Where to Paint
I spent a fair bit of time yesterday and today looking for places to paint. One thing about the beautiful beaches is that there's tides. The tide just might keep you from getting onto the beach, or, worse yet, bring the ocean in to meet your feet just when you are set up to paint. There are tide charts, and I'm used to consulting them in Maine, so I've looked at them online before setting out. It's really too bad I tend to check them in the middle of the night and then forget -- was that high tide or low tide at 10 am? -- so I've been painting up on the cliffs to avoid that problem.
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Anyway, the cliff strategy has its own set of problems, not least of which is that people in Portugal apparently don't fear cliff edges or falling off of cliffs the way I do. After 4 knee replacements, I think I'm entitled to a little worry about whether I'll stumble and fly off into the Atlantic Ocean. But only a little worry since I really don't even get very close to the edge unless there's some kind of fence. I can tell you, in case you wonder how long it takes to do a painting on a cliff, it's exactly as long as it takes for me to really feel the hard rock I"m sitting on. And not a minute longer. These are studies, after all! That top sketch did get covered with paint, and I still found that it dried darker than I wanted. Grrr, but it's only paint and it can be fixed.
I've also been looking at the gorgeous painted buildings. Everything is stucco and mostly painted white with colorful painted trim around the windows. There's an occasional yellow building. Yesterday in late afternoon I did a quick in-town sketch up on the cliff overlooking the town of Carvoeiro and I think I need to spend some more time on such "urban" sites. 
And just because they are beautiful, some other moments from my walks today while I was thinking about where to paint. Neither spot lent itself to a place to set up, but I may figure out a way to paint the lighthouse soon.
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