“ Giacomo” Graphite on Paper

Yesterday I dropped Giacomo off at the Cartagena AIrport, and in about 15 minutes (21 hours and 3 planes later) he will be arriving in Seattle. I kind of choked up when he left.

I joke that Giacomo is my role model, but it’s not really a joke. He is one of the most cool headed, intelligent, relaxed, loving, with a keen sense of humor, comfortable in his own skin, genuine, not prone to fads or peer pressure people that I know. In other words, he is an awesome travel companion, and I feel so blessed to be have been able to spend this time with him on the cusp of college and him flying the coop.

We have had three amazing weeks discovering a new part of the world together. The last time I was in Mexico City was when I was 4, and we had both never been to Colombia. The mutual discovery of exploring a part of the world that is not usually in the Moody orbit was profound. It will have ramifications in both of our futures.

Last Day in Cartagena

“Giacomo” Graphite & waterfolor on regular ole drawing paper

Giacomo. Thanks For coming with me. It has been a huge gift! Here’s to many more! Love you mucho, Dad

Just waking up and walking outside everyday has been amazing. I could have spent all 7 days on the understory patio and been completely fascinated. Indeed, the two watercolors I did while here were done from there. I could spend another week just painting from the patio.

The small green parrots chortle in the morning sun, brisking about their big mud condo (like a bean bag built around a branch). Immense and tiny praying mantis jockey for position around the ktichen light. Doves coo and beat their wings against the ground in some mating ritual. Insects trumpet a poison harmonic at full blast. The hook billed hummingbirds are as numerous as the insects. I keep seeing new birds fly by. Stray dogs wonder through, more interested in handouts than a pat on the head.

The Plants exist in a whole different dimension here. The giant leaves make you feel small. They arc in all encompassing gestures: shading, swooping, pulling you in. Everything belongs here, whether it wants to or not. No austere nordic alienation can creep in as the humidity fills every pore of lonliness. People are more connected here. More familiar.

We saw a funeral procession go through the town of Guachaca. Lead by a phalanx of small honking motorcycles with two to three people on each one….Then the walkers, and in the middle of them the casket being carried on the shoulders of men, and then more honking motorcyles. Probably 500 people; not formally dressed. Just in attendance. Evidence of a connected community.

Being here has been, dare I say….“healing”. In this glamping situation there is no escaping the outdoors, the literal vibration it gives off. The saturation of greens and color. Having to speak more Spanish to get along, and I am not very good, but I am a good mime, and I can draw, and they are patient. We figure it out. The culture, the heat, the nature, the language; it puts you in an altered state. An immersive state.

I suppose that is what I seek: Immersion. Hard to do in a week, but lots of quiet time helps, and just looking. Looking at how miraculous everything is. I don’t just do this when I travel, but all the time, I mean, when I have time, to be still or on a walk. Ask my family : I am always lagging behind looking at something, A view, a fungus, the mixture of moss and dew, an extraordinary tree, a phenomenon of light, lizard, beetle, ant hive, stone, nurselog, building, alley, clerk at a counter, junk pile,

I don’t much go for gurus, but I heard one with a big social media presence say something that I agree with. Paraphrasing: “Do not focus on the purpose of your life, because there is none. Rather focus on the miraculous exhurberance of your existance.” Spot-On, Guru with a good P.R. dept., spot-on.

If you are into communing in the Jungle in Colombia, and getting moto-taxi rides into town, then I highly recommend the place that we stayed. It is SALVIA y MADRE near Guachaca. You can find them on AirBnB., and on Instagram. The host Paula, is fantastic.

“Julia” Watercolor and blue ink on 300lb paper

LAS PALENQUERAS

This is Julia, who posed for this picture after quickly carving up two giant bowls of fruit salad which I had unknowlingly ordered. She is known as one of the Palenqueras, and they sell frutas and pose for tourists with their brightly colored dresses and bowls of fruit balancing on their heads.

The Palenqueras came way before Carmen Miranda. They are from San Basilio de Palenque, which is a town about 50 Kms to the southeast of Cartagena. It was a town formed and administered by runaway slaves, and in 1691 they signed a royal decree that stated the town’s independence from Spanish colonial rule, thus becoming the first free town in the Americas.

