Tags
painting by lisa brunetti, painting of cat and flowers, painting on walls, Restaurant Exclusivo Jama Ecuador, Timeout for Art, where to eat in jama ecuador
Timeout for drawing… Inspired by a photo…
The past ten days have filled my life with power outages, a broken water line, private tours, a painting competition, watercolor lessons by candlelight, a dress-rehearsal parade, and the challenge of transforming a restaurant dining area. I’ve sharpened my pencils countless times, though I have had little time online.
While waiting on lunch, I added more background to bring the snowy egret into focus.
Precision requires a sharp point! One more session will complete the above drawing. Instead of finishing the egret drawing yesterday, I focused on the cat for part of the restaurant’s new ‘artsy’ look!
Enjoy the evolution of a fun impromptu painting that was prompted by the suggestion, ‘What about a window with a cat – painted in the same style of the tables? Simple lines and basic colors.”
I veered a little off course!
Sister Synergy!
Simple graphic designs and clean uncomplicated colors make one splash of a presentation!
What would you draw in this area?!
Timeout for drawing…
The drawing deserved more than a flat uncomplicated design!
Ecuadorians are creative recyclers and often use discarded items for planters.
After drawing a good map of the kitten’s shape, I easily blocked in the color.
More detail makes this mini mural believable.
Poor poor Kitty did not enjoy modeling for the artist! I chuckle at the memories! Thanks, Silvana, for holding the impatient cat!
“I don’t like being the center of attention!”
Curious for more images of the transformation? Go visit Silvana’s post for her refreshing tale, What Can We Do With This Place?!
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
Pretty pussy cat 🙂
Haha I saw the name there and was confused 😆
yes, i totally understand! thank goodness of gravatars!
i will be going home later today and will pull up that image and do a tutorial! i look forward to it, though i should ask in advance if it’s ok to use that image that belongs to you!
z
Yes of course.
Mind you, I think I may have answered for the wrong person
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Ahhhhhhhhh……….
I love the bright colors, and the fact that your art “works,” as in it has a job to do and is accessible to so many people. Well done Lisa. ~James
Thank you! It’s also amazing to watch others who have never painted and see them blossom almost instantly!
I look forward to returning to the restaurant today and witnessing the public’s reaction to the new work!
Z
Beautiful painting!
thank you so much! we’ve had a lot of fun with this project!
Lisa that is just amazing! 🙂 The celebrity at the end of the post really nailed it, he is such a cutie!! I love the egrets and the kitty, I really aim at getting that finesse you possess. Absolutely stunning!!!
Hey! You are always so kind and generous with your feedback! Thank you, and yes, that feline celebrity presides over the restaurant! She’s not too crazy when she gets too much attention, and she dashes for the shadows!
Thanks so much for your genuine feedback!
Lisa/Z
You don’t need to thank me every time, I am just expressing how I feel, and you happen to be a big inspiration so thank YOU! 🙂 I love restaurant cats! I remember when I went to Santorini, they were everywhere and always brought a smile to my face! I wasn’t sure if the locals felt the same about them but anyway…I have so many pictures of random cats in my album! They are part of the landscape and the atmosphere! Rubbing against your leg under the table while you are delighting over mouth-watering local foods 🙂 Just amazing!
ah! to be surrounded by strong confident people! that’s a blessing, even when those people are via wordpress! thank you always! z
It looks really good, the mural of the cat and the flower. I like the unfinished drawing of the egrets, too. Seems like you a very busy, Lisa.
Ja! Yes, Life has crammed many positive moments in my path, and I’ve enjoyed clearing hurdles and moving on to another challenge, and another,and another. There are so many moments that I omit — there’s just not enough time to share them all, and they are all worthy. Like the old man that I love so much – he ambled into the restaurant a few days ago and sat at the ‘bamboo’ table. he was wearing a light-green shirt that coordinated with the table! his caramel skin, white hair, cataract eyes painted an amazing scene, and choosing not to disturb him with camera, I greeted him and branded the moment in my memory.
