Sketching On The Serenade Of The Seas; Relaxing On Deck 11

      Deck 11 is a beautiful open area with loads and loads of lounge chairs, swimming pools, hot tubs, sunshine, a beautiful view of the ocean and fun places to explore. It is great place for people to congregate, either during the day relaxing or splashing, and during the night for partying and dancing under the stars.
     This sketch took place in the afternoon, it was such a beautiful day!  I found myself a lounge chair and just looked around me, and there was the perfect model right next to me!  She was just worn out, and totally relaxed.  So many people just fall asleep in lounge chairs!  I'm not one of them, I don't want to miss anything.  This woman held her pose

long enough for me to sketch it, she did eventually move, but I was very happy with this sketch.  I have to say that every day I got more excited, carrying my pad and pencils in my bag, always looking for my next subject!  It really is a different way to look at the world, instead of just experiencing my cruise for what it was, I looked at it for the many opportunities I was presented with for creativity.  When I thought about it, Shakespeare's quote: "All the world's a stage" popped into my head.  For whatever he meant with this statement, for me it meant that my world is a stage with all of my art models and stage setups everywhere I look.  It is just wonderful to realized I don't have to go to far to find amazing beauty to use for creativity, I just have to look around me!
     Of course, I have my picture of me sketching, showing my reference.  Please notice my beautiful dress I bought at an open market, tables set up with locals selling their unique things.  We were at the Island of St Croix, but this dress was handmade in St Thomas.  I love it!  Yes, there is more! Keep reading!
                                                               Pictures Of The Serenade Of The Seas

Sketching At Magen's Bay, St Thomas

     What fun I had this day at Magen's Bay in St Thomas, USVI!  We took an excursion to this beautiful beach, we found ourselves a place to sit down and what did I see right next to us but a model!  This man, snoozing in his chair, didn't move a muscle and allowed me ample time to sketch him.
     I remember this sketch wasn't easy, with his reclining angle, being in a chair, the draping towels in the back, and getting my proportions right.  I used my eraser plenty, but, in the end, I was satisfied that it looked believable, that this was a man taking a nap in his beach chair. I had my picture taken sketching so that you could see my reference, remembering my

blog all the while.
     This man eventually woke up and came over to talk with us.  I found out he was from the United States, but moved to St Thomas eighteen years ago.  No more snow shoveling for him!
      Hope you enjoy this one, and, of course, there is more!! Keep reading, I kept very busy on our cruise!

Beautiful Pictures Of Magen's Bay, St Thomas

Sketching On The Serenade Of The Seas; The Young Girl

     After arriving on board The Serenade of the Seas cruise ship from Royal Caribbean, we went exploring the upper decks where the fun outdoor places were, including the pool.  I packed my sketch pad and pencils to be ready for whatever I would find, and, believe me, there were great subjects everywhere!
     There was a band performing at the pool side, the air was filled with the sounds of island music to put us all in the mood for cruising.  Then I found her, this cute young girl, just captivated with watching the musicians, just sitting there focused and holding a great pose!  I was able to sketch her quickly, I was wanted to hurry before she moved and I finished just in time before her mother joined her and she moved. 
     With every sketch I completed, from the plane, to the lounge at the Caribe, and now on the deck of a beautiful cruise ship, I was getting excited to find more subjects and make a wonderful collection of sketches!
Of course, everybody, there's more! Keep reading!

Searching For The Perfect Cuban Sandwich; San Juan, Puerto Rico

Big Hot Cuban Wrap

     Before leaving leaving the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico to board our ship for the cruise, I wanted to be sure to have some lunch, not being sure how long everything would take.  Near all the little shops at the resort, there is a restaurant named Pina Colada Club at Caribe that we decided try out.  I was pleasantly surprised to see on the menu Big Hot Cuban Wrap, the description included roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard wrapped in a flour tortilla and served hot off the grill.  This is a picture of my sandwich, which I enjoyed thoroughly and washed it down with Coors Light.  They used brown spicy mustard, the flavors blended beautifully together. I have to admit that I enjoyed this sandwich better than Panera Bread's Cuban Chicken Sandwich. The fries were fresh and hot. Mm-mm good!
     This restaurant was larger than it looked from the outside and they were very busy.  Our server was Hector, who couldn't stop running!  I told him I loved this sandwich, was going to blog about it and was going to mention his name. He was so delighted and said, "so I will be famous now!".  If anyone from my audience makes it to the Caribe Hilton, look up Hector and say, "hi" from the blog!
     I was sad to not find anymore Cuban sandwiches when traveling in the Caribbean since we were not eating out locally on the islands, but in the cruise ship.  My search is not over, there is a restaurant nearby owned by a husband and wife team, the man being from Puerto Rico and the woman being local, and I know they have the Cuban Sandwich on the menu.  I have heard of a Cuban restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island that I may venture to.  I also am looking up the recipe, which involves making Cuban bread (or using a hoagie).  I have saved some delicious pork roast from Easter dinner yesterday at my son and daughter-in-law's house; it is frozen for my own attempt at this wonderful sandwich, which I have found out involves squishing it on a grill. Keep reading!

