2nd Watercolor Pencil Sketch of Church Tower

Methodist Church Tower 2

This is my second quick watercolor pencil sketch of the Provincetown Methodist Church, using as a model a watercolor Edward Hopper executed in 1930.  As yesterday, I attempted this one in a matter of minutes, with Art I classes buzzing about me.  The students were good, but it was hard to focus on this, when my real responsibility was to direct the students and “be there” for assistance in whatever way necessary.  Still, I enjoyed the stolen moments of playing with Prismacolor watercolor pencils and exploring their qualities.

The weekend is approaching.  I have no hard-set plans, so perhaps some quality time will yield itself for further study and exploration.  The Texas temperatures are cooling, and that means more opportunity for plein air activity.  I’m looking forward to that.  My next art festival is about nine days away, so I have a little time to make art.

Thanks for reading.

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A Second Attempt at Watercoloring the Country Churchyard

Cahill Cemetery

This is a super-quick watercolor sketch I attempted at the Cahill Cemetery, having finished the one posted under the heading “Elegy in a Country Churchyard.”  The weather was too nice, the breeze too soothing, and the surroundings too quiet for me to leave at just that moment.  I cannot express the depth of gratitude I feel to be alive, to have the time and space to pursue plein air watercolor experiments and to enjoy space and quiet like this afternoon.  Working in pubic education can be taxing, to put it diplomatically.  Weekends are sacred to me, and what is more appropriate than finding a churchyard in a quiet countryside to spend some quiet moments, the day before Easter.

The Cahill Methodist Church is 2.7 miles east of I-35W on F. M. 917, south of Burleson, Texas.  I have found this a splendid place for weekend retreats from the city, and this is my sixth watercolor sketch done on these premises.

Thanks for reading.

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

” . . . and all the air a solemn stillness holds.”  The Thomas Gray poem took hold of me this afternoon.  I chose to drive to the Cahill Methodist Church today and make some new attempts at sketching the small cemetery behind the church, with watercolor and pencil.  I have painted this cemetery once before, and the church twice before (the church is on my website, titled “First Night in Waterford.”).  www.recollections54.com

The temperatures were somewhat mild, in the mid-80’s and the winds were tolerable today.  I could not believe how quiet and isolated I was as I stood in this churchyard and created two paintings in the afternoon.  The Cahill Church is located 2.7 miles east of I-35W on F.M. 917 (south of Burleson, Texas).  My wife rides her horse on a local ranch in Burleson, and today I found it convenient to make the extra 10-minute drive to this quiet little place.

Something tells me I will want to return to this place.  This afternoon seemed to offer the perfect space for watercolor exploration.

Thanks for reading.

Cahill Cemetery Peace, December 17, 2010

Cahill Cemetery Peace

This is a small plein air watercolor sketch I did rather hastily as the sun was setting south of Fort Worth.  This cemetery is behind the lovely Cahill Methodist Church east of Interstate 35 on F.M. 917.  I have painted the church three times, and one of the paintings is now the cover of a fiction novel published a few years back (the painting is “First Night in Waterford” and can be found on my website http://recollections54.com/).  Though I painted this in the fall of the year, the sun was hot late that afternoon, and I worked rather quickly so I could retreat to an air-conditioned room and drink some kind of an icy beverage.  I just didn’t get around to finishing it and posting it till now.

Thanks for reading.

Coffee Church finished, March 27, 2010

Cahill United Methodist Church

I will probably title this Cahill United Methodist Coffee Church.  My connection with this subject began several years ago when I painted the rear portion of the church to publish on the cover of a forthcoming fiction novel by a local writer.  I fell in love with the overall location of this scenic church south of Burleson, Texas and just east of Interstate 35.  I returned to the church a year later and began this composition.  I was totally satisfied with the tree on the extreme left, and took a picture of the church, hoping to finish the building part of the composition later.

One Saturday, while working in the studio space behind Arlington’s Upstairs Gallery, I knocked my cup of coffee over and completely flooded this painting.  Instead of throwing it away (because I liked the tree!), I kept it around, and worked on it intermittently, trying to find ways to eliminate the coffee stains.  Finally, I ended up with this.

Thanks  for reading.

Can we salvage a coffee-damaged work? February 17, 2010

Cahill Methodist Coffee Church

I have painted this Cahill United Methodist Church several times.  It is located south of Fort Worth, Texas, east of Interstate 35W, near the town of Joshua, Texas.  The back section of the church has been published on the cover of a fiction novel (more information on my website of this painting and book–www.recollections54.com).

While working on the initial stages of this painting, in the studio behind the Upstairs Gallery in Arlington, Texas, I knocked over my cup of coffee and splattered it all over the right side of this composition.  You can clearly see the coffee stains on the right side of the church and grounds, as well as the streams of coffee  shooting up through the sky.  The only reason I didn’t just throw it away was because of the single tree I had rendered to the left.  I thought this was the closest I ever got to Andrew Wyeth-type “perfection” in rendering tree bark and the stark figure of a tree in winter.  I just hated to toss the painting.

This afternoon, with the sun lovely and the temperatures moderate, I went to Lyndon Acres to watch my wife ride her horse, and I began chipping away at this church, rendering the details of the facade and trying to give it some overall shape.  I’m still not sure what to do about all the coffee stains, but meanwhile I’m enjoying the watercolor experience, and learning as I apply some new techniques and color theories.

Thanks for reading . . .  it’s been a fabulous day for painting outdoors.