Recycling, Art, and Vacation Postcards

We were away for a week recently, hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, and visiting with friends in Breckenridge, Colorado. When I showed Dick the pictures he said there were too many of him, not surprising since I am the one who carries the camera.

The scenery was stunning - a mix of mountains, lakes, trees, and wildflowers that just took my breath away. Of course, the altitude might have had something to do with this effect as well.

I took along the little paint set I made from an old metal cigarette tin, with pans made from Fimo, filled with my Winsor Newton paints, a cut down sponge, some pens and a sawed off paint brush. The postcards were old ones coated with gesso. This was an experiment to see how painting on recycled post cards would go, and I liked the results. Painting little scenes doesn't take much time or paint, and the results can be mailed home. I sent this one to myself to see if it arrived intact, and was pleased by the results. None of the paint lifted, despite the fact I had no way of fixing the little watercolors. This snow scene was from imagination.

This is another little watercolor on a recycled post card. I made a couple to send to our host, and another group of friends who joined us on vacation. I never like fussing with carrying too much equipment, and this whole kit fit nicely in a sealable plastic bag.