Happy Texas Independence Day!

Happy Texas Independence Day!

Be sure to VOTE!

I took this photo Saturday, during the 26th World Wide Sketch Crawl, at the Clara Mounce Library in downtown Bryan. The skies were blue, the sun was bright, and the flags were flapping in a brisk north wind.

Too cold and windy to sit outside and sketch. I took some photos of what I would draw outside, then I went inside and spent the day in the warm, comfortable library, drawing. It turned out to be a nice place to work. Warm, safe, comfortable, with tables and chairs, water, restrooms, and a lot of material to draw.

I planned to draw more, but they closed earlier than I thought, so I ended up with just a few sketches. There was a lady working at my table and she thought they closed at 9. She wasn't ready to leave at 5! I had planned to go upstairs and sketch the dollhouse, and the grandfather clocks, but I just quit when they announced that the library would be closing.

I did this Sketch Crawl by myself, but I hope that, one of these days, we will have a nice group!

I have posted some of my pictures on the Face Book group, Brazos Valley Sketchers. They are also on Flickr. I haven't figured out how to get them from Flickr onto the Sketch Crawl site, yet. I'm even having trouble getting the post, with pictures, to add on the e-mail that I send out. So, if you get a plain e-mail, without a picture or bold text, some of it in color, just click on the link to see the actual post.

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Go out and vote, if this is the day, where you are.

I may not go. I think I have sinus trouble, and an eye infection, but I don't want to risk passing germs around, in case I have anything more. Lots of sick folks these days. I've been spraying Lysol around, taking vitamins, etc. and doing all I can to avoid catching anything. But, it looks like the germs are winning!

Maybe they should let folks vote online to avoid passing around the flu and such. I can't get over going into doctors' offices and hospitals and they have hand sanitizer and masks for people to use. I just use soap and water to wash my hands frequently. Maybe I should try some of that hand sanitizer stuff!

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27th World Wide Sketch Crawl is Saturday May 15, 2010

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First Friday in Downtown Bryan should be fun. Always lots going on. See their website or the Frame Gallery website for more information.

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7th World Wide Paint Out Sept. 11, 12, 13, 2009

Plein Aire Painting In Calvert

Top: Barbara Painting on Main Street

Bottom: Barbara Going To Paint In The Bandstand, Virginia Field Park

If you like to paint outdoors, join in the 7th World Wide Paint Out, Sept. 11, 12, & 13. Register and get more information on the website, http://i-p-a-p.com

To see if anyone has registered in your area, go to http://ipap.homestead.com/paintout.html . I have registered, and, if anyone would like to join me, that would be great!

You don't have to be a member to do the Paint Out, but you can join if you would like to be a member. The event is free.

If you want to paint with me, contact me and I'll let you know where I plan on painting.

Or, you can do this on your own, in your own area. You can also paint one day or all three days. And they have some cute t-shirts, caps, etc. on their website.

There is an html on their website to add to my blog, etc., but I couldn't get it to show up. I really don't understand those things. I clicked copy and paste, but nothing happened.

You can just go to their website listed above for information and products.

They are also on Facebook, for those of you who use that site.

After the event, people can put pictures of their work on the Facebook site. There is a link to do that on their webpage.

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Sorry for not getting this information out sooner, but I haven't worked on my blog or much of anything else for a little while. Haven't been able to see very well!

I had cataract surgery on my good eye, finally, and I'm still recovering. I was like the old joke, "Blind in one eye and can't see out of the other"! More about that in another post. But I did get through it okay, so far!

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It's been great finding people who I had not seen for years, on Facebook. And it's great to be able to share so many things. If you want to know something, ask, and someone is bound to know what you need to find out. Or have similar experiences. There are a lot of artists and writers on there, too.

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Saturday, Sept. 19 is the date for the 24th World Wide Sketch Crawl. I have registered on their Forum for Bryan/College Station and the Brazos Valley Area. Let me know if you want to go sketching with me, or if you would like to go on your own. Or if you have questions. Click on the Sketch Crawl logo in my sidebar to go to the website.

Or you can go to http://www.sketchcrawl.com for more information.

These things like Paint Outs and Sketch Crawls, make a really nice day.
I welcome some suggestions for how we can get these things going here, or where we might go to paint and draw.

Remember, this is Free, open to all ages, all media, groups, individuals, and all skill levels. You can paint, draw, sketch, write in your journal, or just doodle. You can work all day or part of the day, at home, or on location, with a group or solo. There are no rules.

I have listed to meet at the LaSalle Hotel in Bryan, and register at the Frame Gallery, 216 N. Bryan Ave. on Saturday morning. While it is nice to get out early in the morning, I'm finding that I need to sleep a little later. (I think it must be my meds, or my condition!) But, I'll try to do what others would like to do.

We can decide where to work, if we have a group.

In Calvert, meet at Mud Creek Pottery, 407 Main Street.

If people prefer to meet at one place, I am open to that too.

Contact me, or Greta Watkins at the Frame Gallery, or Sonny Moss at Mud Creek Pottery.

Let's have some fun and record the Brazos Valley!

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23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl Morning

View From The Window

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

My view through the window of the LaSalle Hotel coffee shop window. Included is the back of the sign that hangs in the window. On the left is the Masonic Lodge and, on the right, is the restored Carnegie Library. There is a little pigeon in the round window at the top of the library. There is a garden area between the two buildings.

Masonic Lodge

Barbara

ink and watercolor

Barbara sketched her view of the Masonic Lodge through the LaSalle Hotel coffee shop window. A barber shop is on the ground floor. She used her small travel set of watercolors to add color to her work. For water, she had an empty film container with water, and a tiny folding brush.

