Random

Just some random pictures so you know we are still around!  Haven't done much recently. 

Pretty flowers we saw on one of our many walks. 

Graffiti art is everywhere. Love it!

Bought a new Spanish book. 

Tonight we plan to have a quiet evening at home. Grilling pork chops and watching a movie. 

Cuenca's Zoo and The Super Moon

I knew Cuenca had a zoo but I never thought it would be as nice as it is. Mike and I paid a visit today and I was very impressed. It is just a couple of miles from the city center and an adult ticket is only $4.00. There is no concrete, at all. Just natural surroundings with dirt, rock, or timber walkways. As you walk around the zoo you are actually climbing higher and higher up a mountain. The animals are housed behind nothing more than water barriers or chain-link fence. We saw one monkey that was free-roaming. The animal habitats are well maintained and the animals appeared to be happy and healthy. Probably the most exciting part of the visit was watching the lions being fed their afternoon meal of whole chickens. We spent about three hours at the zoo. It's a great way to spend an afternoon on a warm, sunny day!  Now for the pics!

Alpaca. 

Andean Bear

Lobos

Deer

This is the free-roaming monkey. He ran past us and scared me. 

The trail. Loved it. 

These are the lions. We watched them for an hour or so. The feeding was exciting. 

L

The views of Cuenca, from the zoo, were beautiful. 

Another exciting thing happened today. The super moon. Here it is as seen from our roof-top. 

And as an added bonus...an interesting painting on the side of a building. We saw this as we walked home from dinner last night. It's definitely a male cat!

"Scooter" completed.

Enjoy!

Day 2 of the "Scooter" project.

Take a look below at what I accomplished on day two of my new hobby, painting!

My Art Project

I have always felt, in the back of my head, that I wanted to be an artist. Specifically, a painter. I admire all art but painting to me seems so magical. I have never really had the time to pursue this craziness until now.  I have thought about taking art classes but that just never felt right.  I think art should come from inside the artist.  Thoughts, experiences, ideas should be original and just flow naturally from within.  With that said, I wanted to share with you what I have decided to do.  My first project is to attempt to paint one of my favorite pictures of my dog Scooter.  As you know, I left him behind when I retired and moved to Ecuador.  

My first step was to sketch an outline on canvas.  I printed the picture and then traced it using carbon paper.  Here is the result:

After studying the original picture, and contemplating the next step, I sat down today and started the actual painting.  Here is how that turned out:

When you compare it to the original photograph I must say it's not so bad actually:

I am looking forward to adding additional colors and fine tuning the outline of his face.  I'm not sure that I can capture his personality but I will certainly try.  I will post more photos as I continue the painting process.  Not sure how long it will take.  I'll only paint when I am in the mood and feel that I can give it the proper attention it deserves.  If this project works out, like I hope it does, my goal is to produce original paintings.  Not sure in what style though.  I'm thinking abstract.  Stay tuned! 

    

Catedral De La Immaculada Concepcion

Friday, Joe and I toured "The New Cathedral", as it's known in Cuenca, and were able to climb the winding stairs up to the top.  The view of the historic center was amazing.  Enjoy!

This post is a minor milestone for me ... my 100th post!  Thanks to all for reading!!