Watercoloring Saturday in the Man Cave

Plein Air Painting of Waxahachie Bridge

The Red River stills flows through my home town
Rollin’ and tumblin’ on its way
Swirling around the old bridge pylons
Where a boy fishes the morning away
His bicycle leans on an oak tree
While the cars rumble over his head
An aeroplane leaves a trail in an empty blue sky
And the young birds call out to be fed.

Neil Young, “It’s a Dream”

A couple of years ago, during the “Paint Historic Waxahachie” plein air event, I set up my easel beneath this 1930-era bridge as a storm gathered overhead.  I was happy with the results, and rather surprised that I have been unable to sell this painting.  Oh well.  A few weeks ago, as I drove along the highway, listening to Neil Young on my CD player, this song played, and I captured the image of what I wanted to do next.  I am usually disappointed in my efforts of painting from a painting, but nevertheless that is what I attempted in the Man Cave today.  I used the old painting above to create the one below.   I enjoyed the experience.  Now I’m drained, and I suppose that after a good night’s sleep, I’ll decide tomorrow whether I like this one or not.  It not, I’ll give it another try, because I certainly want to master this composition.

Neil Young-Inspired Watercolor

Thanks for reading.

No, I Am Not Painting Right Now

Tripp working at “Paint Historic Waxahachie”

Good morning!  I wish I could say that I am painting.  But I am not.  Currently, I am teaching English IV in summer school (until 12:45 daily).  After school (yesterday and today), I have some social engagements (good ones, of course), a few unpleasant tasks to complete (I won’t go into those) and some decisions to make on which of my works to put on display and sale at a Friday night restaurant and bar venue (a good thing).  And then, there will be preparations for tomorrow’s summer school.  So, unfortunately, painting is crowded out at the moment, but hopefully I can resume tomorrow (Thursday). Meanwhile, I have photos to post that some beautiful friends emailed to me yesterday.  The one above was taken by Vickie Cunningham, a photographer I had the privilege of meeting on my last day of the historic Waxahachie paint out (I was trying to “capture” a Gingerbread home that was being toured across the street from where I parked my Jeep).  Vickie has a fabulous blog to which I have just subscribed, and she has posted a host of photos from Jerome, Arizona and Portland, Oregon, her two most recent excursions.  Check out her work at www.vickiecunninghamphotography.blogspot.com

Tripp’s Glowing Easel

On my last day at the Eureka Springs Plein Air Class, I did this quick demo of the facade of the historic train depot.  After I was finished, Sharron Spence, one of the students in the class, showed me this photo she took of my easel.  Pointing out the glow around the watercolor pad, she joked that she had discovered the secret of my success–some kind of divine energy field that hovers about the surface of my work!  I begged for a copy of this photo, and she graciously sent it to me yesterday.

On a closing note, Sharron couldn’t resist a final dig:  my students had this tendency to spread further and further apart as the week progressed (regressed?).  It got to the point where I walked about 300 yards to get from one end of my student line to the other, stopping to critique their work as I walked.  Finally, when I gave a pointer or two, to a student, I would say: “See you next in about an hour, I suppose.”  Here is a photo of me wending my weary way along the circuit.  Thanks, Sharron, these memories will always be special to me, as you are special.

Tripp Walking the Artist Circuit at Eureka Springs, Arkansas

A Re-Worked Edward Hopper-Style Plein Air Watercolor

Edward Hopper visits Waxahachie

Those of you following my blog are already aware of this plein air sketch I attempted last week during the Historic Waxahachie Paint-Out.  This home, located on 902 W. Main, I chose to render as closely as possible to Edward Hopper’s early watercolor techniques.  I fell in love with his watercolor of the Methodist Church cupola in Provincetown.  I am still astonished that the 6’7″ Hopper managed it from the back seat of his sedan!  I had the benefit of an easel on the sidewalk, though it broke and dumped my painting face-down into the street.

This painting took an Honorable Mention, but interested no buyers at $150.  So, I decided to do what I should have done from the start, and had actually made myself a critical note to do so, but the collapsed easel distracted me, making me forget to finish it.  The “finish” is the darkened rooftops along the bottom of the composition.  I just now did that, and now like this painting much better.  I’ll still offer it at $150, which I think is reasonable for a 10 x 8″ Hopper-like piece.

Time to move on to the next painting.  The morning has been good so far.  It is now 7:20.  Thanks for reading.

Contemplating the Next Move

Edward Hopper Visits 902 W. Main Street, Waxahachie

The first day after a long flurry such as I have just endured leaves me with plenty of “domestic business” to tend that has been neglected the past ten days.  I still cannot believe I chose to do a three-day art festival, finish the last week of school and participate in a ten-day paint-out, all in the same space.

I have decided, however, that I will not allow a single day to go by this summer without some attention given to making art.  Currently I have a Colorado mountain watercolor I’m trying to finish, and a watercolor of the Colorado ghost town of St. Elmo.  But I also have this Honorable Mention painting posted above.  Strange to me, in my four straight years of participation in the Waxahachie paint-out, I have won an award of some kind, and the award-winning painting immediately sold.  This one did not.  I also noted with curiosity that a number of other award-winning paintings this year went unsold.  Strange.

