I saw great little sets of Windsor Newton oil paints manufactured in China and decided to try my hand at them after I purchased my own set for 18 yuan ($3). I wanted to
enjoy the soft blending and transitions that cannot be achieved using acrylics. After I got the paint I went to get some liquid dishsoap and some vegetable oil that I could use instead of toxic solvents. I painted a 12x16 underpainting of the little shop interior that I saw in one of the Unesco World Heritage designated villages near the Huangshan
Mountains last September. I was pleased with the paint texture and workability.

However I have one problem. Oils dry very slowly at the best of time but because I thinned my paint with oil instead of turpentine it is going to take even longer for the paint to dry because turpentine can evaporate while the oil has to oxidize. I guess I won't get to finish this one in China and am hoping that the oil paint will dry out enough that that I can roll up the canvas when I leave to travel on May 22nd.

Shayla and some of the other girls at the Traffic Inn decided to take some time off and to take a few of us guests at the Traffic Inn to the peach festival south of Chengdu into the hills near Longquan.  We caught the bus at the tourist bus depot at Zinnan Rd. right next to the hotel.  We changed buses and after about an hour we were delighted to see the beautiful peach blossoms.  What a sight!  All over the hills were the most beautiful pink trees and all of the orchards had tables set up for tea and lunch. 

Most interestingly though were all of the people in the orchards enjoying their afternoon playing mahjong!  The girls even taught Brendan, Ching and myself to play. 

There were enterprising women making head wreaths out of the spring flowers and fruit blossoms and girls, women, and even some guys were wearing them.  They cost 5 yuan which is less than a dollar.

I will be working on an acrylic canvas of pink peach blossoms and then when I return home I will paint a large painting of 5 foot wide blossoms!

Well, after months of preparation we finally arrived in Chengdu China on Tuesday April 5th, 2011.  Construction of the Dujiangyan irrigation project on the Minjiang River by Li Bing, remarkably over 2200 years ago, has led the region to become one of the most fertile lands in China known as "heaven on earth".  The first morning we left our hotel and walked to Tianfu Square in the centre of town. Tianfu means abundance.   The climate is relatively mild and lush with greenery.  There are palm trees growing around town. 

Here Kelsey is standing in front of the Mao Statue.  We saw the huge central square and the many large fountains which are lit up to music in the evening.  They are quite the site. Kelsey and I loved to see the adorable little children.

Awfully cute heh?

We crossed the river and found the cheaper hotel we'll be moving to at the end of the week.  We also found the school Kelsey will be teaching in while I paint.

We went to the Wenshu Buddhist Temple for dinner on our first night.  The food was great, especially when the meal for two with two glasses of fresh vegetable  and fruit juice was just a little over $10.

They even had cute little vegetable shaped cakes for dessert. 

The street outside the temple was nicely lit up.

The end to a fantastic first day in China!