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Sunday, November 4, 2012

ANTICIPATION

Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico 2011. View from The Balcony, watercolor, 9 x 12
This out of character watercolor was the best of last year. I'm  hoping to make another painting like it from another balcony in one of our two favorite hotels on Kukulcan Boulevard  in just four weeks.

six ten I'm out the door with my coffee and down
to sit on the seawall to wait for the sun.
We leave DTW on December 2nd for a two week holiday in Mexico. We'll be back on the 17th. For the first nine days, we'll be at the JW Marriott. For the last five days, we'll be at the Ritz Carlton, two doors down. (We love both  hotels, so we split our time). Do drop in anytime. We'll paint on the beach in plein air and photograph sunrises and sunsets.

I am getting excited. Anticipation is the best part of any trip. The adventure is all in front of you. And it begins with packing and shaping up.

I spent a glorious weekend packing on paper and shopping online The worst was deciding on the bathing suits. I like to take three. I adore swimming. I used to adore bathing suits too; not anymore. My figure is Gone With the Wind thanks to a cancer pill, an arthritis pill, a bum knee, half-hearted exercise and feeling sorry for myself so what-the-hell-I'll- have-potato-chips-with-that.

Then puff-puff clouds and the brilliant promise of a glorious day.
It's not like I don't know what needs doing.  I chose three suits--two black and one I don't-know-why-I-bought-this-thing other than I have a very nice cover up that matches.  I also threw out my beloved chips and scheduled an orthoscopic procedure for when we come home.  My plan is to clean up the knee, get on the bike, spend a little less time sitting on my duff. In Cancun, I am on the move. When I get home I'll be on the move again putting an end to this poor me attitude. It seems anticipation of this holiday has also brought about some New Years resolutions--and I haven't even defrosted the Thanksgiving turkey! Anticipation not only revs you up, it  changes your viewpoint before your plane takes off.






27 comments:

  1. What a fascinating style of picture. Wonderful abstract shapes. This post has had me digging out the holiday brochures and planning my next trip. Thanks.

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    1. The fun is in the planning, looking through brochures, daydreaming about sights, finding the best accommodations and the best flights for the best prices. All that could take months. And then when everything is decided and you've booked, the fun is in packing-on-paper, filling in what you're missing, scheduling haircuts and color over the time between now and then, stopping the mail and the newspapers, figuring out what to do with the plants, the dogs, the cat. What a joy anticipation is. Carly was right--but she was singing about a different kind of love, not the love of future.

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  2. It sounds like you have planned a wonderful trip and your excitement is evident. Love the looking down viewpoint of the watercolor and am looking forward to seeing more from your trip.

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    1. We do have a great time there. We keep going back year after year. It is so relaxing painting by the pool, taking a dip, walking along the beach and meeting people from all over the US, Mexico and Europe. Muy simpatico.

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  3. Is that just fantastic or what?! No, it's ecstatic!
    This magnificent view and the warm sea will be bowing to you for 14 days!! And I so agree with you, anticipation is the best part of the trip. I always say that the most exciting moment of any trip is the making of the suitcases. There and then, mystery and excitment overcomes me and already mentally am having a great adventure.
    About bathing suits, every summer when I'm about to go for the first swim I have the same thoughts-why the hell I didn't exercise all these months, maybe I should quit smoking, etc. But, after the first few days I stop worry. I have my tan and everything looks better :)
    A festive (for trips' sake) hug and big smiles!

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    1. We've got four weeks to look forward to this trip. One more haircut to go. Thanksgiving with family. Once I've packed on paper, there's nothing to putting it into the suitcase. And you're right. Once there, you put on the bathing suit and don't give a second thought to those added rolls around your waist; I love to swim too much to let age, a couple of pills and chips to stop me. What's interesting about this painting is how different it is from what I usually do. I suspect I'm a 'mood painter.' Put me on the beach and I see life differently.

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  4. Wonderful watercolor.

    Trip sounds exciting. I also love the water; tend to pack a bathing suit on the chance that there will be a pool.

