Until this week we have avoided big cities on this adventure, but Bangkok beckoned, and our next flight departs from their big airport. I only scheduled four days here, which was not enough to really see much, but I did my best.

Khaosan Road is the backpackers haven and location of the cheapest hotel rooms in town. We went for a visit, but did not stay long. Maybe in my younger days.

We also visited the various red-light districts of Patpong, Sukhumvit and Nana, but just to see the neon lights. None of us had any desire to see the debauchery within the various clubs. I was hoping to paint a little, but gave up quickly after being harassed by dozens of prostitutes, lady boys and people trying to sell me all types of goods and services. They couldn’t seem to comprehend that I was just there to see the lights. No massage necessary, thanks!

Sunrise was a lot better time to get out and sketch. Apparently Thailand doesn’t get up early, except for the orange-robed monks who are out searching for food. They are only allowed to eat what is given to them, and only in the early morning. Picture me with a giant bunch of bananas, surrounded by a dozen monks, each happily eating my offering. Wish I had a picture!

Bangkok is definitely a big city experience, much like Shanghai or New York. It is very crowded, smoggy and chaotic. After the tranquil places we have been to this month, it is a bit of overload and i’ll be happy to move along…although my next stop is Tokyo, which won’t be exactly an escape from the chaos.

I love big cities when I’m in the right frame of mind. There is so much to see and do that you never run out of inspiration. Still, my small town roots always lead me to quieter, calmer places.

Home is on the horizon and I’ll have all the quiet I desire soon enough. For now, I’ll endure in the interest of more discovery and adventure. I can never get enough!

Elephants are awesome! I’ve always liked them from a distance, and had enough respect for their giant size to admire from afar. At over three tons, they can easily squash a human being, so you definitely want to stay on their good side!

I have always wanted to get a closer look at one of these beautiful creatures, but access to them has been rather limited, typically through bars at a zoo. This is not the case in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Northern Thailand is elephant central. Chiang Mai has dozens of elephant camps, and the city is decorated with elephant sculptures everywhere. Most of the camps train the elephants to do tricks and offer shows and rides, but I really didn’t feel like that was humane or what the elephant would want. However, I found an elephant farm that allowed a much friendlier access to elephants.

The Patara elephant farm breeds elephants and does not train them to paint or dance. They also don’t put steel cages on their back and make them haul four or five people through the jungle. Instead they train people on how to coexist with elephants. This sounded good to me.

I never thought I would be holding a giant chunk of elephant dung, but a health inspection was part of the training. Surprisingly, it smelled like grass and wasn’t unpleasant once I got past the thought that it had passed through an intestinal tract. After a brief introduction to my elephant, Maicompok, I fed her a barrel of sugar cane and bananas and we became fast friends.

With a little guidance from my trainer, I led Maicompok down to the river to give her a bath. This was no small feat! Imagine scrubbing down a truck that is ticklish! The big girl liked being scrubbed behind her ears and around her eyes. Her skin was very tough, and her hair like a wire brush, but she was very sensitive. She let me know when I was scrubbing too hard, and I got a bit of a bath myself.

We each had our own elephant to work with, and it was exhausting work at that, but the most fun we ever had!

After the bath, we learned several ways to get on an elephant. This was no easy task! I was afraid I would hurt (or anger) Maicompok, but my trainer assured me that she liked me and would tolerate my ignorance.

Marla took a different approach to boarding her giant.

Soon we were all riding high on the most majestic perch imaginable. It was so unbelievably exciting, I hardly noticed how painful it was to do the splits on a moving behemoth. (My hips may never be the same again).

Our trainers taught us to guide the elephants where we wanted them to go, but I suspect they already knew where they were going, and secretly laughed at our attempts to tell them. We rode through the jungle, up and down some perilously steep terrain, and managed it like pros. The elephants really made us look good.

My favorite part of our trek was swimming with our elephants. These massive puppies love the water and are quite playful! They found great joy in soaking us with their trunks, but were very careful not to crush or drown us. What seemed a bit terrifying at first, turned out to be one of the most fun and memorable events ever!

When Nantucket is under a bucket of snow, head to Phuket. (pronounced Poo-ket)

The beach is sunny and hot in Thailand this time of year, and all has been beautifully rebuilt since the 2004 tsunami. We came over on the ferry from Phi Phi this afternoon. (pronounced Pee-pee). Both islands are fun, but Phi Phi is much harder to get around since it has no roads.

