Beach Day! We went to Praia Amalia today (named for a famous Fado singer Amalia Rodriguez, who used to own the property). Gaby & Ron had taken me to this place before Arlette & Giacomo arrived and I knew I had to return to paint it. They both waited patiently in this paradise while I painted.

I like how it is coming along. I will spend a bit more time on it, but the foundations and freshness are there.

Here’s the process. Starting with a white ground (painting surface) allows the colors to remain vibrant, which was appropriate for this scene. (Below is the photo of the actual view)

I’m missing the umbrellas and the people in this photo. They were there, but the beach is fairly remote and people had plenty of room to spread out. The beach is only 350 meters wide (see how I went metric there).

Below is a drawing from the same view that I did the previous painting. Drawing allows me to emphasize different things. And If I do a drawing before doing a painting it informs how the painting goes, even if I do not start the painting with actual drawn lines. Just the process of drawing informs your emphasis. I may do another larger painting based on this drawing. I am kind of obcessed with this view.

Also, I worked more on the previous painting….. can you see the changes?

Tomorrow I think I will go to the town square in Sao Luis and do a painting…..enough hunkering down in the hinterlands.

I just want to say that I REALLY APPRECIATE that you have followed along on this journey. I LOVE your comments! I know that life is busy and there are a zillion things competing for your attention. I don’t take it for granted! Ciao!