That seems a worthy thing to remember, and their colorful presence ensures that we don’t forget.

LA HEROICA

La Heroica is the nickname for Cartgena. In 1815 they declared their Independence from Spain, and soon after endured a 105 day siege of the City by the Spanish forces. Many starved rather than surrendering. Spain did retake the City, but the effort has been memorialized by the Nickname.

I remembering marveling at the splendor of Madrid when I was there last summer. And then I read some of the history of Colombia, and realized that much of that splendor was robbed during the 400 year stranglehold that Spain had on much of South America.

Watercolor pencil, watercolor and Blue ink on 300lb paper

This is a view from our kitchen at our AirBnB….which is an open understory, with the screened bedroom above. The compound we are in is a beautifully currated junglescape, and I couldn’t concieve of greater lushness. The plant and insect energy is over the top. The birds, the sounds, the heavy fruits crashing down.

To go from urban Mexico City and tourist-centered Cartragena to the middle of the jungle is quite a shock. Suddenly nature is the main show and we are in it. You find yourself in the middle of a constant thrumming drone of lfe; day and night. Cradled by the biome.

Guachaca y Parque Tayrona

It takes awhile to adjust to a new place: The temperature, the bedding, finding ones way about, Figuring out the food, the new town. . Guachaca. is the name of the nearby town. It was weird to walk through and have no one try to sell us anything. Fruiterias, Panerias and every other shop seemed to be a Motorcycle Repair shop. No restaurants were noticeably open. So we went to a tiny supermercado and bought stuff to cook for dinner. Arepas are the Colombian version of Tortillas. They are thicker and quite a hearty meal when paired with melted cheese and cooked vegetables or chicken, or whatever.

We got a guide named Daniel to take us to the hidden waterfall further up in the mountains of Tayrona Park. It was a steep 3 kilometer hike in the hot sun (when not under jungle cover) and Daniel told us in broken english about the history of Colombia, Tayrona Park and the Indigenous people that still live here. They divide into three language groups and are distributed according to elevation (high, mid and low) Although the low is still up in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range. You pay entry to get into the park and supposedly the money goes to support the indigenous populations that live there.

We heard howler monkeys, which he said was a rarity (maybe he says that to all the tourists).

The Waterfall area was movie shot amazing. And felt sooooo good to swim in after the hot walk. If we didn’t have the guide with us, I probably would have hung out another couple hours…..although, the sun does disappear pretty quickly after 6:30pm.

That one photo of the river bed is actually just one of 20 glroious jungle shots! Click on the link to see.

And here is a video link of our kitchen mascot! (one of several)

Burro en la Calle - 8x11 watercolor on 300lb paper

I spotted this burro attached to a cart near a busy intersection in Cartagena. I did not paint this on site, but employed a deviced called a “camera”…to capture said image and work on painting it in the luxury of an air conditioned apartment . It’s not so much the heat, as the humidity that floors these Seattle natives. In a few days time we wil be in Guayacha, near Tayrona park, further east on the Caribbean coast, and there will be no air conditioning, just an idyllic palapa in the jungle. We will be spending a lot of time in the river.

Carts of all sorts, shapes and sizes are employed here, mostly driven by human power. (Tons of cars and motorbikes as well)

As we move about the city we are perpetually engaged by a plethora of hawkers selling everything from coral bracelets to trips to the Rosario islands, to massages, to Hats, Domino holders, lottery tickets, etc. One quickly realizes that we tourists are their livlihood, and that we are expected to fulfill that roll. But you can’t say yes to everyone, so you get really good at saying No a hundred different ways. You start feeling like “No’s” are powering you through the city. It’s not a rejection, but a means of propulsion.

We went to a beach on BocaGrande, which is the peninsula south of El Centro (The old Walled City) with lots of new high rise hotels , and most of the beach was closed off, with only a small section left open for use. WOW, was that crowded, and I have never said NO so fast and so frequently in my life. The expectation was intense. They pretty much leave Giacomo alone. BUt we did spent money, and body surfed in the waves, and got sunburned, so everyone was happy.