We tried to meet up with Ismail on Phi Phi, but met with too many obstacles so we decided Phuket would be easier. (I think I may have pronounced it wrong a few times yesterday.)

So now we’re in a taxi, flying past rows of rubber trees, heading to Patong Beach to meet Ismail and some local watercolorists for dinner. Our driver put some Whitney Houston on the radio. Such a tragedy that she died so young yesterday. That kind of news travels around the world pretty fast, although our driver didn’t know. I hated telling him.

Whitney was only 48. I am 43 and feel my own mortality every day. I lost several dear friends in 2011. That is one of the reasons I am here. It’s a big world and a short life. There is so much to do and so many friends to share time with. I haven’t even met all of my friends yet.

Dreams can’t wait any longer. I don’t live with the notion that “someday” I will go after them. There is no time like the present. So…Phuket. No regrets, no missed opportunities. I am here and I feel very alive today.

Now where is Ismail?!

It began simply as a thank-you note to good friends at sunset. I was going to email them a photo…(sorry Hallmark, it’s a different era).

A very small girl from the Sea Gypsy fishing village watched me write in the sand with a stick, then came over to show me how it’s really done! She picked up the stick and set to work, quickly drawing around my note. There was such a flurry of activity and sinking light that she was almost impossible to photograph, but the following pics still tell the story nicely.

PS: if you couldn’t tell, it’s a fish!

I met Ismail Kadir in China in 2008 during the International Watercolor Masters Invitational. He is the best watercolorist in Malaysia, that is… when he’s home. I’ve never seen him at home though.

I’m in southern Thailand now, probably a four hour drive from Ismail’s studio, and somehow couldn’t coordinate my schedule to drop in for a visit. So Ismail is coming to meet me instead.

We just spent a couple of weeks together in India last October for the International Art Meet Kolkata. Still, when you have artist friends like Ismail, you can never see them enough or spend too much time.

I’m staring out at the turquoise water on Phi Phi island, watching for a longtail boat to arrive with my friend. Now he will meet my family for the first time. They are already acquainted through social media, but the in-person meet is long overdue.

I hope Ismail brought some extra paint! I’ve given too much of mine away to local artists as I’ve traveled. Sharing art supplies is a good habit I find hard to break. Even if he didn’t, we both like going to foreign art supply stores. (another good habit)

We’ll be meeting with several local watercolorists from Phuket, and hopefully finding some cool things to paint. I know we’ll be talking about our new friends from India….I miss them all, even though I can keep track of them online. It’s just not the same as hearing them laugh. Maybe one day we’ll all find ourselves in the same place at the same time again. Miracles can happen, especially with a little effort.

So where is Ismail? We’re both on the same tiny island, yet there might as well be a world between us. Phi Phi has no roads, and all travel is done on the longtail boats. Once the tide goes out, the boats are marooned in the sand and everyone stays where they are until the tide comes back in. That won’t be until tomorrow morning!

The Sea Gypsies that operate the long tail boats in the Andaman sea have made a great life for themselves, ferrying travelers between the hundreds of small dots of land in the turquoise water.

Some of the islands jut straight up out of the water with sheer cliffs topped by lush jungle. They make for great contrast with the surging water that slowly erodes them at their base. Several of the smaller islands have become impossibly mushroom-shaped over time. All of them are dramatic and alluring.

These islands are a famous backdrop for lots of Hollywood fiction, but their beauty is incredibly real. Ko Phi Phi was made famous by “the Beach”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The young twenties travelers have come in droves to experience their own bit of private island party paradise. If you really want to experience the movie beach, you have to boat over to Maya cove on Phi Phi Le. Be prepared to imagine some mountains that were digitally added for the movie.

We went for sunrise and there were still leftover and hungover revelers from last night. There were two other coves that were less inhabited and even more attractive in the morning light. Cool green and shady! Looks like a nice place to paint!

I don’t know how many of the islands we’ll visit, but they all seem incredible from the deck of the long tail boat.

Sitting on the ferry to Ko Phi Phi I am reminded of many such water crossings I have had in my travels. Orcas Island, Wa and Ocracoke Island NC have been among my favorites. My family used to hitch a ride with the National Park Service boat to Horn Island regularly when I was a kid, so I am used to this motion by now. The ferry time is good for dreaming in that half-awake mode where I slip in and out.

