Mexico City Painting and La Pegatina

Sunday morning painting and daydreaming about Mexico City.

This morning the Spanish band La Pegatina is providing the soundtrack to Sunday watercolor painting. This morning I discovered their yet unopened CD in the bottom of the backpack I'd taken to Mexico City last fall. 

We had paid a visit to Tianguis Cultural del Chopo, or "El Chopo", a Saturday flea market in Colonia Guerrero near the Metro Buenavista subway stop. This market trades in anarchist literature and art, used tapes and CDs, punk paraphernalia, band t-shirts, piles of Doc Martins. And at the end of the slithering, tented aisles of memorabilia from the teenage wasteland, you are rewarded when the alley opens onto a blocked off intersection crowded with mohawked Chilangos and a band playing.  While a hard core band throbbed meters away, La Pegatina played their impromptu jam session across the intersection, between parked cars and the dazed victim of a recent brawl, weaving their way Pied Piper style through the crowd and cars for their following fans. It was a loony scene to encounter, and I bought their latest CD, finding out later that the band is not local to DF--they're actually from Barcelona.

I thought it'd be fitting today to give the CD I bought that day, Revulsiu, a listen while I revisit Mexico City as inspiration for my paintings. Today, I worked on a smaller painting of some down and out hotels in the Zocalo area.

On location sketch at Tianguis Cultural del Chopo in Mexico City. October, 2015.

Finishing up today's painting--hotels near the Zocalo in Mexico City.

A Sweet Tooth's Guide to Balboa, CA

I've been looking through some unfinished drawings and half begun projects recently and have decided to revisit a few of them.  I did this drawing of Balboa Island sweet treats a couple years ago after a visit home to California.  Balboa Island was our childhood vacation spot and I still like to get a Balboa bar whenever I'm there.

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Sanibel Island Illustrated Map

For fun this week, I tried my hand at an illustrated map of one of my favorite escapes--Sanibel Island in southwestern Florida. Included are some of my favorite spots and activities:

• ice cream at Pinnochios (I recommend Purple Cow)
• pina coladas (and alligator spotting) at the Casa Ybel resort
• taking advantage of the numerous bike paths, including one past the hidden cemetary off Middle Gulf Drive
• cheap beer and peel and eat shrimp at The Lazy Flamingo (try their garlic bread)
• a visit to Bowman's beach and Santiva
• kayaking in Ding Darling
• letting yourself get wrapped up in seashell enthusiasm!

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Vintage Navigli Snaps

I love collecting found snaps, making up a tale to go along with them.  So I'll kick off the first blog entry of my re-vamped website with something I've been saving--a vintage store find in the Navigli district of Milan last September.  The navigli were the city's medieval canals, and though much of the system disappeared beginning in the 1930s through 60s, two remain - Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese. No longer with provenance nor destination, they are now the center and namesake of a pretty cool neighborhood. 

The day we visited, a strange scene was unfolding in the canal, attracting a small Saturday morning audience. Workmen waded into the stagnant water netting up all the small remaining fish.  To rescue them from the receding water level? In anticipation of some city rehabilitation project? We weren't sure. In some spots the water was so low, what we imagined were pleasure barges with bars were stuck, suspended in some Friday night past. 

I wandered into a small antique shop across Ripa di Porta Ticinese. Inside, a drawn sign indicated no pictures allowed.  As I turned to leave, I was drawn to the illustration on the cover of a small negative holder. Inside were dozens of medium format negatives --mostly family vacation portraits by the sea. 

Ten Euro and several months later, I look at them and imagine a big Italian family living in an apartment with a view of the naviglio.  And one July or August they escape the city heat for the sea.  Momentarily trading their inner city canal for a wider, saltier stretch of water. It's making me long for summer on a frigid New York night.