Plein Aire Workshop in Calvert III

Photos from the Plein Aire Painting Workshop

with V....Vaughan

Calvert, Texas

February 21, 2009

These are more photos from the sunrise painting demonstration by V....Vaughan during the Plein Aire Painting Workshop in Calvert in February. These were taken while Vaughan painted the sunrise in oils. The location was on Sunnyside Road just north of Calvert. To see the first photos from the workshop, scroll down to the earlier posts.

Top Photo- V.... Vaughan paints the sunrise.

Second Photo- The sun began to peek just over the hill below the clouds.

Third Photo-Clouds gathered ahead of a cold front moving in from the north.

Fourth Photo-The sun rose over the little hill, between the clouds and the earth.

Fifth Photo- Clouds formed this spectacular radiating pattern as workshop participants watched in awe.

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Rain! We finally got some rain! More to come, along with temperatures in the 40s. Before the rain began, we had two power outages. The first was not connected to the weather. We haven't heard about the second outage, yet.

What do you do when the lights to out? I can't sleep without the tv, so I had to find something to entertain myself. I had an urge to paint something! But, I'm not as experienced as V...., who has memorized her palette and can paint in the dark! I had candles set up on a stool by my bed, along with my Sprite, and a cup of ice cream I had started before the lights went out.

So, I got my sketchbook and a Pitt pen, and did a Blind Contour drawing of my candles. This was really a Blind Contour because I couldn't see my paper! The first time I have ever tried to do that.

In Blind Contour drawing, you look only at the subject you are drawing and use a continuous line to draw the outside edges. The trick is to not look at your paper.

The drawings usually don't come out looking like beautiful finished work. But they do teach you to observe and focus on your subject.

I cheated some on my candle drawing, though, because the lights came back on. I did some finishing from memory instead of focusing on my subject.

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Beauty In The Midst of Horror

Gaza Sunrise 1, 2, and 3

9" x 12"

Ink & Watercolors

While Fox News was having reruns on tv, CNN actually stayed on the air, live, for reports of the latest conflict. We watched the flashes of explosions as the night gave way to dawn. I had my sketchbook as I watched tv. The colors of the sunrise over Gaza caught my attention and I thought those would look good in a painting. I did some quick sketches as the day grew brighter, wrote in notes as to where various colors would go. I didn't have in mind, particularly, doing paintings of these scenes, but in using the combinations in other paintings later. As pictures began repeating, that gave me time to use my travel set of Winsor Newton watercolors, and put in some of the colors on the sketches. This is why you see my notations of colors in the above paintings.

The soft colors of daybreak were deceptive. The puffy little clouds were not the peaceful little summer clouds we sometimes see. Instead, they were smoke from explosions. But, they could easily have been those little cotton-like clouds we see in Texas. The yellow and gold sky scanned a much stronger yellow than it actually is.

I was going to stop with the first sketch, but the purple and lavendar sky in the next picture attracted me. Again, deceptively soft and peaceful looking, except the darker clouds on the horizon were not normal clouds. Instead, they were smoke flowing across the city. Who could tell what horrors were taking place in the buildings and streets below. I am not sure why the land appeared to be red orange. Maybe it was my eyes, but I thought that maybe it had something to do with dust in the air.

Again, I was about to quit when they showed a hilly scene, with some buildings on the horizon. I was impressed with the sort of olive green grass with darker areas that might have been little bushes of some kind. One little gamboge patch of color toward the top of the hill indicated, to me, an area of sand. You would think this would be a peaceful place where there might have been sheep grazing, but it was empty of life. By this time, the sky had turned to pink with a bit of shadey blue or lavender at the horizon.

It's a terrible situation, but I did find something appealing in the colors as I watched from safety, from a long distance. We hope for safety for all those people, but, realistically, as long as there are men, there are going to be wars and rumors of wars.

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I'm having a little more trouble distinguishing colors, and doing things like connecting lines when I draw and paint. I sort of aim and hope that things come close to being where they should be! Sometimes it works!

"Is this pink or orange?" I often ask.

"No, it's red," I am told.

The same thing happens for other colors. I have to take things to the natural light to tell what they are. That works, sometimes.

