Landscapes and Paintings
Since visiting Sicily to watch the 1990 World Cup I have been visiting ruins and historical sites to make drawings and that I intended to expand into oil paintings. Here is a preview of drawings and underpaintings that are on their way to completion. There are more on the way including a few of Baltimore and Maryland's Eastern Shore.-- Lamont W. Harvey
The final of a series of impressive temples on the acropolis of Akragas in Sicily.
Akragas was a Greek city that sided with Carthage during the Punic Wars.
The entrance to the Mayan underworld temple on the acropolis at Copan.
Lumber porters in the Village of Las Ruinas de Copan.
The Stables in Las Ruinas de Copan.
One of seven impressive waterfalls near Juayua, El Salvador. Our guide had to steady himself with the vines.
I'm the only one who did NOT take a plunge on this hike.
The climax of the all-day hike in Juayua is a visit to the hydroelectric dam. The water seaps out of the mountain and collects in pools. They let tourists swim in some of the pools.
The Pyramid of Casa Blanca in El Salvador. El Salvador isn't noted for its Mayan ruins, but they have them. In this case negotiating the busses took time and we could only make Casa Blanca. There was little little comfort for visitors, concessions, no place to get water and you weren't allowed to climb the pyramids, but it did have an archaeological dig you could peer into. I've begun adding color to this one, as with all things oil, patience is required.
El Rey is the closest site to the beaches and thus the most often visited Mayan ruin. It is, of course, the least impressive. While Copan and Coba dwarf humans, tourists swarm over El Rey and a hotel in the distance makes it look small. The hotel is at least built to look like a pyramid.
A drawing of the main tower and wall at Tulum, Mexico. It is not the most important Mayan settlement, but it is one of the most beautiful with waves crashing at the bottom of a cliff. It is also one of the few with visible defensive walls. Most Mayan settlements are remarkable for their lack of obvious military architecture.
A drawing of Coba from 1996, the site has the tallest Mayan Pyramids, but they were still buried in the 1990s. This pile of rocks was the very top of a structure covered with trees and vines.
The entrance to the temple on top of Coba.
A drawing of the acropolis at Copan. Future painting when I get the time.
The Campo de la Pelota in Copan. Smaller than Chichen Itza's gigantic ball court but more stylish.
The village of Las Ruinas de Copan in Honduras.