Winter Holiday

Three out of the last four winter holidays, we've spent in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It's such a delightful place; the residential area south of the Rio Cuale is teeming with ex-pats from Canada and the USA. Even though I speak Spanish fluently, my husband does not - but no worries! Someone speaks English within a ten-foot radius at all times.

The first year we visited PV, we spent half of everyday doing something fun and exiciting: swimming with the dolphins, jet skiing, parasailing, visiting the beaches on the southern end of Banderas Bay, and zip-lining through the jungle. The second visit encompassed walking the entire beachfront (along the Malecon) and inland in the downtown areas. It was hard climbing the hill to see Liz Taylor and Richard Burton's past homes and the famous pink bridge connecting the two. A visit to Mismaloya showed us where they made their famous movie (and thus putting PV on the resort map), Night of the Iguana.

This visit however, we chose to only hike and shop locally, spend time reading by the pool (between my husband and myself we finished 9 books!), painting and relaxing, which we so sorely needed. It was a fantastic reprieve from building our next home, working 65-hour weeks, and commuting. We always rent a condo from serentavallarta.com - where Eileen Key is the ultimate property manager and entrepreneur. Eileen will make anyone's visit to PV a dream come true.

So here are some of my works from Mexico! Enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.

I love the old, traditional style of architecture. Here is a home, just 3 blocks off the Malecon, with shuttered windows keeping out the heat and lovely balconies to sit and gaze at the ocean.

The condo we stayed in is also of traditional Mexican architecture. Each room is divided by these folding glass doors -  and these are the ones leading out onto the balcony/patio from the kitchen. 

Here is a plant, growing by the pool but not sure what these are called. I've been researching and just can't find any information on them. They have a 2" stalk that is just covered in spiny needles. The plant stands about 8" tall and the flower heads remind me of hydrangeas in how they form balls, but that is the only likeness they have. 4-5 small heads in the stamen area, surrounded by golden pigment. Bright pink and red petals. The day after I painted this, the iguanas were eating it. Two days later, the plant had no blossoms at all.

This water color pencil was inspired by the Puerto Vallarta Playa de los Muertos (Beach of the Dead) and el Dia de los Muertos (November 1st or All Saint's Day). It was just a fun, quick pencil sketch of a skull. Seeing skeletons and skulls at this time of year in PV is very common.

And, lastly here is a water wheel that I just completed this morning.

Happy Holidays to you all! I'm taking next week off, so Happy New Year, too!

This blog is linked to Friday Sketches and Paint Party Friday (see links to the right).