"That line should be straight, " I'm sometimes told.

"But it looks curved, to me," I answer.

It's frustrating, but, so far, I'm able to work with it. Although I really admire realism, that is not what comes out of me. And, with my vision the way it is, I know that realism is going to be impossible to do. It's a good thing that I can enjoy being loose, expressionistic, putting in pretty colors, experimenting, or I would be really upset and frustrated.

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Come sketch with us Saturday January 10 for the 21st World Wide Sketch Crawl. Wherever you are, you can still do the Sketch Crawl with a group where you are, or just sketch by yourself. Start your own group!

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It's really a nice day. Just take along your sketching or writing materials, maybe a camera, a chair to sit on, (or you usually can find a bench or somewhere to sit, depending on where you decide to draw.), and things you might like to have for the day. You might like to have a hat or sunscreen, depending on where you are. Maybe you will need warm clothes and pick a spot indoors. You can journal about your day from getting up, to breakfast, where you sketch, lunch, your afternoon, winding up, and those around you, too. Or you might decide to just draw in one spot, or move to different places. If you are going to an event, you can sketch there, too.

If you can't get away from home, draw what you do at home that day. You might draw your neighborhood, your yard, or wherever you are.

Or, you can find interesting things to draw in your locale.

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My sister takes her plein aire painting equipment, as well as a sketchbook and pen. She usually does a painting, then sketches a while. She has her oil painting supplies, a camp stool, a tripod, a variety of canvases, etc. She is prepared! She even has bungee cords, and, of course, her ice chest. She also takes business cards to give to those who show interest in her work.

I take my travel set of Winsor Newton watercolors with 3 small brushes-a smallflat, a small round, and a tiny detail brush) , a watercolor pad, a sketchbook, a pencil case with a variety of pencils and pens, a small ruler, eraser, and a pencil sharpener. I also have a plastic clip board that has a space inside. I keep copy machine paper, pencils and pens, and an eraser in that. (You could put sheets of drawing paper or watercolor paper in the clipboard. I use a film container or small pill bottle for water and keep some tissues in my purse. A bottle of drinking water is in my bag in case I can't find a water fountain where I am. A small spray bottle is an addition to use for watercolor techniques.

To avoid littering, I have a couple of Zip Lock bags, a plastic bag from a store, paper towels, and a trash bag.

All of these are carried in a plastic tote bag.

A lawn chair and a cushion provide a place to sit in case there isn't a bench where I decide to draw.

My oil painting things are handy, but, so far, I haven't found that I have time to take photos, sketch, do a little with my watercolors, talk, and do oil paintings, too.

I take another bag for my grandson (age 12) and have a couple of sketchbooks for him, pencils (drawing and colored) , eraser, his brushes. He has a folding canvas chair. (I tried that, but, with my knees, I had trouble getting out of it! I needed more support.)

We have soft drinks in our ice chest, in case we are working someplace where we can't buy a drink.

I've done quite a few sketches at places that I wouldn't have gone to sketch on my own. And that has resulted in more art work. I have more places in mind to go, now.

And it is a good way to spend a day with my grandson. He seems to like doing watercolors better than he has liked sketching-except for drawing the things he is interested in like ships or light sabres! But, he is at an age where he is going to be changing a lot.

Perhaps this will give you some ideas for doing the sketch crawl. Some people only take along what will fit into their pocket or purse. Others use a luggage carrier for their equipment. You might even keep things packed in your car, ready to go when the urge to sketch or paint strikes.

If you have any questions or would like to join us, let me know.

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Be sure to sign up for the Plein Aire painting workshop with Virginia Vaughan in Calvert Saturday February 21. For more information and a supply list contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com . Send a deposit of $40 to reserve a place in the class by Feb. 1, payable to Virginia Vaughan, with the balance due at the workshop.

Since we will all go out and paint for fun on Sunday, you may want to reserve a room at one of Calvert's B&Bs. The Pin Oak B&B and The Bird House both have rooms available that weekend.

