From our Trip to the Beach

"The Beach at Rincon de Guayabitos" 9x12 in. oil on panel
This and the next one are from our recent holiday at the beach. We camped at this location 42 years ago for 3 months and it is incredible how much it has all changed. Where there were a few small palapa's and old, narrow wooden boats floating in the bay there is now a beach with hotels strung along the length. They're now calling this section of coast the "Riviera de Nayarit". Puerto Vallarta is about 60 miles to the south and slowly spreading north. It's still nice in it's own way but when we sacked out under the stars in our sleeping bags we could have never dreamed it could get like it is now so quickly. One redeaming feature is that it has become a very "Mexican" beach where families pour in from Guadalajara and Mex. city on the weekends - it doesn't feel at all like the usual "tourist trap". Also, there are a lot of other Canadians who have discovered the place and manage to quietly blend into the scenery. Lots of good, inexpensive seafood restaurants on the beach - altogether a great place to sun, swim and paint for a while. We'll be going back more than once!

"Boats & Boug's" 9x12 in.

"Barranca Fountain" 14x18 in. oil on panel

This one from last Monday's plein air class. I haven't tried anything larger than 9x12 on location for quite a while and I was surprised that the increase in size really didn't slow me down much. In fact I liked it and plan to do more larger ones over the coming weeks. My palette size (9x12 ins.) is a bit small for larger work but with a little planning it can be made to work. I may even try a 16x20 in. for this Mondays class. We plan to paint from one of the rooftops in the very heart of centro. I haven't seen the view yet but they say it's spectacular - looking forward to it.