Harley Davidson Loaded for a Road Trip

Harley Davidson Loaded for a Road Trip

The Edom Festival of the Arts proved a rewarding escape from the city over the weekend.  On the first day, I did a plein air watercolor sketch of a large tree towering behind my booth.  On the second day, I began work on this Harley I photographed last summer while on historic Route 66.  I loved the large pack of gear attached to the rear, and knew I would get around to sketching it in watercolor.  I keep trying to finish it, but alas, details keep popping up that I have  overlooked (license plates, sidewalk behind, shadows beneath the wheels, and no doubt I’ll find some other unfinished areas).  But I decided to photograph it anyway and send it out on the blog.  I had no Internet access over the weekend.  Edom is quite remote in east Texas.  So I apologize that the blog has languished a few days.  I’m back now, and will try to breathe some life back into it.

Selling art at the Edom Festival proved a rewarding experience.  Much more, though, I was enriched by meeting many new patrons, as well as renewing acquaintances with those who remembered me from last year’s festival.  I also met some genuine new friends in the artist’s community, and met several former colleagues whom I had not seen in over a decade.  What a reunion!  Some of these wonderful people have opened new vistas for me, by inviting me to paint from their properties in east Texas.  I have already been introduced to a plethora of landscapes and rustic architecture–subjects that touch me at my core.

Being away from the job for a few days also provided quality space to think, to ponder.  I have plenty going on in my life right now, and thankfully the next festival does not occur for two weeks (Bob Phillips Texas Country Reporter, on the Waxahachie town square).  I am pondering an invitation to participate in a festival in Mineola in November, and am intrigued at an invitation to explore areas in Crockett, Texas next weekend.  I’m glad the temperatures are finally cooling.  I woke up to two consecutive mornings in the low fifties during the festival, and our forecast calls for falling temperatures tonight.  That’s one of the reasons I’m in the garage tonight with the door open.  I love watercoloring, wrapped in a quiet suburban night, and like it even better when it is not hot and muggy.

Thanks for reading.  More tomorrow, I promise.

Completed the Harley Watercolor

Time for a Cold One

On a scalding hot day in the Texas hill country, I paused to photograph this pair of road-weary bikers stopping for a refresher.  The motorcycle odyssey has always resonated deeply with me, though I have never owned a Harley.  I recorded this slice of American life in watercolor, attempting to enjoy their moment vicariously.

I’m glad I finished up the painting in just two days, thanks for quality time in the man cave.  I have it matted in a standard 11 x 14″ mat.  Just in time for the Edom Festival of the Arts.  Tonight, I plan to print a sizable quantity of 5 x 7″ greeting cards of it, with the above text on the back.

Thanks for reading.  It’s been another good day to create.

Watercoloring Harleys from the Man Cave

Harleys in Blanco, Texas

I believe this is the first time I pushed a watercolor so far on the first day.  I didn’t really get after the work until after school today, but found myself chipping away at it all afternoon and into the evening.  I believe I’ll have it finished tomorrow.  It’s not like I have other things to worry about–administering a PSAT test, teaching four classes, and giving a private lesson after school, and then getting my gear ready for an art festival for which I’ll leave in 48 hours.  Oh well, I guess there is no rest for the weary.  But honestly, I enjoyed working on this piece, actually playing with this piece.  I don’t know where all the time went.

The Man Cave was a great environ this afternoon and evening.  I enjoyed Neil Young Unplugged on an old VHS I purchased years ago.  Then I listened to Prince’s Purple Rain twice.   So, the music was great company.

Time to climb into bed and face that monster tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Plein Air Afternoon in Sunny Downtown Fort Worth

Haltom's Jewelers, Fort Worth, Texas

On this sunny Sunday afternoon, I began two plein air watercolor sketches, blending Prismacolor watercolor pencils with Winsor & Newton pigments.  The 97-degree temperature tested my patience.  I took reference photos of both locations and decided to finish them inside my air conditioned studio.  This is the turret that sits atop Haltom’s Jewelers on Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth.  I am looking forward to rendering the knight in shining armor, standing in the enclave.  The building was originally for the Knights of Phidias, so I was told by a tourist passing by and noting my work.  The fellow was visiting from Lowell, Massachusetts, Jack Kerouac’s hometown.  I enjoyed my visit with him.

Thanks for reading.

Preparing for the Fort Worth Music Festival

St. Louis Jazz at the Bistro

The Fort Worth Music Festival is two weeks away, so I’m dusting off my music subjects.  This watercolor was completed in the summer of 2010, then promptly stolen.  Fortunately,  I had a photograph made, so giclee prints are now available.

