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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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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Imagine A Gunfighter

Gunfighter on the Streets of Calvert

photo

Imagine how it was, on the streets of Calvert, back in the times when cowboys and sheriffs or city marshalls, took their long, careful walks, back and forth on the same brick sidewalks that we walk on today. Squinting, searching for any signs of problems.

Think of ladies in sweeping long skirts, carrying a parasol and a drawstring bag, and wearing a bonnet on their heads, almost floating over the sidewalks as they moved from store to store.

Picture children in elaborate clothes, miniature adults, wearing high topped shoes or boots, hanging onto a hat, or standing on the base of a light pole, impatiently waiting on a friend or a grownup.

Can you see the time when horses and wagons rattled and clopped on dirt and brick streets of Calvert, then parked while the shopped on Main Street?

"It looks like 'Gone With The Wind'!" one visitor said as she spotted ladies in their finery on the lawn of the old Barton House in Calvert during the Victorian Tea, Gala, and Street Fair in Calvert last Saturday.

The above photo is of a gunfighter from "Cow Town" (Ft. Worth, that is!) , part of a reenactment group that walked Main Street.

I stopped by Mud Creek Pottery to talk to Sonny about the Plein Aire Painting Workshop Saturday Oct. 18th. We're hoping for a good turnout when Virginia Vaughan comes to Calvert to do the first ever Plein Aire Painting Workshop there. Sonny was all dressed up for the day as an iron monger.

Barbara and I had lunch at the Wooden Spoon where we visited with Rita and her coworker. Barbara had already painted the old Salazar's Garage building before I got to town. We then went over to Zamykal Kolache Shop where we sat on a bench to sketch for a little while. A caricature artist from Houston, Eva Myles, was set up on the opposite side of the shop, doing portraits.

Larry, from the antique shop next door, passed by, wearing a flowing black cape and tall black boots.

Further down the street, there were more booths set up with all kinds of wares, and people strolled the streets in their Victorian costumes.

We were joined by a cousin, Melanie, a native of Louisiana, but now living in Austin, and her two beautiful daughters, Olivia and Emma. This, of course, called for an auto tour of Calvert, to locate the old family homes and share stories.

The day ended with supper at the Dixie Cafe in Hearne. We all went our separate ways to Bryan, Austin, and Calvert.

I had hoped that we would get to see people in the park for the gala, dressed in their Victorian clothing, dancing, and having a big time.

I only did one sketch during the afternoon, and Barbara did several pen and ink sketches. I worked a bit large, on watercolor paper, thinking I would do this picture in watercolors, eventually. But I did take some photos that I will put into a slide show, probably. One thing that I need to remember to do is to get pictures of us sketching!

It was a beautiful day to be out and a great day for the Victorian event.

Some people remarked about how hot the ladies must be in all those clothes. However, I experienced, in my Pilgrimage dresses, that they were very cool in hot weather, with a breeze blowing up my skirt! And we wore a lot of those corsets, petticoats, merry widows, stockings, girdles, and all that, when I was college age. It wasn't so bad. Girdles and stockings were bad because they made heat rash, in the very hot days. And all the shoes made blisters, being made of very stiff leather and not fitting well. The dresses were also warm in the winter, depending on the fabric.

If you didn't get to go this year, make plans for next year. And, coming up, there is the Christmas Tour of Homes.

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We picked up a flyer in the Wooden Spoon for a Ghost Type of Experience, to be held there November 1. That should prove to be very interesting.

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Kyle told me about the First Baptist Church in Calvert Homecoming Sunday. They are observing their 139th year.

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Pass the information on about the Plein Aire Painting Workshop Saturday Oct.25. Come, and bring a friend! There is so much to paint in Calvert!

Look at the top of my page, on the sidebar, to find out more. To see her work, go to her website at http://www.v-vaughan.com

or

her blog at http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com

We would like to get reservations in by October 13th, with a deposit of half-$40. The balance to be paid at the workshop.

Virgina works primarily in oils, but other media such as watercolors or acrylics are also welcome. She is an experienced artist and teacher. All skill levels are welcome. Contact Cecelia at grannyc_54@yahoo.com for a supply list and information. Or Sonny at Mud Creek Pottery in Calvert.

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Pictures from our last Calvert Trip

Here's some of what I do in the car when I am going somewhere with someone else.

In the top picture, I sketched shoppers in the parking lot while my sister went into the store. Good poses and movement of figures. People walking out of the store, in the summer heat, putting things in their cars, looking at their cell phone or game. At the grocery store, one young worker pushed a shopping cart out with his head covered with some kind of cloth or poster board on a frame. I wondered how he could see where he was going!

In the second picture, I was fiddling with the camera, thinking of taking pictures of some of the shoppers, if I saw a good pose. All that was in front of me was a sidewalk and a brick wall. I thought that I should try to figure out the camera before I got to a place that I wanted to take pictures. I thought I was trying to figure out how to turn the flash off, but, instead, one of those little doohickies on the camera was to make movies. I ended up with some pictures of myself in the car mirror. Which is kind of interesting, actually. Some possibilities for doing self portraits.

The bottom picture is a sketch I did while my sister was driving. I guess this could be called a drive by, only I sure didn't try to paint. I was doing good to get this much done with a pencil!

This is the "new" water tower at Benchly, Texas. I was looking at some tiny puffy white clouds in a cerulean blue sky, more than the water tower, but thought I would fill my space on my paper with the structure.

There are more pictures that show our sketching and our trip. But this was our start on a Friday afternoon, on our way to Calvert. Maybe I will do those as a slide show, or do another post.

Where has this week gone! In fact, where has the whole month of July gone! I think I have spent most of it trying to make the computer do something or another, usually just have to give up after a while though and wait until another day. Then, another day, another problem to try to figure out. Wish these machines were more cooperative, and simple.

