Real experiences – this is what inspires me.  The connection with travel and painting for me is similar to the relationship between bread and butter in western cuisine or  like “Gallo Pinto” rice and beans in the Nicaraguan food experience.   One of the great cultural and gastronomic pleasures of travelling to Nicaragua is eating at the iconic street stalls known as fritangas.  The Nicaraguan fritangas specialize in home style Nica food including gallo pinto, carne asada (grilled meat), plaintain tajada (green), Frito, ( fried …

The air is fresh in Leon after what was a torrential rain fall last night. The hotels open courtyards and ceramic roof created a thunderous ensemble of echos and clatter of epic proportion … lasting only 10 min.   Enough to clear the air and give a sweet smell of wet pavement for my morning painting.   Not much to say about this piece – I am not that happy with the composition it kind of grew on me until it was …

New years resolutions are meant to be broken – so much for posting every day! Oh well, “if you don’t have anything interesting to say” my Father used to say!   Not that my second trip to Nicaragua is not interesting, just the opposite; but finding time to sit down and write has been a challenge this year and I have been focused on the painting and less engaged in social media. After touring around Nicaragua with my family for the …

We arrived in Nicaragua on Christmas morning after a long flight from Vancouver – San Fran – Houston and then Managua.   Straight to our hotel in Granada in about 40min.  The Hotel Polvora was just what the doctor ordered after our 16 hour trip, a charming little colonial hotel decked out in hand made tiles, made right on site, with a beautiful pool and a spacious and quiet room.   We had an amazing first 4 days in Granada, slowly getting …