It’s a good time to write as well, if I can stay awake long enough as the ocean tries its best to rock me to sleep. I haven’t had much down time in the last two weeks. There have been several airport waits that have been productive, but at night I pass out from exhaustion from all the days activities.

This trip has been about fulfilling dreams, Angkor Wat had been calling me for years. Ko Phi Phi as well. Both are highly ranked bucket list items. I passed 40 a few years ago and decided then not to wait on dreams. I pursue them now.

I have a very long list of places I want to experience and when I started to map them all out I realized I would be 145 when I completed it, at the rate I had been going. I’m not sure I have that kind of time, so I’ve ramped up my pursuit and fly full tilt into as much adventure as I can muster.

What I want to see may not be everyone’s cup of tea. These are for me. My list is mostly filled with visually rich places that I want to paint. Typically the paintings I create from each adventure pay for the next. It’s a nice circle of life when it works right. (it doesn’t always).

Sometimes I get the red carpet treatment, sometimes I am roughing it. Either way works for me. I don’t really require the luxuries of home. I don’t need it easy or comfortable. I just need it to work, so I can continue to explore.

Life is about the experiences we have and the people we share it with. I’m willing to sacrifice a lot to experience more.

We’re almost to Phi Phi island. I wonder who we’ll meet? I’ll bet there will be a great international mix to mingle with. If the group on this ferry is any indication, it’s going to be some great island time!

The small spit of land that is Southern Thailand is a most beautiful gateway to Malaysia, and a fun place to play!

We landed in Krabi a couple of days ago and have been walking the beach and boating through the mangroves, much like we did in Punta Gorda, Florida a couple of months ago. There are a few other similarities like good live music and outgoing, friendly people, but the differences are what we have come for.

The karst mountains rising up out of the water remind me of Yangshou, China. These bumps look like something you’d find in a Dr Seuss book. I love these landscapes and want to study them more, so we’re wandering through them by car, tuk tuk, longtail boats, and on foot. I’m not painting as much, but making as many notes on the go as I can. Just trying to absorb it all!

Today we are heading for Koh Phi Phi island, the setting of the movie, “The Beach”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie was ok, except for a few bizzare video game scenes, but the scenic backdrop was awesome!

It has inspired hoards of teenagers and travelers to visit. I hope it is still nice.

Site seeing is the reason I come to a place like Cambodia. I’m looking for things that will inspire me visually. Cambodia certainly accomplished that goal and exceeded my expectations by a mile. However, the sites were only one of the best parts.

I have really come to appreciate the interaction with strangers and locals in places like this, and think that the people that I meet are truly the best part of any adventure.

In Cambodia we met a great English chap, Will Tabraham, who is a distant relative to Sir Alec Guiness. We traveled around for a couple of days with Will before he had to go. We know well be seeing him again though!

We also met a trio from New Zealand on bicycles one morning. They were awesome to volunteer to take our group photos at Ta Prohm. We sure hope we cross paths with them again.

We also made a great friendship with our driver, Savuth, who became part of our family as we trekked around the jungle and temples. He was a delight to talk with, extremely helpful and had a great sense of humor. He was driving for us on his birthday yesterday. We took him and two of his kids for ice cream and KFC (his son’s favorite).

Savuth was such a great guy, I couldn’t recommend him highly enough, should you ever need a driver in Camodia. I’m happy to share his contact info.

We’ll miss Cambodia and our new friends, but other adventures await! See y’all in Thailand!

As much traveling as I have done, you’d think I would get tired of it, but the opposite is true. The more I travel, the more I want to travel. Wanderlust is a habit for which there is no cure. Cambodia has been great. We have explored as much as possible in just a week, but we still couldn’t see it all. The locals that we met were incredibly friendly, helpful and beautiful. I think the country’s recent past and reputation have set it back a few years, but the people are trying very hard to overcome that. It is a safer place now and is easily traveled if you are used to third world countries. It’s safer than most of the ones I’ve been to, and there is so much incredible stuff to see!

I have been laying the groundwork to potentially bring a workshop group here in the future. I know that I will be back at some point. I have been too busy to blog much while here, but have a lot of pics and stories to share at some point.