Life here provides endless photo moments, and I realize how blessed I am to live here.
Amiga, I am constantly reminded of your ability to touch people’s lives, encourage latent artistic sides and remind us that we are all artists. We can do this! I hang my paintings proudly in my home and swell with pride when I share the stories of how they came about and of my dear friend and her encouragement. Love you friend.
My dear Marie! Your ‘healing’ piece of art continues to be one of my favorites! I should stop long enough to share that story with the rest of the world!
Soon, I hope!
Love,
LisaZ
You are an inspiration! Lovely! So sorry it’s been such a complicated week in the technology and mechanical areas!
Cindy, every time I look at your amazing drawings, I am impressed! Your drawings float a feeling of calmness and comfort, and I dwell there. Thanks for sharing your gifts!
Hola Hola! Amiga what an inspiration you are. R.
We will forever lob that hot potato back and forth! I remain dumbfounded at your ability to draw so well with your ‘other’ hand.
How’s the mending going? I hope fast and well.
Z
Love this!
thank you! i’m so sorry that i’ve not been able to check on the lets be wild competitions in a while. i fear that the upcoming month is going to be equally difficult to be online. it’s nice to know that you’re grounded and constant at home base!
Beautiful works, as always. I just love the bright, range of color.
thank you so much! we have so many great photos and stories to share. it’s great to have the problem of not having time to manage photos and be online, though i don’t like playing catch up either. all of you have been so kind and loyal to my eclectic posts. thank you, thank you thank you!
You are more than welcome. Your pieces are exceptional and deserve recognition.
You are too kind, and oh so tolerant! I continue to be on the receiving end of praise and comments, yet have not reciprocated. Soon I hope to catch up.. if only I could read posts while making that 8-hour bus ride on Tuesday!
When I get home later today I have date with 200 7-foot strips of bamboo to finish building a fence! Otherwise the goats might raid the yard before I return toward the end of the month!
Z
This is one of my favorites! Lisa, love the cat and the egret! When you added the florals it really made the kitty picture pop! Lovely, lovely work! Even if you have to work by candlelight, please keep it up!
ha! thank you! yes, we have had a wonderful time as we painted our way thru the week! lots of great memories are anchored in the art, and we will always recall those memories when we look at the art.
thank you so much!
Lisa this is awesome, like how you put step by step, is true “Precision requires a sharp point!”, like how you are painting the town in many colors those mesas look really good, you have been busy, super busy.
yes, it’s nice when we’re busy doing things that we enjoy! i’m on my way back to the restaurant after i hit the ‘reply’ button! thanks so much!
z
Been going through Z withdrawals. Glad you are well. I love the egrets. Take care, BTG
You are so kind! Thank you! As much as I love a life full of art, of interacting with people, I do have pangs of guilt when I am not able to visit my friends’ posts and see what’s on the table for the day, the week, the month and the future!
I’ll be home tonight. Prepare for some great updates that will illustrate what we’ve been doing! I’ll be home until Tuesday, then will be in transit – perhaps for another month. Lots going on in the life of the Zeebra and all good!
I am blessed.
Z
Look forward to it.
Lovely. You collaborated with a wonderful model!
yes, it is a lovely cat! thanks so much! z
Wonderful! Sounds like you get quite a bit of power outages. Your art is always inspiring! 🙂
Just discovered your blog via the Weekly Photo Challenges and am enjoying getting to know you and your art better. I would love to someday have a mural on the wall of my house. Our younger daughter is an art student and might be able to do that for us. In the meantime, I’m enjoying your whimsical one.
janet
janet! thank you so much for writing! i am still ‘out of pocket’ and am going home for two days before heading back out for perhaps a month. i look forward to spending time on your blog – yes, your daughter will surely fly when you give her the rein and say, ‘giddye up! let’s paint!” one thing that we discussed today tat the restaurant is the fact that a mural on the wall is not able to move with you. i did a large one for an attorney and painted it on an oversized piece of mdf plywood.. we attached it directly to the wall and then i stretched the painting about 6 inches more in all directions. it does a great job of fooling the eye. it’s also easier to work on a flat surface than a wall!
