Art By Tali Landsman

We spent today running errands in Kerikeri. A new organic and gourmet store had opened on the main road and we stocked up on some goodies. It is always interesting to see what businesses survived the winter, who did not and how the city is reshaping itself. Our new wardrobes are being installed tomorrow so I guess that it may be another day before I'll get to the studio.

We arrived in NZ just at the rear end of winter. But the weather is definitely changing and our garden is blooming. Today I went to photograph the art from the "Unnerving to a frugalist" series that was returned to me from the shows. Jules unpacked the boxes and I photographed them. I will post them on my website soon.

We decided to explore the main island of Tonga. Out boat drops us at the fishing wharf in the city of Nukualofa. We walk around the fish market, admiring the long octopuses, the large crabs tied in green baskets made from coconut fronds. We see multi color parrot fish and huge conch. There are also plastic coke bottles filled with home made fish sauce warming in the sun. We rent old clunky bikes from a ninety year old man who sits in a house on the front road. He separates two rusty bikes from a pile of five ancient bikes resting on his sofa tied with a blue metal chain. We call them Clunky and Clunkilina. The seats are way too low for us, but after unsuccessfully trying to open the bolts with a rusty wrench, we give up and ride with our knees nearly scraping the road. We find a lovely cafe' in town (Cafe' Escape) and we eat a great meal and check our emails. Then we get on our bikes and ride down coconut shaded roads exploring the island. We stop to photograph often. The local

We are staying on a small island named FaFa. It has about thirteen open air bungalows, each with its own sandy beachfront and private gardens, an outdoor (hot) shower and a bed surrounded with a mosquito net. In order to go into the nearest town, we have to take a thirty minute boat ride. As it turns out, the weather this time of the year is cool in Tonga. The locals are wearing hoodies and the ocean is too cool for us to swim or snorkel. Not everyone feels like us. Most of the red nose tourists are happily going diving and snorkeling. We spend our days reading books, eating, sleeping and resting.

The Internet in Tonga is SOOO slow that I wasn't bothering to blog. But now on our last day here I will try to sum up our trip adventures. We left from LA on a flight that stopped at Apia Samoa. In the red carpet club we were asked if we would like to change our seats to the emergency row. We said yes but on the plane, we noticed that our seats do not recline. Our original seats were in the front rows with plenty of leg room, we looked at them with yearning in our eyes. We spoke to the flight's attendant and asked if it would be possible to return to our original seats. Fourteen hours in the air with no reclining seats could be very stiff. We were told to go back to our seats and if our original seats were not reassigned, we can return to them when we take off. Right before the plane took off, while they were closing the doors and asking everyone to shut off all electronic devices, the flight attendant came to us and apologetically said that our original seats were reassigned

We are packing and getting ready to go to New Zealand via Tonga. Air New Zealand had a wonderful offer to add a stop to your flight in any of the islands in the pacific. We chose Tonga because we never been there. We already visited Fiji, Vanuatu and Tahiti. Today we go to pick up our rental car to drive to denver and we will be driving to the airport early Tuesday. This week, (on September 13th) I celebrated my 44 birthday. Still growing, still finding my ways both on earth and in the spiritual plane. Meanwhile the financial markets in the USA are rocking like a small boat on a stormy sea. The financial fall of Lehman Brothers and the financial troubles of Merrill Lynch bring to mind how volatile our illusionary lives on this earth really are. It also reminds me how important it is not to get too caught up in the web of illusions and to stay focused daily on my spiritual path. For my birthday, Jules gave me a trip to Rajasthan India. It is going to be a one in a lifetime adventure. I

Today is our weekly fast day. I went to the studio and added more doodles on my canvas. The oil sticks that I used to draw some of the symbols, are still wet and I kept on getting it on my hands. I also feel very antsy. I am not sure if is related to my art or to the inner process I am going through. In any case, I have two choices. To stay in the studio and work it on the canvas or get out of the studio, read a book, relax and go back to it another day. Since my days here in Colorado are numbered before our trip to New Zealand, I chose to stay in the studio. But after awhile I feared that the smearing was not going to limit itself to my hands but get all over the canvas, so I called it a day. The inner process that I am going thorough is a deep examination of my self doubts, their origin and the myths I hold about my self worth, success and my place in the world. It is an intense examination and many images and voices from the past rise up to be noticed. I hope that I will emerge from

The rain woke me up in the middle of the night. It is a rare and welcomed occasion in our area to have a torrential downpour. The wild vegetation and the trees are finally getting the nourishment that they need. The rain also cleanse the air and charge it with fresh ions which smell so good... well as good as mountains and wild herbs do after a fresh rain. The vegetation on the Colorado river’s banks are turning colors into golden tones. You can spot some bright yellows as well as a vast range from golden to deep bronze. I wonder if it has an influence on my art. I noticed in the last few days that I am drawn to a certain blue and a certain green. I wonder if I am countering the colors of the changing season. Today I shipped a painting to a client and spent some time cleaning our house.

Provincetown, the colorful town on the tip of Cape Cod has been a haven for artists for a long time. So what do I think of the art represented in the many galleries around town? This is a touchy subject for me. Galleries that are strategically placed in touristy areas, are motivated by the prospect of selling art to the tourists. They need to survive, pay their bills and support their staff. This usually means that the selection, sizes and subject matter of the art represented is uniformly embedded with attributes that may appeal to the visiting tourists. No eyebrow raising art here or art that is painted on large scale. I see this in many areas that get flashed with tourists every season. I do not mean to imply that the art is not done well or even enjoyable to look at. There were many examples of art that was not just sailboats and scenes from the Cape. It does not however shake or enlighten the viewers about the artists and their processes. The art tended to be of the kind that coul

We are back at home and it feels like we are counting the days before our departure to New Zealand. We have only few days before our trip and still so much to do. Today in the studio I started doodling on the painting that I painted the toy robots on. It was slow going but very revealing as I am in the midst of a deep emotional process. I notice that the doodling is such a good release. Each cartoon or doodle takes on the emotion of what I am feeling at the moment. I am not sure if I will be able to finish this painting before our departure. I would like to do so if possible.

What a wonderful time of the year to visit Cape cod. We stayed in colorful Provincetown with its many art galleries and art collaboratives. we strolled the streets with Jules' daughter Kira, her husband Ken and their boy Leo. We had a wonderful visit to the bird sanctuary outside Wellfleet MA. We ate vegan crepes up on a sunny deck in the center of town and explored the many stores in town.