Sailing to Anguilla was a great day. When we signed up for the trip, we did not realize it was such a booze crews (but apparently they all are). The rum started early (learned about a variant of a Dirty Shirley made with rum) and kept flowing all day. But that was not the highlight of the day. For me, painting while sailing (see below) was the true highlight (that and the after party).
Below is the picture of the catamaran I did after a lovely lunch of mahi mahi, jerk ribs, curried coleslaw and rice. It is my favorite piece of the whole trip. In fact, it might be my favorite piece I have done in the past year (this or the old stone bridge).
Watercolor and pen & ink on paper 5.5x8.25
Below is a series of three small (postcard size) pictures I did while sailing to Prickly Pear and Anguilla. Despite all the rum, not many people were talkative. However, after I pulled out my watercolors and began sketching that all changed. It was a fun conversation starters. These three sketches are rough and loose and just plain fun.
Vacation was relaxing and awesome. And incredibly productive. I did 9 painting/sketches of various sizes, including 3 while sitting on a catamaran (coming soon).
Instead of my normal Daniel Smith watercolors, I brought a new palette of colors by M Graham watercolors (Highland Green, Bismuth Yellow, Cobalt Teal, Permanent Green Pale, Scarlet Pyrrol, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Violet, Cobalt Blue, Cobalt Green, Alizarin Crimson, Quinacridone Gold and Burnt Sienna) specifically because of the gorgeous cobalt teal, which was perfect for the clear Caribbean water. M Graham watercolors are made with natural blackberry honey to prevent them from drying out. It was my first time really using these watercolors and they did really well, except for the Cobalt Green which never, ever dried in my palette and therefore leaked all over the place. Good thing I kept them in a zip-loc baggie.
This was the view from my room, looking out to the far right. I did have a view of Simpson Bay but could not see it sitting down.
Watercolor and pen & ink on paper 5.5x8.25
View of the Caribbean Sea
We spent most of the time hanging on the beach or floating in the Caribbean Sea. I did a sketch of the view, sitting on a beach chair, looking to the right on the first day and the view to the left on the last day. Connecting them would give a full view of the little horseshoe bay where we sat most days.
Watercolor and pen & ink on paper 5.5x8.25
Watercolor and pen & ink on paper 5.5x8.25
View of Simpson Bay and the "Hills"
The view of the "mountains" were a close second to the sea itself. Not sure if these are Sint Peter Hill or Sentry Hill, but I enjoyed watching the clouds drift in the sky to make the shadows flowsacross these "hills".
I finally feel like an urban sketcher. To my mind, rightly or wrongly, I feel that Barcelona is birth place of this little global movement (or at least one of them). If it is not, then it is certainly one of its centers. So to finally sit at a restaurant on top of Arenas de Barcelona and sketch the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya was a pretty cool experience.
Watercolor and pen & ink on paper 5.5x8.25
I had this ambitious idea of doing one small picture a day (3.5x5.5) but alas, I only had the time and energy to do two. Below is the view from my hotel room. On the left, barely visible, is Sagrada Familia.
Watercolor and pen & ink on paper 3.5x5.5
And here is where the magic happens. The mobile recording studio set up in our hotel.
