Exploring the city of Bath, England...

This past Saturday the International Cultural Program had the opportunity to spend a good amount of time in Bath, England.  Forgive me for not being much of a history buff, but my best guess is that it's named Bath because of the Roman baths that seem to be the main attraction-I could be totally wrong, but I'm fine with my logic.  (For more accurate information, use Google)                                                                               

The Roman Baths are essentially typical early Roman architecture with mostly Doric columns, albeit it's hard to tell because of the amount of preservation and reconstruction, and houses a natural running hot spring that has been channeled into an open air bath large enough to have a family reunion and a few friends over.

Inside you'll find various private baths and cold baths for the bravely ancient and several former pieces of decor and structure that have been preserved and are now on display.

After grabbing a bite to eat, the group of guys I walked around with eventually made it to the Royal Crescent.  The Royal Crescent is pretty self explanatory.  It's a larger than life building housing many residents willing to pay a fortune for a posh yet sensibly located apartment/condo living space-hence the name Royal.  The latter is because of the shape of the building being arranged in a crescent shape.  Thank goodness it wasn't in the shape of an octagon.  But in all seriousness, it was an absolute wonder.

Finally we made our way to the Bath Abbey.  The Abbey-for those is the states it's pretty much a gigantic cathedral-is jaw dropping and dripping with Gothic architecture mixed with current renovations and updated technology.  The flat screen televisions do contrast with the vaulted ceilings and mini baldachins, but alas, it is the 21st century and it is by all means a functioning place of worship and not just a tourist attraction.

After picking up our jaws off the aged floors of the abbey, and grabbing a great cone of ice cream, it was time to head back to the university.  Although it was a very long bus ride, we had the pleasure of listening to the Wales/England rugby game.  For those in the states that may not know, Rugby is Wales' national game and the Wales/England game is a huge deal.  It was close all the way and despite a late scare, Wales came out on top 19-12 with one of the most amazing tries I've ever seen.

It was a long but fun filled and adventurous day in Bath and I wouldn't hesitate at the opportunity to venture to Bath a second time.  Next stop, Cardiff-the capital of Wales!

The beginning of a new painting...

The beginning of a painting is one of the most important parts in the process of painting.  It sets the whole tone for the project and chances are if you have prepared well enough physically and mentally, your vision will come through and onto the canvas.  For this project I have a ways to go.  I'm currently letting the under painting dry and also the color blocking dry then it's on to full color.  There will be more to come very soon.  In the mean time, enjoy the process with me!

Beginning to paint...

I've been in Carmarthen for a few weeks now and have settled in quite nicely.  Myself, along with fellow international students, have traveled to a few unique destinations including Aberystwyth, Swansea, and the Gower and while doing so have seen everything from castles to boardwalks to massive bodies of water.

Besides all of the wonderful sites to see, the main focus remains furthering my skills as an artist and concentrating on academia.  I was able to gather 99% of materials needed to begin a painting-the remaining 1% is a tube of cad. yellow that I forgot to pick up at the local art supply store.  In edition to paint, a friend of mine and university-mate Meghan directed me to a cool warehouse full of random things in order to find a piece of glass such as one found in a frame.  And the trip was indeed a success!

To make a palette from a piece of framed glass is quite easy: take out the glass, put a white paper backing and cardboard on one side, then finally tape everything down around the edges with a strong duct tape and you're set.  In short, you want to use a glass palette for oil because it's easy to clean and makes mixing paint fairly simple.

But before I started painting on canvas, I chose to make an ink wash by dropping some India Ink in a bowl of water and doing 30 minute or less sketch-paintings.  Sketch-paintings or pre-paintings are useful tools to figure out where you want your light source to be in your still life and they also help compose your painting so that you don't waste paint on the final product.

All in all I'm very pleased where this project is headed.  I really enjoy the subject matter of glass and trying different techniques and color palettes to achieve my vision.  There's a long road ahead but it's a much welcomed challenge.

The Gower Peninsula and Swansea City adventure...

This past weekend the international student group got the opportunity to visit Gower and Swansea City.  Gower is a peninsula with miles of gorgeous beaches and rocky terrain located about an hour and a half, by way of car, south of Carmarthen and just west of Swansea.  The moment we arrived we were met with the typical rainy weather of the season and cold blustery wind but that quickly faded as our jaws hit the soft grass in awe of the picturesque landscape.

As we walked along the grassy and muddy path, we were met with many sheep and their many, many presents they left for us.  Despite the animal landmines, we pressed on to the rocky coast and eventually the site of a seemingly endless ocean.  It was then the sun tore through the clouds and warmed our frozen faces which now bore broad smiles of wonder.

Unfortunately, by the time some of the group reached the shore, it was time to turn around and head back to the bus to travel to Swansea.  However, on the way back it felt as if we had been watching a black and white television and someone decided to switch the program to full color.  The grass was a gorgeous green and the sky became a beautiful blue-jaws back down to the floor.  Personally, all I could say was "wow" over and over.

After a short bus ride we arrived at Swansea.  Most of us famished ended up at McDonalds and ate whatever we could.  To be honest, I have no idea what I ate.  Hunger satisfaction aside, we began to stroll through town and the idea of a group photo scavenger hunt came about including photo-bombing a couple, stand behind a till, and storming a castle-all of which we accomplished with ease.  A couple hours later, however, it was time to say so long to Swansea and come back to our second homes in Carmarthen.

What was only a short day seemed like several hours, even days because of how much fun and inspiring it was to be in such a beautiful place.  This coming weekend there isn't a planned trip and the next weekend we go to Bath where I plan on sketching the architecture as best as I can.  In the mean time, I also plan on starting my first oil painting here in Wales and I couldn't be more excited! It's been a life changing couple of weeks here in Wales and I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.

The town of Aberystwyth, Wales...

The town of Aberystwyth, Wales can be described in so many ways with so many different adjectives that it would be impossible to list them all.

Aberystwyth is a little beach town with many attractions ranging from several centuries old architecture to the modern aspects of the colorful houses along the coast.  The international student group, and myself included in that group of course, went on a very cold and rainy day yet the colors of the architecture seemed to burst through the rain as if they were artificial rays of sunlight giving off warmth.  I guess one could say the smile and awe they brought upon me was in fact the warmth.
The warmth felt from the buildings and atmosphere was indeed the first reaction, the first thing I felt and the second was what I call "artist mode".

Artist mode might be something fellow art students or art lovers will recognize but just haven't put a name too.  It's best described as when you look at a building or landscape and start to think "how can I draw or recreate this in a creative way?"  Being that it was raining, it would have been impossible to sketch in person-something that will be remedied on a later visit.  So I took a few pictures and began sketching with different media.  I chose a little section of shops to start off with and used a new set of felt tipped pens thanks to the recommendation of a fellow artist, classmate, and good friend.

Once again, the Welsh landscape and atmosphere hypnotizes ones self and pushes you as an artist in a different and challenging direction.  I can't wait for the months to come!