Sometimes I want my oil paints

I have not painted in oils since last August when I packed up my home and moved into Portland and then Bali. All my oils and equipment are packed away on a box...somewhere. It seemed almost impossible to bring them to Bali so I took up watercolor because it seemed easier for traveling. However, I miss smearing that wonderful buttery oil paint around—blending and layering. I had a teacher once who said "if you paint what is in shadow and then paint what is in light the rest of the painting will paint itself". That has never happened, but I still say it in my mind when I oil paint. 

Watercolor is very difficult. I panic a bit because it either dries too fast or I paint when it is still too wet. Either way I get mud. It is very frustrating! Today I used my small palette of gouache (as much like oil paint as possible) and did this beach study from a photo I took at sunset in Jimbaran, on the west side of the island.

Chasing the Giant Trevally

Jerry has just left with a friend on a guided "catch and release" fishing trip for Giant Trevally. They will fish off a beach in Sumbawa, which is two islands west of Bali in the Indonesian archipelago. To get there they will take a short flight to Lombok, a ferry to Sumbawa and then a five hour 4 X 4 ride on dirt roads to a remote beach where they will have to walk over rocky coral in hard-sole diving boots to get to where they will surf cast for these huge fighting fish. Bug spray and SPF 50 sun block are a must and then there is sleeping in the jungle. Clearly not my kind of holiday!

So I am here in beautiful Bali, where today, at 5 AM I was awakened by the loud grinding sound of the fogging trucks, roaring up and down the streets of Sanur spraying some ungodly chemical into the air to kill mosquitos. I grabbed the cat and hide under the covers to wait for the blue-gray fog to dissipate. The first time I experienced this, I was so freaked out that I couldn't stop talking about it that morning at the Kalimantan. They all looked at me and with such concern Muni said "Ya, bagus, it kills mosquito so no Dengue fever"—DENGUE FEVER!?! And then a giant 2" cockroach scampered across the floor...

Sky studies

5.19.09 Morning sunrise from the garden and late afternoon sitting on the kitchen steps while my cat stalked cicaks.

5.18.09 Midday looking up from the garden. Same view late night. Stars were slightly obscured by light clouds and the moon is almost gone. I believe it will be a dark moon by the weekend.

A virtual birthday kiss

This is a quick pencil sketch I did of my father, James Lawson, who turns 83 today. I am sending him a big birthday kiss from Bali to San Francisco, 8,345 miles away.

This photo of my family, circa 1960, was taken in the living room of our California ranch house in the suburbs of San Francisco about 49 years ago—YIKES! My parents still live in that house and have for 53 years! That's my dad, a handsome 34 year old father of three. My mom, Jacqueline Lawson, is holding my brother James and Courtney is sitting between them. I am the one with the pixie haircut standing in the back—I am the oldest (In Bali my name would be Wayan). We are all in our Easter best heading off to hunt eggs at one of the grandparents house. Life was good.

This is my family today. We are scattered across the USA and abroad. A lot of water under the bridge for this group, but we are all still here. That's me in the middle.

Happy Birthday, dad. I love you.

Sky studies

Sky Study 5.17.09 Looking at across the garden and over the far wall at the sunrise. Sun showers this afternoon.
Sky Study 5.16.09 Midday at the beach looking towards Benoa Harbor before we took the Laser out for a sail. A clear night at the beach looking across the Badung Strait at Penida Island. 

Semangka banyak

The other day I went to bed with and then awakened the next morning with a terrible headache. I ended up sleeping much of the day while busy Bali happened around me. Our housekeeper, Maria, asked how I was before she left for the day. With one eye opened I told her I couldn’t figure out why I felt so bad because the day before I ate nothing but delicious semangka (watermelon). She got a horrified look on her face and said quite loudly “Madame, tidak makan semangka banyak. Anda akan sakit kepala pusing”. “You will get a headache from eating too much watermelon”.

When her husband, Paskalis, arrived there was heated discussion around my watermelon consumption, more reprimanding and even finger wagging. The next day, when Jerry got back from Jakarta, he got an earful on the dangers of eating too much watermelon. Who knew…

Sky Study 5.15.09 The morning sky was looking east from the driveway and the night sky was having dinner at the beach looking out over the water.

All dressed up

These Ibu-Ibu were walking in front of me this morning, beautifully dressed in traditional kebaya and sarong, with flowers in their hair, carrying offerings to a ceremony at the temple. I remembered Anne Watkins beautiful watercolors of the luncheon ladies walking down 5th Avenue in NYC. This seemed like the Bali version of that event. So, I attempted to try to paint them without doing my usual pencil or pen sketch first. It was a bit intimidating because I knew that whatever I put down on the paper was going to be there—forever. Now where is that pencil...

Sky Study 5.14.09 I was reading Laura's blog and she referred to a challenge from Vivien's blog to paint the sky at different times of day and weather conditions and really take notice of the changes. Such a great idea. So, I decided to do a quick twice a day sky study everyday before we leave for the USA in June. Here's the first one—pagi/morning and sore/sunset from inside the villa. 