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I read on the Calvert page of the Fort Tumbleweed website that Calvert has a soda fountain! That sounds really interesting! Ice cream is always good, and those old fashioned sodas and sundaes, lime ices, and such treats are something that we could use more of. I really hated to see Swenson's close here. It was the closest thing I've found to Taliaferro's Drug Store that we had in Calvert. Wish they would open again.

I did find a way to make something that is close to the old fashioned chocolate sodas that we used to be able to get almost anywhere.

I just put some chocolate ice cream into a soda fountain style glass. Put in a straw. Then added Sprite or 7-Up until it makes that nice foam on top.

Pretty tastey. And it helps to settle an unhappy stomach, too!

We'll have to look for that soda fountain the next trip to Calvert. I always thought they should have kept one, but the Dairy Queen seemed to become a popular place when those came into town. I guess that hurt the drugstore soda fountains and lunch counters. DQ is okay, but it isn't the same as the great old drugstores, or Swenson's.

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Galveston Sunrise

Galveston Sunrise

9" x 12"

watercolor

We were moving to Galveston, much to my delight. Had a new job, and my new mobile home was being moved there. We had the last load of things in the car and arrived at the mobile home park, only to learn that the movers just deposited it on a lot, and left. Didn't hook it up or anchor it. Just left it blowing in the breeze.

We couldn't live in it like that. They weren't coming back to set up the mobile home. And the park manager said we couldn't leave it there like that, blowing around. I finally told the people they could come and get it if I couldn't even live in it. And we looked for an apartment.

I had not found anything that I could begin to afford when it was closing time. We had a picnic on the beach for supper, and I knew that I didn't have enough money with me for a hotel room. So, I drove around while the kids slept. I was a little afraid to camp out on the beach. Not only did I not know about the tide, but I didn't know who might be out there, looking to do harm to a woman and a couple of children.

Eventually, I couldn't drive much longer, and gas was getting low. This was before the time of all night stores. I was trying to ration my last month's paycheck.

I pulled up on an area where other cars had been parked earlier . The sun would be up soon and I could resume my search. If a policeman came along, I would just move and drive some more. My route was mainly on Seawall Blvd. Back and forth. I didn't want to get lost.

My eyes closed as I watched the moonlight glistening on the water. My spirits were sinking as everything seemed to be going wrong. I had wanted to come here so badly, but nothing was working out. The waves lapped gently on the sand below where I was parked, assuring me that this was the place I should be.

The blue sky of night gave way to a soft pink glow in the east. Heavy clouds turned brown as the sun touched them. They seemed to break up and become smaller as they made way for a new day. Everything was touched with gold, except for the shadows that were a cool, deep blue.

Old posts, timbers, and rocks threw shadows on the sand. A bit of cool to soothe humans before the blistering sun of an August day in Texas broke above the horizon.

A fisherman stood, chest deep, out in the surf. A boat bounced by out in the distance. Overhead, birds began to glide in their search for food.

The golden day seemed to hold promise. I drove to a convenience store and bought breakfast for us to eat while we started our search for an apartment. Sure enough, we did find an apartment, right across from the seawall and the beach. I was tired, but I had to arrange for my furniture to be moved into the new place, and all the things that go with moving in . And it was a lovely place. It would have been even lovlier if I had had someone to share all that with, but, as it was, I just plugged on and did what I could.

I stayed busy. Things kept going wrong, but I hung in there, as they say.

When the first storm came along, I wanted to stay and watch. But, of course, the apartment managers boarded up the windows, so I couldn't see anything. I decided that I might as well evacuate, with everyone else, and I did.

It was nice to have a holiday so close to the beginning of school.

In my painting above, I showed some of the things that I would see on golden mornings on the beach in Galveston. However, I did add an airplane instead of a bird. I have heard so many times that, if you drip paint, just make a bird out of it. I have about decided that, anytime I see a bird in a picture, it is because someone had a little accident with their paint and they are just trying to fix it. So, to be different, I started adding things like an airplane or a hot air balloon instead of a bird to finish out my picture.

I guess that, after Ike, it will be a long time before we can see any scenes like this at Galveston. I've been just glued to the tv set, watching the storm and its effects, and hoping that it wouldn't come here. We all hope for the best by everyone who has been affected, all along the coast and inland, too.