WWoman Sitting In The Courtyard

Barbara

ink

Barbara sketched this woman, sitting in the courtyard outside the coffee shop of the LaSalle Hotel. Of course, like other subjects, she moved before Barbara was finished. Barbara enjoyed the challenge of drawing people rather than buildings, or other stationary objects, because they don't sit still and wait while they are being sketched.

Courtyard Gate

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

I don't know what happened, but this is, all of a sudden, wanting to make big spaces between lines. Sorry about that! I didn't do anything.

While Barbara was challenged by drawing moving subjects, I was looking at color, light, shadow, shapes, and that sort of thing. I liked the plantings in the little courtyard, and the iron gate beside the wide windows of the coffee shop.

These were some of our sketches for the World Wide Sketch Crawl. We failed to get any photos this time because Barbara didn't have her camera with her, and Joni didn't have batteries for her's. So, no photos to share, this time. Hopefully, our sketches will be okay to show part of our day.

Checking In

Cecelia

ink and watercolor

We left the coffee shop about noon. I had asked people to meet at the coffee shop, then, after 10 a.m., to check in at the Frame Gallery, so we would have some idea of who was sketching, and where. We seemed to be sketching alone.

We were greeted at The Frame Gallery by Sarah, the resident dog. Greta was helping customers select a frame for the portrait that she had painted of them.

We spent some time trying to decide on a place to eat. I thought of baked potatoes and atmosphere at Rudy's in College Station, so that is where we headed. Sort of. I am not a very good navigator so we got lost!

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My apologies for this double spacing. And for having to put these in several posts! But that is all I could figure out to do.

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World Wide Sketch Crawl Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big 23rd World Wide Sketch Crawl. Go to http://www.sketchcrawl.com/ for more information.

Locally, in Bryan, meet at the LaSalle Hotel in downtown Bryan at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning. From there, we can decided where to work. We will probably need to find a cool spot, near restrooms, as the day warms up.

After 10:00 a.m., you can register at the Frame Gallery, 216 N. Bryan Ave. That will give us some idea of how many people are participating. Contact Greta Watkins at the Frame Gallery for more information.

If we have a group, some may choose to work together. Or people may choose to work alone. Possibly, we could meet later to share experiences and work. At the end of the day, experiences and work can be posted on the Sketch Crawl website, on individual websites, or places like Flickr, Picassa, Facebook, etc.

Just bring yourself, your materials that you want to use, and any personal items you may need. You might want to include a folding chair or stool, depending on where you want to sit. So far, I have been able to find a bench or chair to use, but I have a lawn chair in the car, in case I need a place to sit.

This is a FREE event, open to all ages, all skill levels, all media, groups, families, or individuals. You can journal, draw, sketch, paint, or even doodle. You can work all day, or for a few minutes-at home, in a group, or solo. There are no rules.

In Calvert, meet beginning about 8:30 a.m. at Mud Creek Pottery, 407 Main St. Contact Sonny Moss for more information.

People in other communties can work there, perhaps forming their own groups, or they may join in another group such as in Calvert or Bryan.

Let's Draw The Brazos Valley!

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Speaking of art, Greta Watkins is having some classes at the Frame Gallery in downtown Bryan. Tomorrow, she is hosting a workshop on linocut printmaking.

On Wednesdays, there is a group that meets there focusing on painting portraits in oils.

See her website or contact her at the Frame Gallery in Bryan for more information.

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Remember sunbathing?

I've been avoiding the sun for a long time because I get sunburned and blistered, instead of getting a nice tan. The light bothers my eyes, too. But, now, my doctor told me to to go out and get at least 15 minutes of sun a day. So, I'm going out on the deck in the mornings, sitting in the sun with my hat and sunglasses, sketching and listening to the birdies sing.

Kind of a nice place to be.

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Evening Primroses

Evening Primroses

6" x 8"

oil

I've gotten some comments in the past few days, that are advertisements or spam. The link that one gave doesn't even go to a website. So, I've done something that I really hate having to do myself. I went in and changed my settings so that people have to complete those security letters before they can post a comment.

I hope that doesn't prevent you from making legitimate comments on my blog. Hopefully, this will stop some of those annoying spam things and, maybe, one day, we will be able to have our blogs without that type of thing happening. I noticed that so many people have added this feature. I hate to do those because they are so hard for me to figure out, usually! (I dislike puzzles as much as I dislike math!) But, hopefully, this will help avoid nuisance ads or worse.

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The little 6"x8" oil painting above is a country scene in spring, complete with mailbox and dainty pink evening primroses. They are in bloom here, now. Some people call them buttercups, but buttercups are yellow. They are a really delicate looking flower.

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Only 2 more days until the 22nd World Wide Sketch Crawl starts.

I looked at the Forum on the Sketch Crawl website, http://www.sketchcrawl.com, to see where people will be participating on Saturday. It looks like there are 55 foreign countries, and 47 different locations in the U.S.A. that have registered on the website, so far. There are 8 locations in Texas. That's over 100 places where people will be out sketching, drawing, painting, or journaling their surroundings on Saturday. I think that is exciting, and I can't wait to see what everyone does.

Here in Bryan/College Station, plans are for us to meet about 8:30 a.m. at the LaSalle Hotel in the courtyard, or the coffee shop. After 10 a.m., we can register at the Frame Gallery, just so that we will have some idea of who is participating and where they are working.

In Calvert, meet at Mud Creek Pottery on Main Street, about 8:30 a.m.

People in other communities can form their own groups, or they are welcome to join us in Calvert or Bryan. Or wherever you might be.

