News from Our Studio
Theresa Brown & Stephen Filarsky
Hope
you had a great Fourth of July weekend, watched fireworks, had
cookouts, saw the parades with friends and family and in general
enjoyed living in this great country!
We did go to Mexico in June and enjoyed not only my daughter's
beautiful wedding but a beautiful location in Cabos San Lucas.
The "Dreams Resort and
Spa" was like a cruise ship on the beach. Lots of fun, lots
of relaxation and an unholy amount of food and drink!
One of the side trips that we took was a ride in a glass bottomed boat to El Arco de Cabo. One side is the Sea of Cortez and the other side is the Pacific ocean. Now if you think glass bottomed boats were something you'd find drifting lazily about a Florida coral reef, well, this was a bit different. The ability to use one's boat for tours was the ultimate entrepreneural challenge for a Mexican boat owner looking to provide a living for his family. The assortment of boats in use was probably as varied as the flotilla that left the shores of England to rescue the troops at Dunkirk. Apparently coming from a resort, we were not to have the tiniest, most questionable boat but during the course of our adventure, it was obvious that if you were just a clueless tourist wandering into the marina region, you were fair game for anyone with a boat with a piece of glass in the bottom and a roof overhead.
But
the glass bottom "well" in the boat, was as we were promised, a place
to see the fish in one particular area and it was fun....So as the
waves lifted and lowered our boat, next to the rocks covered with
Pelicans, (and what I thought were white marble outcroppings lol)
we peered into the well to watch the assortment of fish. I would not
have been surprised to see one of the snorklers crushed against the
glass as we were literally about to run them over (as were the other
multitude of boats in the area) In fact at one point our captain,
Santos says "You see those leetle bubbles over there? (and we peered at
the spot some 25 feet away) Underneath that water are scuba divers!"
(no diving flags) As a former scuba diver .....I suppose that this is
one of those times where ignorance is truly bliss for those tourists
underwater.
Note: I, Steve, decided not to go snorkeling when we were
signing up for the adventure (due to my inability to use a snorkel
without drowning), otherwise there probably would have been a couple
more snorkelers out there.
Now,
personally, I happen to love rough seas! And a "typhoon" way out in the
Pacific accomodated my request. Not all of our shipmates were as
thrilled as the large waves rolled and the boat heaved.
Imagine you and your loved one are walking along the beach on
a beautiful summer afternoon splashing through the water and gazing
into each others eyes. Then by chance, you turn your head and
look out past the pounding surf and tell her, "What are those idiots
doing out there in a boat like that?" Well, that's us you were talking
about.
Portraits by Theresa
Elle and Fourrage
Boy on the Beach Oil 32 x 40
What
WAS amazing about the boat ride were the views and the sheer power of
the Pacific ocean-the waves literally exploded through holes in the
rocks. They also literally exploded-(almost sounding like bombs at
night) onto the hidden rocks at the resort beach-no swimming there! We
also encountered sea lions which were truly amazing (yes we have
photos) and at one point we clambered out of the boat and spent about
an hour on the rocky beaches before needing to return to town and the
resort for the wedding rehearsal dinner. The highlight of that was
being in the midst of schools of silver fish leaping almost into your
arms in that gorgeous blue green water while we played in the (stronger
than they appeared) waves. It did occur to us that perhaps something
much bigger was after them....still other people rushed in to try and
grab a leaping fish but no one succeeded.
Next time maybe I'll share with you the golfer's stories of
rattlesnakes and the Mexican bus drivers :-)
As my father would have said "A good time was had by all."
You can relax, no golf stories will ever be published here.
Paintings
by Steve
Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show
If you are on the east coast like us, you have been sweltering through the last month. One thought that helps us get through these hot July days is knowing that we will be up in the mountains in the town of Blowing Rock NC (what a gorgeous place!) for two weeks of shows. Until then, think positively! Long Fourth of July weekend? Good beach weather? Best weekend for cookouts and corn on the cob? Well maybe July isn't so bad after all!
Steve has completed the large 24 x 36 oil painting for the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show. It will be used for the posters and t-shirts at this year's show. You can get a sneak preview here! You won't find the actual scene quite like it is depicted here (the artist's prerogative!) but it conveys the essense of this lovely place that holds so many memories for competitors and their families!
It
goes up for sale at the silent auction during Horse Show's Gala Party.
It's for a good cause, so bring money and bid high!
You can We're scheduling and holding our workshops in various locations. The art camps have been a blast and it's great that we're both in a position to work the split activites! Steve has one of his painting workshops coming up next month. If you have enjoyed his small oil paintings and think that you might like to give it a try, you can register here: http://www.jerrysartevents.com/au14stfimila.html For fun and relaxation, you can join him from 10-4 on Saturday August 14!
Art Camps and Lessons
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Two
frogs fell into a deep cream bowl. One was an optimistic soul but the
other took the gloomy view. ‘We shall drown!’, he cried.
Without more ado, he uttered a last despairing cry, turned up his toes
and said, “good-bye!” Said the other frog, with a gritty
grin, ‘I can’t get out, but i won’t give in.
I’ll keep a’going ‘til my strength is spent, then I
can die better content!’ Bravely he swam until it would seem his
struggles began to churn the cream. On top of the butter at last he
stopped and out of the bowl he gaily hopped. What is the lesson? Tis
easily found, If you can’t hop out - keep swimming around.
Click to view video
Laugh of the month
Here you can see some video clips from the trip to El Arco. The video starts with a shot of the beach by the hotel
Click here for the: Boat trip to El Arco
Don't
forget to check out our blogs for recent paintings and news:
www.mtheresabrown.blogspot.com
"If
time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?"
- Stephen Hawking
"Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but
just look what they can do when they stick together."
- Vesta M. Kelly
Filarsky Brown Art Studio LLC
PO Box 337
Franklinton, NC 27525
Ph. 919-880-7431 or 919-880-2858