Painting Weekend in Calvert

It was a "picture perfect" weekend in Calvert, just as Bob French, the weatherman on KBTX tv, predicted. An Art Fest was scheduled along Main Street on Saturday. V....Vaughan, Round Rock artist, planned to do a half day plein aire painting workshop in the morning. In the afternoon, she would be painting the Victorian Tea on the grounds of the Gibson-Hensarling home. During the Victorian Gala that evening, in The Foundry building on Main street, Austin artist, Robin Cheers, would paint that event. Both paintings were to be auctioned off during the Gala, to benefit the Historical Society.

The artists , plus another artist, Nancy Holder, arrived to stay with us at Thelma's house in Calvert. Barbara planned to be "the innkeeper", and had a meal of soup and baked bread rolls
ready for our supper. V.... brought a homemade cherry pie to share with us, complete with a flag design in the top crust.

My daughter and grandson arrived while we were eating. Ashton showed them the thing we had seen on tv about brooms balancing because of the alignment of the planets. Sure enough, it worked and they were all fascinated. We left that broom standing all weekend, and it was still balanced when we left on Sunday. My photo was blurry, as were many of my pictures. But, you can see Robin and the broom, above. Nancy was sure we had attached strings or some other trick. But, it really worked! We tried it with an egg and that stood on end, too.

On her way back home, Barbara said she stopped to eat at Franks in Schulenburg. She told them about the phenomena, and they tried it. She said they had brooms standing all over the restaurant!

After supper Friday evening, we were treated to hot chocolate at the Cocoamodo. (Thanks Virginia and Robin!) The owner turned out to be a lively, entertaining man, with a great accent, who joined us for a cup of hot chocolate. He told us a lot about chocolate and his adventures. And we got to sample some of the delicious chocolates that he sells in his shop, each lovingly made in the chocolate factory on Main Street. I picked "milk and honey" and it was really good!

I was intrigued by some old Calvert photos on the wall of the restaurant. I was amazed to learn that those photos had belonged to Miriam Oscar, who died a few years ago. She left photos to the city and these were some of those pictures. I didn't recognize anyone, though.

We planned to be out watching V.... paint the sunrise on Sunnyside Road, very early Saturday morning. Barbara had a variety of kolaches for us, from Zamykal Gourmet Kolaches on Main Street to enjoy in the early morning.

It turned out to be a really crisp, clear morning on Sunnyside Road. V.... painted a small painting of the scene that was part of my great-grandfather's land, years ago. We delighted in the sounds and feel of the countryside, punctuated with sounds and antics of some birds and cattle.

By 8 a.m., we went back to town and settled in to Mud Creek Pottery where potter, Sonny Moss, had doughnuts and coffee waiting.

We set up equipment and Robin agreed to pose for us. I elected to use my little travel set of watercolors, since we were going to work small. Less to have to get out and put away, I thought.

Others used oils and Robin did some sketching.

One of the resident cats, Sherbet, had a good time, chasing the reflections of Robin's ring and a laser light.

In our painting, we looked for darks, first, rather than line and details. I got in my lights and darks, which led to some form. And, later that night, I added ink lines to more define my figure.

We enjoyed huge baked potatoes for lunch at the sandwich shop on Main Street. They also have an ice cream shop, which looked really good.

Before our food arrived, we sketched and had some lively discussion about art. It turned out that V....was painting me! She said she was studying light and shadow and skin tones, a warm up for the painting she was going to do in the afternoon.

While V.... painted at the Tea, Barbara, Nancy, and I set up our equipment on Main street, on the sidewalk in front of where the drugstore used to be, and painted. Nancy chose to paint the little garden area behind us, while Barbara painted the street and what used to be Ford's Grocery. I decided to use my watercolors again in a small sketchbook, to paint the corner of Cocoamodo and an old movie theatre. (Not the Eloia, but the one where there used to be only a box office and a lot of gingerbread trim. Only the front was left of the building, as far back as I can remember.) My picture became very colorful, and I finished it with ink that night.

Supper was at the Wooden Spoon where I thought I must be going off my diet. I pampered my self with some chicken fried steak, but, I guess my diet is working and I just ate a little.

Barbara and I watched tv and sketched at home while we waited on V.... and Robin.

