Category: Favorite Posts
This is it—I’ve reached MONTH 11, yes eleven—rounding out a full year of around the world travel, working as a freelance travel writer. (Check out some of the adventures here.)
It’s been one year, 4 continents, 27 countries, and over 200 cities—and what a year it’s been! 65,000 photos later, I’m headed off again to the final destination in this around the world journey, and a place I’ve always dreamed of going—Fiji!
I’ll be taking a short hiatus to soak up some sun and sand, but stay tuned for more adventures coming soon!
This watercolor was inspired by the lighting inside a church in Venice, Italy. All the colors stem from beams of colored light that were shining through a round stained glass window and setting the tiled floor aglow.
I love sketching on location in Europe. Little details abound everywhere you turn. This year has been a whirlwind of inspiration and impressions. Although I haven’t had much time to paint since I’ve been on the road continuously (for just about a year now), I’ve been sketching and doing lots of creative writing along the way. Best of all, I was recently granted another opportunity to travel back to Europe (3rd time in one year)! Here’s a sketch from Vienna, Austria.
One of the most striking things about Patagonia are the vibrant contrasts of colors out in the middle of nowhere. In a sea of golden grasses with nothing as far as the eye can see, you’ll suddenly come across a bright turquoise body of water. This is inevitable in Patagonia. And I must mention how blue the sky is down there, it’s blinding blue and often filled with huge fluffy clouds. With such a restrained color palate, you are always caught off guard when the landscape suddenly explodes into color.
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares is stunning. This enormous park is filled with glaciers, mountain peaks that hug the clouds, and short trees with scraggly branches. I loved how the landscape tended to change dramatically: one minute you would be hiking along a cliff overlooking a river, the next you’d be immersed deep in a bright green forest. Further along would be a beach with windswept trees, then a plateau, then a corridor of funny little trees peppered with wildflowers and adorned with bulbous bunches of hairy fluorescent green moss balls (a form of mistletoe). I can’t begin to describe how incredibly wonderful the landscapes are in Patagonia.
This watercolor was done at a mirador viewpoint overlooking the Fitz Roy mountain range. Glaciers tumbled down from between the peaks and an endless expanse of short scraggly trees stretched out toward the mountains.
Check out my guide to eating in Florence and discover the city’s best gelaterie too!
Culture Vixen: Mangiamo! Great Places to Eat in Florence Italy (Part 2 of 3)
I had heard great things about Lucca, a Tuscan fortress city surrounded by medieval walls near Pisa, Italy. The city was as charming as I was expecting to be, and had a great small town flavor.
One small detail I noticed right away were the windows. In Florence they are all rectangular for the most part. But here in Lucca, they were all rounded at the tops. I love Italian windows, almost always comprised of green shutters on yellow unwashed walls. (This one was no exception.)
“Varenna Sunset”
by Gayle Wheatley
Watercolor on Paper
5 x 8 inches
This piece was painted on location in Varenna, Italy. My hotel room had a balcony that opened right onto Lake Como, with spectacular views over the water! This watercolor was inspired by the subtle ways the light danced across the water at sunset.
Prints, cards, and more featuring this piece are available in my online store!
It’s finally here: the restyled, super-fun, snazzy, one-of-a-kind GayleMail artist newsletter! Newsletter subscribers will get weekly GayleMail updates packed with all the latest artwork, news, and adventures, as well as sales and giveaways, exclusive invites to art exhibits and much more! So what are you waiting for? Sign up HERE.
So, Munky King makes a DIY ‘Omi’ that is a cross between art and toys. Inspired by Chinese opera and Japanese Oni masks, they come packaged as blinds in different blank white shapes.
I decided to turn mine into a sculptural version of one of my abstract paintings. Primary inspirations? The sea & the human circulatory system.
I have to say it was kinda cool working in 3-D since I do that so rarely (pretty much never, really).
“Galactic Blush” by Gayle Wheatley.
This painting is available as an art print. BUY IT NOW!
Watercolor on Paper
(Crystals on the Moon Collection)
“Song Burst” by Gayle Wheatley. (Watercolor on Paper)
