Workshops

I recently attended a painting workshop

in Brown County at the Waycross Retreat Center.

On our way there we keep an eye out for photo opportunities.

This time we found......

There's more than corn in Indiana.
Camel or Dromedary?

And this young man was just strutting his stuff.

Guess he wasn't big on being Thanksgiving dinner.

There was a nice morning mist

as we looked out the studio window.

The workshop was held in the lower floor of this building.

We stayed over night in the lodge near by.

These are the paintings we were to work on

with some new techniques to learn.

Mine don't look quite the same
and I managed to change a couple
of things after coming home.

All in all it was a good learning experience and a fun weekend.


Bye for now!

Paintings

Each year we have a show at the FWMoA called Cocktails and Culture.
As a member of the Fort Wayne Artists Guild I am eligible to participate.
This year I decided to paint several small paintings to sell.
Finding nice frames was probably the hardest part. I found some unfinished ones so they had to be sanded and stained and polyurethaned and sanded and hanging hardware put on. Takes some of the fun out of it.

Anyway, here is a glimpse of a few of the finished pieces unframed.

And here they are all hung up looking pretty.

I actually sold the big one of a pumpkin patch and

4 little ones.

They were fun to do and they don't take very long.

Just to be outside is the most fun.

This next quote is from an artist I admire greatly. 

I recently found this and will try to remember it 

when going outside is frustrating and inconvenient.

If I could instill one point in aspiring artists, it would be to paint from life whenever possible. I don’t care how many mosquitoes there are or how strong the wind is, how much junk you have to haul outside or how the light is blinding your eyes. Face it—the whole operation is quite inconvenient, but it is always worth the effort. It will pay dividends that you cannot quantify. When you stand before the magnificence of light bouncing off the subject, when you allow yourself to be wholly in awe of the creation before you and the Creator whose word spoke it into being, you cannot help but be supremely moved. It is this stirring of your soul which then works itself into your work.

~ Dan Gerhartz, Not Far from Home

With that said, I'll sign off.

Bye

Plein air

Brookville  --  part 2

Ok… the next morning.

Guess we’ll go exploring and take some pictures.

What’s this?  A train trestle?

I’ll bet I could get some great pictures from the middle?

 

Alright…. This is a pretty good spot.

 

Nice picture!

 

Maybe I should check to see if a train might be coming?

I think the Indians or cowboys used to put their ear

on the rail but I can’t get down there very well.

I don’t feel anything…..

 

  

OMG… Is that a train whistle?

 

Yep… got off that track with 5 minutes 

(maybe 2)  to spare.

 

Enough excitement for a while.

Let’s see what else is out there.

 

Corn stalk rolls?

Don’t think I ever saw those before.

Big too!

 

Sure nuff, a whole field of them.

continuing....

Metamora is Indiana's treasured 1838 canal town. Nestled in southeastern Indiana's beautiful countryside, Metamora is steeped in history and famous for its preservation of Indiana's oldest and still operating water-powered grist mill.

While in Metamora, journey through the early 19th century history of horse-drawn canal boats, which fueled the Southeastern Indiana economy until its displacement by the railroad. Shop in stores housed in historic buildings dated back to the early 1800s, feed the ducks along the canal, try some homemade fudge or ice cream, eat and above all else... Enjoy the slow relaxing pace of the past.

Metamora is one of the most charming and fascinating towns in Indiana!  Well known for its wide range of delightful shops, restaurants, friendly shopkeepers, events, festivals, and tasty eats and treats. 

 

Love this cute little house on the canal.

 

The canal boat that is drawn along by horses.

The aquaduct from a distance.

I keep trying to paint this scene but it doesn’t seem

to work for me. Too bad, I like it.

 

Time to head home….. Let me see,

Which way do you suppose this is?

 

OK…. Bye

I should get busy painting.

Plein air

Every October is the Brookville Paint Out

Brookville is a beautiful little community south east of 

Indianapolis, very close to the Ohio border.

It kind of sits in a little valley with mountains all around

and rivers that run through it.

This is the view as seen from the east.

Friday evening is painting downtown on Main Street.

This is the view I chose to try a little painting.

I'm workin' it....

Trying hard.....

Busy street......

I think this is fun?????

Street scenes are very hard.

And here is my friend Ron.....

Now he knows what he's doing.

Saturday morning....

A fresh start.

Lets go exploring and take some pictures.

The river is quite low at the canoe place.

Look at all these flat rocks.

I'm sure one of them belongs in our flower bed?

This is one of my favorite places to paint.

Trees, water, sun.... what more could I want?

Maybe a fisherman.....

or maybe some kayaks? Ducks?

Guess I better settle down and get to work.

Oooops. More distractions.

Our friend has a new paint setup.

Yes, we all agree, it's really cool.

This year we were staying several miles away in Ohio.

Which meant a drive back and forth each day.

This looks like a nice place and it's right in town.

The original house was built in 1835. 

In 1898 noted Indiana artists, J. Ottis Adams and T.C. Steele 

selected this site to set up their home and studios, 

where the Hoosier Group painted for several years.

Yipee. They have a room for us next year.

The next day.........

This will just have to wait until another day

or this post will be way too long.

Bye for now.....

Plein air

 A little off the subject this post..... 

I make a few things that go with my art endeavor.

 This happens to be my wood working area.

It's a little space I carved out in front of my car -

in the garage.

 It supplies most of my needs and even has a heater for cold weather.

 Next are a few of the things I've made....

 These are boxes that carry wet paintings.

Three sizes and will hold up to a dozen panels each.

 A peek inside shows how they slip in.

 This little number is from the sewing machine.

Works like a backpack and holds my stool, tripod or

whatever extras.

 Ah yes, this is made from Styrofoam and

hold the little panels. 5x7's and 6x8's.

I'm sure God created duck tape.

 I picked up this piece of equipment at the 

Goodwill for $8. As you can see, it holds all of the

essentials and is on rollers. Super easy.

That's my painting box on top. It carries paint, brushes,

turp, palette and extra panels.

I could put my stool on the other side instead of the 

paper towels. Hmmmm, good idea.

I'm ready now..... let's go paint!!

OK... so sometimes it's cold and raining out

 This is my ginormous easel.

 I've only done a few large paintings but I made it myself

so I saved mucho bucks. Very handy.

 

And this is where I hang out and create my masterpieces.

Chuckle... well I try.

All for now..... Bye