More Sketching At The Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto, Rico

      This is a favorite sketch!  When I was done with the sketch of the woman (see 4/23/11), I looked around and spotted this very interesting man across the lounge.  He had a dark complexion, long dread locks, this white shirt a necklace and was holding a great pose (he was texting on his cell phone)!  I have never attempted any one with dread locks before, since no one with dread locks ever posed for me until this day, so I was very excited, as long as he didn't move!
     I am so happy with these results.  Of course, he did not have a clue that he was being sketched!  What fun was having!  I so wish the reference picture

 out better, but I was trying to not get caught.  I included the third picture that my husband took of me drawing (he does not do any art on paper, but he does wonders gardening and he is very supportive my endeavors!).  Yes, I realize it is sideways. I did rotate it in the computer, but when it transferred to the blog, it remained sideways. Sigh. That will be another day of learning how to do this correctly, but, in the meantime, I have a blog to write, so just turn your head to the side and you can see my set up. I want you to notice that I carry my pencils in a toothbrush holder, it works fine, you don't need anything expensive or fancy.  I had placed the menu to the right to conceal what I was doing, but when it came time to take the picture, I simultaneously moved the menu and my hat forward, and placed my camera in front of the menu, to conceal what I was doing! I wish I could have zoomed in better, but I was getting nervous and had to do this quick! That's it for sketching in San Juan, next there is sketching all over the cruise ship! Keep reading!!                                         

Sketching At The Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto, Rico

      Arriving at the Caribe Hilton was absolutely wonderful!  I kept telling my husband, "This is just what the doctor ordered"!  I needed to de-stress from my daily life and schedule so that I could start the cruise off on the right foot, so I had a massage that night, that got all the knots worked out of my neck and also spent a few minutes in the steam bath and the sauna.  Then the next morning I joined the group for yoga on the beach.  Ahhhh! Yes, this is just what the doctor ordered!
     The Caribe is a great destination spot.  One thing I learned when we stopped there two years ago for another cruise is how to make infused water

with lemons, melon or lime. They have the decanters full and ready to drink freely.  I now do this on our hot summer days and love it!  We enjoyed walking by the water and feeding schools of fish bread that they keep out in a bucket. They have a huge bird cage with macaws and cockatoos in them and I was trying to get one to talk, and I finally I heard in a bird voice, "hello", then a moment later I could have sworn I heard, "my butt".  The man with his little girl heard this too, and I said, "I think this bird is saying something inappropriate" and we just walked away!
     But, all good things must come to an end.  The next day we were heading out, and we found ourselves with time to wait in the beautiful, expansive lounge.  Here, I found other people just waiting around, and amazingly, holding great poses!  Here is one woman, who was just sitting there, arms crossed.  I wanted to be sure to discreetly take a picture of my model so you can see my reference.  There is another one coming!
The Caribe Hilton

Sketching On The Plane To San Juan, Puerto Rico

       We set out for our cruise vacation with Royal Caribbean on April Fools Day, what a joke! We had a snow storm, that really amounted to a little in the end, but at 4:30am, it was a mess and we needed to call for the plow and sander to get the shared van up our hill, we were stuck!  At last, we did make it out and to the airport on time.  The next strange thing was watching the wings of the plane get de-iced.  I never would have volunteered to be on a plane that needed de-icing, but what could I do, once on board and buckled in?  Finally, a half hour later, we were off to a warm and beautiful destination.
     I was in the middle between my husband and this

man, who was friendly.  I found out that he was Jim from Maine who sold gardening supplies all over and he won a trip to stay at a house in San Juan through a silent auction. He was taking along with him his six buddies that he gets together with every Thursday night to play Texas Hold'em. (I have yet to play this game, but just give me time.)  I found out one of the guys was a manager at a Panera Bread in Maine and I, of course, had to tell him about my Cuban Chicken Panini (see 4/20/11).
     I noticed two of his guests across the aisle held their positions really well, so, out came my sketch pad and pencil!  I really had a great time drawing these two guys, and since I was talking with their host, I was able to get their names!  The name on the top drawing was done in calligraphy italic alphabet, and I put two pencils together to create a wider nib, holding them at a 45 degree angle. The only problem is, it is not accurately measured and I did not have an alphabet to refer to for the strokes, but it is good enough!  Jim liked my drawings, but I am not sure if these guys ever found out they were sketched!
P.S.: when the plane landed, Jim called back home and they had 10 inches of snow, way more than we had. How happy we all were to leave!