While Ike's power did so much damage elsewhere, the wind was no stronger than a good Texas norther here. We had over 3 inches of rain and had some leaves all over everywhere. Communities around us lost power, but we didn't have that problem. Some schools are closed indefinitely and people are suffering without air conditioning, water, ice, food, gas, and good communications, among other things. There are shortages of things from gas to generators, ice and some food items. People are driving here from the Houston area to get gas and a meal, or a generator, or a room. Hotels are all full, and there is an Aggie game in town this weekend, where rooms have already been reserved. There is some scrambling to see how to handle that.

Counties and communites around us were not so lucky. Ike did his damage far and wide.

The pictures out of the Texas coast are just horrible. I still would like to know, "Where is the national media? " Fox, CNN, etc. covered the storm until it hit, then they were off, not to be seen again. They helped so much during Katrina. And, with mysteries and some problems, not to mention all the loss and suffering, it would seem that the good reporters would be on hand. I know, someone else assigns them. But, there were repeats of programs going on, over and over, while the coast was being almost destroyed, and no reporters.

Thankfully, local folks, and a couple of local reporters, got in there and made things happen. The media has certainly fallen down on this story.

It is going to be a long, hard journey to bring back our coast. I wish for the best for everyone and hope that they will have all the help that they need.

Local news has had some coverage, but not nearly enough. I'm sure that the evacuees who have come to this area and can't get news of their homes and families, are even more upset over the lack of news.

We only get one Houston tv station, and that is Channel 13, KTRK. Usually, the cable company cuts them off in favor of a station from Waco, that is supposed to be Bryan. This time, however, they kept them on, 24/7 and their coverage was excellent. They asked the hard questions, went in where no one else seemed to want to go, and were there for the viewers. Just now, on Wednesday, they are staring to go off and have regular programming. Personally, I think it is too soon, with so many people still displaced and suffering. But, I guess they have to make some money.

Fearing that I would lose the only station that was giving news, I looked at their website. Sure enough, they have live streaming and even a message board where people can look for family and friends, and ask questions. I started watching on my computer, as long as they were on. I even sent them a Thank You e-mail for the good job they were doing.

For those people who are still displaced and may not have Houston area news on your tv, here is some of what I found.

KTRK tv Houston Live Streaming news and a message board

http://abc.local.go.com/ktrk/index

KPRC tv Houston Live Streaming and excellent videos that give walking and air tours

http://www.click2houston.com/index.html

KHOU tv Houston message board

http://www.khou.com/

KBTX tv Bryan/College Station

http://www.kbtx.com

KBTX is having a food drive today, to benefit victims who are in this area. They will be open until 10 p.m. at the Brazos Center, taking donations of money and nonperishable food items that don't require a can opener. So many do not have electricty and do not have manual can openers.

Good luck to everyone! I hope that Galveston can be restored, even to the fishing piers and attractions over the water. It could have been so much worse, if that sea wall had not been there, and if the storm had come in at a little different place. I know that is little comfort to those who have lost homes, businesses, and loved ones.

And I hope that those who are trying to get some information can find it and gain a little peace of mind, and will be able to soon go on with their lives.

A New Year

January Sunrise

11" x 14"

watercolors

Scroll down to the bottom of my page and check out my Guest Book.

It's here. Another year. 2008. What will it bring? We hope for the good things-good health, happiness, prosperity, peace, wisdom, friendship, kindness, security, success and good things in life, for each of you.

The above painting was actually done last January as the sun rose, and a cloud , the leading edge of a cold front, rolled over us. The deep orange sun seemed to push a little place up through the cloud so that it could peek through.

My grandson and I had our breakfast together and he was off to school. I got out my watercolors and painted at the dinette table during the morning.

I thought it was interesting that, at the same time as I was painting this, Virginia Vaughan was painting this same front coming through, only from her vantage point at her home about 100 miles to the west.

We didn't do much today to celebrate. We all slept late. The family went to a friend's house last night, after all, and so I saw the New Year in with the dog, the cats, the tv, and the neighbors' displays of fireworks all around me. Those bursts of fireworks looked like what I see normally when I look outside at the lights at night. (See yesterday's post for how I see outdoor lights.)