After we meet, we can see if we have a group, and if people want to work together or spread out on their own. And we can decide on where we want to work.

We will spend the day recording our surroundings with art. Those who wish to have lunch together might do that.

Participants can work all day, or for a few minutes, if their time is limited.

If there is bad weather, we can always go indoors to work. There are plenty of restaurants and shops with seating, even the library, that would be a nice place to sit and draw. Rain should not keep us from participating on Saturday. The weatherman said there might be thunderstorms on Saturday, but it is supposed to be worse on Sunday.

Easter decorations and traditions would be interesting to look at as subjects, possibly.

Please help to spread the word.

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These are some of the places that have registered for the Sketch Crawl. Maybe you can find one in your own area to join, if you aren't local to Bryan/College Station.

In Texas, North Texas, Austin, Houston, Waxahachie, Georgetown, Port Lavaca, Bryan/College Station, and Calvert. There is also an active group in Dallas, but I don't see them listed this time. They were listed in previous crawls.

In the Unitd States, Oklahoma; Ithaca, NY; Tttumwa, Iowa; Baltimore, MD; Manchester, CA; Corvalis, OR; San Jose, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Portland, OR; Savannah, GA; St. Joseph, MO; Taos, NM; Placer & Nevada counties, Northern, CA; Lansing, MI; Cambrige, Mass.; Rocherster, NY; Griffin, GA; Owosso, MI; Northern Indiana; Bozeman, MT; Atlanta, GA; Honolulu, Hawaii; Phoenix, AR; Albany, NY; LaGrande, OR; Washington, DC; Las Vegas, NV; Mobile, AL.

Also, NYC; Greenville, SC; San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Moscow, ID; New York City; New Orleans, LA; Chicago, IL; Salem, OR; Tucson, AR; Seattle, WA; and Phoenix, AR.

In other countries, Ipswich, Australia; Frankfurt or Mainz, Germany; Budapest, Hungary; Singapore; Anwerp or Bruges, Belgium; Seoul, Korea; Oxford, UK; Brussels, Belgium; Vienna, Austria; Firenze, Italy; Hamilton, NZ; Moscow, Russia; Porto, Portugal; Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil; Bogata/Chia, Columbia; Sydney, Australia; Lisbon, Portugal; Italia; Rome, Italy; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Treviso, Italy; Vancouver, BC; Kanagawa, Japan; Barcelona, Spain; London; Beijing, China; and Jakarta, Indonesia.

Also, Tamworth, Australia; Banalore, India; Paris, France; Belfast, Ireland; Osnabruck, Germany; Drogheda, Ireland, Salvadore, Bahia, Brazil; Wellington, NZ; Bologna, Italy; Shanghai, China (Puxi); East UK; Salzburg, Austria; Kuala Lampur, Malaysia; Hyderbad, India; SE Wales, UK; Salsburg, Austria; Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Manilla, Phillipines; Berlin, Germany; Milano, Italy; Israel; Sweden; Blue Mountains, Australia; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Aukland, NZ; Bremen, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Stockholm, Sweden.

If you are in any of those areas, and want to sketch with a group, you can contact them on the Forum under 22nd World Wide Sketch Crawl.

Remember that Sketch Crawl is FREE and open to anyone who likes to draw, paint, sketch, journal, or even doodle. Just bring yourself, sketchbook or paper, pencil, pen or whatever you like to draw with, personal items like a hat, sunglasses, or folding stool or chair, and any money that you want to spend.

At the end of the day, people can get together, if they want to, to share their work and experiences.

We will post our work and experiences on the Sketch Crawl website, and personal websites and blogs. And this should give us some good material to do more finished work from.

Hope you are looking forward to this event, too.

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21sst World Wide Sketch Crawl Bryan/College Station, Texas Part II

6. Sick Bitsy-Murphy's Law was at work for me on Sketch Crawl Day. I woke up with a touch of stomach flu, which seems to be going around. I just had nausea, though, and felt bad. I went into the kitchen to find that Bitsy had diarreah and vomiting, again, which meant giving medicine and a lot of cleaning up. This goes along with the renal failure that she was diagnosed with a couple of weeks ago. It was almost noon before the sickness let up.
Bitsy is not a cuddly cat to begin with. Pick her up and claws go everywhere. She runs at certain times when it looks like I am going where the medicine is. Since she came back from the vet's, she has stayed pretty much in the kitchen/den and utility room, with a few trips into the dining room. Before the visit to the vet, she spent a lot of time on the fuzzy blanket on my bed. She hides out on a chair where she is hidden under the table. Teeth and claws come out when I start to give her medicine.
I was trying to give her pills, but I had too many bites and scratches that way. So, I took a tip from the way they give meds in the nursing home, and started putting a pill in a spoon of water. When it dissolves, I put it into a syringe. If some of it dribbles down her mouth, I figure that she will lick it off. I wrap a towel around her to try to contain her claws when I give her medicine, but that doesn't help the teeth. Now, I'm finding that she has learned to spit and will spit out the medicine while I am squirting it in her mouth! And she was so nice for the vet!
Last night, she wouldn't even come sit on the arm of the couch while I was watching tv, as she always does. She did choose my daughter's recliner and sat on top. Maybe she is trying to get closer to the heat in the ceiling vents and the ceiling fan.
I finally called the Frame Gallery and told her about my cat on Saturday.
On top of that, my daughter didn't want to drive me to downtown Bryan for the Sketch Crawl, to work for a while. (I don't drive due to my AMD and cataracts, so I have to depend on others to take me places.) She did agree to take me to one of the places I suggested that we might go to eat and sketch for Sketch Crawl. I had thought of the fireplace and warm barbeque, rustic atmosphere, and view of a little creek out back, at Rudy's Barbeque.
I had thought that I might be able to make it to town in the afternoon, at least, but, by then, Bitsy had resumed a bit of diarreah and vomiting. I sat down to darken up some of my sketches, thinking that I might get a ride to town when my grandson went to work. But, my crew all headed out the door without me. So, I spent the rest of the afternoon, darkening the sketches I had done earlier, between taking care of Bitsy.
They did announce the date for the next Sketch Crawl for Saturday April 11, 2009. I hope that this one works out better and that we will have more participation here. And that I can get where I am trying to go when I need to go.


