Caliraya Lake 55 years apart! SS10.17

This painting was inspired by 2 photos(1) The first is the picnic photo of my future husband and myself with other people at Caliraya Lake, Luzon, Philippines. At that time the Lake was not fully developed and people visited the area for its lovely water scenery. It was free to the general public. In the 1971 photo, it showed T & S eating picnic food together on top of a table like rock near the water edge. During that picnic, I realized that our relationship would have a chance to advance since we solved a cross word puzzle together that day (plus the spark).We enjoyed solving puzzles during our 52 years of marital bliss. The second inspiration photo was a July 2026 short visit to the same Caliraya lake by my Philippine extended family 3 months after T's passing; to fulfill my arrival wish! The day after my granddaughter's graduation, my extended family & I made a trip of pilgrimage to honor our visit 55 years ago. Upon reaching the site, outside the now fully developed resort with entrance fees, our family prayed loving remembrances for dear T. We also took some recuerdo photos of the Lake, the trees, the boats and fellow tourists.The composite painting is the 2026 photos of the lake, the boat and the sky plus the 1971 figures of T & S positioned on a huge boulder or rock while eating picnic food. I never would have imagined that I would be creating a Watercolor painting of a happy memory when T & S visited Caliraya, on the same day, October 17, 55 years ago.Am grateful for small blessings!

Question: Date of first class - Next Session??

 Coming to the end of the hot press sketchbook. This is over edited… in the real image the people are not so obvious. 

Nature painting…

 

I’ve been working on all four of these at one time. They’re pretty small - 8x10 or under. Trying to focus on color mixing on the page, painting shapes not things, and letting things dry. Hard lessons to learn…

from the 9 towers project

Alan Fall 1 2026

 OK!   I gave up on this one. Here’s the reference photo that intrigued me. 

And this is what I did to it.  I started out drawing with a grey tombow that I thought would diffuse but it didn’t. I never recovered from that error, especially in the center. I just couldn’t control it. Believe me I tried but I finally decided to quit. 

Back to normal stuff. Here’s a 10 X 8 coldpress watercolor painting of a view from the side of our cottage looking towards the lake. It was just a view that changes with the time of day and the sun. I thought that I might do a series using the same basic structure. Losing my muse. But I liked a lot of things in this painting. 

The next one is an 11 X 14 Yupo version of a flowering desert cactus. I’m trying to do more non-representative versions of things. 

You can tell it’s a cactus plant because of the spikes. I might not be done with this yet. 

The Artist and the Artist Ss10.10

The painting session at the Millennium Park Summer Fest during a preCovid era is about a young portrait painter who for a minimal fee painted another artist, Me!This artwork with a previously muddy background waited several years for its second session.Am glad, that I returned to it on October 10 & with maturity and discernment, I was able to focus on the sketch and showed the 2 painter and the model as minor characters. Happy Painting to All!

Last Year’s Garden

 Overdone,  chaotic….it is really kinda that way. 

Doctor’s office has art books. Turns out it’s not that easy to paint like Rothko 🙄.

This is in hot press sketchbook. This composition appeals to me. The people on the left are “in” the painting and the bench connects to the person on the right. 

October 10, 2026 — Elaine O.

Isn't this the cutest baby? I absolutely love that big happy smile. The small size really suits the subject—and this is painted on a coated panel so it can be displayed without framing. At any rate, I'm happy with it.

6" x 6"

I also made a small start on another painting, although you'll probably have to come back next week to actually see what's going on.

10" x 14"

second of 9 - Shoemakers Tower

the first of a set of 9 towers - Clock Tower, Sighișoara