I don't remember much of a celebration for New Year's Day when I was growing up. The stores would close.

My great-aunt, "Toot", seemed to enjoy New Year's Day more than anyone I knew. She would get up really early, as usual, fix breakfast and then her husband would putter around the house or leave to get the mail, check his grocery store, or whatever he did on days when he didn't work. And that was really rare.

"Toot" would do her daily cleaning, telephone calling, and whatever she needed to do. Then she would fix dinner (we had dinner at noon in our part of the country) of black eyed peas, maybe a Jello salad, ham or maybe hash if she had roast left over from Sunday, corn bread, and coffee or water to drink-maybe custard or milk toast for dessert. She would set up a card table in the everyday room, which they later called a den, and set up two places with everyday china, silverware, and glasses. She put a little bridge cloth over the table, then put placemats down and the larger napkins that her husband liked to use.

Once the table was ready and dinner was cooking, she would sit in the everyday room on her chair to watch the parades on tv. She wasn't idle, though. She would still be working on something. Snapping peas into a bowl, darning socks, or even just reading through a seed catalogue.

Her favorite parade was the Rose Bowl Parade. She loved flowers and kept a large yard that she was very proud of. She watched intently as they told how the floats were made with flowers and sometimes decided on a kind of rose or plant that she wanted to add to her own yard. She also enjoyed the Cotton Bowl parade from Dallas, but her favorite was the Rose Bowl. Of course, she loved roses, so that made it very special to her.

"Honey", her husband, would come home to eat and they would watch the news or the end of the parade, if it was still on. He would leave to take care of whatever he did, sometimes taking a nap in the bedroom next to the everyday room where the tv was. "Toot" would take the dishes to the kitchen, take down the table until the next party or 42 game, wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Then she would spread a quilt on the everyday room floor and stretch out on the quilt to take a little rest while she watched "As The World Turns" and "General Hospital".

Sometimes I would stretch out with her. We would read "Life", "Liberty", "Good Housekeeping", "House Beautiful", "Home and Garden", and movie magazines, and "Readers Digest". And, sometimes, I fell asleep. She didn't. When her soap opera was over, she was up and getting ready to go visiting or have callers come to her house.

It wasn't anything so spectacular or unusual, but that is the way that New Years Day went. It was another day, and another parade, but a time when they could rest from their work with the grocery store and around the house.

"Honey" got up every morning at 4 a.m. He had, at one time, driven 60 miles, each way, to a city to buy fresh produce to sell in his store. "Toot" got up with him and gave him breakfast before he left. The store was open until 6:00 in the evening, like the other stores. Then the fire whistle blew and everyone closed their businesses and went home for supper. Later that time was changed to 5, to correspond with cities. Business was down, by then, so there was no reason to stay open if there were no customers on the street.

At my grandfather's house, New Years Day was also a day to rest up for the family. It was a day when they could spend more time checking the cattle, reading the paper with their shoes off, and a day to watch many football games on tv, instead of having to spend all day at the dry goods store. Of course, they still went to the store fairly early to check on things, and see if anyone might be there needing something from the store. Before Grandma died, they always had a big dinner (at noon, remember), that included black eyed peas for luck.

I was always offered a plate, but I always declined the offer, saying that I was eating at home, or I wasn't hungry. I was not about to eat any of those vegetables, no matter how much bad luck it might bring me! Everyone knew that, but they still tried all kinds of tricks to make me eat things that were just plain disgusting to me.

At our house, Mama cooked the required meal for good luck, I drank my milk and ate a piece of fruit. Daddy was busy helping with the cattle or working on something out in the back yard, while Mama went on with her usual day. Daddy would watch some of the bowl games on tv, but he was not just sitting there, glued to the set. He would be in and out of the house, and want us to tell him if he missed anything. Of course, as soon as he left, we turned the tv to something that we wanted to watch.

For me, New Years Day meant that it was just that much closer to having to go back to school. And the anxiety started growing. My stomach tightened and started hurting. I felt a bit of a panic. It also meant that, not only was there a new year, but I was closer to being another year older. And that was a good thing, back in those days.