Jana Matusz on Site

You lose some. This morning’s painting was a disaster. I’ve already painted over it. In the afternoon I escaped into some drawings, which were both calming and challenging.

After finishing up the painting from yesterday, I had a long, thoughtful visit to the Regional Museum. There is a lot of history to this place, from stone age to the Velvet Revolution. The town has been through it all — wars, floods, Communism — and it has never looked better. I feel very fortunate to be here now.

Houses Above the River (20×16″)

Hard rain in the morning led me to decide it was finally time to go to the tower and castle museum. What a great view from up there! I beat the crowds so I had some time to do a fun drawing. Painted in the evening for a change — still working on that one…

No matter how many times I go through the streets of this town, I see something new, something I missed, or something which enchants me. It was much quieter today, although we had our afternoon rainstorm. I know now to always bring sunglasses and umbrella, no matter how cloudy or sunny it may be when I leave the house!

First, a poppy tease for Marta:

Once again, I painted in the morning by the riverside. In the afternoon the river was quite the busy scene, with gazillions of boaters in every kind of craft. In the evening I enjoyed the last of the concerts in the Chamber Music Festival — a full and wonderful day.

River Front Buildings (16×16″)

Took it easy today. There were rain showers throughout the afternoon.

Náměstí Svornosti No. 14

Very early morning paintings seem to be the best time to paint in the town. I also did some drawing of boaters. In the afternoon there was the most violent and intense thunderstorm I’ve experienced here so far. I was glad I was safe inside. It cleared up in time, however, for the evening Romeo and Juliet ballet performance at the famous Revolving Theater. The town was foggy and beautiful on the way home.

View from Barber’s Bridge (16×16″)

Hope everyone back home has a happy Fourth of July. It was a beautiful day here. The river was swollen and brown from all the rain yesterday. I painted, often with an audience of Czechs today, so lots of smiles and shrugs. No shrimp on the barby here, but I had my share of poppy seed cake.  🙂

Budějovická Gate (16×20″)

It was a rainy, thunderstormy day — perfect for exploring nearby Ceske Budejovice (German name Budweis. Yes, home of the original Budweiser. I am in beer country big time.) About 50 minutes away, Ceske Budejovice is a city, not a little town like Cesky Krumlov, and it’s flat and neatly gridded. The old town has a lot of charm, and good shopping.

Did some drawings around town today. I also met some really nice local ex-pat creative people today, thanks to Maggie —  David, an artist, and Zoe, a writer.