Tikus tidur lagi

Like most cats, Tikus, spends much of her day sleeping. She is either sleeping in the cupboard, up on the highest kitchen shelf, sharing my chair with me or like here, on one of the dining room chairs. When we come home at night she is usually in the driveway, sitting on the seat of the Piaggio scooter waiting for us. Her bobtail hooligan boyfriends watch from their perches and yowl, but she is mighty and will not share her crunchies.

A night at the Kalimantan

The Kalimantan is an open air bar and restaurant across the street from our villa. Owned for almost 20 years by an expat named Bob from Denver Colorado and his wife, Ibu Bob, from Kalimantan (Borneo). They serve an eclectic menu of Indonesian, Mexican and American food. They have the best fresh juice of any kind and my favorite kopi Bali. Some days, Jerry has been known to have three squares at what we sometimes refer to as "the commissary".

Saturday night we wandered over to the Kalimatan to sit at the bar, have a glass of wine and watch CNN with Bob and the other regulars. I was drawing the pelangkirin hanging on the wall, which is a chair like alter for placing offerings to the gods. Chicaks were running back and forth across the walls as we drank wine from a box. All of the sudden there was screaming from their house in the back of the restaurant where their Dachshund, Bogie, had grabbed a cobra in his mouth as it was going to strike. Everyone else ran to see the commotion, except me because I HATE SNAKES! Bogie's head was moving so fast that he shook the cobra in half. Bob smashed the cobra's head with a shovel and Ibu swept it all up.

Just another day in Bali...

An afternoon at Rudy's Salon

It was time for a cut and color. So off I went, on my bike, carefully merging onto the busy "Bypass". It costs me about $25, which is a far cry from what I pay in the USA. They speak enough English and I speak enough Indonesian to get the job done. I leave with my usual "bob" cut quite well, but my hair tends to come out a bit dark. I call it "Balinese black". They are so nice and I can always have my usual color and  highlights when I get back home in June. Better start saving up for that!

Not so good for the unhappy tourist below having a very bad hair day...

Sitting in the chair next to me, she was scowling at the mirror, smoking, having a pedicure and throwing a bit of a tantrum about her hair. She was so busy being angry that she didn't even notice me sketching her out of the corner of my eye. 

Island adventure—snorkeling in Lovina

This past weekend, after two nights in wonderful Ubud, we traveled north on winding mountain roads to the quiet remote town of, Lovina, Bali. We spent the afternoon snorkeling along the coral reefs which were a short jukong boat ride from the beach. It is quite amazing with brightly colored fish dashing in front of your eyes. I did this made up sketch from memory, so I don't think any of them are real species, but they are just as colorful.

Missing

I kept hearing my noisy little cat meowing, but when I called to her she didn't appear. The meows seemed to become louder and more desperate as I realized her cries were coming from the villa next door. Why wasn't she just climbing up the high wall like she always does? I was going to have to figure out where she was and that would only mean one thing, "the ladder". This ladder leans against the garden wall and is made from two bamboo poles and rickety rungs all lashed together with yellow boating rope. So, nervously, I climb to the top rung and peered over the wall. There in my neighbors outdoor shower was my cat surrounded by nothing but tile. There was no way she was going to be able to climb out. So in my best Indonesian, I explained to my neighbors Balinese housekeeper that my cat was trapped in their shower. Meowing loudly, she scurried out when we opened the door. I scooped her up, took her home and told her to stay...

My new bike

After a short bike rental from another Balinese named Made, I decided to just go for it and buy one. About 1,000,000+ rupiahs would get me a bike with gears and a basket. Two things that were a must on my accessory list. So off I went with Paskalis, our gardener, on the Piaggio scooter to the bike shop. I thought we were just going across the Bypass and I would would have a short ride home, but those bikes are "terlalu mahal"(too expensive)! So off we went for a 12 kilometer ride to some bike  shop way in the city of Denpasar. After much negotiation I am the proud owner of a black Starlite Wimcycle with gears, a basket and white side wall tires. The ride home consisted of me riding like hell through crazy inner city traffic with Paskalis riding along side of me on the Piaggio giving me directions back to Sanur. I had a blast! Even wore my pink scooter helmet for extra safety, and yes, the girl at the bike shop giggled as I put it on. So now I enjoy riding my bike around Sanur (without a helmet), but always HATI-HATI!

On the mend

12 hours, 700,000 rupiah and a bowl of nasi putih later, my little Balinese cat, Tikus, is home napping on a dining room chair. She's a resilient little thing and has basically recovered from her operasi. Her ruffian boyfriend has stopped yowling from the rooftop and when he thinks we aren't looking, tiptoes into the kitchen and chows down her food. We caught him "red-pawed" tonight with his mouth full of crunchies. She was on her mat barely opening her eyes as he scurried away when he saw us coming into the kitchen. We told him it's okay as long as he catches rats and the occasional cobra...Nothing here is like life as I knew it in the USA—NOTHING. 

