Back to Bangkok

Bangkok is another huge city with over six million residents. While the big cities are not my favorite places to spend time, Bangkok has its pluses. As in other parts of Thailand, the people are friendly and calm. The city is known as the 'Venice of the East' because of the wide Chao Phraya River which runs through its western side. Staying within walking distance of the river was great. There were inexpensive river taxis that ran frequently and stopped often along both banks. It was a refreshing means of transportation - a lot better than tuk-tuks and planes.


Chao Phraya River, Bangkok


One of the stops made by the river taxis was a ten minute walk to the National Museum Bangkok. This museum is Thailand's largest and had a significant collection of Buddhist imagery. On the day we visited the main temple was filled with young students drawing copies of the wall paintings.

Another museum nearby was the Art Gallery National Museum. This museum had a number of paintings that reflected Thai history.

While it was interesting to see the art in both of these museums, I was not hugely impressed. The work that I had seen in Art Museum of Chiang Mai made this work seem boring.



Next: On to India

Return to Thailand - Art in Chiang Mai

My first visit to Thailand was excellent and I was drawn to go there again to see more art, paint and visit other areas of the country. Most of my trip so far was spent in cities, including the past two months in Shanghai, one of the largest cities in the world. Now, I wanted to go to a more rural setting. Laurel Bastian (who had joined me in Shanghai) and I, flew into Bangkok to meet with another friend, Katie Kolosovsky. The three of us made plans to travel to Chiang Mai, a city in the north of Thailand.

Chiang Mai is seven hundred years old and the second largest city in Thailand. The twelve-hour train ride from Bangkok was comfortable and scenic. We were met with the usual crowd of tut-tut drivers wanting to taxi us wherever we wanted to go, all the while promoting their favorite place to stay. We ended up at an inn run by Dave, an American ex-patriot of eleven-years.

The following morning was our first real view of the city. The oldest part of it had been walled with a moat. The moat is still in place as well as remnants of the wall. We found that this inner part was compact enough to walk around within a few hours. We also learned that a significant wat, the Doi Suthep, and most of the art museums were located outside of the inner center.

The Doi Suthep was located several kilometres north of the city. Motorbike rentals are readily available in Thailand. Renting one made getting to the wat a pleasant ride through the hills. This wat was impressive. It is located high above the city and has been immaculately cared for.


Doi Suthep



Evening at Doi Suthep


The next places to visit were the art museums, including the Chiang Mai National Museum . While the local cultural museum had some historical displays, there was little to hold my interest in the way of art. I had been told by a Chiang Mai resident to be sure to visit the Chiang Mai Art Museum. I was glad I took his advice - the museum had some of the best contemporary art on display that I have seen anywhere in the world.

The museum is connected with the Chiang Mai University. The current show on display was of Thai artists, and it was so impressive, I went to see it twice - the second time with camera in hand. You can see here a few of the pieces from the show.



'Power of Life', Oil on canvas



Mr. Viroj Ratanajamcharoen, 'Monkey... where to go?', Oil on canvas



Mr. Arkom Doungchawna, 'Red Composition', Mixed media



Mr. Yootasak Roikaencham, 'Mysterious Object No. 2', Oil on canvas


Mr. Anusom Siripin, 'Toward Happiness', Paper, clay

While the images give some notion of the work, they do not convey the quality of it. And there was more work on display than is shown here.

I had started this trip with the notion of seeing traditional art in Asia. It was inspiring to see high such quality contemporary work.



Next: A Trip to Luang Prabang

Ever Painted Palms?

One of the more outstanding natural features of Thailand is the lush vegetation. The various palm trees are the most prominent example. Seeing the number and variety here was really enjoyable. There seems to be something very quieting about them.

Every day I made mental notes about their characteristics and how they differed from the evergreen and deciduous trees with which I am more familiar. The trunks are similar while the formation of the leaves is completely different. There was an abundance of coconut palms, which have some of the biggest fronds. They looked like enormous feathers and, as I later learned, is how they are described. The question became, 'How are these painted?' What is the best way to capture the effect of individual leaflets, more often than not waving in the ocean breeze, against the blue sky keeping the painting alive and not overworked?

