Galapagos Sea Lion – Work in progress on 1/4 sheet of Arches 140# coldpress
The husband and I finally got rid of our 20 year old, 200 pound Sony Trinitron. We got a Samsung LED, LCD, HD, IRT something-or-other flat screen. When Time Warner Rat Bastard Cable (TWRBC) came to hook everything up they told us the best way to use the new remote was to press the “system” button which would easily turn on the cable and TV at the same time.
PANTS ON FIRE!!!!!
Remember when you would press the button on your the TV and it would just come on? I press the system button and nothing happens. Samsung’s TV has a red light that goes ON when the TV is OFF! This is completely counter-intuitive. (Note to self, write a scathing letter to Samsung telling them about their epic failure.) I press the system button again. The TV goes on and the cable box goes off. I press system button again and the TV goes off and the cable box goes on. Finally I turn them on individually and think about how much I hate TWRBC.
Now to my cell phone. I recently got an iPhone 5 with 4G. Unfortunately, I discovered that my apartment does not have 4G. It has NO G. Zero G. Nothing, nada, zip G.
The reason I’m telling you this is because in the Galapagos there was no TV, no phones, no cell service, no internet, no wifi, no nothing! Just sea lions and sting rays and orcas and blue-footed boobies dive bombing the water. Penguins and frigate birds and sharks and brightly colored fish and fur seals and lots and lots and lots of iguanas. Land iguanas. Marine iguanas. And more sea-lions. Ahhhhhhh.
On my first day back to work I get to the subway to discover the trains are delayed because of signal problems. When a train finally arrives I get on and we are going jauntily along until we stop and sit at a station. We sit and sit and sit. Finally the conductor announces we are delayed due to police action at the next stop. I think to myself “there was no police action in the Galapagos”.
Which now brings me to my painting. Here’s a sea lion on the beach. He was sleepy and sandy and beautiful. There is a young girl who has been coming to our studio. She is 11. Her name is Isabella and is another Matisse! She is an inspiration and her work is wonderful and beautiful. Loose and free. I started this painting keeping young Isabella in mind.
I hope to post more paintings from my trip soon. Thanks for your visit.
Carol King: drawing, painting, complaining 
33 comments
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March 10, 2013 at 7:20 pm
nic mclean
What a hilarious post but I can totally empathise with your technology gripes – I usuallly just push a random selection of buttons on the remote until something happens. As for mobile connections-up this far north it’s all a bit hit and miss as to whether we get a signal at all. I would so love to be on Galapagos with no technology but more nature than you could shake a stick at! Your seal painting is lovely-i like the delicate colour palette. Look forward to more tales from Galapagos.
March 15, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Carol King
Hi Nicola, I will probably work on the seal a little more. As far as being back in “civilization” I’m still trying to adjust!
March 10, 2013 at 7:36 pm
candy7
Carol, you had me laughing and reading your post to my husband (a tech guy who is working on his computer as I write). You have a beautiful start on the sweet sea lion. I wish I could be there right now!
March 15, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Carol King
Thank you Candy. I wish I could be back there right now. Glad you enjoyed the post and the painting.
March 10, 2013 at 8:56 pm
Valerie Kennedy Buickerood
I love the juxtaposition of technology and the natural environment of the Galapagos, as well as the sea lion – he’s cute 🙂
Love you wit as always, sorry I haven’t commented in a while, but I do always read and enjoy your art and your posts.
March 15, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Carol King
So nice to see you Val…..one of these maybe in person? Thanks for your comments. Technology and the Galapagos don’t seem like they should be in the same sentence!
March 10, 2013 at 10:14 pm
Padmaja
Your sea lion is turning out well, love the color scheme .
Glad to know that places like Galapagos exist still on this planet, untouched, uncorrupted, blissful n far from technology and maddening crowds!
March 15, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Carol King
Padmaja, The Ecuadorian government seems to be doing a good job of controlling the tourism so it doesn’t get out of hand. Glad you like the sea lion so far. I hope I don’t ruin him!
March 10, 2013 at 10:56 pm
joantav
I love how you made him look so shiny! This is a great start. He looks like the perfect color to be in my painting of France. lol
It must have been great to be somewhere totally away from all our modern technology…(I type this on my laptop in a Hampton Inn in Fredericksburg, VA with wi-fi in the room.) Do we really need all this stuff? Let’s ask the seal! Thanks for visiting and commenting on each post from my workshop. I loved it…now I need to buy some materials so I can do it at home. I want it immediately so I can capture things while I’m still enthusiastic.
March 15, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Carol King
Your workshop seemed amazing! And I also really liked the paintings you did while you were still in S.C. I’m glad you like the sea lion so far. He doesn’t need cell service.
