Rice Moon

Tuesday night the tide was low at 6 o'clock. 

Flashlights in hand, we stumbled out across the rocks.
There were lobsters. Brittle starfish. And we saw the head of an eel poking out from a crevice under a rock, opening and closing its mouth, with small, needle-sharp teeth. 

I got a creepy feeling. Of wading in the warm waters in the dark.

We went back to the shore and sat for an hour, sky-gazing.
A fabulous comet - or suchlike - flashed across the heavens, with a streaming orange tail.
Perhaps once in your lifetime you will be lucky enough to see that.  

Nilo is 10.
 I will soon be 42.

A strange series of daily sketches. 

Each a few minutes.
You're not allowed to think beforehand, or to make corrections afterwards. 

Those are the rules.
It is what it is!

9th January, Watercolor and Ink.

Rice Moon [base]

Design concept. © CatherineV. Bainbridge 2013

Rice Moon [faux block]

Design concept. © CatherineV. Bainbridge 2013

Rice Moon [faux repeat]

Design concept. © CatherineV. Bainbridge 2013

Rice Moon [simple detailing - indigo]

Design concept. © CatherineV. Bainbridge 2013

Rice Moon [more detailing - indigo/lavender]

Design concept. © CatherineV. Bainbridge 2013

Rice Moon [even more detailing]

Design concept. © CatherineV. Bainbridge 2013

Do what you can to keep going!

Boldly [again]

Fast! 

Because, sometimes, you only have minutes to try something.

Fungi: Watercolor, 2013

Fungi [detail]: Watercolor, 2013

Fungi [detail]: Watercolor, 2013

Fungi [detail]: Playa Tamales, December 2012

Fungi [fast repeat in mushroom and black] 

Design concept. © CatherineV. Bainbridge 2013

Fast poly print, with different amounts of acrylic paint

Fireworks and flowers

My Wacom graphics tablet has arrived from the US. 

I have been working - at my paying job - every day since the 26th, so time to test it out has been limited (and probably it's going to carry on that way for the rest of the year). But, snatching a few moments here and there, I'm kind of getting accustomed with the practice of drawing in one place whilst looking in another (you draw on the tablet, but look at the computer screen!). Laying down some very sketchy ideas for future development.

Fireworks and Flowers. 

Design concept. © CatherineV. Bainbridge 2013

HERE'S WISHING YOU ALL A HEALTHY, HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

Creative absence

 Hello again folks!

It's been a while!
Hope everybody is happy and well!

I've been hard at my day job :) But there's only so much one can take of creative absence!

Last week, we escaped to San Jose for a couple of days, and I treated myself to some gorgeous new art materials.

Among other things...  a small selection of Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolors in tubes, and a set of 48 Steadtler karat aquarell pencils. It sure is difficult to find quality materials in this country!

Well, now for the hard part.
 Hoping for inspiration.

Climbing back into the saddle.

Don't know what species she is - will update as determined - but she is native to the Osa Peninsula.

My plan is to paint at least one small thing each week. 

But we all know how those kinds of plans usually turn out ;) 

I am also investing in a Wacom Intuos5 large graphics tablet, and they're not cheap! It's my way of making sure I keep going. 

Those who know me out there in blogland, know that I've spent more time in recent years playing with cloth. I haven't painted properly in years. But I have a dream... to combine my passions...

 Paintings + graphics + textiles. 

So, here are some tentative steps in that direction.

Latest love... Terreriums! Such a sense of freshness!

This is one I created yesterday, using only native plants.

Rock Pools

Today.

Walking in the rock pools with Nilo.

Some are like clay.

Some encrusted.

Some embedded.

And some covered with all kinds of life.

 I have no idea what this strange creature might be, but surely it's a relative of the Trilobite?

About 3 inches long... and yes, alive!

I'm tired of only having the camera on my phone. 

I'm tired. Full stop.

Beige

Heliconia leaves.
I wonder if a mould or an insect made these gorgeous patterns?

Crab galaxies.

Catching up

I started off the week with an if-I-only-could kind of feeling.

A sense of increasing desperation over professional issues.

But it became impossible to keep that up for long, because this arrived...

Thank you Morna for this exquisite gift!

"If it were not for hope, the heart would break"

The English Proverb printed on her magic cards.

Patching a heart, regained hope!

With everything that's going on here, I quite forgot to mention anything about my son Eben's recent visit (he left Costa Rica 4 years ago to study, is now at Cardiff University, and we see each other for a couple of days once a year). This year he was traveling with his friend Alex. We decided to offer them a day on the Golfo Dulce in our new boat. And what a day that turned out to be!

We had a fine morning swimming off a small island in Los Mogos.
 Then moored the boat at Rincon, where you literally cross the street and there's a little seafood cafe.
I took this image just as we were to set out again. The water was like glass. But then half way out of this little bay (2 minutes later) a massive storm hit. Wind and torrential rain. The tide was coming in, and it was one of the highest tides of the year (10 meters). I didn't know whether the best option was to stay in the boat, or throw myself over the side!

Needless to say, I didn't manage to get any images at that point. My other son, Nilo, life jacket on, was bundled under black plastic on the floor of the boat, as we got tossed to and fro for a nearly an hour trying to get ahead of the storm.

This is our captain (my man, Fanier) with one of his reassuring smiles, as he finally steers us out of it.

This is what we left behind us.

And here we are after the ordeal.
Alex (left) who was not once afraid.
Eben (right) and I (center) still looking shaken up.
Nilo (at the stern) amused, just carries on eating :)

That was one month ago, and I haven't been back on the water since then.

Fanier, on the other hand, bent on making us a living at being a fisherman, sets out shortly after midnight most days.
Sometimes, I am afraid for him.

"Pargo seda" - related to Red Snapper.