7. Whoop!- As I sat at a long table, covered with red and white checked tablecloths, in front of a dark fireplace, I looked around Rudy's for things to draw. Just behind me, there was a Blue Bell ice cream box, draped with a sign that said Breakfast Tacos. It was jammed beside a wooden column. At the base of the column, it looked like a little pile of dirt that had been swept up by one of the several workers patrolling the restaurant with brooms. It looked like someone had used their finger to write the Aggie "Whoop" in the dirt. I thought that was a cute touch to add to other Aggie touches that are typical of this area.
Most likely it was just something made into the floor as part of the rustic decor. But it caught my attention.

8. Smoke- Ashton laughed as he pointed to a sign beside the rock fireplace. I could see the fireplace. I could see the window. I could see a dark wall. But I couldn't see the sign.

It was funny that the No Smoking sign was beside the fireplace. I meant to look closer for the sign, but I never did see it. I had to use Ashton's good eyes and description to tell me about the sign in order to draw it. I thought this was a cute idea for a picture for Sketch Crawl.

In my drawing, you can see another Aggie touch with the Texas A&M University logo over the fireplace.

All of the above pencil drawings are done on 9"x 12" Strathmore drawing paper.

I'm looking forward to the Plein Aire painting workshop in Calvert February 21. And the next Sketch Crawl April 11.

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Happy 09 !

Top: Birthday Cake

9"X 12"

ink and watercolor

Bottom: The End of 70

Self Portrait

9"X 12"

pencil

I'm seeing a lot of people who are doing their sketches as journal entries, especially as I read the submissions on Every Day Matters. There are even classes and workshops on journaling. I've been trying to draw daily and to record memories as well as some things that attract my attention or that I think will make an interesting picture. Sometimes, those are the most ordinary things. Things that we take for granted that will always be there, but may, over time, become lost or obsolete.

I've been writing some of my notes or thoughts on my drawings, but separately, usually. Seeing the journal entries, (and some of those are amazing!) I thought I would try my hand at a little lettering, page design, etc. I'm not really into that, yet. It seems to take a lot of time and I feel sure that, those who are doing these wonderful pages, must work very fast. Drawing, painting, writing, all take me a while so I can see that it would take me a really long time to complete really nice pages. So far, I've just recorded a few thoughts and notes on some of my drawings.

You can click on the Every Day Matters logo in my sidebar, and see some nice journals and sketches. I haven't posted anything there, yet. Something to do this new year.

With a new year, there is always a new birthday and age, for me. My ice cream was melting as I drew my piece of birthday cake! Last year, I drew memories of the blue birthday cake I wanted when I was in about 5th grade, I think, and wrote of some memories of birthdays past. This time, I thought I would do a still life of my cake. I hope I don't have bad luck this year because we didn't do candles on the cake, this time!

Bottom I've been watching the self portraits that Myrna Wacknov has been doing. She did several poses on one paper that were her reflections on turning 65. I really like her style, and it is so interesting to read all the processes and experimentation that she does. That one piece of art has won many awards and has been published in magazines, etc. Recently, she said that it has made the cover of an art magazine.

That work made me think of Kathe Kollwitz and all the self portraits that she did, as well as other artists from Rembrandt to Van Gogh, who we can learn more about through their self portraits. As I told my students, you should be able to draw something that you are very familiar with-something you have looked at all your life. And that is, of course, yourself. You look in the mirror to wash your face, brush your teeth, comb your hair, put on make up, or to just study yourself-and have for most of your life. And, in doing self portraits, you also learn to observe and draw other people, learn to do shading and highlights, textures, shape, etc.

I thought, when I first saw Myrna's portraits that I should record that milestone in my own life-being 70. And I did a few little sketches, but didn't get as creative as Myrna. I thought I could do something later, if I had a sketch or two.

The bottom sketch was done the night my birthday approached. I was putting down a puddle pad for Bitsy when I got a glimpse of myself in a mirror. Instead of looking at myself while drawing, I tried to remember what I saw, and drew that while I watched tv later. It isn't exact. And, now that I have scanned it, I see that one eye is darker than the other! It isn't meant to be a finished sketch, but just something that I can use in some way, later.

At midnight that night, Ashton came running into the den to tell me "Happy Birthday". Then he went back to bed. That was the most excitement of the day!

Drawings of turning 71 don't sound as interesting as turning 65, or 70, 80, 90, 100! I guess 75 would be the next milestone year. I will probably do something to record 71, too.

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Label your pictures! Last night I found a photo of a cat with kittens. We've been debating how old Bitsy is. I know she is 22, my daughter thinks she is not that old. I'm going by where I was working at the time Bitsy was born, and what happened when my daughter brought the cat to me at work! I thought this picture was of Bitsy and the one litter of kittens that she had when she was 1 year old. If so, and if it had a date on it, that might settle our argument. Of course, it isn't labled. I showed the picture to my daughter and she said that was another cat, Freaky! And, sure enough, it was.

