Claude Lyles Artworks / Estudio Cielo Azul LLC: Christmas 2017, Spain Cruise, New Artwork, and Nostalgia

First I want to wish all a Merry Christmas.

( I should attribute this photo but I can't find the original to see who took it.)

Next, I have some work from my pastel class with Jake Hand in Bonita Springs, and two oil paintings. The desert scene is roughly 10 x 8, McGregor Grille is 6 x 8. I am asking $59 plus postage for each, can mat and frame in 11 x 14 glass for a total price of $249 plus postage.

The piece on the right is an 10 x 8 re-work of an earlier oil painting. The scene is Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park. I attempted to varnish it and it was not as dry as I thought, smearing the colors. Yuck. For this new and better work I am asking $299, framed, plus postage.

The piece below was finished today. It is 14 x 11 oil on canvas of a meadow and mountain south of Cashiers, NC. In pastel class I did a study to prepare. I am asking $195 plus postage.

I hope to complete a few more pieces before my Plein Air class the third week in January. It is a three-day session from 9 AM until 4PM with Dan Graziano.

Some other items of note: Bonita Springs has their Art Festival on three weekends, Jan 13-14, Feb 10-11, and March 3-4. This has been ranked as one of the finest in the country, recently ranked #2.

Estero's Fine Art Show is the weekend of Jan 6 -7. It, also, is nationally ranked in the top 100.

In February, Punta Gorda has their 11th National Art Exhibit, juried by Steven Levin. Total prize money is over $7,000.

Finally, Fort Myers annual riverfront Art Fest is Feb 3-4; it is massive, and great art. Located downtown next to the Marina. If you will be down this way, all are worth while to check out.

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In Reader's Digest, a piece made me laugh out loud: A friend's son worked at a fast-food restaurant. One night while he was manning the drive-through, when a customer was placing his order, he told him (the son) that the intercom wasn't working properly. The son went about filling the order while a female coworker tried to fix the intercom. After a few seconds she spoke into the microphone and asked "Is that OK now?"

"Well no, the customer responded. "Now you sound like a girl !"

Remember the old Cheech and Chong bit at the drive through? Now that was funny. Also, Dave at Dave's place?

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Nostalgia section. Two cars that came out when I was born. I think our first car (It didn't look like this one) was a '50 Chevy my dad acquired in '55. I remember Vince Acquisto helping my dad install electric turn signals on the column.

And, this is a 1950 Olds 88. It is almost entirely original.

Music: Well, I completed my LP digitizing, 341 albums in all, some were double or triples. An online reseller in Bonita purchased the whole package which was nice. My first sale on Craig's List. Yes, the first response was a scam. These guys, however, were pretty interesting. It was a side job that takes up all their time cleaning, cataloging, and updating their website discogs.com.

So...now it is cruise time. We were 16 days, 14 at sea. Flew Miami to Roma, spent one whole day and two half days before heading to the port city. Cruised on Holland America. Only about 1,800 guests and a crew of about 900 - so very manageable, no long lines, 2:1 guest-to-staff ratio. We stopped in the port of Cartagena, Spain from where we travelled inland to Caravaca. We toured the cathedral and a museum that captured the Moor - Christian back and forth history of the region. Below you will see jewels, costumes worn during their festivals, the cathedral, and a place where you can get high watching a soccer game at a local university.

Next blog I will cover my favorite stop, Ma'laga and Seville, the sister city of Kansas City.

Then 8 days at sea to Ft Lauderdale. It was a repositioning cruise - they then sent the ship through the Panama Canal to San Diego and then on to the Far East for about 8 months before they will head back to Europe/Mediterranean.

This was our third time in Roma so we kept it simple. Stayed near the US Embassy, as usual. Night scene from our hotel, The Savoy. And an Episcopalian church with interesting brickwork.