Jazz at the Bistro is located in St. Louis, just around the corner from their historic Fox Theater.  The cool blue hues of this facade, to me, reflected cool jazz, and I couldn’t resist a watercolor of the subject.  I’ve been asked recently to work on some watercolor compositions, using Prismacolor watercolor pencils exclusively.  This particular painting made heavy use of Prismacolor pencils over my Winsor and Newton watercolors.  This week I plan to do some experimenting with Prismacolor watercolor pencils, a first for me.  Tomorrow, I hope to begin a series of watercolor sketches at various Fort Worth locations.  I need new material for the various art festivals coming up the next two months.

Thanks for reading.

 

Hico, Texas–Painting the Town on a Hot Summer Day

Downtown Hico, Texas

Now that school is underway, I really miss the open road and those splendid opportunities of the past summer to paint en plein air.  Though the temperatures remained at triple digits (including this afternoon spent in Hico, Texas), I nevertheless found favorable settings for watercoloring in the open air.

Hico, Texas was a fun place to pass the day.  From this location, I was situated on the divided street of the main drag, enjoying the shade of trees and gazebos.  There was even Wi-Fi available, and I was able to blog on that particular afternoon from the place where I painted.  A number of the town’s citizens dropped by out of curiosity, watched me paint, and engaged me in meaningful conversation.  To me these are the most perfect moments in creating art–the privilege of talking to strangers who will not remain strangers.  I felt a real “connectedness” on that day, with every conversation that transpired.  I am hoping that when the temperatures cool, the leaves turn, and the art festival season ends, that I will be able to return to Hico for further work.  I was fascinated with the age of the public buildings, with their rusticated, cut-stone exteriors, old signage and fabulous shadows.  And I now know that the public is very receptive to artistic endeavors on the main drag.

Thanks, Hico!  It was a fun day, and I look forward to returning.  And thanks all of you for reading.

In Memoriam Route 66 Villa Ridge, Missouri

In Memoriam Route 66 Villa Ridge, Missouri

I finished this watercolor about 2:00 a.m. this morning.  It’s a relief to have it finished, knowing it only took five days.  As I look on the finished composition, I still feel the sadness of a civilization that has died.  I’m old enough to recall Highway 66 road trips when I was a child, and I cannot help but listen for the ringing of bell cables every time I see the husk of a service station such as this one, languishing on vacant property adjacent to a county road or service road that was formerly an artery carrying traffic across this nation.

As a teacher, I’ve returned to my campus this week to honor my contract.  The students will appear next Monday.  Whether or not I begin a composition before then, I just don’t know at this point.  I have my first One Man Show beginning on September 10.  A part of me wishes to continue painting up till the day that we open, but another part says I already have enough work ready to hang, and that a hiatus might be the healthy road to take right now.  Maybe I’ll decide by tomorrow!

Thanks again for reading, and helping me see this one through.

Nearing Completion of Route 66 Zephyr Gas Station

Villa Ridge, Missouri Zephyr Gas Station along Historic Route 66

The fourth day on this work sees it nearing completion.  I had to re-draw the gas pump to align it parallel with the station.  The distant lamp post was in the wrong place and no proportioned to the rest of the composition, so I am eliminating it.  most of today was spent trying to separate the graveled parking lot from the puddles.  I still have grasses to render, poking up through the puddles as well.  The center of the parking area also needs to be tended.  But I think the end is finally in sight.  If I don’t complete it tonight, then I’m quite sure I can sign off on it before tomorrow is over.  This has been a rewarding experience.  Painting water reflections has been a trial for me, but I’m sure I’ll attempt it again some day.

Thanks for reading.

Defunct Route 66 Gas Station after a Hard Rain

Abandoned Route 66 Zephyr Station after the Rain

The painting is slowing down, now that I’m nearing the end of my third day.  Painting water reflections is completely new territory for me, and I spend more time studying the reference photos, applying masquing fluid to the paper and mixing pigments than actual painting.  But I am enjoying the process, and today is the first time I’ve felt “lost” in the painting, in a good sense.  School begins tomorrow for me, but I’ll continue with the painting daily until it’s finished, hopefully before this next week runs its course.   Tonight before retiring to bed, I hope to enrich further the shadows in the water reflections and attempt to render the grasses sticking up out of this enormous parking lot swamp.  For any of you reading this for the first time, the location of this station is Villa Ridge, Missouri, on Route 66 southwest of St. Louis.  Currently the station is at county road AT, about a mile off Interstate 44.   I saw it for the first time in the summer of 2010 and did two plein air watercolor sketches, one of the end of this building, and the other of a rusted-out, foliage-covered billboard advertising Zephyr detergent gasoline.

Thanks for reading.

Route 66 Zephyr Station making Progress

Route 66 Zephyr, Villa Ridge, Missouri

I’m feeling glad that I was able to chip away at this watercolor throughout a long and solitary Saturday.  It’s time to put Route 66 to bed for now, but I’m looking forward to rising tomorrow and resuming the enterprise.  This will be my first full-size watercolor of a Route 66 composition.  I’m now hoping the painting will have enough quality to include in my One Man Show next month.

Until tomorrow then.  Thanks for reading.