I would have liked to have seen both the artists paint, but Barbara didn't want to dress up, and I couldn't find decent shoes that fit me and would go with a dress. Later, we felt that we should have gone!

But, thankfully, both V.... and Robin have posted pictures of their paintings on their blogs.

Sunday was another beautiful day. We had kolaches at Zamykal Gourmet Kolaches, then went for a ride west of town, looking for possible painting locations. I took some photos and Barbara would ask why I was taking certain photos. I told her that something used to be there. I thought that, I could do one of my memory works, and use the photo for inspiration or to show me what the land and trees were like, although buildings might be changed now.

That wound up our painting weekend, as everyone went on their separate ways home.

Both V... and Robin did some spectacular paintings for the auction. You can see their work on their blogs. Just google V....Vaughan and Robin Cheers.

I hope that they enjoyed the weekend as much as we enjoyed having them in Calvert. They are very nice, fun, and talented ladies.

For those who missed the workshop, I don't know when they might come back, for sure. But we are thinking about doing this again. Hopefully, more people will be able to come next time. So, if you are interested, be sure and let the artists know, and let me know, too. Leave a spot on your calendar! I'll let everyone know as soon as something is set.

Thanks for coming, Robin and V...., and Nancy too! And thanks for being "the innkeeper", Barbara! And thanks to Robin and V.... for that great, sweet treat!

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Friday was also homecoming at CHS. (Calvert High School). We drove by the football game and saw that the Trojans were beating West Columbia Charter school by over 50 points. Barbara said that she got to see the Homecoming Parade in downtown Calvert, early in the afternoon, before she picked me up.

Congratulations to the Trojans for their homecoming victory!

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Get well wishes go out to Barbara, as she has surgery and recovers. Hope you get over this quickly, with no pain!

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Drawing and Walking

Mailbox

5" x 7"

pencil

Mailbox

5" x 7"

ink

Catch Pen

5" x 7"

ink

Pick Up

5" x 7"

ink

I was so bored with walking down the street to the corner, by myself, that I couldn't make myself go yesterday morning. By afternoon, it's too hot to go out.

I thought that, maybe, if I could draw and walk, it might be bearable. I commented on that on Facebook and was told about a couple of interesting websites.

One is called Sketchercise http://sketchercise.ning.com/ . The idea is for people who like to draw, etc. and do plein aire work, while getting exercise, to have a place where they can post their work and tell about where they are walking. There is also a group for those who are already doing this.

Some people show the very interesting places they go, and others show what they see on their every day excursions.

Another website is the blog, http://patreesedesign.blogspot.com/ . This was also very interesting. Pat has a rescue greyhound that goes walking and sketching with her. The dog even has a little backpack that carries some of Pat's supplies.

I will add the link in my sidebar so that you can check out her blog from time to time.

Artist Karen Winters, from Everyday Matters, also talked about how she lowered her blood pressure with walking. She said that she sometimes takes along a magazine to read while walking on a track.

We were discussing ways to make walking more interesting. I was about ready to give it up.

That gave me the idea of drawing while I walk. Well, that didn't work out too well. I need a lot more hands! One for my cane, one for my phone, one for my pencil, and one for my sketchbook. Of course, it doesn't work too well, while walking and bouncing along an asphalt covered lane. I thought it probably is defeating the purpose of walking, if you just stop, or slow down and draw.

My experiement showed me that trying to draw while walking is worse than trying to draw in a bouncing car! But, I could get enough lines down, to remember what I saw when I got back to my porch and add more to it.

Before I started my walk, I stopped and sketched a mailbox, while waiting for a car to pass.

Then I did the catch pen, when I got to the end of where I am walking. Well, I only drew the edge of the roof, and a few posts, before I picked up the pace of walking and headed home. I did more when I got back to my deck.

I sat out on the deck, to cool down and rest and did the sketch of Chris, picking up trash in the yard. It seems like the dogs, racoons, and possums really love to get into our garbage cans at night! So, nearly every morning, someone has to pick up trash in the yard. I was interested in the red shirt, partly in sun and a bit of it in shade, and the patterns made by the shadows of the trees.

I scanned the pencil sketches and they were still very dim, so I added ink and scanned them again. I guess I will add color next.

