Rising Trail

If you scroll down, you can see a photograph of the view that inspired this painting. Likewise with the painting directly below.

Palm, Wadi Hannifa

You may have noticed that I haven't been posting these last few days. (Then again, you may not have noticed, but I prefer to imagine that you did, and that the suspense has been driving you nuts.) It's because I've been working pretty consistently on this painting, which I am happy to say is now complete.

The month of Ramadan just ended, and Eid, the festival that celebrates the completion of the month of fasting, is in full swing. That means that the embassy is closed for the next couple days, and I will be painting pretty much full-time.

I'll be sure to show you how it's going.

Latest Painting

Here's the painting I finished tonight. It's called "Ruined Watchtower II" since I can't seem to come up with a more creative title.

A Morning Ride

If you came along with me on a morning ride, these following images are some of the things you'd see.

A View of the Wadi

Here's a view of one of the shallow valleys that feeds into Wadi Hannifa. The trails I ride wind back and forth along the faces of valleys like these.

Flagstone Trails

Some sections of trail are paved with big, rough flagstones. These sections are tough to negotiate at speed because, like everything else, the stones are coated with a dusting of fine well, dust, which is slicker than deer guts on a doorknob. And did I mention that they're rough? They make the cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix look like child's play. Notice the safety barriers that keep you from plunging down the cliff into the wadi. I'm not sure whether smacking into those stones would be better than falling, to tell you the truth.

Sandy Trails

Sometimes the trails hide pockets of deep, loose sand, which plays havoc with your steering, not to mention your momentum.

Palm Trees

Palm trees are everywhere, of course. I probably bash into two or three every time I ride the singletrack trails. Still, they seem exotic to me.

Oasis

There are several of these ponds on my morning ride. Sometimes I surprise foxes and wild dogs drinking from them.

Rising Trail

The trail rises in many places to overlooks like this one. Usually, the approach is a smooth grade, and the descent is stone steps. If I have to choose between the two, I'd rather climb; I don't like riding down steps very much.

Palm Grove

The sun rises behind a date palm grove near my house.

Arab Motorcycle Gang

Marlon Brando never had to face these challenges when he was leader of his pack.

Dusty Morning

This is the larger painting of the study that you see below. I usually don't paint the same landscape twice, but once in a while an image won't leave me alone until I've painted it a couple times.

Date Palm

The dates are ripe here, which means they've exchanged the yellow you see in this painting for a red that's so deep it's almost brown.

Dusty Sunrise

Now that my mountainbike is here, I'm riding in the mornings. I'm usually on the trail just before 5:30, and although the sun is up by then, the temperature hasn't yet gotten into the 100's, so it feels downright pleasant.

Riding is always fun, but it's even better when I see scenes I know I'm going to want to paint, which is the case with the landscape above. This is a little post-card sized study that I'll begin working into a larger painting tomorrow.

We're Lazy and We Don't Care Who Knows it.

Situation normal; cats are lounging around, yawning, and licking when they can stay awake long enough. Pretty nice life.

Pinky's curiosity is aroused. It's a close struggle at first between inertia and curiosity, but ultimately he has to examine the camera I've set in front of him. Toward the latter half of the video you can see the odd little kink in the end of his tail.

Songbirds in Riyadh

Contrast this with the video below. This is a short clip from one of the dozen or so parks that dot our compound. They are irrigated and shady, and they attract several species of songbirds.

I was surprised to hear such beautiful sounds in this place, which, so far, has been characterized in my mind by intense heat, and human harshness.

First Night in Riyadh

Do not attempt to adjust your screen; you won't be able to see anything on this video. I shot it from my rooftop the first night in my house. I just wanted you to hear what it's like here at night.

The call to prayer is something you get used to hearing all the time, so much so that you don't even notice it, even when there is a minaret within a stone's throw of your bedroom window. It reminds me of that line from the Blues Brothers movie, after a train goes by and rattles everything in Elwood's apartment so loudly that nobody can hear what anyone else is saying. "How often does that happen," Jake asks. "So often that you don't even notice." is the reply.

Anyway, I was jetlagged and nowhere near sleep, so, used to it or not, this particular call to prayer didn't bother me, even though it was issued well before dawn.

Roommates

Just a day or two after I moved here, I started feeding the cats that live in the park across the street from my house. It's right on the way to work, so I walked through every day. Even after I'd been feeding them regularly for quite a while, only these two would come within arm's length. In fact, the one on the left climbed right into my lap from the first day, and the other one would lean against me and let me pet him.

Well, I'm a long way from home, and I have big empty house, so I thought about adopting a cat. I made contact with a vet and made sure I'd be able to get them treated, and then I brought these two home to live with me.

Inseparable

They made themselves right at home from the first day. Within the first half hour, they'd both used the litter box. (And they haven't failed to use it since then, either.) Unless they're jumping on me while I'm trying to read, or chasing their toys around the house, this is how they spend most of their time.

Always together

I think bringing both of them home was a good idea, don't you? Either one of them solo would have been too lonely.

Still not home from work? Fine. We'll knock the cushions off the couches.

The cats like to let me know when they think I've been at work too long. I come home to find the pillows and cushions from my couches on the floor.

I haven't declawed them, but they allow me to clip their claws often, and they never seemed to get into the habit of scratching things, so even if they knock stuff on the floor, they don't do any harm.

Pinky

Here's Pinky. You can see the pink nose and ears that gave him his name. What you can't see is the tip of his tail, which curls completely around, and which almost caused me to name him Kinky.

Junebug

Here's Junebug. You can't tell from this picture, but she's doing what she always does, which is to say keeping an eye on her brother. She loves to hide behind the curtains or atop the back of a chair or couch and spring on him when he passes by looking for her.

A View of My Back Yard

Here's a view of the wadi that runs along the perimeter of the compound in which I live. Here in Riyadh, lots of people live in compounds, which are pretty much like gated communities. Within the walls of compounds, people enjoy a little more freedom than they would if they just lived in the regular neighborhoods of Riyadh. For instance, women can walk around (or even run) without wearing abayas, although driving by women is still not allowed anywhere.

My compound is called the "DQ" Which, instead of "Dairy Queen" stands for "Diplomatic Quarter." This is where the embassies are located, and where most of the diplomats live. There are housing complexes here for westerners who work in hospitals. Some foreign companies also rent housing for their employees here.

This view doesn't really show you much of the wadi, which is a deep valley in the floor of the desert. It's pretty wide at this point too, and the floor is covered by palms. There's a huge palace complex belonging to one of the princes, too.

Ruined Watchtower

I've been in Riyadh for nearly six weeks now, and I finally had my household goods delivered today. I've had a small paint set with me, and these are some postcard-sized paintings I've done as I awaited all the rest of my gear.

Souk at Prayer Time

Three Camels

Palace of Culture

Mosque Near My House

Diplomatic Compound

Across the Wadi