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.