Day One

Our first breakfast in China was a huge buffet! Never again will I think of breakfast as boring! What a great way to start the day!

The weather was perfect, too. As we started out on our adventure at 8:30am, we headed to our first painting location at the Desheng Creative Park. The Shunde Government along with Desheng Creative Park are hosting the Desheng International Canvas Week..... That is us! We are the special guests and they are treating us like royalty!

Desheng Creative Park aims to provide a platform for the creativity industry in the Pearl River Delta and the surrounding regions. This company also is a conservation project to protect the historic industrial buildings along the Pearl River.

So, that is where we painted, among the last remnants of little villages and small factories. It is a fascinating area with a mixture of the old and the new. Some of us painted the tiny twisting alleys and streets and others painted the Pearl River. We all worked on canvas that was 16 x 20. Yes, big for typical Plein aire paintings! However, all of us agreed that it was a challenge and well worth it! The morning paintings were very successful! I barely got photos of the paintings and they were framed and whisked away for the show at the gallery later this week.

Here are some of our morning paintings.

my painting:

Kurt Anderson's

Clayton J Beck III's

Nancy Crookston's

Ken Dewaard's:

Zhiwei Tu's:

Lunch was at a very local outdoor restaurant "Nan Jing Farm /Cantonese cuisine" that specializes in "standing roasted chickens." Imagine roasted chicken with a head still attached and in the upright position. It was delicious! We are still struggling a bit with the chop sticks. Some items are just too slippery for those slender table sticks.

After lunch we traveled to an ancient village famous for the Tree Bridge (Peng Chong Bridge). Centuries ago several trees wrapped themselves around the bridge over the little canal and grew to be one with the bridge. The trees are huge now and lean in wonderful directions while their gigantic limbs still hug the tiny little bridge.

Many of us painted the trees, they are so poetic! Several of us chose to paint the surrounding village and her beautiful arches, pagoda and buildings. Just like in the morning, people stopped to watch us, quite a large crowd grew around us, young and old, quiet and polite. It was a joy to have them watch us create. Once again, as the paintings were finished, they were signed and whisked away go be framed. I got a quick look at most of them and they are incredible..... But unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to photograph any of them. I promise to do better next time.

Dinner was at the Zhu Rou Po that specializes in Cantonese food typical from the private home. Let me tell you, they eat some incredible food.  Some that are pretty weird, too, but all of it so tasty and delicious!

As a side note.... None of us are able to read our own blogs or anyone else's. That has been blocked here in China, as is Facebook. How about that. But I am sending my blogs via e-mail to Mandy and she is posting them, so that is how you are able to read them as they happen. Thank you Mandy and Thank you all for coming along for the ride. It means a lot to know that you are thinking of all of us as you read them!

Big day tomorrow, off to bed I go.... Sweet dreams!