Without knowing all the answers ahead of time, I decided to get to work with the painting knife. It seemed that this would be the best tool for accomplishing what I had in mind. This turned out to be a really fun approach to the painting!




'Two Palms', 18x14, Oil on Canvas




Next: News from Shanghai

More Painting from Thailand and the Surprise Painting Visitors

When I first arrived at the OK Bungalows, I checked out the area for painting possibilities. Immediately, I saw lots of opportunities for landscapes and seascapes. From inside my bungalow, I also saw some possibilities for working inside which would allow me to work in the event the rainy season started early in Thailand. What most caught my eye indoors was a white lawn chair that had been left by the door. It looked perfect for posing a model.

Over a few weeks, I kept to my goal of painting only landscapes. My mind kept going back to the chair and the notion of painting a model there. As a general rule, I prefer to entertain the notion and see what develops. As the days passed, I thought many times of finding a model but none appeared, but the simplicity of the chair against a simple background remained. Simplicity in painting is one area I have been exploring on this trip and the question began to occur, is it possible to create a painting that has interest even if the subject was only this chair? It was time to find out. I experimented with painting the chair over a period of several days. Here is the result:




Often I will ask for comments from others to hear what they see in my work. The two people I asked both had the same comment: something is missing. This was good news, since it was exactly what I wanted to convey. It also confirmed the title I had i mind for the piece - 'Waiting for the Model.'

During the days I worked on this painting, I had some unexpected visitors. I had stepped away for a coffee break and returned twenty minutes later to get back to painting. I sat down and turned to get more paint from the palette. This is what I saw:




There were a lot of ants in these two square inches and this same population density of Thai red ants extended across the whole palette, and the sides, and the lid, and onto the table. Apparently they have a fondness for the walnut oil that is in the some of the paint. Hmmm... what to do? Keep painting. Unfortunately for these some of these creatures, they are now part of several of my paintings. Traveling does have its
surprises!



Next: Ever Painted Palms?

The Painting Continues in Thailand

One of the reasons I paint is that it offers endless possibilities. It is enjoyable for me to consider new ideas for painting - what the next painting might be. And experimenting with these ideas keeps the process alive and new. Traveling is one way that can help foster new ideas.

One example of a travel experience like this was seeing the process of brush and ink paintings and the differences in their composition. In many western paintings, the weight of the painting is at the bottom of the composition and the painting fills the entire canvas. In many brush paintings, the canvas is not filled, the weight of the composition is sometimes not at the bottom and further, the whole painting is done with greater simplicity.

I wondered if it were possible to use some of these ideas using oil paints. With these ideas in mind, I worked out a composition from the balcony of the bungalow where I am staying and began the experiment. Here is the result:




Tree, Island, Beach


Next: More Painting from Thailand and the Surprise Painting Visitors

New Paintings from Koh Pha-ngan, Thailand

Seeing the art in Kuala Lumpur was good as much of it had been unexpected. I was glad to be leaving the city though. Since leaving Taos in June, I had been in cities or urban areas the entire time. Going from San Francisco, to Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur was good for seeing lots of different art. Now, I wanted to go to a more rural area so I could concentrate on my own painting.

I had heard from several people about an island in the Gulf of Thailand called Koh Pha-ngan. A quick search on the internet for this island turned up plenty of pictures, so it was easy to get an idea of the scenery. One bus from Kuala Lumpur brought me to Hat Yai and a second one to Suratthani on the western coast of the Gulf. A three-hour boat ride finally brought me to Koh Pha-ngan.

The island has over five thousand bungalows most of which were filled! Fortunately, a travel agent in Suratthani recommended the OK Bungalows run by Mama OK. The place was just for painting - it has beaches, ocean and plenty of tropical plants and trees - exactly what I had been looking for. The first scene that drew my attention was a set of stairs at one end of the beach. They became the subject of this first painting from Thailand:





Next: The painting continues in Thailand