We still are laughing at the contestant on "The Gong Show" on tv (years ago) who came out with a rainbow colored wig and sang, "I'm gonna do something freaky..." . When the calico cat was born, we thought of that contestant and the colorful wig, and named the cat Freaky. She does look a lot like Bitsy, but she had more gray on her where Bitsy is white.

I was hoping that photo offered proof of Bitsy's age. (I know I'm right!)

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Plan to join in the 21st World Wide Sketch Crawl Saturday January 10. It's right around the corner! See the website for more information http://www.sketchcrawl.com . Or you can click on the logo in my sidebar.

You can join us in Bryan, starting at the LaSalle Hotel at 8:30 a.m., then register at the Frame Gallery when she opens at 10. That's just to get an idea of who is participating and where they want to work.

In Calvert, meet at Mud Creek Pottery beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Other communities can join us, start your own group, or work on your own

FREE !!!

Artists, students, teachers, beginners, advanced, doodlers, sketchers, painters, writers, families, etc. -groups or individuals-work together or by yourself.

Work indoors or outside, or even at home. All day or a few minutes.

In this area, Let's Draw The Brazos Valley!

During the day, sketch your surroundings, then get together at the end of the day, if you want to, at the meeting place to share experiences and work. Work and experiences can be added to the Sketch Crawl Forum online, to places like Picassa or Flickr, and your own blog or website.

The idea is for people all over the world to record their surroundings, all on the same day. There are no hard and fast rules.

I have registered for Bryan/College Station/Calvert/The Brazos Valley on the Forum. So you can add a message there if you would like to join us. Let me know if you have questions.

Just bring your drawing, painting, or writing materials, and anything that you might want to use- like a chair-and yourself and friends, family, students, etc. and join in.

If it is cold, we can always go inside and work.

We have been sketching in downtown Bryan, Calvert, and out on country roads, previously. There is no limit, and we don't have to work together, unless you want to.

There is a cute t-shirt with the Sketch Crawl logo on front and a pencil on the sleeve, available on the Sketch Crawl website, in case you want one. It isn't required, though.

You can contact Greta Watkins at the Frame Gallery in Bryan, Sonny Moss at Mud Creek Pottery in Calvert, or me, at grannyc_54at yahoo dot com for more information.

I hope to see you there, and, if not here, at least to see your work and experiences!

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It's also time to sign up for the Plein Aire Painting Workshop in Calvert Saturday Feb. 21, going into Sunday Feb. 22. Go to her website at http://www.v-vaughan.com or http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com . You can contact me at grannyc_54@yahoo.com for more information and a supply list.

We would like to have a deposit of $40 to reserve a place in the class by Feb. 1. The balance of $40 is due at the workshop. Make checks payable to Virginia Vaughan. Let me know if you are interested, and I'll send you more information.

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Thank you for reading and sharing. Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested.

Please subscribe to my blog, if you haven't done so aleady.

Sign my Guest Book

Join my Followers.

Draw, draw, draw! Paint, Paint, Paint! Write, write, write!

And have a Great 2009!

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Pretty Ladies At Tea

Pretty Ladies at Tea

photo

This one is for Olivia, who likes pretty ladies and princesses.

Afternoon sun on a clear October day cast dappled shadows across white columns and lush green lawns in Calvert. White tables and folding chairs were placed on the back lawn of the old Barton home, across the street from the park. Ladies and gentlemen, dressed in their Victorian finery, enjoyed tea served under a clear blue sky. The post Civil War brick home with its wide porches and large white columns, provided a perfect background for the Victorian Tea, an annual event in Calvert.

Ladies chatting beneath an ancient oak tree after the tea were reminiscent of scenes from "Gone With The Wind". Did ladies from the original Barton family also share the same secrets or gossip beneath the same trees as the ladies of today? What were they talking about? Were they comfortable in their dresses and all those petticoats, corsets, and high topped boots?

Isn't it nice to think of a time when you could walk in the grass and all you had to worry about was a few red ant beds and horned toads-no fire ants!

If you missed the Tea, Gala, and street fair this year, plan on going next year. They will also have a tour of homes in Calvert at Christmas and in the spring. It isn't often that you get to see scenes like this, or have a chance to dress this way yourself.

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I hope that you will join us in Calvert for the Plein Aire Painting Workshop with Virginia Vaughan http://www.v-vaughan.com or http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com , Saturday October 18.

Officially, we start at 8 a.m. at Mud Creek Pottery on Main Street.

Participants have the option of getting an early start by watching Vaughan do a painting demonstration at sunrise, 7:07 a.m. There will be no instruction at that time. Just watching Vaughan paint, and enjoying delicious Zamykal kolaches. If anyone wants to paint with her, they can join in and start setting up about 30 minutes before time. We won't select the location until late Friday, so, if you plan to attend, we will need to give you numbers to call to tell you where we will be.

After the demo, there will be instruction, painting on location, and the "famous Chicken Clinic".

If the weather turns bad, we can paint in the studio at Mud Creek Pottery.

This time of year, the temperatures are a bit cooler, so you might want to bring along a jacket, especially for the early morning demo. Be prepared. After all, this is Texas.

For a supply list, to register, or for more information, contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com. or contact Sonny at Mud Creek Pottery in Calvert.

Hope to see you there!

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20th World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday October 25

http://www.sketchcrawl.com

World Wide

All ages, all skill levels, all media, groups or individuals

FREE

Go out and draw your surroundings

Join us in Bryan or Calvert, or start a group in your own community

Let's Draw The Brazos Valley!

