Day Five, Antigua (Continued)

On the fifth day in Antigua, as well as going to classes at the Casa and at PLFM, Gloria and I went to a painting gallery she had seen when walking around with another student two days before. At the gallery we met one of the painters who rents time there to work and we looked at all the paintings in the gallery. Antigua has a few distinct styles of painting that seem to cater to tourists interested in the "colonial" Antigua. The gallery has a majority of paintings that emphasis colonial styles of oil painting but they also have more modern techniques and styles the artists are exploring. While we were looking at the gallery, the artist there was teaching two others some painting techniques. Curious I asked Gloria how to ask the artist if they do painting classes in the gallery. I asked the artist "Usted da clase de pintura?" Luckily, for both myself and Gloria, he said yes, they do do lessons on painting techniques. For a hundred quetzales each (about $13 US) we get a two hour lesson in Antigua painting techniques. We jumped at the opportunity, and made plans to meet with the artist the next day (Thursday) to purchase painting supplies (much cheaper here than in the states) and to get our first lesson.

As well as signing up for painting lessons, I have been working in my studio and have already finished a new portrait in The Boston Codex. My studio space is rather small, but it is not a shared space, unlike the other three spaces that are being set up for the six studio artists on the trip. Not all of us will use the spaces, so I may be able to take over another spot and create a larger space to work in. I am in my studio space at least once a day, working either on this blog of my codex. At this time, the angle my portfolio for this semester is taking focuses more on the painting techniques of Antigua and the continuation of my codex. It may change in the near future, so I will continue updating on the progression of my portfolio.