![](https://americanwatercolor.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Cozumel-Plein-Air.jpg)
“A few months ago, my family seized on the rare opportunity of having our daughter home from college to take a short cruise,” says Florida artist Vladislav Yeliseyev. “Afraid that I’d be overwhelmed by the guilt of letting days go without picking up a brush, I packed my plein air easel and a few supplies. I don’t swim with dolphins, ride on toy submarines, or shop til I drop at local souvenir shops, so when the 15-story cruise ship docked at Mexico’s Cozumel a day later, I realized there was nothing for me to do but paint. So what does Cozumel have to offer the painter? Not much. But I decided to go with the flow and paint the ‘restaurants a plenty’ scenery at the port, with just enough water in the view to give it an authentic island look.
![](https://americanwatercolor.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/At-the-water-edge.jpg)
“You might notice that the building in the foreground doesn’t match the photo. On site, a better looking restaurant shack sat outside the frame of my subject, and I simply used it to replace the one that was there with a few strokes of my brush. Sometimes I go a long way for the benefit of composition — and we know that composition rules.”
At the Plein Air Convention & Expo, there’s something for everyone, from beginners to professional artists, working in all media. Join us at the special watermedia stage, where the focus is on watermedia all day, everyday!