One thing that I have been doing is to walk from shade of a tree to the next one along the street. That kind of breaks it up into small segments.

I have increased my walking and that should be good and encouraging, but I just feel like I would rather be doing something else that is comfortable and not so boring. I know, we're supposed to do things like look at nature, and that's okay, once I'm there. I'd rather have someone to talk to or something to do, though.

It was taking me 15 minutes to walk to the corner and back. Now, I'm walking halfway into the next block and back in 10 minutes, and add another 5 by walking to the next mailbox to the north. I'm supposed to get in 30 minutes a day, and it's okay to break that into 15 minute segments. I'm doing good if I get in the 15 minutes in the morning. It's just too hot to go out in the evenings, even at sundown. I guess I am doing better, though.

I thought that, maybe I should go to Aeorofit, or go to a store and walk around in the evenings. But, it's too uncertain as to whether or not I can get there. Swimming would be nice, but not in front of all those people. And, I'm not sure if I could get up and down a ladder or steps with my bad knees. Of course, with my swimming, I just like to get in the water and play around, and watch the other people! I haven't been swimming in probably close to 40 years. I guess I could still swim, if needed. I wonder if pools have times reserved for old people!

I think of V....Vaughan and her drive by paintings. I don't know how she paints while riding in a car. It must ride better than our vehicle! I tried to go out and paint the Brazos Bottom one time, while my daughter drove. I couldn't hit the paper with all the bouncing! So, I decided to take photos instead. That worked better.

Knowing that others are walking and sketching, doing interesting things, might help to keep my "exercise program" moving along somewhat.

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Make plans to go to the Victorian Gala and Tea in Calvert in October. I have some pictures and information to share, thanks to Jody Powers of Zamykal Gourmet Kolaches in Calvert. Austin artist, Robin Cheers, is going to be there to paint, as is V....Vaughan. They will auction off work at the festivities. I can't wait to see what they do!

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Through The LaSalle Hotel Coffee Shop Window

Texas Reds Festival

View Through LaSalle Hotel Coffee Shop Window

8.5" x 11"

pencil

This is another sketch from the 19th World Wide Sketch Crawl last Saturday. The Texas Reds Festival was getting off to a big start when we started our crawl in downtown Bryan.

This was the view looking out the LaSalle Hotel coffee shop window, where Pat and I sat at a table cooled off a bit. This wasn't all of the festival, by any means. It was merely the view that I could see through the window beside our table. The whole downtown area was involved.

There was a long tent that started in front of us, then went down the street toward the Palace Theatre. A long, covered table held some kind of goods. I really couldn't see what it was, though. I'm not sure if it was food, drinks, or wares that vendors were selling. There were children, and one had a balloon that floated toward the top of the tent. People were strolling by, looking, while workers pulled out things from boxes under the tables, and arranged them on the table.

As we left the coffee shop, to go look for the George Bush 4141 locomotive behind the Carnegie Library, a man, pushing a stroller with a small child in it, was stooping to pick up his wine glass and the shards of glass left when it was dropped and broke on the concrete sidewalk. In my drawing, I just showed the glass, with a little wine still in it, on the sidewalk.

Now that the Texas Reds Festival is over, people are looking forward to next year. The event seemed to be a big success with lots of good food, activities and entertainment, drinks, and things to look at- and attendance was good.

And we look forward to the next Sketch Crawl. Maybe in September? The date hasn't been set, yet.

My sister and I are planning a mini-sketch crawl, on our own, in Calvert, tomorrow, for a little while.

Take a look at the Sketch Crawl site to see some of the work that has been submitted from around the world. Robin Cheers has posted some of her sketches from the beach on her blog. She was on vacation, but participated in the crawl. You can find links to the Sketch Crawl and to Robin Cheers' blog on my sidebar.

Wishing you good sketching, painting, swimming, golf, tennis, barbequeing, picnicing, or whatever makes you happy this weekend. To borrow from Marvin Zindler.

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Here's a site that some of you may enjoy. If you like to use the computer to play with color and design, take a look at http://www.colourlovers.com/.

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If you are interested in genealogy, there is a new pilot program that might be of interest to you. It is through the LDS Family Search site. You can go to their site and click on a link in the upper right hand corner that says Pilot Program, and that will lead you to a page where you can search. Or you can go to

http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#p=2;c=1320964;t=searchable;w=

Since it is a pilot program, it is not available all the time. There are times when they are working on it.