Tomorrow we head for Krabi, Thailand for the next leg of this long journey. I’m hoping to meet up with my good friend Ismail Kadir, Malaysia’s best watercolorist. I was just with him for a couple of weeks in India, but he’s the kind of guy that you don’t want to ever pass up the opportunity to spend time with.

We’ll leave the Angkor temples for now and push south toward the beach. I’m certain that more great things await!

Up before the sun every day is the norm for me. I can never seem to witness too many sunrise or sunsets. Each one is a surprise, even if it comes at a predictable time. The best light occurs in early morning and around twilight. When I am exploring a new place these are the times I know I’ll find the magical things to paint. I frequently take refuge during the heat of the middle of the day when the light is less exciting. It’s a great time to download photos, recharge batteries, catch a nap or write a blog post. This morning was a spectacular display. I saw sunrise while ballooning over Angkor Wat, and landed in time to catch the sun creep over the temple. There is so much to see and be inspired by in Siem Reap! It is a visually rich environment. I could stay here and paint for another month and never see it all.

Those fantasies of adventure that Hollywood instilled in us as children are fun to imagine, but more incredible to actually experience. Want to feel like a Tombraider? Come to Cambodia and trek thru the jungle temples around Angkor Wat. The most amazing visuals await the intrepid adventurer. I’m in love with Ta Prohm, although it is in ruins and overtaken by giant Spung trees. The trees are my favorite part, but almost too unbelievable to paint. I’ll give it my best shot though! More to see today and the sun is coming up shortly! Gotta go!

Three days of travel to get to the other side of the world and finally I feel like I am in my element again. Perhaps too much time in the studio makes me dream of new views, new scenery. As an artist it is so important to fill the inspiration reservoir with first-hand experience, despite difficulty or danger. Being in the moment in a place like Angkor Thom is so easy. All thoughts of the daily grind disappear and I am able to absorb everything that makes this place magical. Now my task is to translate what I experience. Time to paint.

Some of the simplest compositions can be the trickiest to paint in watercolor. When you pull it off, it looks easy. When you don’t, it can look disastrously overworked very quickly. To truly experience this painting, you have to see it in person. Some things just defy accurate photography.

My first painting of 2012 is a bit of a diversion from series past. I have a muse that inspires me to paint and I must follow the whims in my heart.

This latest watercolor was censored from Facebook already…although I’m not sure why. If it offends you…don’t look. (I reposted!)

Personally I think it is a rather conservative study of a beautiful female form, but some people are appalled that a woman isn’t covered from head to toe. Please just delete me from your friend’s list if you can’t take it. Then rush right out to a museum and culture yourself.

The human body is a masterpiece, in any form, in any condition. We’re all stuck with one for a very short time, like it or not. Embrace it, love it, appreciate the complexities and celebrate the nuances! The human form is a work of art.

I love time in the studio for massive projects! I just completed this diptych watercolor for a formal dining room in Baton Rouge, LA. The collectors are very good friends and have built an exquisite place for these paintings. I believe they will truly make the walls come alive.

Arriving home from India in late October, I expected Missouri's fall colors to have faded and fallen, but I was greeted with ten days of gorgeous landscape before the rain and wind brought winter's first icy blast and ushered in the decline of the fall.

Our timing was perfect as we drove out of the Midwest, following the traces of Autumn through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and down through the Florida panhandle. The tall pines take over in Alabama, but there are still a few deciduous trees to splash warm colors into the dull green palette that is the Southern landscape's winter wardrobe.

Where the warm Gulf breezes meet the winter wind that blew us in, a zone of perfect weather exists to feed the butterflies and hummingbirds before their migration across the water to Mexico. Just along the coast I found Plumeria and deep sunsets to replace the colors of Fall.

It is a true joy (and a miracle of planning) to be able to extend the season of color by traveling with the tilt of the Earth's axis to be in the best places at just the right moments. It's not always possible, but when we can we take full advantage of our nomadic lifestyle. Adventure on!

Kolkata, India was not on my bucket list, but I never pass up an opportunity for adventure, so I accepted the invitation to the International Art Meet Kolkata. As I did homework to learn about my destination I read a lot of negative impressions and found few photos enticing me to go, but I guessed there might be more to the picture than easily accessed online.

Not high on the list of India’s tourist destinations, Kolkata’s treasure is in it’s people and their attitudes rather than a roster of tourist sites. The friends that I made were the ultimate reward for the chance taken. Of course there were a million visual rewards and inspirations to paint as well. I expect to be painting ideas from India over the next few months.