In Calvert, contact Sonny Moss at Mud Creek Pottery

In Bryan, contact Greta Watkins at the Frame Gallery

or, for more information, contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com

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Victorian Tea, Gala, and Street Fair in Calvert

Fan & Apron

(top)

pencil sketch

10" x 15"

(bottom)

photo

Her fan hid an impish grin, but her eyes gave her away as she looked at her mother.

"Look! I'm a grown up lady with a fan!"

Her mother rested from her duties selling kolaches inside the building, at a table on the sidewalk. She brushed her hair back with her hand as a gentle breeze tousled the brown strands.

Barbara and I sat on a bench beside the kolache shop, ready to do a little sketching, and talking with the visitors to town. We waited for our cousin from Austin to join us.

What to draw. So many things. So many memories. As I opened my sketchbook, I spotted the little girl looking over a folding fan and her mother, dressed in a long dress with a white ruffled apron. I liked the way the fabric draped in that apron and the way that the woman's fingers moved through her hair.

The little girl quickly left and I had only started the fan! So, I had to work from memory. The mother went in and out of the shop, but sat long enough for me to get part of the pose, and a photo that I could work from later.

I intended to do just a light sketch on watercolor paper, that I could use watercolors on later. I ended up spending most of my time trying to remember the pose. I added the buildings later, and those were more ficticious. For a finished picture, I would need to look at my photos. This time, I was just working from memory.

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First Baptist Church in Calvert is having their Homecoming tomorrow, celebrating their 139th year.

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If you are in the area, and looking for art supplies for the Plein Aire Painting Workshop in Calvert Saturday, you might look at Michael's in College Station. They are in the Gateway Shopping Center, across from Scott & White and near the Texas Road House and the east bypass. They were kind enough to keep a supply list for us. But, you do have to ask at the register for it. It is a courtesy to us who might need supplies and don't have our list with us.

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Have you signed up for the Plein Aire Painting Workshop in Calvert, yet?

Come and bring a friend!

Saturday October 18

8-5

sunrise to sunset

Pass the information on to someone who might be interested.

See the top of my sidebar.

Contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com for a supply list and more information.

Hope to see you there!

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Are you getting your group together or making plans to participate in

the 20th World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday Oct. 25

http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

You can join people in Calvert or Bryan, or start your own group in your own community. Or work alone.

FREE

Contact

Greta Watkins at the Frame Gallery in Bryan or Sonny Moss at Mud Creek Pottery in Calvert.

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Have you seen the Brazos Valley Art League Juried Show at the P. David Romei Art Center in College Station? There is more information on their website which is on my sidebar.

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Aggies vs West Point

Aggie Touchdown

Aggies vs West Point

9" x 12"

pencil

I would have about "given my eye teeth", as the old saying goes, to have been over at Kyle Field to watch the Aggie Corps of Cadets and the Cadets from West Point march in today. Wow! That would have been something to witness!

Instead I had to settle for watching the game on tv. I fixed myself a sandwich and settled in with my sketchbook. Couldn't get inspired though. They mostly showed the game, lots of commercials, and men talking about other games. Not my "cup of tea". I wonder why the tv stations can't understand that some people are more interested in things like the bands, half time, the Corps, the cannon, Parsons Mounted Cavalry, and all the things that go on at an Aggie game. Those things are rarely shown, and then only a glimpse, I guess to fill time when nothing is happening.

Today, I ate my sandwich and used the remote control a lot to look for something to hold my interest. During commercials and times when the men were talking about other games, and when I was just plain bored, I watched "How The West Was Won", for the umpteenth time.

I guess this was a pretty good game, today, since the Aggies won 21-17. Lots of players got knocked down and hurt in the process and, during those times, there were more commercials.

One play did catch my attention. One of the Aggie players was running down the field, near the sidelines, and several other players surrounded him, keeping the West Point team away and insuring the safety of the ball carrier. That row of marron shirts and helmets, and white pants, running down the field, looked pretty powerful as they ran for the touchdown. At that point, I opened my sketchbook and started sketching. It took me the rest of the game to finish what started out to be a quick gesture drawing.

At least it is a memory of the game where I wanted to be. I would have been happy to just have been outside Kyle Field, maybe at the MSC, watching the march in!

I used my favorite #314 Draughting Pencil on Canson 65 # acid free paper to do "Aggie Touchdown", above.

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Plein Aire Painting Workshop

with

V....Vaughan

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

Calvert, Texas

Saturday October 18, 2008

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

or

Sunrise to Sunset

Demo-Paint on Location-"Chicken Clinic"

$80

Contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com

for information and a supply list

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20th World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday October 25, 2008

http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

click the logo in my side bar

Let's Draw The Brazos Valley!

Contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com

for more information

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First Friday in Downtown Bryan

Friday October 3, 2008

http://www.framegallerydowntown.com/

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Brazos Valley Art League

Fall Juried Show

P. David Romei Art Center

College Station, Texas

Entries due Friday October 3, 2008

Judging and Reception Saturday October 4, 2008

http://www.bvartleague.org/

http://www.acbv.org/

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Back To School 08

Historic Events

8.5" x 11"

pencil

Today was the first day of school here. Ashton, our young student, started his year as a 5th grader. I guess he is growing up. He didn't even give "Grandma" a kiss at the door, or wake me up to say "Goodbye" at the door this year. In fact, his mother took him to Shipley's for kolaches (actually a pig in a blanket, I guess, since he likes the ones with sausage and cheese), which meant that I didn't have to cook breakfast for him. In the past, we have always sat down to talk a little, calmly, and have breakfast while he woke up, and, often, we even watched "Spongebob" together. Just to get some "gasoline for his engine", help him wake up, and not be so anxious about the day. He doesn't like to eat first thing in the morning, like me, but I thought that he needs to get off on a good start each day. It won't be long before he will be making his own food and not needing Grandma or his mother so much.