Nevertheless, I was never satisfied that I left the bottom rooftops of this painting as light as I did.  I intended for them to have the same kind of “accent” darkness as the ones at the top, so I could somehow punctuate the perimeter of this composition, rather than allow the bottom one-third to wash out as this one did.  I’m glad the painting won something, and I guess am also glad that it stayed behind so I could experiment with it further.  Whatever happens, I’ll leave the price at $150 in case someone out there becomes interested in it.  It measures 10 x 8″ and is in a white matte, encased in a plastic sleeve.  I plan to re-post the finished piece tonight.  Meanwhile, I still have personal business to tend, so I must get on with that.  I hope the man cave cools this evening.  It looks like Texas is headed for triple-digit temperatures again today.

Thanks for reading.  My website is http://www.recollections54.com

Honorable Mention

“Paint Historic Waxahachie” is Now in the Books

Today ended the ten-day Paint Historic Waxahachie annual event.  Temperatures soared near the triple-digits.  I finished this painting today on 1004 W. Marvin.  It is now in the hands of one of my most faithful patrons.  I’m glad it has a good home.

I look forward to returning to Waxahachie, hopefully soon.  I discovered many more Victorian homes and Gingerbread houses that I did not know existed before.  I also found some interesting views of downtown I had not encountered before.  There are at least a dozen compositions waiting to be painted.  But . . . I have summer school beginning on one week, and my Eureka Springs School of the Arts “Plein Air Watercolor” workshop in two weeks.  Plenty of details still need to be worked out and studied.  Maybe I’ll get back to Waxahachie a little later in the summer.  The paint-out of this past week has been a rewarding experience, with plenty learned, just like the prior three I attended.  Already, I look forward to next year.

Thanks for reading.

Saturday at the Waxahachie Paint Out

On the Gingerbread Home Trail, Waxahachie

This morning, I chose to set up my easel on the Historic Gingerbread Home Tour in Waxahachie.  This beautiful home, located at 500 Oldham Street, presented quite a challenge.   I worked on it for almost two hours.  I was surprised to find a buyer who was interested after it was only half complete.  I never realized what kind of pressure it could be, painting for an additional hour on a work that was already purchased.  Usually, I don’t get too hung up on the detailing and finish work of a plein air watercolor.  But I must admit, I kept worrying about “blowing it” as I kept working on this, knowing someone had already paid for it, and was expecting a good work to be turned in.  Picking it up later, the patron seemed satisfied and pleased with it, and I was pleased that another painting of mine found a home. Returning to the Chatauqua building, I was pleased to find that another one of my watercolors, painted last Thursday, had sold.  That makes four sales now this week.  Not a bad return.  I still have four more available for sale.  The show closes tomorrow at 5:00.

Thanks for reading.

Honorable Mention at the Paint Historic Waxahachie Event

Honorable Mention

I titled this painting “Edward Hopper Visits 902 W. Main Street, Waxahachie.”  Presumptuous as that sounds, Hopper is my inspiration when I approach a home such as this and try to render all the architectural nuances, drawing, re-drawing, measuring, erasing and drawing yet again.  To me, watercolor is an extension of drawing and I always fear that a bad drawing will create a foundation for a bad painting.  This painting had its problems, and I almost withdrew it from the judging, but am glad now that I kept it in.  If it doesn’t sell, however, I will “fix” it,  changing the few things that I found unsatisfactory in the composition.  But we’ll see about that later.

Ted Clemens was awarded Best of Show, and as I recollect, he has either been Best of Show or First Place in the four years I have participated in this annual event.  And it wouldn’t surprise me if he was the top winner in the years previous.   He is undoubtedly the Dean of Painters in this broad region, and I never see anything emerge from his brush that is less than first-rate.  I have never viewed his studio work, but his oil paintings and drawings en plein air always knock the wind out of me.  At the bottom of this post, I’ll insert a photo of his winner.  I had the rare privilege of chatting with Ted for over an hour last night, and we had plenty to exchange as we shared the inspirations we have drawn from Hopper, Wyeth, Thoreau, Emerson and a host of other shining lights.  It was a delight discussing art, literature, theology, music and a host of other subjects with him.  Ted grew up in New Jersey, took up residence in Utah, and finally came to Texas to reside for the majority of his years.  His broad range of views has been distilled with the same kind of richness that emerges from his oil paintings.  I’ll always be grateful for such times of conversation.  He is a real Mensch.

Congratulations Ted, and thanks to all of you who read this.

Best of Show Clemens

Clemens and Tripp

 

Four Plein Air Watercolors in one Cool Waxahachie Day

Summer Morning on Waxahachie Main Street

This was a week in which I found difficulty getting on track watercoloring en plein air.  I dashed 40 minutes to Waxahachie every day after school, but encountered hot, humid weather in the upper 90′s and found myself without any energy or enthusiasm to paint.  Last night, north Texas got blasted all night long by vicious thunderstorms.  I finished my school finals by 10:30, and stepped outside to an amazing 68-degree overcast day.