During the Art Meet I completed a few paintings, and a I finished a couple of them at home. The paintings I finished in Kolkata are now part of corporate collections there. The more complicated work just needed a few extra hours of time in my studio. I call this one “The Colors of Kolkata”

Any expectations I had for my visit to Calcutta were far exceeded. My passion for adventure burns even brighter, my reservoirs of inspiration filled to overflowing and my list of friends even richer. Thank you to Babita and Atinku Das for being such amazing hosts and to the new friends who welcomed me to India and shared this great adventure.

As the International Art Meet in Kolkata winds down, each artist is catching their departure flight. They have disappeared one by one over the last two days. It is sad to see them go. I am already missing all of my new friends already. Some have already reached home. I still have another day in Kolkata to soak in the sites, but it will definitely not be the same experience without the other artists. I will miss them all until we meet again!

Diwali is upon us and the sculpture streets in Kolkata are crammed full of all sorts of artistic creations that will eventually wind up in the Ganges river. Diwali is the festival of lights where Kali Ma kills the bad demons and then goes wild and is put under control by her husband laying down in front of her. When she steps on her husband, she realizes her mistake and sticks out her tongue. He husband's pet cobra is on hand, and the honey badger is eating the demons blood. (at least that is the way my buddy, "Short-round" has explained it to me.) Ha!

Everywhere our artist crew goes in Calcutta there is a crowd. The kids especially love recognizing us from the posters scattered around the city, picking each out by the poster images of ourselves. What a fun game!

Fireworks are going off every few minutes tonight. It seems like its just the neighborhood kids making noise in advance of the Diwali celebration. Been there, done that. Almost feels like a war zone. The booms are getting louder. Might be hard to sleep tonight. They apparently like the kind of firework that creates the biggest boom. Personally I was more attracted to the Cobra shaped fireworks that just hiss and wiggle, but maybe I'm just showing my age. it's a lot like the third of July tonight, but being in a foreign city, it makes me a little nervous to get out. I'm definitely going to be out to see the lights for the big show tomorrow though!

It's 6:00 am in Kolkata and the jungle drums have begun! The sound is vaguely reminiscent of band practice on fall mornings before football games back home. I'm pretty sure they don't start this early at home though! The festival has officially begun and I plan to take in as much of the chaos as possible. This morning I am out for a walk with my friend Arub, a local photographer who is showing me the cool places to see. It's going to be a colorful day in the city of Joy!

You would assume these were for Halloween if you grew up in my neighborhood, but in Calcutta they are also part if the Diwali festival of lights. I'm not sure exactly what role they play, but they sure looked cool in this setting!

One amazing event follows the next! I wandered into a gathering of Sisters from Mother House…as in Mother Teresa! Kolkata is holds just one surprise after another for the wandering watercolorist!

The American is always singled out. At the conclusion of the UN conference, I was asked to be photographed with the Russian Consul. Of course I asked him where he kept the vodka,

Well, it's truly a meeting of the United Nations now! My artist friends attending the International Art Meet Kolkata came looking for me and stumbled into the same debacle. There are so many of us, they asked us to introduce ourselves. Artists from Egypt, Malaysia, Kenya and Lithuania have joined me and me as official delegates from our countries for the United Nations Day round table. If only the world's nations could bond as we artists have, peace would prevail on earth!

At this UN meeting they are speaking about the 7 billionth person on planet earth, who will be born any day now. Two billion people live on less than $2 a day. Fortunately they are also addressing climate change and armed conflicts.

H.E. Vladimir V Lazarev, consul general of the Russian Federation in Kolkata and the Indian UN Chairman, Sitaram Sharma are sitting across the table from me at a UN meeting at the Russian Consuiate that I'm not even supposed to be at! My face and language barrier got me accidentally escorted in as a UN delegate! I was supposed to meet my group for an event, probably next door, but now that I am seated here, I can't find a way to gracefully exit!

We stopped in a neighborhood in Kolkata close to Mother Theresa's home. Instantly we were surrounded by 50 or more people. We had to retreat to the car just for a tiny bit of personal space. It didn't feel dangerous, but the horde of curious locals was just too anxious to touch and look us over. We continued to make friends from inside the car.
Definitely an experience none of us will soon forget.