Also, all the records are not there, yet. They are asking for people who are willling to help them transcribe. That information is available on their site.

It seems to be a wonderful project! I found a lot on there, and have barely scratched the surface.

I started out looking for Texas Death Records, but, soon, found that there were other things there, including some census records, passenger lists, and a few marriage records. There are more states than Texas, too.

This is going to be such a valuable tool for those researching their family history.

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Doodle Girl

Girl - 2.5" x 3" - ink
What do you doodle when your hand just has to do something
on paper? Is it shapes? Flowers? Vines? Numbers?
Do you doodle when you are listening, when you are thinking,
or just when you are supposed to be doing something else?
For me, it is girls. Sometimes, guys, too, but usually girls.
I start with the eye area, that dent between the nose and forehead. Then I add an eye, the nose, forehead, mouth, lips, cheek, chin and neck. Then comes the ear followed by a curl or wave to top off the forhead. Curls and waves flow and I keep adding on to those. Jewelry such as earrings and a necklace finish off the drawing.
If I have more time, I add the body. I like to work with gel pens, or an extra fine tip Pilot Precise pen. I even like to use dip pens! But they aren't so easy to use during meetings or class.

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I've Been Tagged!

Sandy Maudlin, http://sandymaudlin.blogspot.com/ , recently "tagged" me to play an internet tag game.

Accoring to the rules of the game, I must tell 5 obscure things about myself, then tag 5 other people.

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1. I was the baby of my class-the youngest. As a result, when I went to college, I was the youngest person there for my first two years. Trying to look older was a priority. It was a surprise, when I realized, in more recent years, that I had become an old person, especially to my students. When I started teaching, I had students who were older than I was. I realized that I had finally become a "senior citizen" when I was eligible for some discounts, and when I caught myself telling my students stories about the "old days".

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2. I'm a night owl. My most energetic time is 3 a.m. and the best sleeping time is after the sun comes up.

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3. I really dislike vegetables. The closest thing to a vegetable that I will eat is a tomato or potato. Don't even like them at the same table with me. They are pretty in their natural state, but I would just as soon eat dirt or grass as a vegetable.

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4. I guess you could say that I'm a news junkie. I just have to watch what is going on. I'd like to be right there when things happen. But, instead, I watch on tv. My daughter says that it is being nosey. In the little town where I grew up, if there was a fire or accident, everyone in town went to see what happened, night or day. I guess that's where my "nose for news" comes from.

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5. I always wanted to have red hair! I thought that would look good with green eyes. Maybe in another life..... I was told that I would have to get the color removed from my hair in order to get the color I want. I'm not willing to do that. I tried wigs when those were popular, but they were too hot and uncomfortable. I thought that, if my hair ever turns all white, then I will get it done red. That's never going to happen. No one in my family had white hair, even at age 96! Gray was about it. An elderly "flaming red head" wouldn't be too cool.

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Bonus - 6. I wanted to be a nurse (that is after I wanted to be an actress, dancer, and cowboy!). I think I was inspired by the Cherry Ames books. And I liked to take care of people and animals. But, I was too young to go to nursing school after high school, so I went to college. My English teacher told me that, since I was always drawing, I should major in art and minor in English. So, I did. By the time I was old enough to go to nursing school, I was half way through college, and had a mental block in chemistry class. So, I finished my degree, and taught. I kept trying to be a nurse, from time to time, until I knew that I no longer had the stamina for that field. Artist wasn't one of my career choices. It seemed to be more of an escape or something to occupy my time, than something that it would be possible to make a living doing. Writing was the same way. I liked to write stories and do pictures to go with them. They go hand in hand, to me.

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And I thought that I wouldn't be able to think of anything for this game of tag!

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As per Sandy's instructions, I'm tagging some artists whose blogs I read :

Virginia Vaughan

http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com/

Toni Grote

http://artisttonigrote.blogspot.com/

Heidi Malott

http://hmalott.blogspot.com/

Robin Cheers

http://www.robincheers.blogspot.com/

Jim Thalassoudis

http://jimthalassoudis.blogspot.com/