Cartagena is a visual feast, and I highly recommend coming here. Pretty much not to be missed, but it is also the center of tourism in Colombia. It will be good to see more of the country without the hard sell.

Above is some of my process with the “Burro en la Calle” watercolor. I actually started with a drawing done with a blue watercolor pencil (which bleeds when wetted). Notice how I am rigging my easel inorder for it to be more stable. Improvisation! Plein air painting! Life! …. Lo Mismo.

As I got off the plane at Midnight a wall of humidity hit me and said, “Relax white man, I’ve got you and everyone else in my embrace.”

Fruit Stand Man - Pencil on 98lb 6x8 paper

Cartgena is an incredible treasure trove of visual exhuberance. Click on “View Original Post” to see it.

Tamarin Monkeys in a Cartagena park. May box of macaroons had them mesmerized. (Click on link to view them in action).

My webiste is currently not working, but I am wondering if these Blog posts do. Lemme know ! We are off to enjoy the 2nd day.!

If you are getting this via email, be sure to click on the link at the bottom of the post inorder to see all the photos. Also, I love comments! If you wish to respond , you may via email, or by clicking on the title of the actual Blog post on my website.

Watercolor on 300 # paper

The above watercolor was done in two sittings at the central plaza of Parque Mexico,. An amazing hangout place, with Dogs, boxing sparrers, hiphop dancers, kids playing soccer, roller skaters, couple dancing lessons, yoga, handstands, Giacomo reading and me painting… All happening at the same time in and around the large ciruclar space surrounded by a colonade of magenta bougainvillea vines. Such good vibes.

My scale is a bit off with the painting… the guy with the blue shirt is mighty tiny. I could stick it in photoshop and correct the proportions….but let’s just call it part of this piece’s charm.

Watercolor: So tricky. Not really faster than oils for me, but one way or another I will get the hang of it, as it is all I have with me on this trip.

MURALS

Along a hiway in Mexico City

One of my reasons for coming to Mexico City was to see the murals of Diego Rivera, but the city was so interesting where ever I went, I didn’t wind up seeing any. Next time!

Luckily, there are plently of murals scattered about the city. Here are a few samples:

Pictured below are some impressive frescos in the Castillo de Chapultepec about the Mexican Revolution and the first Democratic election held in Mexico around 1911, which was won by Revolutionary leader Francisco Modero (he was assassinated two years later). The artist was Juan O’Gorman, and the frescos were completed in 1968.

“Fresco” means “fresh” in Italian and is a form of mural painting in which earth pigments are painted directly on fresh, wet, lime plaster. As the plaster dries, a chemical process bonds the pigment and plaster together. Frescos can last a long time! Basically as long as the plaster lasts. Longer than anything I have ever painted.

What I appreciate about the paintings are not only the satisfying internal composition, satisfying detail and nice colors, but the visual narrative that is being told. I did this with the mural that I did in Poulsbo, WA, telling the story of the Cod Fishing Schooners. It is a very satisfying form. The artist is there to tell a story, not just express themselves. Art in service of history. Images have a radiant impact. They make the story more real. Their permance is a legacy.

Powerful stuff.

Now here are more random shots of what we’ve seen in Mexico City,

Next post will be from Cartegena ,Colombia. We fly tomorrow. South America here we come!

Giacomo, somewhere in Mexico City. Click on the blog link below to see videos and photos of the days adventure.

It was the recommendation of my friend David Lynch that prompted me to stop in Mexico City for a week before continuing on to Colombia. This was his advice, “Don’t make plans. Just walk in any direction”.

We have mostly done that, and it is the way to go. I am not much of a planner anyway. I just like to stumble on things, and indeed we did yesterday when our one plan, visiting the Frida Khalo museum, fell through because (word to the wise) you have to buy tickets in advance. Doh! So we aimlessly wandered in a plant fair, then a larger arboretum park, and then over to the Teatro Nacionale, which didn’t seem to have much going on….and so down a beautiful old street that led us to a park FILLED with relaxed, joyous people and clowns and musicians and jugglers and traditional dancers, and a big wedding coming ouf of a cathedral and….it was amazing. The Mexican people really know how to hang on a Holiday….it was the 6th of May, so maybe it was a Cinco De Mayo celebration, or maybe it was just another Saturday. I don’t know.