First sail

Jerry grew up sailing on the coast of Maine. He is a salty dog at heart. So after discovering the Royal Bali Yacht Club (a small thatched roof shack at the end of Sanur Beach) he joined and bought himself a small sailboat called a Laser. He is number 905. The first sail was a regatta where a bunch of guys chased another guy on a somewhat windless day inside the natural bay created by the reef offshore. The air is balmy and the clear turquoise water is warm and fairly shallow—a far cry from sailing in Maine. I am looking forward to my first sail.

View from Pura Luhur Uluwatu

One of Bali's holiest temples, Pura Luhur Uluwatu, sits on the tip of a sheer rocky promontory jutting out over the Indian ocean. It is located at the farthest southwestern tip of Bali and dedicated to the spirits of the sea. Situated about 240 ft above sea level you can see the curve of the earth. My slight fear of heights keeps me from getting too close to the edge, but just close enough to get this view of the cliffs and the crashing surf below. It is one of those places on the island where people gather to watch the sunset, but, by then we are just up the road watching the sunset while eating fresh grilled fish on the beach at Jimbaran. 

Meeting the roommates

Yesterday morning it was murder and mayhem in the kitchen when my little cat killed a cicak (small gecko) during the night. I found it belly-up under the table without legs or a tail. I found the tail in front of the sink when I stepped on it—oh yuck. She has yet to meet the big guys in the great room.

Tikus—a cat named mouse

We have rats dancing on the thatched roof in the great room and mice party in the kitchen at night while we sleep. We called the property manager and their solution was a kucing (a cat)—of course. They told us of a large Persian mouser that they would bring to our villa and he would take care of the "tikus" which is the Indonesian word for rats and mice.

So, three days ago, Uul arrives with a box that he brought on his motorbike from their home about half hour crazy from here. He had no luck catching the big Persian mouser that he chased through the rice fields in Umalas, but he did bring a cat. He opens the box and there is the tiniest cat looking up at me—maybe 5lbs. She is not the typical Bali wild cat, but as Uul explained, "she adopted them, lives at their house, but she is not their pet". So she moved in and I named her Tikus. She has claimed a bright pink mat on a bench in the kitchen and when she is not sleeping there or eating crunchies, I see her chasing mice in the garden. Despite her diminutive size, she is quite loud.

After a day, my western ways got the best of me and I started to worry about the fact that this cat wasn't spayed (they don't do that much here). So off we went to find a Dokter Hewan. The last thing we need is a litter of "anak kucing". Later that day a beautiful young Balinese woman arrived on a motorbike and introduced herself as Kadek the Dokter Hewan. We all sat on the floor and made plans for the operation which with our limited Indonesian and her very limited English took some work, a dictionary and a fair amount of pantomime while Tikus slept in our laps. She determined Tikus to be about eight months old and she could perform the operation tomorrow either at her home or at our villa—AT OUR VILLA?

The story of "Toe"

I had a minor accident on the motorbike the other day. I was trying to park in a tight space and while it was still running it fell over on me and we both fell into a fence and crushed some tropical vegetation—in the center of town. I think it was still running because my hand was frozen to the handle while someone helped me up. I pretty much smashed my toe and any chance of ever riding a motorcycle again. It took most of the afternoon for my heart rate to return to normal.

EDM #199 Draw a toe

This is a Piaggio Fly 125 (beautifully designed Italian motor scooter) and I am deathly afraid of it. Since the "incident" I have only ridden as a passenger, under duress. I usually try to find some excuse not to go, but eventually I cave and there I am on "The Fly" wincing, gulping and pointing out danger. HATI-HATI as they say here.

EDM #70 Draw something you are afraid of

I am also afraid of cheese. I think cheese is quite delicious, but soooooooooo many calories and that makes it dangerous because one may possibly loose track of how many delicious calories one has had. Sure there's protein, but not enough to outweigh that fat content. So call me crazy...

EDM #189 Draw something dangerous

I rented a bike the other day so I could get around on a much safer mode of transportation. Sometimes I have to ride (I actually have to merge into traffic) onto a four-lane highway known as "The Bypass". This would clearly not be legal in the USA. The rest of the time, I ride cautiously watching for cars and motorbikes that may cut me off, pull out in front of me, pass on the right or come straight at me in my lane and I'm hugging the curb.

Yes this is a much safer way to go...

EDM #35 Draw a bicycle

College of Bali

I am taking two workshops this summer when I get back to the states. A watercolor course with Charles Reid in Vermont and "drawing bootcamp" with Dalvero Academy in Orlando, Florida. I am hoping that the two will compliment one another and help me on my creative journey. Both will require me to paint and draw people and I need the practice in addition to sketching at the beach (soooooooo hot). 

I have started rereading the Charles Reid's books I managed to cram into my luggage and doing daily (well, almost) 30-60 second poses for as long as I can stand it on posemaniacs.com. I then practice my Indonesian for our "Super Express Indonesian" lessons with Pak Usman. Today, I took a break for a Bali Kopi and I couldn't help thinking that I felt like I was back in college. The only difference is I think I smoked a cigarette with my coffee in that galaxy far far away, so long long ago.

The above sketch was three 60 second poses on Indonesian paper that is used to serve street food. It is cheap so I can burn through it and not care. I colored in later with gouache.