good luck, and thanks again for writing!
lisa/z
What a great idea for a moving mural! I confess that the the biggest drawback to a mural is its immovability! The other, of course, would be trying to sell the house if the prospective buyers didn’t like it. 🙂 Ttrompe l’oeil is also very interesting (and probably just a fancy way of saying “mural”.) At any rate, safe travels and enjoy your time at home.
janet
a group of young adults and i worked several nights on a huge iguana on their restaurant wall. the restaurant was called the iguana cafe. they had a great business but it was killling them physically and closed. a dentist now has that space, and the first thing he did was tile over the painting.
ugh. life is hard sometimes! one man’s art is another man’s —- ?—–
thanks so much for the followup.. i’m now home and am about to crash for the night.. we painted til 12 the first night, 11 the second and 10 last night. i’m going to be in bed by 9!
siempre
lisa/z
Beautifully talented! I can’t wait to explore your blog more!
thank you! it’s been such a full week that i’ve not been able to reply to comments! thank you so much! lisa/z
Lovely painting Z!
I made a comment on Judy Lovell’s blog today that her tri-colored heron photo looks like a pencil drawing. Then, I come here and find your drawing of the heron. You can see her photo here.
LOVE the live kitty and love your portrait of her. What wonders we’re surrounded with – not if only I could get Dixie Rose back down to that kitty’s weight! This one looks young, though. The young ones are always skinny – never mind the species!
hey from the riverhouse, where this reply will probably spin and not reach you, but i can hope!
yes, judy’s photos of birds are amazing – they pull me in, and i don’t want to leave!
the restaurant cat is 2 years old and has already had two litters! she’s a sweet thing and a finicky eater!
Home for lunch and happened to be here – your message came through. Oh, happy day! Hope yours is a wonderful one!
What a face on that feline. Nice likeness. 🙂
it’s a very sweet cat, and it was fun to capture her patterns! z
What a beautiful feline cat you have captured the sensuous movement and the lovely little tilt of the head and the colours set off by the flowers, you are so talented and I really appreciate that you find time in your busy life to share all these moments with us. Thank you Lisa you can see the happiness in the faces of the people you help
pauline, you are such a lovely woman, and it would be so nice to see you and jack step through those restaurant doors and start painting with us! thank goodness we have wordpress to shorten the distance between the east side of the pacific and your side!
To visit you and your part of the world would be a dream come true
So many artistic projects on the go. And yet you take the time to keep us updated. Hugs for your generous spirit.
i’m about to be offline for most of the next few weeks. it’s going to be hard to make the little burro laptop step up to the task of writing posts late at night! z
Oh sad. But what fun when you come online again.
You really have a gift — and I don’t just refer to your art, which is stunning!
getting older is a wonderful gift; we become less hurried, more patient and tolerant of others, and i find my love and compassion for our fellow man trumps most other emotions. i think that one has to get quiet – turn off the television, radio, telephone and reconnect with nature and one’s self, and we realize that life is not about us, but about others.
and then there’s the devil trying to get the best of me through various channels, and i try to turn those moments into something positive.. though the slow internet is frustrating === it’s reached its slowest for the day, and most likely sending this will take many attempts.
thanks, hugh! i will be online tonight before leaving for quito/mindo/quito/amazon, and will not have many opportunities to be online for the next few weeks.
keep slaying those dragons!
z
I like the way you help everyone and inspire us not only in art but in your attitude. Following your blog is a pleasure and an education in living.
I love to visit your site Lisa and see how you have colored yet someone else’s world. You are a very inspiring woman. 🙂
So beautiful. You truly captured the playfulness of the adorable cat.
Thanks! The cat presides over the restaurant, but it does not like attention! I’ve been away for almost two weeks and will be gone for about ten more days. it will be good to get back and enjoy a meal at that restaurant while the cat ponders where i’ve been!
Lisa, you made the kitty walk on the edge of the picture frame. I have seen them perform such acrobatics, and you have captured the heart of the cat!