The last strokes of paint were composed today. We painted our last paintings and tonight we put away our brushes. All that is left is our final exhibition of about 90 paintings that opens tomorrow.
Our painting marathon ended today at the MT. Dabao Mining site. This is one of the largest mines for iron an copper. The government is very proud of this huge mine and is planning to make it into a national park. First we toured the top of the mountain to see the broad expansive vista of the mining operation. This was an hour before it was scheduled to set off several explosions. Sure enough at 10:30 am, after several warning sirens, two explosions rocked the valley. By then, we were safely down at the headquarters painting, but even our feet felt those impacts.
The day was lovely, the air perfect and the sun flirted with us all day. In and out... In and out, it danced with the clouds. We painted, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Lunch was serve yourself and we all questioned how much to put on our plate. For the past 16 days, we have dined from many dishes at each meal. We would take a bite of food from this dish and another spoonful from that dish. It all added up to a delightful and exciting meal. At the end of each meal, we had no idea how much or how little we had eaten. We just had to trust our stomachs and eat until we felt full. The meals were very slow and leisurely and that gave our stomachs time to really decide when to stop. Facing a full plate of food, now, seemed confusing at first, but it didn't take long for us to gobble it down and get back to painting.
In the afternoon, we actually had about 4 hours to paint our last painting in China. It felt good to put some extra time into these plein air creations. Our eager and very helpful assistants/interpreters were there, as always to help us with anything that we need. It is going to be hard to leave these great young people. They have really gotten into our hearts.
Back on the bus, then dinner with the officials of the Mine .... That means many many toasts ....and finally, back to the hotel. As we filed off the bus, our wet paintings appeared one by one, ready to be framed tonight and whisked away to the museum for our last show.
We are a tired lot. Several of us stayed up too late or rose too early to get our paintings ready for delivery this morning. Tonight we are delighted to get to bed early!
Our painting marathon ended today at the MT. Dabao Mining site. This is one of the largest mines for iron an copper. The government is very proud of this huge mine and is planning to make it into a national park. First we toured the top of the mountain to see the broad expansive vista of the mining operation. This was an hour before it was scheduled to set off several explosions. Sure enough at 10:30 am, after several warning sirens, two explosions rocked the valley. By then, we were safely down at the headquarters painting, but even our feet felt those impacts.
The day was lovely, the air perfect and the sun flirted with us all day. In and out... In and out, it danced with the clouds. We painted, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Lunch was serve yourself and we all questioned how much to put on our plate. For the past 16 days, we have dined from many dishes at each meal. We would take a bite of food from this dish and another spoonful from that dish. It all added up to a delightful and exciting meal. At the end of each meal, we had no idea how much or how little we had eaten. We just had to trust our stomachs and eat until we felt full. The meals were very slow and leisurely and that gave our stomachs time to really decide when to stop. Facing a full plate of food, now, seemed confusing at first, but it didn't take long for us to gobble it down and get back to painting.
In the afternoon, we actually had about 4 hours to paint our last painting in China. It felt good to put some extra time into these plein air creations. Our eager and very helpful assistants/interpreters were there, as always to help us with anything that we need. It is going to be hard to leave these great young people. They have really gotten into our hearts.
Back on the bus, then dinner with the officials of the Mine .... That means many many toasts ....and finally, back to the hotel. As we filed off the bus, our wet paintings appeared one by one, ready to be framed tonight and whisked away to the museum for our last show.
We are a tired lot. Several of us stayed up too late or rose too early to get our paintings ready for delivery this morning. Tonight we are delighted to get to bed early!
Best of luck with the exhibit. This has been an exciting trip to share with you.
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