March 11, 2013 at 12:41 am
Jana Bouc
Lately I’ve been thinking about how much simpler life was before cell phones, Facebook, email and the internet (in some ways–I’d be completely lost without using the internet as my alternate brain). You’d send off a letter and instead of getting a response in 5 minutes that you need to deal with again, you’d have a whole week before someone even got the letter. And when you were away from home nobody could call you. And before answering machines, no message. Almost like going to the Galapagos except for the seals.
March 15, 2013 at 3:54 pm
Carol King
Can you believe we actually let the house without a cell phone. Or worked without computers? I still love getting snail mail. There is something more special about that than an email.
March 11, 2013 at 5:01 am
CathyG
What a great escape from technology, love your Galapagos photos and sketches, lol at the complaining! It’s good to know there are still places where life goes on unconcerned about how many G’s are available!
March 15, 2013 at 3:58 pm
Carol King
hi CatGat, There are times when I leave the house and forget my phone and panic. But in the Galapagos, after the first day I was fine. Actually better than fine. I didn’t miss cell phones or the internet or TV at all! The animals were enough. Thanks for stopping by.
March 11, 2013 at 8:31 am
Rhonda
I am liking this sea lion painting 🙂 Will check back to see progress. And, yes, I know exactly what you are talking about with the cable/tv remote – you press the red button which is supposed to turn everything on – but only if everything is syncronized together; otherwise, you get one going on while one goes off! And Time Warner has purchased our local cable company so everything now is Time Warner – what happened to the rules to keep companies from being a monopoly??
Looking forward to your photos from the trip!
March 15, 2013 at 4:38 pm
Carol King
Oh No! You’re getting TWRBC! I had to call them again last night. Thanks for your comment on the sea lion.
March 11, 2013 at 2:36 pm
sam
Oh… hurt me! The people far far far away heard me howling at your post. I can barely take it.
How many clickers do you have? My husband hoards ’em. He won’t tell me how many he’s got, but I’d bet hundreds. It’s a sickness.
p.s. I miss my Trinitron, too.
March 15, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Carol King
Since I don’t know how to use my DVR (or even know if it works) we only have one clicker for the TV. But there are tons around. For the TV itself, for the DVR, For other assorted contraptions that I don’t know how to work. As I get older technology and I aren’t that compatible.
March 11, 2013 at 3:55 pm
Irina
Now I am afraid to think about crowds of people move to Galapagos after your post.. Sea lion looks confused, too.
My TV is 18 y.o. Panasonic. It is like a relative now, I wish it to stay healthy for very long.
They can not improve content, so they develop the package, same situation everywhere. And it drives me crazy. One has the best phone ever, but nobody to call to.
No, no, complains are not because we are getting older.
March 15, 2013 at 4:41 pm
Carol King
Not to worry Irina. Ecuador controls both the amount of tourists who go there and the amount of people who want to live there.
March 11, 2013 at 4:03 pm
hannekekoop
Love your sea lion, Carol. Hope to see many more of your Galapagos memories in paint. 🙂
March 15, 2013 at 4:42 pm
Carol King
I hope to finish this little sea lion and do more from the Galapagos. Thanks Hanneke!
March 11, 2013 at 7:08 pm
lesliepaints
What a beautifully written post. Thank you for this reminder to “SLOW” down and enjoy myself. Love the seal and the reference to the 11 year old Isabella.
March 15, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Carol King
Yes Leslie! Exactly. Slow down. Take everything in. In the Galapagos we had no choice but to slow down. (There was nothing else to do but look at the animals) Isabella is the best. Maybe I’ll post one of her paintings soon.
March 17, 2013 at 2:11 pm
lesliepaints
If you post one or two of Isabella’s, I promise to bring the Granddaughter to your site for a “look-see”! I, too, would love to see her work.
March 11, 2013 at 10:59 pm
jimmyboi2
I’m all for serenity. This watercolor is very serene…!
March 15, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Carol King
Serenity now!
March 12, 2013 at 6:29 pm
cathy
hahaha that remote thing does the same thing at MY house! Not funny. Sometimes it takes a good 3-4 minutes to get the darn thing turned on. Wait a minute, maybe it’s better off! yep better off.
March 15, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Carol King
The TV is always better when it’s off. Sadly I’m addicted. I need it on all the time. Sometimes just for the background noise.
March 12, 2013 at 6:29 pm
cathy
oh the painting is going swimmingly..
March 15, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Carol King
Thank you! No pun intending I’m sure. 🙂
March 17, 2013 at 3:20 pm
Stephen Quirke
This post is like the start of three different mystery stories – you have this gift – Isabella and the sea lion – I am coming to see the next installment
March 18, 2013 at 8:38 am
Carol King
hey Stephen, so nice of you to stop by. I’ll keep you posted. 🙂