Black is Beautiful

"Black is Beautiful" 6 x 6 pastel on gatorboard  $100

I am chicken sitting this week so I have a lot of willing, or not so willing, models. I think the black girls are Australorps. They have the most amazing iridescent teal feathers, and in certain light they show almost a lapis lazuli blue feather. A painters delight.

Mad King Ludwig

Today we plan to go to King Ludwig IIs castle Linderhof. Being a recluse, he had the dining room table rise up through the floor out of the kitchen so he could eat alone. At breakfast W said "If I have anymore more coffee I'm going to need Ludwigs toilet that comes up out of the floor!"

We will also stop by the firehouse in Garmish-Partenkirchen to try to do our last t shirt swap. It's been so much fun stopping at the local firehouses and chatting it up with the boys. By the way, they have great shirts. 

I am also on a cow photo shoot today. The last time I got a good close up was about 10 days ago, in Austria and then we immediately came upon a horrible motorcycle/bicycle accident and spent and hour with the victims until the helicopter arrived. Let's hope nothing like that happens today on the cow shoot.

Birthday view

Today is Walter's birthday. We spent the morning touring Dachau, never forget. 

Then we drove down to Grainau, about 6k from Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Alps. Here is the view out our window, no kidding! Tomorrow we might go to one of Ludwig's castles, where he had his dining table disappear into the floor to be restocked so he would never have to see the help.

On the road

Every shade of hydrangea in Slovenia

This cheese lovers paradise

Just another church along the autobahn

And the white asparagus season is almost over...

Pag Island, Croatia

Staying at Hotel Boskinac. It is brutally hot, 41 C(105 F) at one point today. This hotel was on an episode of Anthony Bourdain and we booked it as soon as we finished watching it. 

We were lucky they had rooms (there are only 8) and we will get to enjoy the opening game of the World Cup with Croatia/Brazil in this luxurious setting. The alternative was somewhere else on the island, and we hear Pag Island is THE party capital of Europe. 

The hotel also has one of the best restaurants and has a vineyard. I'll let you know how it is. We are here for 2 days and there is no reason to leave the grounds. 

Splish, Splash

"Splish, Splash"  10 x 8 pastel on gatorboard  $125

Splish, splash
I was takin' a bath
Long about a Saturday night... yeah!
Rub-a-dub
Just relaxin' in the tub
Thinkin' everything was all right.

Well... I stepped out the tub
Put my feet on the floor
I wrapped the towel around me
And I opened the door.

And... then-a... splish, splash
I jumped back in the bath
Well... how was I to know
There was a party going on.

Thought this guy would be a good start to summer. Blogging will be limited in the next few weeks—
on vacation to Ger/Aus/Slovenia/Croatia.