Last night was the Procession of the Virgin, which honors Mary mourning the death of her son.  There were a multitude of Mary statues, which all relate to a different ‘Maria.’  I guess some are other saints named Maria, but most represent different aspects of the same Virgin Mary.  Wayyy different from the Catholic Church I was an altar boy for in the States.

Some of the main streets in el Centro (downtown) were closed, and there were people lining the streets taking in the parade of holy statues dressed in fine robes, flowers and candles.  Each statue was carried by a group of men.  The thing that got me was that it was quiet.  Not hush-hush quiet, but for that many people and food vendors out in the streets, it was easy to talk and be heard in an ‘inside voice.’

Still, the bars are open and its a nice night for a good beer.  Hector and I have found the one spot in Pereira that serves up Bogota Beer Company, which is by far the best beer I’ve found down here.  I’ve never been a big fan of beer, but not having good beer for so long and relating good beer to all the fun brewpubs in the states… my tastebuds have developed a greater appreciation.  So, a couple of times a month we hang out at Bristol Cervezeria.  Just don’t order anything off the food menu.  I got some fried chicken and it… wasn’t good.  I felt sick after a few bites… greasy and unsettling.  My stomach let out a familiar pang as memories flooded me of the last time I enjoyed KFC and how I didn’t enjoy projectile vomiting less than an hour after consuming that ‘chicken.’  And that was over fifteen years ago!

But, anyways…

I’ve spent the last few days hunched over a couple more big canvases, for the current exhibiton and upcoming presentation at Pereira Plaza.  It’s my first mall exhibiton… or rather, ‘centro commercial.’

The layout of the mall is actually kind of weird and jumbled, but there are also some really cool aspects to it.  Namely, this HUGE space that is basically two auditoriums… I think they have some kind of removable wall for it.  But there’s no wall now, so I’ve been working to fill it, and lay out the art in a pleasing fashion.  There is a space to watch ‘comic book’ movies and cartoons, a sort of playground with giant plastic jungle animals for kids to play on, little work tables, couches, bean bags…  Definitely not the Dimond Center. (wink)

There is some kind of association of comic book artists in Pereira.  They brought in some reproductions of original comic art to be put up.  Then there’s my work… paintings, stencils, the above big banner, and two other banners I finished up yesterday.

I gave this little workshop for kids as I worked on a Tarzan banner.  I taught a few of them how to draw Tarzan, too.  It was fun, but… poorly attended.  The person in charge of marketing did absolutely no publicity… so it was kind of weird, but hey, it’s all good.  I enjoyed the practice of painting fast, getting ‘er done and people hanging out and watching me work.  I’ll have pics up either tomorrow or the next day of the Tarzan and Sheena banners.  They were fun to do!  Sheena’s hot.

My good friend, Robert Cortlandt, also has a bunch of his art as well.  He visited Hector and I a couple of winters ago and had an exhibition at our bar/cafe.  He and I also collaborated on Sketchy Canvas… which is me taking a human body for a canvas and a photographer shooting the finished product.  So everything I had of his, framed, is up on the walls.  Something like 11 pieces total!

And even though there was no publicity, I get paid for my work and all of my art supplies were covered as well.  So… it’s all good.  This is part of the business and me paying them dues.  Besides, the people who came were really cool and appreciative.  That’s manna for an artist.

And now… maybe it’s time for another beer?  Hm.

Sometimes things take a minute… I’ve got some really great images to post, but when I go to put them online, all vibrancy is lost, and justice isn’t done.

SO…. I’m working on it.  Got some cool stuff to show ya’z.  Thanks for checking back!

Agh!!

It’s been a week of logging in and being booted off.  But the problem seems to be fixed now, thank goodness. Sometimes you just need a new browser.  So YAY Firefox.

Now, on with the show!!