Would You Like a Post Card?

February 13, 2012 – 3:57 pm

I’ve been thinking of this, and gosh-darn, I’m just going to start.

If you’d like a hand-drawn post card, send me your address.

Every day I’m going to draw a postcard.  It might be a sketch.  It might be a doodle.  It might be in color.  It might be in pencil.  But I will draw one every day, and I will mail the postcards whenever I find a good post office.

 

Send your address to:   postcard (at) sutrovgallery (dot) com

If you have a friend who would like to do this too, let them know.

 

I’m just heading off to bed on my last day in Laos.

We were in Luang Prabang for two weeks, and I’m busy drawing up the adventures we had there.  Right now I’m in Phonsavan, home of the Plain of Jars and literal tons of rusting missile shells left over from the years the US bombed the region.

In the morning: a 10-hour bus ride, and northern Vietnam.  And I will draw postcard #1.

Luang Prabang, Laos

Here’s something for you in the meanwhile.

This is the Nam Khan, the smaller of the two rivers that border Luang Prabang.   (The other is the mighty Mekong.) The bridge in the painting is wooden, with creaky metal supports.  There’s no room to walk on the vehicle part of the bridge, so they tacked on an extra section for pedestrians, rather precariously.  Later, after I had walked across it, I think I overheard a tour guide say it was built by the Americans back in the 50′s…  eek.

I much preferred the bamboo bridge we took back across the river.  That one’s reconstructed after every rainy season, so upkeep is more regular!

 

** Your mailing address will only be used to send you your postcard.  I will email you to let you know when your postcard has been sent.  You may get an extremely occasional email from me (read once or twice a year) if there’s anything super-exceptionally new happening over at Maggie Paints the world.  But only if it’s very cool.

 

Here’s to Art and Adventure!

 

By Plover | Posted in Laos, Postcard | Comments (0)

The Problem with Hair

February 6, 2012 – 7:12 am

In Vientiane Ian’s hair reached a critical point.

travel grooming, Laos

Ian, the Wizard of the Internet Cafe…

Until we sorted out the internet at our apartment, we often made use of the wifi cafe.   The place was full of characters, and Ian fit right in.

By Plover | Posted in comic, Laos | Comments Off

Buddha Park, Vientiane

January 20, 2012 – 3:17 am

We finally took the rickety local bus the hour-drive south to Xieng Khuan, or the Buddha Park.  Though the Hindu and Buddhist sculptures look ancient at first, the whole park was actually the vision of one man back in the 1950′s.   A large reclining Buddha overlooks the area.

Xieng Khuan Vientiane Laos

Xieng Khuan Vientiane Laos

By Plover | Posted in Laos | Comments Off

What Happens in 9 Months

January 14, 2012 – 8:59 am

Yes, it’s been over 9 months in Southeast Asia.  Nine months of walking around whatever city we’re in, shopping at the local market, walking back to the current apartment, enjoying the sights and sounds of the neighborhood, cooking up whatever we purchased.   (We perplex the tuk-tuk drivers.  We always say “Sabai Dee!  Hello!”   We rarely accept a ride.)  All this walking gives Ian lots of time to say interesting things.

 

Our current neighborhood, in Vientiane, Laos, is around the corner from Patuxay, featured in the first panel.  It’s a giant Arch du Triomph-style monolith, built out of cement the USA donated for an airport runway back mid-century.  The rest of the neighborhood is a mixture of government office buildings and family-run restaurants that are buzzing at lunch time when all the offices empty out.  Lunch is serious business here.   In the evening, the restaurants double as open air living rooms as the families relax, wash dishes, and play cards.

And, a doodle of the two of us, wearing our hats.  We look a bit perplexed, like we’ve just arrived somewhere new.

By Plover | Posted in comic, Laos | Comments Off