This is the first home I painted, in the 900 block of West Main Street.  I kept all my sizes small today (8 x 10″) and as simple as possible.  We are allowed to compete in the Paint Historic Waxahachie event with as many as five paintings, and as of today, I only had two.  Today would be my last day, since tomorrow’s deadline of 2:00 will pass with my still being in school for a meaningless Teacher Work Day (today was the last day for the students).  I have been working with an altered palette of late, and found real dynamics in Winsor & Newton Transparent Yellow.  I mixed it with Winsor Blue (Red Shade) and got some amazing light green foliage variations.

Edward Hopper Visits 902 W. Main Street, Waxahachie

After completing the first watercolor rather quickly, I returned my attention to this sketch of 902 West Main Street in Waxahachie.  I had drawn this out in pencil two days ago, then lost the sunlight that had made the facade so striking.  Yesterday I tried to begin painting on it, but made several bad decisions, and decided to lay it aside awhile longer.  Today, having warmed up with the painting across the street, I felt ready for this one, and tried to render it many ways similar to Edward Hopper’s watercolor of the Methodist Church in Provincetown.  I did manager to pull off a few of the techniques, particularly combining pencil work with transparent watercolor washes.  Again I found the Transparent Yellow pigment to work very well in coloring the blinds in the windows of this historic house.

Waxahachie Patriotism

After matting and hanging the first two watercolors in the Ellis County Art Association, I journeyed back up Main Street, trying to decide on a house with American flags displayed.  Since Memorial Day, Waxahachie has had flags fluttering everywhere.  I finally selected this house that had about a dozen flags planted on the front lawn.  I was struck by beauty of the porch pillars and hanging baskets at this house, so I thought I would try a quick plein air sketch of just a portion of it, again staying with the 8 x 10″ size.  This is the smallest of my compositions, as I tried to work very quickly and bring it to completion.

Sunset on the College Street Pub

And finally, the College Street Pub, one of my favorite haunts in the city of Waxahachie.  I drew out this composition with an HB pencil two days ago, right after the house on 902 W. Main.  But I was weak with fatigue, and the sun was extremely hot that afternoon.  Today’s 68-degree temperature was ideal for painting outdoors.  I loved the details on this building–the signage, the electrical wiring, the light and shadows–all of it appeared rustic to me, and I just had to paint it.  I began work on it just before 4:00, and knowing the Ellis County Art Association office would close at 4:00, I saw no reason to rush this.  I will make a quick dash to the office tomorrow before the 2:00 deadline.

Once this painting was finished, I realized that I had not had food since about 10:30 this morning.  I had drunk plenty of bottles of water, but had had no food intake between 10:30 and 6:15.  So, I decided it was time to re-visit the College Street Pub to enjoy some food and beverage and to salute a successful day.  The last time I painted four watercolors in one day was during a paint-out competition in McKinney, Texas.  That was several years ago.  I’m thrilled that today I rose to the challenge.  Today I felt an energy that has been rare of late.  I’m grateful for the experience.  Now, it’s time for bed.

Thanks for reading.

Stella Artois

Waxahachie, Texas Paint-Out Under Way

Waxahachie Quick Draw Ready to Commence

The “Paint Historic Waxahachie” commenced this morning at 8:30 with a Quick Draw competition.  More than twenty of us set up our easels around the Farmer’s Market south of the square on Rogers Street, and had to paint something en plein air in two hours’ time.  Then the paintings were silent auctioned until noon.  I struggled first to decide on what to paint, and then on the actual painting of it (as usual).  I ran into some trouble with my watercolor getting too wet and soggy, and I was afraid at the end of two hours that I was not going to be able to peel away the masking fluid I had used to highlight tree trunks and limbs.  But, it turned out all right.  Happily, the painting sold, so it now has a home. Here is a picture of it, still on the easel, just as I finished it.  The painting measured 16 x 12″.

Waxahachie Quick Draw complete

I’ve returned to the house to do some quick business for my festival booth tonight, and to organize and pack some food for the event.  I will be at the Arlington Levitt Pavilion from 4:30-10:30 again this evening.  Music will be brought by Ray Wylie Hubbard.  Thousands of people packed the place last night to hear Michael Martin Murphey.  We expect enormous crowds again tonight (and hopefully a substantial number of art patrons).

Thanks for reading.

Courthouse Watercolor Attempt

Ellis County Courthouse finished

Before closing up the studio for the night, I decided to try and finish this attempt of the Ellis County Courthouse that I began last Saturday.  I took a reference photo with my cell phone, and managed to crank out an 8 x 10″ print to look at as I decided how to finish the details on this piece of architecture.

I’m ready for my next adventure.  Hopefully my next blog will show a new work under construction.  Currently, I’m exhausted by the school schedule I had to keep today, and feel that I need to retire to bed early to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

Thanks for reading.