More on the Dredge Quibian

 on the bridge. He was pointing out where we were in the Cut on a GPS screen

 Periodically the crew removes boulders, debris from the suction pumps.

 Standing as if I belong on the front of a dredge

Repairs to the teeth on the cutter that actually carves into the sediment and rock. The teeth last about three hours before they have to be repaired or replaced.

these pipes carry spoils from the enormous intake in front.

Dredge Quibian

Captain Gibson provide a small launch I could go out on and take shots from various angles. This is in the Culebra Cut close to Bas Obispo. The dredge was designed for the Panama Canal and built in the Netherlands. Jay and his wife came up with the name Quibian - the name refers to one of the first indians to greet Columbus when he landed at Panama in 1501.

Captain Jay Gibson

Captain of the dredge Quibian in his office. Great guy. Gave me a tour of the dredge and answered about a thousand questions. The chart in front of him tracks the amount needed to remove in the cut.

Chicken on Ice

On the way to the dredge Quibian I stopped at a small Chinese Market. There were pack of chickens and roosters clustered outside. It was like they owned the place, the looks I got.

Two rough studies

for two paintings done in 2009. Just looking for the basic color notes and values. Painted on 1/4" plywood.

A little truck study

Done as part of a class I gave in Panama talking about my painting process. 8 x 10, water based oil paints

Cuna indian

I had this mola made for my daughter. She loves sloths. The caption translates to "take it easy".

Painting setup

In my apt in Panama. I travel with water based oil paints (Artisan brand) and a small EasyL. The paints dry faster and I don't have to carry turpenoid into the field. I keep the tripod here.
Everything besides the tripod fits in a backpack. I've spent mucho time trying to figure out how little I can take in the field and still get the results I need.

No pictures please

a little market close to where I stay in Panama. When I asked if I could take his shot, this was his eloquent reply.

Blvd Albrook Restaurant Fan club

On an earlier trip to Panama I'd taken a shot of one of the guys working at the Blvd in Albrook and painted it when I got back to LA. On this trip I showed these guys the painting on my iphone. They took the phone and showed it to the rest of the staff then promptly began to argue amongst themselves which one of them was in the painting. Of course I still had to pay for the meal. The owner asked me for a print.

Interview for Panama TV Show, part 2

This is where I was interviewed. Every two or three minutes we'd have to stop as enormous trucks would rumble by killing the sound. We became convinced it was the same driver going back and forth, out to destroy the interview, some fiendish personal grievance. Maybe I owed him money or something.

Interview for Panama TV Show

I was asked to do a short interview that would be intercut with me painting a scene of the canal (this is from Cocoli Hill overlooking Miraflores Locks). The show airs one a month in Panama and updates the work being done on the Expansion and news on the current canal.
I had an hour to paint. They asked me to "time lapse" one part of the painting, you know, can you speed it up so we have great footage?

Painting at Culebra Cut

A small study done on a tablet PC.
This was moored in the cut for transit the next day.
I'd left my easel and remembered I still had the tablet.

Painting at Miraflores Locks

I painted here from the center wall at Miraflores Locks and had about an hour before it began to rain again. My security escort watched me the entire time. After I finished one of the canal workers said I was "casi como Sinclair!" Almost like Sinclair. Still trying to figure that one out.
Nice flat no color gray afternoon.

Teresa Arosemena

She was the first person to contact me when I submitted the idea of painting scenes of the Panama Canal Expansion. Bi-lingual and mucho smart. She helps me set up permission to paint on various Panama Canal sites. Es muy helpful.

Sr Aleman

With Sr Aleman in his office at the admin bldg in Balboa. Sr. Aleman is the head of the ACP, Autoridad del Canal de Panama, (Panama Canal Authority) the arm of the Panamanian govt that runs the Panama Canal and is responsible for the Canal Expansion now underway.
He has commissioned three paintings of the Canal Expansion for his retirement next year.

Night Excavation

One of the paintings of the first series in 2008, themed on the dry excavation going on round the clock. I wanted to try a night scene and see if I could make the lighting feel believable. I did a small study to work out the lighting (below) and have included the finished piece which is 30 x 40. Dan Hansen at CalArts suggested adding the figure at the top left of the painting to help the scale. A great call.

First painting

This is the first painting I did for the Canal Expansion in 2007 as a small test piece (9 x 12) to see if they liked the style and approach. I work fairly loosely and try to avoid a lot of detail, letting the viewer finish the painting.

The head engineer for the project, Jorge Quijano told me its the screen BG on his laptop. I gave him the original.

A few of the paintings from last years series.

Painting at Miraflores locks

I ended up painting here after security couldn't find "mi papeleria" to let me paint from the center wall. I waited for about 20 minutes while they scrambled to figure out who I was. At one point the security guard asked me where all my real painting equipment was. He apparently thought I was there to "paint" the locks. I guess I looked like a house (or locks) painter.

Painting of Mule at Pedro Miguel Locks

Painted a parked "mule" at Pedro Miguel. As ships move through the locks these small locomotives help guide the ships. They are tied up to either sides of a ship by cables usually fore and aft.

Atlantic side Lock trench

This is the trench cut for the locks on the Atlantic or Caribbean side of the canal. It's hard to describe the scale of this and how small you feel when you enter the cut itself. Progress on this side of the canal has been faster than the Pacific side since the earth is much finer and softer, almost like a hard sand. When it rains it becomes slippery and the larger Caterpillar trucks have a hard time with it since they are two wheel drive. They have to use smaller 4-wheel drive Volvo trucks which are articulated and have better traction.

Painting the lock trench

Painted on the Pacific side with an overlook of the enormous trenches being dug for the new sets of locks. While painting a few contractors in a fuel truck stopped to take pictures of me with their cell phones. Apparently they either thought I was insane and that alone was worth documenting or they liked the painting...not sure.
We all seemed to be great pals at the end of the photo shoot festival.

Lake Miraflores

I was attracted to the warm colors of the ship in the BG against the green/gray hills. Lucky for me I had a "permission slip" to paint there - a security guard stopped by to ask what I was doing.
Limited palette of four colors, done in about 90 minutes. I find giving myself a time limit forces me to focus on the big shapes and values and not noodle (well, that's the idea).

Here's the study. 8 x 10. Again, a lot of color in the shadows reflected off the ochre/tan ground.
I heard mutterings behind me as some of the ACP employees tracked "my progress". It all sounded vaguely positive or it could be wishful thinking.

Caterpillar study

Another small painting done in one of the maintenance yards. Most of the excavation is being hauled by these Caterpillar trucks.
The entire time I painted I had a small audience of workers. I guess they couldn't believe anyone would ever want to paint something like this - a truck?
Great information from doing this. All the subtle values and colors - particularly in the shadows - that disappear in a photo. I gave myself an hour and worked with a limited palette of the primaries and viridian.

Painting study

Painted one of the German Terex excavators today at 8am. I was asked to start early before most of the workforce arrived. It was here for maintenance (a hydraulic line had ruptured) and gave me time to paint. Lots o' Burnt Sienna. I added a few figures later to give it scale.

Trabajo de Noche (Night Work) 30 x 40

The second painting (of six) for this years series. I wanted to convey the idea that the work is pretty much around the clock. I added the figures to give the painting scale and moved up the foreground equipment to give the piece more depth. The photo I worked from had been taken with a long lens and the planes were flattened.

Llantero (Tire Inspection) 24 x 30

The first of six new paintings due this year. I was attracted to the scale of the figure to the tires.

The original photo had a different BG. I swapped it with this BG so some of the construction and the existing Canal would be visible. Gave it context.