Please notice a couple of changes.

*Martha Marshall has a new blog. I fixed the link to her in my sidebar.

* I added a link to another interesting site under Eye Sites. This one is Age Related Macular Degeneration Support, listed as ARMD Support.

*At the top of my page, in the upper right hand corner, there is a link to the coming Victorian Gala and Tea and Street Fair in Calvert Oct. 4.

*Check out Virginia Vaughan's blog, too, in my sidebar. She has had a really fantastic opportunity this past week, teaching a workshop to the young winners of the Houston Fat Stock Show youth art show. These are some really talented kids to have won that competition! The workshop was in Kerrville, Texas, so I know that they had a wonderful experience.

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In Calvert, they are looking for vendors for their street fair to be held Oct. 4 during the Victorian Gala and Tea. If you are a vendor and would like to participate, there is more information on the link that I put at the top of the page. Groups, or anyone that would have something that is appropriate for a Victorian event, might be interested. It could be for fund raising, or even if you make something like aprons or quilts that you would like to show. The Lions Club is one group that plans to participate and have a place where people can donate their old eye glasses.

Vendors do need to dress in Victorian costume, and there is information on that on their website.

Visitors don't have to dress up, but they are encouraged to participate, if they wish.

If you, or someone you know would like to participate, there are forms and more information on the website or you can contact Jody at Zamykal Kolache Shop in Calvert.

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It looks like summer has arrived, with all its heat and dry weather. I'm amazed that people are amazed that it has reached 100 degrees and over outside, and that it is dry with no rain in sight. The amazing thing to me is that anyone is amazed! They do it every year! So called "record setting temperatures and record low rainfall". I think I've been hearing that even before we had so much news on the radio! Like over 60 years! Now, in the '5os, we really had a drought! No rain for years. We had begun to think that nature was no longer able to produce rain! We looked eagerly at dry lightning to the east, and hoped it would rain. People had to haul water from the fire department in barrels and anything they could find. Cattle died or had to be sold. But, my great-aunt predicted that the drought would last for 7 years and then we would have 7 wet years, and we did. In the '70s, without air conditioning, the thermometer often hit 117 in the shade on the south porch. We tried keeping our aquarium on that porch and I guess the poor fish just boiled when we put them in there! They didn't last long. We even tried to cool the water down, but it didn't help. They had been accustomed to air conditioning and an even temperature.

I don't know what people expect. After all, this is Texas in the summer. It's supposed to be hot and dry. We did have a couple of years when it didn't reach 100 degrees, and we had a lot of rain in the summer, without having a hurricane. Now, it seems more normal. Not so pleasant, though, if you have to be outside.

I'm keeping water in the birdbath for the birds, but they seem to have taken off for a cooler place or something. Haven't noticed them splashing in a few days. Maybe they do when I'm not looking. There were some little rabbits hopping about the yard. I think we need to put out some water on the ground for them. But then I don't want to water the fire ants. (I hope that they will move on or die out.) A small lake near us was drained a few years ago, so those critters that hung out there, had to move on to other places.

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Edie and Peggie told me that the building that I wondered about, at the red light in Calvert, was once Molly Tucker's hamburger place. I wonder what else was in there. At one time, Miss Molly had her hamburger place next door to Conitz Dry Goods Store. I'm thinking that she probably moved when the dry goods store burned in the 1950s.

Miss Molly made the best hamburgers. In fact, the only ones I would eat. She made "sissyburgers" for me and I still eat those today.

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Stay cool and have a great weekend. I'm just so glad that we have air conditioning and fans, these days!

An Old Fashioned Girl

An Old Fashioned Girl

photo

Calvert, Texas

A couple of weeks ago, Barbara and I were in Calvert during the weekend to do a little sketching on Saturday morning. We started out the morning with a kolache at Zamykal Kolache Shop on Main Street. The owner, Jody, was getting ready to leave to take part in the Polskie Dzien (Polish Days) celebration in Bremond. She stopped long enough for me to take some photos of her, all dressed up in one of the Victorian style creations that she loves to make.

Jody appreciates the Victorian atmosphere of Calvert, and she loves to sew and make her own styles of the past.

For this occasion, she wore a long sleeved white blouse with a sky blue long skirt, complete with bustle. Her shoes were high top, lace-up beige made of soft leather and she carried a white lace-trimmed parasol. To complete her outfit, she wore a flat, decorated straw hat, and carried a covered wicker basket.

When you visit Jody's shop, you will see some of her other Victorian creations on display. The photo above shows Jody among some of her "girls", mannequins dressed in some of the clothes she has made.

Doesn't a Sunday afternoon stroll around the park, with a parasol, while a band plays in the bandstand, sound like a nice way to spend an afternoon. Maybe someone selling some ice cream and lemonade. Children running around the park grounds, and people swinging in the old fashioned gliders that they used to have in Virginia Field Park.

Jody and others are looking forward to the big Victorian Gala and Tea in Calvert October 4th. You can find out more about it by looking in my sidebar under Events. There is also a bit about it in the magazine "Tea In Texas".

And, thinking of some nice music for a Sunday afternoon, here are a couple of links that you might enjoy.

"The Lost Rose" by Michael Flatley on flute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_O8oudGS64

"Whisptering Winds" by Michael Flatley on flute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gjxxt4kRws

Speaking of men playing flutes, I was impressed with the clips on Fox News of Tony Snow playing a flute and other instruments as part of a band. I thought that was so neat. He was really good. I had not known that he played flute, or even that he played in a band. Such a talented man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1PEyzk4ADU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzwumOiRlvE

This was interesting. If you just want to learn, or if you need some information to refresh what you once did. There are others on YouTube that show how to play flute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGoggXnuCOY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaBkbAaYV7Q&feature=related