Back in the Studio......

   It has been a little over 13 weeks since I last posted and have spent any concentrated time painting, which for me is a very long time! Most of that time I was travelling in South East Asia, through Hong Kong to places in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. It was a fabulous trip to say the least. I took watercolour painting materials with me and had hoped to post while away, if not art, then inspirational photos, however, technical problems prevented that. 
   As you can imagine I did not really have a lot of time to paint as we were being tourists, walking, eating, walking, and moving from place to place every few days. However, there were times I took breaks and escaped into an hour or two of sketchbook painting. Plein air activity was not possible, so I worked from pictures or my head and just played.
    One of the most widely seen and revered images in Thailand and also that country's national symbol, is the elephant. It is featured on their flag, in statuary in temple complexes and on a million tourist items for sale. The elephant also appears in the form of the elephant-headed Hindu god, Ganesh. Although Thailand is a predominantly a Buddhist nation, statues and shrines to Hindu deities are a common sight and there he is referred to as Phra Phikanet.  Ganesh is also popular with artistic people and is thought to encourage creativity so he seemed like a good subject to paint when I finally got out my sketchbook for some painting therapy. This photo taken in a cafe garden in ChiangMai inspired my first painting. 

 

   While in Thailand we also had an opportunity to spend a wonderful day at an elephant sanctuary where we fed and walked with them, and some (younger than myself) helped to bathe them in mud and then wash them off again. It was an incredible experience to see these intelligent creatures in such a personal way.

 

More from my sketchbook tomorrow.....