But, he has excellent teachers, a really good school, and we're looking forward to a great year. His last at that school. I told him, when he complains about "little kids", that he was once a little kid, and now he is like a senior. He is one that the younger ones look up to. And they will do some great things this year, with a camping trip at the end of the year.

The picture today is a drawing I did of the big study hall upstairs on third floor in Calvert High School. The one for the high school that also served as the library at one end. There was another study hall on the second floor for 5th through 8th grades, also with a small library at one end.

We didn't have a lot of technology in those days. Typing was learned on 1920s typewriters that you had to use a lot of force on the keys to make them print a letter. We had some movies in the auditorium, occasionally. The teachers had a mimeograph machine that used a fluid that had a smell to it like cleaning fluid from the dry cleaners. The stencils made everything turn out purple. But, with rationing, we didn't use a lot of school supplied paper. We had our own notebook paper or tablets in lower grades, and used those until they were full. We had a few printed workbooks and, in lower grades, we got the "Weekly Reader" and, for Texas History, we had a "comic book" style of book.

In the scene above, we had been marched from the lower floor to the high school study hall on third floor. Students were seated at the desks, and we crowded into assigned places. The teachers lined up at the front of the room, and a few remained at the back and by the doors to monitor and prevent any unacceptable behavior. We didn't know why we were taken there. We just marched to and from wherever the teachers took us.

The whole school was there. A wooden radio had been plugged into an overhead light socket and placed on a podium in front by the teachers. We were shushed, even though no one was making noise, and told to listen to the radio.

This happened several times as historic events occured. One particular time that I remember was when we heard General Douglas MacArthur's farewell speech. Everyone was very solumn as they listened. I didn't remember a lot of his speech, but I did remember the part about "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away."

After the speech, there was no explanation, critique, or discussion. The radio was turned off and unplugged, and we were marched back downstairs to our study hall. And I wondered why we were taken out of our rooms to hear that speech. It was years later that I realized that we were witnessing history.

I can't recall the other occasions. I think one might have been when MacArthur announced "I shall return". Possibly we also heard a broacast of the signing of the Japanese surrender, a speech by Harry Truman concerning dropping of the atomic bomb, and other events.

I do know that someone had to bring their radio from home so that we could listen to the broadcast. We didn't have such fancy equipment at school. Of course, there was the PA system for the school , and for announcing football games. We could hear that all the way to my house and through most of the town!

For the events at school, some community members who were not busy with their stores or businesses, would come to see the movies and listen to radio broadcasts. Ladies would dress up in their suits, wearing hats and gloves, and dress shoes, to come to school. Those included, especially, ladies who were active with the PTA .

The people I have shown in my drawing, have hints of actual people and some of their mannerisms. A lady dressed up in her suit, with her hat and the veil with those little fuzzy balls on it; men in their suits; one teacher who wore a built up shoe and touched her braided hair frequently; a tall thin teacher; one who often wore dresses with a sweetheart neckline; another who sometimes wore flowing dresses.

Seated at the desks, one student has pigtails flowing over the back of her seat and onto the desk of a boy behind her. If we had actually used the ink wells, she probably would have had her pigtails dunked into a bottle of ink. Our ink wells were not used, but we did have a bottle of ink inside the desk. The shapes of the bottles had changed and wouldn't fit into the ink wells any longer. One girl has braids, wrapped around on the side of her head. Another girl has a fluffy hairdo, achieved with pin curls around the head with the top of the hair left straight. Pleated plaid skirts, penny loafers, saddle shoes, sweaters, white blouses, , dimestore pearls, cirlcle skirts were all part of the style of the day. For the boys, there were slacks or jeans, cotton shirts that had to be ironed, and belts, and some even wore a dress shirt with a tie and a sweater.

Remembering those speeches in the study hall is appropriate for today, with school starting, and with so many speeches coming up during the Democratic and Republican conventions, with many more to come in between. I wonder if students in school, today, will be allowed to watch the speeches. Maybe in a government or journalism class in high school, in some schools. I always thought that my students should see things on tv that were occuring, just as we had listened to those few speeches on the radio when I was in school. That's a big part of our education.

I always wanted to watch everything on tv, read about it in newspapers and magazines. I would prefer being there to see for myself. But, this time, I don't think that I can bear to watch the Democratic convention. I may watch the opening, and I would like to see if they do actually have a roll call vote, and how Hillary does. But I just can't endure any of the speakers, and it is really sad to see what has become of the Democratic party. And the amount of money that is being thrown away is just appalling.

I'm not trying to get "political", but that's the way I see it, through my eyes.

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Have a great year, teachers, students, and parents! Administrators too!

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Check out the Frame Gallery website for some information about upcoming classes and events there and in downtown Bryan. The workshop using Yupo looks particularly interesting to me.

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Register for the 20th World Wide Sketch Crawl, scheduled for October 25. You can click on the logo in my sidebar and that will take you to their website. If you are in this area, I hope that you will join in.

Go to the Forum to find someone in your area, or you can register and put in an area of your own. You will see more information on their website about how to participate.

I'm still in hopes that we can Draw The Brazos Valley, with people working all over this area on that day. If you are interested, let me know.

