Leslie Landers

What a wonderful day painting with one of my favorite painting buddies up in Berkeley. We each have paintings in a California Art Club show and decide to paint in addition to dropping off our pieces.

Update … Looks like “Temporary Berth” may be my last plein air piece for a bit as we are all hunkered down to slow the spread of corona virus.

We took a 20 minute flight from Tikehau to Rangiroa which is the largest atoll in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia. This distinction is based both on the number of motus (islets) and circumference of the lagoon they surround. We stayed at the Hotel Kia Ora Hotel on Avatoru islet which has a boat dock. A collection of pleasure boats and charters that come and go through the day. The painting above features the Kia Ora dock and a delightful French couple and their son.

The deck outside our beachside bungalow had beautiful views views. In the view above, I am looking a bit to the left at the overwater bungalows.

Aside from the vacationers at Kia Ora, there were dozens of delightful white birds. I learned that they are fairy terns. I was drawn to the way the terns dart about seeming to dance in small groups overhead. I learned that fairy terns mate for life and raise one chick per year. Interestingly, these terns don’t make nests. Instead, each year’s egg is nestled into a crook in a tree and the hatchling is nurtured there.

On the north end of the island is the town of Avatoru. At that spot, Avatoru Pass forms natural channel between the interior lagoon and the pacific ocean. The current in the pass is extremely strong and dynamic. This sailboat found itself with an unexpected stay on the tiny private islet of Motu Fara which a 4 acre islet in the pass that I understand may be for sale. Avatoru pass is known for tricky sailing, great scuba diving and every color of blue one can imagine.

Every diving location in the world has a specific diving spot called The Aquarium. The painting above was done from a reference photo on a day we were able to enjoy the scenery both above and under water at The Aquarium. This spot at Tiputa Pass is at the southern end of the island. I was struck by the young boy who helped his dad by hooking up the boat to the site’s  buoy. The image of this extrordinarily young and very competitent deckhand and questions I have about him and his life have stayed with me. I may explore this in a larger painting.

Tiputa pass is also known for a spontaneous show put on by wild dolphins in the area. As the current rushes through the pass between ocean and lagoon the dolphins quite literally surf in the waves. I was told this behavior is not a scheme for hunting, it is apparently all about play. I’m so delighted to have seen it.

I painted this at the end of our time on Rangiroa and it’s fitting to end with a sunset. This was painted from the deck outside of our bungalow looking toward the Kia Ora pier.

I’m hoping to get back to the little spots of heaven on earth that make up French Polynesia to soak in their fragile beauty, to enjoy the warm water of the South Pacific and to paint.

The volcano that was once at the center of Tikihau is long gone. What remains are a collection of tiny coral islets (cays) that form a ring around a 178 square mile lagoon. I stayed in an eco resort on one of the cays. The image at the top of this post was painted as the sun rose over a neighboring cay.

Tikehau is postcard beautiful place with swaying palms and water with every shade of blue and green imaginable. For me the most memorable experience was the time I spent in the water checking out manta rays (and being checked out by them). Pure magic.

The bungalows at the Ninamu Resort are each crafted from local materials and look like they were designed by a collaboration between Robinson Crusoe and the Hobbit. Our view through palm trees of the lagoon led me to paint this scene. My attempt to try to capture the many colors of the water. Purple, intense turquoise and so many other nuanced hues.

A leisurely walk around this small islet takes about 20 minutes. I’m not really sure though because each time I walked it I stopped to paint or take photos. This view is of the palms and pink sands of the far site.

The airport serving Tikehau is on larger neighbor island. This boat “Hi There” was docked at the marina as we passed through en route to take our flight. I’ve long had a thing for yellow boats so very happy to paint it.

It’s pretty great to board a our local airport in San Francisco and land in Papeete Tahiti eight hours later.

While in Papeete, I enjoyed the terrific swimming pool our resort, walking along the marina area, the public Paofai Gardens and painting.

Often, I set out with a specific objective of a scene I hope to capture. Other times, I select my painting site based on practical considerations. This painting of a pond and traditional thatched roof structure in Paofai Gardens was the first painting I did of the trip. The site was selected for a very important reason … a well positioned shady bench

I have always loved the beauty and fragrance of plumeria (frangipani) and once again a shady bench made this tie time to paint a watercolor.

I was able to make another trip to the South Pacific recently. I brought my watercolor sketchbook and enjoyed trying to come close in capturing the endless variations in blue.

The best known of the islands I visited was Tahiti. It’s located about 2500 miles south of Hawaii. New Zealand is about the same distance to the west. I also visited two atolls (Tikihau and Rangiroa) that are located about 200 miles from Tahiti. In the coming days post sketches from the trip.

I baked lots of Christmas cookies this year. For these I pulled out some paintbrushes. Here’s wishing a very happy holiday to all!