Travel Goes Into the Mix

What I read and where I go on my travels influences my paintings. What prompted me to write about this is the book I just finished reading, The Caliph’s House: A Year in Casablanca. I enjoyed the book for a few reasons, one of which is that it made sense of the brief time I spent in Morocco many years ago.  The culture is so different from here.  I speak French and the man I was traveling with did not.  It is unusual for a woman to be the spokesperson for a couple.  In our situation it was necessary due to the language barrier for him.

It is the norm in Morocco to bargain for almost any transaction.  I was not new to bargaining, having lived in New York City and coming across this occasionally as well as during my travels to other countries, but the Moroccans take it to a whole other level!  It took a while to get used to.

But I am veering off track.

I was awestruck by the beauty of the detailed tile work, the many arches on buildings and the architecture in general.  I remember sitting in the middle of a plaza to do a watercolor but not being able to concentrate due to the num her of onlookers.  My solution was to take many photos with the idea of doing paintings from them.

Upon my return I worked from these photos for a couple of years.  Usually, I took an image (the photo) and imagined a figure transposed upon the architecture.  I love painting the figure, whether it is from a live model or a photo or my imagination.  Sometimes it can be many many years but I find myself looking back on an initial inspiration and doing another painting bases on that.

The pictured paintings, one a watercolor called “Mysteries” and the other an oil called “Dance Your Dreams” are available as greeting cards as well as prints.