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    1. Thanks Jean. The first photo is a picture of the Marriott pool. It's lovely. The painting is the adult pool.

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  5. Love the patterning in this painting. Absolutely fabulous. Even though it is not your regular style I can still see you through the choices of color and and where you pushed for a strong design.
    Swimsuit choices? I no longer go for old styles, but now wear short shorts and tank top. perfect for the aging bod!

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    1. That's what I did this summer at the lake. I'm definitely taking those things along for when I get tired of dressing up for people I don't know.

      I'm so glad you see me in this painting. I really have no idea where it came from, other than I had really lightened up under the sunny skies.

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  6. Ah Dear, I was just sharing at Facebook - what a fascinating post.

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    1. Bathing suits with regards to body image is a fascinating subject--as is the joy of anticipation. Both topics pump up the adrenaline. :-)

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  7. I can feel through your words the excitement of anticipation!
    Are good times to break the winter and
      before surgery you expected.
    The sense of interest in the life and activities, in you,
      is always so strong, you have the heart of a girl! Good, you are first and foremost an artist of your life! I love it!
    I agree with Julie: you're in this watercolor and, I think, in everything you do with your hands!

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    1. It's not a big deal surgery Rita. They just clean out the effects of arthritis and see the extent of the damage. It takes fifteen minutes in the doctor's office. I get to walk out, hobble around for a few days and that's it. It could be a procedure that does just enough to improve how that knee operates so I can avoid a replacement. I want just enough improvement to get me biking regularly, walking around a shopping mall or going on sight-seeing tours--greater stamina. I really miss working out.

      Art comes from life. Each of us creates as prompted by the lives we're living.

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  8. I like the bird perspective in this one, effective, well done.

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    1. We were on the fourteenth floor. I decided to paint what I saw like a floor plan, a format I'm very familiar with. Thanks Roger.

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  9. It sounds like a fabulous get-away, and you deserve it!!!
    Love this post. You are so brutally yet humorously honest. Swim suits are not something I like to crawl into either, after being trampled by my horse, and menopause. Ah well, could be worse.
    Your painting reminds me of some of the art in Mexico, so bright and with such a unique perspective.
    Have a wonderful, wonderful time! I look forward to seeing your photos and works from the trip.

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    1. Hold on. I'm not going anywhere yet--except the gym. No sooner do I throw out the chips then we go to a restaurant where they give you chips while you wait for your entree. Ellis had a few, I had the rest. I'm a chip junkie. I did, however, come home and ride my bike for twenty minutes, the longest time in a long time. Then I iced my knee, just in case. Today, all body parts are fine, but I did skip weighing myself.

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  10. LOVE that painting....and I'm looking forward to seeing what you paint at both hotels (cool!) When I lived in Florida I noticed how all the non-30 year olds just got tan and looked great too--haha remember Jack Palance? "confidence is verrrry sexy!" lol!

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    1. I do. He was a fun guy in the movies. A tan does help. I've been considering getting one at a salon before I go--I always consider doing this--then I don't. That's as bad for you as the sun. Two minutes in the pool and my tan is back. I think skin has a memory.

      I like this painting too. I probably should frame it. It is just so odd for me to have done it. Climate obviously has an effect on our art.

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  11. Een mooie vrolijke Aquarel heel fleurig lieve groetjes Danielle

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  12. That sounds like a fabulous trip, Linda! Love that painting!

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    1. It is. We're very boring when we go for R & R. We've been going to the same places in Cancun for years. Ellis reads the paper and naps. I paint. We both swim and play water volley ball. We eat and drink and pick up friendly strangers for friendly conversation. Very boring, but we love every laid back minute.

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  13. View from the Balcony is fantastic, as is Cancun. Have a fantastic trip. My wife and I won't be far away at that same time. Enjoy!

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    1. Thank you. Are you going to the Rivera Maya? We tried that one year to see what it was about and then went back to our same old routine. Cancun is great for us--just three and a half hours away from a palm tree, a poolside lounge and the seashore. We have yet to visit the Mayan ruins. You should always leave wanting more.

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