Happy Father's Day

Indianola Courthouse at Sunset

Family Photo

We don't really observe Father's Day in our family anymore. The fathers all seem to have died. I don't recall that we ever celebrated that day very much. We would get the fathers a card, and a gift like pajamas or a tie. Sometimes we would make something, which really wasn't appreciated. Gifts were taken, with thanks, then put away in a drawer to save for the possibility that they might have to go to the hospital, or if they happened to run out of their closet full of ties.

We often had our special meal of red roast and red gravy, with some of the men being served their favorite, fried oysters and oyster stew, with crackers. Most of the ladies and the children were not going to eat that!

Of course, there was church before that Sunday Father's Day meal.

We had a lot of men in our family who were not fathers. Many, who married, didn't have children. And, many didn't get married to begin with. It took them all to help raise the children, of those who did have families.

In later years, Daddy liked to barbeque, then take a nap before going out to check the cattle. He would put a little stool beside the barbeque pit outside the back door, put a lot of lighter fluid to get the fire going, then put on the chicken, weiners, or hamburger patties. They always were black and tasted like lighter fluid. But he loved to do that. He would sit in the hot Texas sun, tending the fire, and sipping cold "sky juice", as he called water. That was from his Aggie days.

The picture above is one of my favorites. It shows my father, carrying my son, on the old foundation of the courthouse at Indianola, about sunset. This was probably about 1965.

If you are a father, I hope that you had a wonderful day!

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It's just around the corner!

The 19th World Wide Sketch Crawl is Saturday!

Click on the Sketch Crawl logo on the top of the page, for more information and to go to their website.

I hope that you will join in! Remember, it's free, its' worldwide, it's for everyone, all ages, all levels, all media, families, groups, or individuals-just everyone, all over the world, all at the same time, drawing/painting/recording their surroundings through art.

Locally, we will meet at the Frame Gallery in downtown Bryan to register, then gather at the LaSalle Hotel, if anyone needs coffee and such! From there we can see who is working and where they want to work. Then we will spread out and start drawing the Brazos Valley.

We'll spend the morning and afternoon sketching.

Lunch is on your own, or a group could go together, if they want to. The Texas Reds Festival will be going on downtown Bryan, so there will be plenty of food to eat at the festival or at local restaurants.

After working, people can get together at the Frame Gallery to share experiences and their work.

There will be entertainment downtown, so, if people want to hang around and do the festival, they are welcome to do that.

After the Crawl, participants can either post their own work on the Sketch Crawl website, or they can add it under my listing for Bryan/College Station. They can also add it to their own website, blog, or places like Flickr.

People in the Calvert area, can do the same thing, but meet at Mud Creek Pottery on Main Street. If anyone is partial to kolaches, they might be sure to check out Zamykal Kolaches on Main Street, to start the morning. There are other eating places, there as well.

Hopefully, people in other communities will start their own Sketch Crawls for their areas, or they can work on their own, if they want.

Let's draw the Brazos Valley while other people are drawing their part of the world! I think we have plenty of material here to choose from.

Let me know if you need more information, or if you would like to join us in this area.

I would love to see what you create!

So get out your pencil and paper, or watercolors, markers, pens, paint, or whatever you want to work with and join in on Saturday.

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More Drawings From Sketch Crawl Bryan

I've only been struggling to put these picture in one post for a week.

You can see these below as a slideshow, and I am sending them to the Sketch Crawl website, now that I finally have them posted.

Barbara's Saturday started in Calvert, waiting for the Zamycal Kolache Shop to open. She sketched the highway while she waited. Later, I did a watercolor of my cherry kolache.

She picked Ashton and me up in Bryan and drove us downtown. There we checked in with Greta Watkins at the Frame Gallery. Then we picked a spot between the old Queen and Palace theatres to work that morning. Ashton and I sat by the Palace while Barbara got a good view from the center of the street. She had her plein aire painting things with her, so she worked in oils.

I had my travel watercolors and pens, but chose to use pencil. Barbara had to leave by noon, so our time was short. Ashton was prepared, too, with his sketchbook. But he was hungry for a ham and cheese kolache from the doughnut shop and his mind was on "Star Wars" and light sabres. So, he drew a nice light sabre.

A young man with a cell phone came whizzing back and forth on his skateboard. A good subject for gesture drawings.

Traffic in and out of the barber shop was interesting, too.

Several people stopped to look at Barbara painting.

We enjoyed the peacefulness of downtown Bryan with the sound of Mourning Doves, pigeons cruising above, tiny birds playing on the sidewalk near us, and the chimes from nearby churches.

While the day started out cool and foggy, following thunderstorms on Friday night, that just added a bit of interest to our work. It wasn't long before enough sun came out to create stronger shadows among the buildings.

I intended to work on a scene of the wide street, but, with limited time, I sketched parts of the buildings that are well known here. The Howell building, the LaSalle and Charles Hotels, an old bank building with a flag on top, the Queen, and the barbershop. I added a mother and daughter from Robertson county who were also sketching, and another woman who seemed to be drawing, Barbara, Ashton, and, of course, the skateboarder.

We checked in at the Frame Gallery to share what we had done and discuss future sketch crawls. There, Ashton fell in love with the gorgeous resident dog. I think the feeling was mutual.

Back at home, I intended to do some more sketching, but I was very sleepy after the storms kept the cats and me up all night! So, I darkened some of my drawings, scanned some, then took a nice nap!

During the week, I have been trying to post my pictures on my blog in a way that will work for the sketch crawl. Hopefully, now that this seems to be working again, I can get these added today.

Now we are anxious to know when the next Sketch Crawl will be! I'll let you know when I hear something. We want to try to get the word out early for the next one so that we can have good representation from the Brazos Valley.