Thailand Painting Honeymoon

2022 has been an eventful and happy year as Marta and I were married here in Tuscany in September, and then in November we spent an incredible month in Thailand for our honeymoon. Neither of us had ever been to Asia so we were excited to visit a totally new part of the world. Our objective was to see the main points of interest around the country, stopping to paint for a few days at each place. So we planned our route, booked our flights and accomodations, and ordered a bunch of canvas panels from our friend Leo Mancini-Hresko at his new venture Mako Supply…

Mako Supply panels arrive at our place in Italy

Packed and ready we boarded our first flight from Florence to Paris, then after a short layover embarked on the long-haul voyage to Bangkok…

Toasting the start of the journey

Sawasdee krap Bangkok!

Scouting locations to paint

Wat Arun Temple seen from across the Chao Phraya river

Next day heading out with the painting gear

Marta painting the Wat Arun temple

Photo credit: Mary-Jane Dechavas

Me painting the Wat Arun temple

Photo credit: Akcarawat Jaipech

Checking out Golden Mount temple

Checking out Golden Mount Temple

Tuk Tuk'n from temple to temple

Finding my view at Wat Pho temple

Painting at Wat Pho Temple

Cute painting spectators

No pressure

Ok!

Marta's set up at Wat Pho

After Bangkok we flew up to the northern city of Chiang Mai…

View from hotel, Chiang Mai

Scouting

Marta at work on a bridge scene, captured by a passing photographer

Photo credit: Camila Preciado

Marta at work

Photo credit: Camila Preciado

Finding my subject, an elaborate concrete Naga sculpture in progress at the temple of Wat Chiang Man

Sculptor Narong "Jiangwat Serpent" Boonthep explains his plan for the day's session

Painting the sculptor at work

Progress as a monk from the temple checks out Narong's work

The temple's Abbott honours me by taking a look

Exploring Chiang Mai during the Loy Krathong festival of lights

Lanterns everywhere

Marta preparing to launch her floating lantern (Krathong) into the river

Searching for a nocturnal scene

Found it!

Progress on nocturne from hostel patio

Temple touring

Next stop: Sukhothai - an amazing historical park with ruined palace and temples…

Checking out the Sukhothai historical park

Looking for a good view

Scouting on bikes - this place is huge

Ruined temples surrounded by lotus ponds

Wat Sa Si

My first set up - backlit temple ruins

Progress

Marta looking for a spot

Marta's first subject - a Buddhist ritual taking place under a giant tree

Marta's second spot

My late day view - ruined chedis across the moat

Going for reflections

Progress

Next stop: Ayyutthaya - also featuring incredible ruined temples…

Our driver Joy with his tuk tuk - perfect way to see the sights

Quick tour of the main temples. Pictured: Wat Phra Si Sanphet

Riding in style

Wat Chaiwatthanaram

Exploring

Joy agrees to pose for me in front of the temple

Progess on portrait of Joy

Dramatic skies after a heavy downpour

Marta's view of prang and chedi temple elements

Progress on Marta's sketch

My second set up, by the river

Working on river sketch

End of a productive day

After Ayutthaya we headed back to Bangkok and flew south to Phuket, gatway to the Thai islands on the Andaman Sea

In front of our resort on spectacular Railay Beach West

Long-tail boat: the principal means of tranportation to and from Railay

On a mission to Krabi Town for turpentine

Magic hour on Railay Beach

Scouting at nearby Phra Nang cave beach

My subject is a towering limestone cliff characteristic of the area, known as a karst formation

Boat tour to the nearby islands of Koh Poda and Thale Waek

Finding our second set up on Railay West

Marta's sketch of a long-tail boat

Me working on a sunset sketch

Progress before we get rained out

From Railay we caught a speedboat to the nearby island of Koh Lanta…

Speedboat to Koh Lanta

Bumpy tuk tuk ride to the hotel

Appreciating gorgeous sunset from the beach bar

Off to see the Old Town

Old Town explorations

Marta finds a portrait subject she's feeling...

A colourful rooster happy to pose

I opt for a view of traditional fisherman shack and shop facades

Working out a preliminary compositional drawing

Next day we hit Bamboo Beach and I get in a quick watercolour

Back to Old Town, this time with the full painting kit

Marta finds her subject ready for the next sitting

My strategic streetscape position

Sketching out the buildings

These Mako gaterboard panels are great - super light and durable

Progress

After a good day's work

Next day we're back on the beach and meet some local kids who want to join in the drawing fun

Start of a portrait of Marta kneeling in the surf. My one larger canvas of the trip

Progress

Low vantage point to match Marta's position

Happy with the start - to be finished in studio

Marta working on a sketch of me sitting

Portrait coming along nicely

Working on the Mako panel

Me being entertained by the local kids - natural comedians

Working on a cloudy afternoon beachscape

Detail

Marta going for the sunset

Working quickly to catch the effect

After Koh Lanta we headed off to our final stop of the trip: Koh Phi Phi…

Wet painting in transit!

Hello Koh Phi Phi

Great anticipation

Our gear is heavy but it's worth the pain

View from Long Beach to Koh Phi Leh

Breathtaking sunsets

Scouting locations by long-tail boat

Next day I kayak back to my chosen subject - Nui Bay with its majestic karst formations

Work in progress

Quick sunset sketch back at the resort

Trying to catch the fleeting effect

Winding down with a couple games of dice

Next morning we're beseiged by a rowdy troop of Macaques

Marta's tree-swing sketch in progress

My last sketch of the trip: late afternoon view of Koh Phi Leh

Detail

Marta's last sketch - a tree-swing nocturne

Our haul of paintings from the month

Back home now and looking over the studies we made, many of which will be further developed in the studio, we feel truly fortunate to have discovered this beautiful country together and to have brought back such personal mementos. Whether we keep the paintings or they end up in other people’s collections, we will look at them for years to come and remember our incredible honeymoon in Thailand.