More Travels

We've done a lot of travelling in the past 6 months. In December we took a cruise and saw Patagonia - Argentina, Cape Horn, Chile...the Andes Mountains, and Penguins. The cruise was rather eventful. In addition to all of the above, our ship crashed into a barge carrying luxury cars and we were stranded at sea for several days as a result. In fact, we're fortunate we didn't sink because the accident created a huge, gaping, JAWs-like hole in the bow of our ship. . . all part of the adventure.

In April we travelled again. This time we visited Indochina...land tour this time (we weren't ready for another ocean sail after the last fiasco). This was fantastic. We got to visit some of the Natural Wonders of the world. After visiting Bangkok, Thailand, one of these Natural Wonders was our adventures in Angkor Wat in Cambodia. WOW! ...fantastic ruins of beautiful temples in the middle of the equatorial jungles. This was where Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was filmed. From here we visited Viet Nam. Since my husband was a Viet Nam vet, he was anxious to see the country again. We travelled North from the Mekong Delta, Saigon and on to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Of course we had to experience it all and we got to crawl through some of those tunnels. Then we travelled further north to Hue, DaNang, China Beach, Hoi An, and then on to Hanoi. Hanoi is a beautiful city. It is very French in appearance. We loved it. Then we visited another Natural Wonder - Ha Long Bay. Wow oh Wow! I took some great photos on our trip and am anxious to get started in painting the sights we visited.

Miniatures

Recently I decided to paint some miniatures in addition to the full-size paintings I'm working on. These are a lot of fun to paint. Also, it's quite satisfying to be able to complete a project in a short amount of time. It's a real ego booster. By offering miniatures for sale. an additional different market is attracted due to the small size of the painting and the more economical cost to the art buyer.

I can offer them matted or framed. In fact, the one at the top, "Magnolia" (approximately 3 x 3 inches unframed) is presently in a frame which is a continuation of the painting.

This starts my miniature botanical series. There will be more botanicls. As I branch out I will begin other types of series. This next one is "Poppies in Repose", (4 x 6 inches unframed).

Awards won at Snowflake Art Show

Well friends,last night was the reception and awards ceremony for the Snowflake Art Show. This was a juried show sponsored by the City of Rocklin. My "Give a Hoot" won the third place medal in the watercolor category. Also, my "I Remember Mama" won the second place medal in the mixed media category. Pretty exciting!!! Today I volunteered three hours at the exhibit and painted a small painting of a butterfly while I was there.

Here's the butterfly I painted that day. I call it "Butterfly Aglow".

Blue Line Gallery

This past Saturday my husband and I worked at the Grand Opening of the Blue Line Gallery. They are featuring the Fredrick Wyse collection. The artworks are an eclectic array - really something to see.

Snowflake Art Show

This week I need to decide which paintings I'll submit for the annual Snowflake Art Show in Rocklin at Finn Hall. The show runs February 8-10, 2008. When I decide I'll
post my selections for you to see. On Wednesday and Saturday, of this week, I'll be volunteering time there. It should be lots of fun.