Marco Polo should have come to the Caribbean Painting

"Marco Polo should have come to the Caribbean", part of my "Point of Departure" series, was inspired on my travels to Venice and learning about Marco Polo's voyages. I questioned what would have happened if Marco Polo would have come to the Caribbean. How different Europe, the "New World" and the whole globe would have been. A great joy in my life is global travel, taking in the bright colours of all walks of life and those of nature. To me every journey has a "Point of Departure" - a physical, or metaphorical, starting point from which an experience of discovery awaits - the entrance to a rain forest national park, or to a UNESCO historical site, the launching pad for a balloon ride over the desert in Alice Springs, Australia, to the trail-head to a hike up an active volcano; but also the moment of decision when one starts to plan an adventure. For over 18 years I was a tour guide and tour director in my country of birth Costa Rica, as well as numerous travels around the globe. The works in “Point of Departure” refer not only to memories of amazing natural phenomena I came to experience, but on memories of my feelings and reactions as well - feelings and reactions evoked by these visual, aural, natural, social and cultural experiences. (Oil, oil stick, oil pastel, acrylic, charcoal and soluble graphite on stretched canvas, D rings in place, edges show painting process, un-framed, ready to hang) (Photo taken by Monica Renaud)