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.