted. It was to run from December 9 to 11, 2022, with setup of art works, etc., on December 8. The show was held at Colinas del Sol. Our plan was to stay in the Atenas area from December 8 to 12 rather then drive back and forth from Grecia.

About a week prior, we received notice from our Asada that they would be installing new water pipes on our street and directly in front of our laneway starting on December 6. Our landlord Luis confirmed that in all probability we would not be able to drive into or out of our lane on December  6.

Plan B: Since we did not know when this might start or how many days this might take, and since the imperative was to get my art work to Atenas on December 8, we decided to stay at La Terraza Guest House B&B in Grecia, together with my paintings, for the nights of December 5, 6 and 7. This would ensure that we would be able to get to Atenas on the 8th. This turned out to be an excellent plan as Luis told us later that indeed our laneway was blocked as he drove by.

La Terraza is not far from our house and the host, Charles E. Owens, is very welcoming. So is his manager, Natalia. We had a nice room with king bed and porch with two rocking chairs. Breakfast is included (coffee, juice, gallo pinto, steamed vegetables, poached egg, toast). Everyone eats on the large veranda so you get to meet other guests.

The property is beautiful. A river runs down at the bottom and beyond that are various fruit trees. 

Our balcony:


The pottery was made by Romeo Gallegos. I did a blog post on Romeo - dated January 24, 2022.




Our next stop was Hotel Villas de la Colina just outside Atenas, where we stayed for December 8, 9 and 10. Atenas is quite mountainous and this property has fantastic views. We had a cabin overlooking the hillside with a full kitchen and wraparound balcony with table and chairs.

Breakfast is included here also. There is a swimming pool at the bottom of the property. Again, really nice hosts.

View from the dining area:


Part of the dining area:


View from our balcony:



Hammock included:


One night we ordered a pizza:


Which attracted Lola, the resident bulldog:


Lola would pop in for a visit and make herself at home:


On the morning of the 8th, it was time to take my paintings to Colinas del Sol for setup and hanging. Here’s my display:


The painting in the middle left - “Painted Lady” - sold before the show officially opened. The horse painting on top - “Alberta Wildie” - was exhibited in Washington, D.C. See my blog post dated March 11, 2022. By the way, the painting at the middle right of “Madam Justice Bovina” sold after the show ended.

Besides paintings, there were handmade soaps, orchids, photographs, jars of pickles and lime curd, etc.

By all accounts the arts festival was a big success with 10% of the proceeds of sales going to several different Atenas charities. The ladies that organized the show are to be highly commended.

Because Hotel Villas de la Colina were booked up for December 11, we went to stay at Eden Atenas B&B for that night. Again, another friendly and helpful host. Our room had a fully equipped kitchen and balcony. Breakfast is available but not included. There is a swimming pool.





Click on images to enlarge.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

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!





Thursday, August 25, 2016

Art in Atenas - My Contributions

Here are the paintings I will have on display at the "Art in Atenas" Gordon Balter Memorial Art Show.

Where: Hotel Colinas del Sol, Calle Boqueron, Atenas, Costa Rica (600m east of the high school gym, 100m east of the Roca Verde gate).

The show runs from Saturday, August 27 (2-7pm) and Sunday, August 28 (2-5pm), 2016. Hope to see you there!

"Moona Lisa" - 31.5"x31.5", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.
Photo reference courtesy Pam Utton.

"Painted Lady" - 35.5"x35.5", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.
Photo reference courtesy Linda Gorchinsky.

"Pork and Coffee Beans" - 31.5"x31.5", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.
Photo reference courtesy Patricia Anne Jones.

"The Goat" - 31.5"x31.5", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.
Photo reference artist's own.

"Tranquilo" - 35.5"x35.5", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.
Photo reference courtesy Gloria Navarro-McDermott.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Atenas Painters Association Second Art Show

Put these dates on your calendar - Saturday, August 27, 2016, from 2pm to 7pm, and Sunday, August 28, 2016, from 2pm to 5pm - the Gordon Balter Memorial Art Show, at Hotel Colinas del Sol, Atenas, Costa Rica.

Gordon Balter was the visionary who recognized that the small town of Atenas, Costa Rica, had a lot of creative artists who should be brought together and encouraged to put on an art show. This we did in 2014 to great success thanks to him.

Gordon was also our good friend and neighbor.  So, in Gordon's memory, we artists have gathered together again for our second show.

This year, the featured artists are Al Alexander, myself, Harriet Sheppard, Jocelyn Farguhar, Sheila Nelson, Julianne Jones and Jan Yatsko. Our work is varied with no two artists doing the same kind of art.

We hope to see many of you at our show.


Monday, August 18, 2014

Oropendola - Follow Up

Last week, I was at Colinas Del Sol in Atenas and took some photos of the oropendola nests that they have hanging all over the resort. These nests are amazing works of art, very intricate.

Here is a photo of an oropendola:

Note: This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. The image was originally posted to Flickr by Clearly Ambiguous at http://flickr.com/photos/84617037@N00/131678600.