Another sketch from my sketchbook. Gloria (my wife) and I were in San Pedro at the Central Park downtown sitting on a bench sketching. The temperature was about 30 to 32 degrees c. about 89 to 90 degrees f. Not too hot. Because of the humidity the sun doesn't burn. This building has 4 walls. The sketch is pen and ink with pencil crayons for color.

THE END OF DAYS - Salvation Stations

We are in the Dominican Republic this year. It is our third year working as missionaries for the Dominican people. Since Gloria and I are retired we are able, if we scrimp and  save for a couple of years, to spend 6 to 2-1/2 months in the DR depending where we live. This year we decided to stay 2-1/2 months. Instead of living in a poor neighborhood we are staying in a small inexpensive hotel downtown. Unlike the last few years this place has 24 hour electricity, water and Internet which is important if we want to keep in contact with Canada. There has been a revival going on here for sometime. New churches are being built all over San Pedro and probably the rest of the country as well. Many churches can be found in private homes, rich or poor it doesn't matter. Before our trip I spent sometime putting together a new tract for the DR. It is based on Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. A prophecy Jesus gave to His  Apostles concerning the future of our world. It begins with the destruction of Jerusalem 
(which happened in 70 A.D.) and ends with His return at the end of this age. We have printed copies in English, for back home and the Island of St. Kitts and Dominican Spanish for the Dominican Republic. Our good friend and compatriot Luis Hernandez will be taking the English tracts to St. Kitts.

Small Not Tall Palm

A small palm tree near a small casa. Perfect for a sketch. It's 5x7" pen and ink with watercolour.

My wife and I are living in the Dominican with some friends for the next 6 months. We plan to learn Spanish and enjoy their culture. Went to a baseball game the other night, it was great fun but loud, the home team won. We also attend a local Pentecostal church when we can, its even louder. They say the Dominican is the second loudest country in the world.

Check out our new Dominican blog. It is called Mission Improbable and can be reached through Splash and Paint.

Calla's Together

Flowers for my other daughter Angela Hernandez who along with her husband Victor recently moved into their own apartment
They met and married in the Dominican 2 years ago. Victor seems like the perfect match for her, as a matter of fact they even have similar features. What's up with that!
These are Calla Lilies painted in watercolour.

Yellow Bearded Iris

A nice flower that also makes a nice painting. I added the bud from another picture and I think it compliments and makes the painting more interesting. This painting is a watercolour and is painted on Arches water colour board, a relatively new offering from Arches. It is watercolour paper with a type of matt board backing. The size is 16 by 20 and doesn't need to be stretched.

Iris: 8x 10

I've been working on changing, not so much the way I paint but what I paint.

My wife nagged me for years to paint flowers so to prove that I do listen from time to time here is an Iris on water colour paper using watercolour, acrylic gouache and gold and copper metal leaf. I'm fairly satisfied with this one.

The Richness of Nature

Something new and out of the ordinary. This watercolour is 5 x 7" and the background is gilded with metal that is made from a silver colour and a gold colour, it is not precious metal but silver-made of aluminum and a variety of gold coloured metals-although it doesn't show on this scan the metal also has blue and copper colours in it as well. It was painted on a piece 200# Fabriano watercolour paper. The metal is glued to the paper. And although I don't normally leave the pencil marks on a painting, I like the look of this one. One thing, it takes a lot of patience and care to work with this metal because it is extremely fragile.