Weekend in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Entry to Evita Museum

Portrait of Evita Peron

Collection of Hats in Museum

Central Hall in Opera House

Main Reception Room

Main Floor and Balconies of Opera House

On Friday, we took a tour of the Evita Museum,  the Opera House (Theatre Colon) and MALBA Museum. They were all fascinating visits. The MALBA Museum was great and a repeat for us. What was so great was the visiting artists were Jose Roca guest curating Oscar Munoz's fabulous show! Remember they were here in Philadelphia for Philagrafika2010 which I was also a part of!  In fact, Jose Roca was the curator of the entire event! Buenos Aires is a happening place. this is our third visit and we are always happy to return to the city.

We spent a lovely Sabbath with the Oppenheimers. He is the Chief Rabbi of Buenos Aires. Early Sunday morning we are off to Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

Horizon Line

The horizon line of the Andes mountains left a lasting impression in my mind's eye. I have used it over and over. For this image, I use it in a stylized viscosity monoprint. That is when you use thin and thick ink at the same time on the plate so there is a resistance created as you roll out the ink.

Horizon Variation 2 is from a series of work done in this fashion.

The Andes Mountains

The landscape in Patagonia intrigues me. It is vast, quiet, windy, unpopulated for the most part, pristine. The majesty of the mountains in the distance is awe-inspiring from any angle. The colors are glorious, the air clear.

This small mixed media image captures the vastness and distance of the landscape. Called Andes View, the mountains dominate the setting even when they are far away. This is a mountain range to remember and to return to.

Purple Sky

The vastness of the countryside in Patagonia is remarkable. I feel so free and open there. We visited a sheep ranch and walked around the beautiful acres. The vegetation and landscape was colorful with mountains in the background.

Purple Sky, a mixed media image made using monotype and collage, depicts the beauty of Patagonia- the vastness, the colors, and the calm starkness of landscape.

Edge of the World

Patagonia is a magical, special place to me. The scenery is gorgeous. The natural wonders of glaciers, lakes, mountains, vast blue skies create views that I will never forget. The fact that I am at the edge of the world, as far away from home as I can go on the same continent and that Antarctica is a stone's throw away, makes it an exotic and distant place. Though sparsely populated, the people who live there are special- warm, friendly, adventurous. Patagonia is a place I will visit again and again.

Edge of the World is a mixed media image that conveys the mystical feeling I have for the place as well as the glacier blues which abound in the landscape.

Glacier Lake

This is a brand new image that I created as I remember the purity of colors in Bariloche, Argentina. Sometimes the glacial water has sediment from the glaciers in it so it appears milky or grey, but as it gets purified by traveling from lake to lake in the water system, it gets clearer and clearer with a startling blue color like none we see here. The supersaturated colors of the landscape in Bariloche stay in my mind's eye forever. I have never see such true blues and greens. I felt like Dorothy entering Oz.

Glacier Lake is an original archival pigment print.

Argentina and Chile

The special charms of Argentina and Chile drew us back to visit a second time. The cities we visited once, we wanted to see again. Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina are worth exploring over and over. We also visited El Calafate, Bariloche, Ushuaia, and Iguassu Falls in Argentina and Punta Arenas, Valparaisa and Vina del Mar in Chile. Patagonia is the southern part of South America and includes both countries. The glaciers, forests, lakes, animals and flora are incredible.

These two images express all the exitement, charm, life, scenery, smells and tastes of Argentina and Chile. Mountain Sparkle (bottom) and Green and Yellow (top) capture the zest, movement and verve which I feel in the area. Both are archival pigment prints.

Strait of Magellan

Cruising through the Strait of Magellan, we headed for the "uttermost part of the earth." Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego offer native forest and glaciers, fjords and channels. This unique and mysterious place at the end of the earth is one of my favorite places. It intrigues me, capturing my imagination and stimulating my creative process.

This series of mixed media work includes from the top: Exploring the Edge 2, Revisiting the Edge 1 and Reaching the Edge 1.

The Beagle Channel

Discovered in 1830 by Captain Fitz Roy, the Beagle Channel is a major thoroughfare from Ushuaia to points south, especially Antarctica. It is named after his brig called "Beagle." We are traveling on it to get to Cape Horn.

The bottom photograph is of the Beagle Channel taken from the embarkation point in Ushuaia, Argentina on our cruise to Cape Horn. The top image is a mixed media work entitled Turquoise Water, depicting the cold, sometimes tumultuous water so close to the south pole.

The Edge of the World

Traveling to Patagonia, the southern most section of Chile and Argentina, is a thrilling adventure. The landscape is amazing- glaciers, the Andes, lakes galore, the Beagle Channel, Cape Horn. Remote and dramatic, the vistas calls to me. Just a hop. skip and a jump away is Antarctica. These three abstract mixed media works, created using monotype and collage techniques, capture the colors, textures and emotions of being at the edge of the world.

Bottom titled Edge of Space; middle, Travel to the Edge; and top Winter Travel.