The park was Jardín Centenario in the municipality of Coyoacán, an area known for cobblestone streets, colonial architecture and ….Frida Kahlo. We stopped at a FANTASTIC seafood place for dinner (yes, we have let loose our Vegan ways for this trip), made all the more fantastic with two shots of top shelf mescal. Then Churros at the corner stand, then….lighenting, then thunder, then RAIN! Unprepparred and without wifi for an Uber rescue (Mexcio CIty has free wifi almost everywhere,…. except when we get caught in the rain). So we begged wifi and shelter from a nearbye restaurant and got an Uber home.

Ubers are affordable and an easy way to get around, and again, wifi almost everywhere, so if you have no cell plan for Mexico (which we do not) you are not dead in the water.

Now we are off to Mexico Park so that I can finish a watercolor…..my daily painting thing is not in full swing yet, but next post I will show the result of today’s efforts, and show a bunch of pics of murals (ironically none of which are Diego Rivera).

I leave you with the life of the party.

Mexico City, Quatro De Mayo

"Tourist" imples that one "tours", moves about, see lots of things; mostly the things everyone is suppoed to see. I do that, but I don't feel I have arrived at a place until I have sat in one spot for two to four hours. Yes, doing art forces me to do this, but I am always pleasantly surprised at how profound that simple act is.

You feel the rhythm of a place, see the usual characters. You keep noticing new details. You watch weather change and shadows crawl. You become a part of a place, not just a passer by.

Parks and Cafe's are great for this. Anywhere it is socially acceptable for humans to hang out. This is the second drawing that I have done at the Saint Panderia Cafe. They’re geting to know me there, and haven;t run me off yet.

The Orange Squeezers - The only way to have OJ

I showed the juice vendors the drawing. They seemed mildly amused.

We are awash in infinite information. A drawing allows me to parse it out: How the crates stack., the curb design, “S” curve of the legs, how palm fronds lie in a frozen radiant explosion, umbrella design, the manual juicer mechansim and the posture needed to operate it. Sky wires, and architectural detail, street textures….Lighting is not the thing dominantly communicated in this drawing, it is more how things are built/designer/put together. Understanding the structure of things.

THE TREES ARE WINNING

I didn't expect to feel like I was communing with nature while in a city of 22 miliion people. But everytime I walk out our door, I feel like I am in a jungle.. The variety of exotic trees and plants is remarkable. "It must just be in this neighborhood", I thought, but as we have walked about for miles, it seems to be all pervasive, at least in this 1/10 of the city. Many of the streets are shaded by tall tropical trees....that are winning, in my estimation. And here's the proof:

Buen Dia!

While here in Mexico City, I am taking this opportunity to catch up on a few artful events that occured this Spring in the thick of School and everything else……

PLEIN AIR WORKSHOP

I ran a plein air painting workshop through Vashon Center for the Arts on two Saturdays, 22nd and 29th of April, 2023. Eight students of all levels participated. I think we were all surprised at the level that was achieved. I wish I had pictures, but I was too busy running all over the place. Dockton park is a fantastic place for plein air painting. I may do another workshop series in the fall.

RESIDENCY AT THE LODGE AT ST. EDWARD PARK

The 2nd Annual! It was only one weekend (instead of three weekends like last Spring) but I made the best of it by doing a smaller version of the Grand Hallway Gallery….(if anyone wants me to finish this, let me know), and some live watercolor portraits at the opening of my Eurpoean Travelogue Show at teh Lodge. I think it appropriate that the Travelogue show is …traveling.

ART CAR!

I painted this flat profile cutout of a ‘57 Chevy in our livingroom for my daughter Louisa’s debut burlesque perfromance at Seattle Moisture Festival Burlesque Show. She hit it out of the Park! (And the car looked preetty good too). I was cranky when painting it, because I rarely do set painting anymore. It’s a whole different technique than oils, but once you know how to ride a bike….