Silly Shimmery Sketching

"Shimmery" was on the list for Scavenger Hunt 638.

https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/topic/scavenger-hunt-638-june-24-july-2/page/2/

I thought of sketching the shimmering water on our lakes.  Today is cloudy and gloomy and of course warm.  I did the sketch with the gray cloudy skies.  It is in the big book done with a Micron 02 and colored pencils.

The second item for today was "silly".  I found this little stuffed penguin.  It is soft and silly/cute.  Evidently I got it in a McDonald's Happy Meal.  Hmmm.  Same tools on the bottom half of the page. 

Number 2, shimmery  Number 3, silly

We went to breakfast this morning at Maxine's in downtown historic Bastrop. 

http://www.maxinescafe.com/

Their breakfasts are very popular and in the "old days" a few short months ago, there would be a long line outside.  Gene had the pecan praline griddle cake and I had migas.  Yum..  They are cut to 50% capacity today and we did not have to wait.  I sure hope that we don't lose our local restaurants with this virus.  Crazy!

Another restaurant we frequent is 602 Brew Pub on Main, just a couple of doors down from Maxine's. They have menu and more info on facebook.  

https://602brewing.com/

We have patronized Raymond Keyrouz' restaurants since we moved to Bastrop.  The best crawfish chowder anywhere.

I like the sign on the front.

A view down the street, showing the clouds and construction.

Correction on my post from yesterday.  Canada Day is July 1.  EP let me know.  Ha.

Hunting a Tree Pastel Sketch

Scavenger Hunt 586 is in the works.    http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1465494  One of the items is "any tree".  I wanted to keep practicing with the pastels.  The trees out back have been painted and sketched many times so I decided to paint out my studio window with the plein air technique on this beautiful Sunday.  I was too lazy to carry my pastels outside...

This group of trees is between our two red sheds.  The little tree in the middle will never get big with the two large pines towering over it.  It also has some vines growing on it which doesn't help.  The vines are probably poison ivy to boot!

Number 1, any tree - pastel, 9 x 12 on the reused Colourfix paper.  We shall see how long I can keep wiping it off and painting on it again.  This must be six or more.

Plein Air Paint Out Trio Day 3

Home in Bastrop for Day 3 of the Outdoor Painters Paint Out.  It was a gorgeous day for painting and visiting.

I went to the Crossing where the old buildings and cars are.  Also Neighbor's Kitchen and the Tough Cookie Bakery are there.  I decided to paint some flowers that were in the bed of an old pickup.  I talked with visitors and a few of the artists that were searching for painting spots.

 Casey's Flowers

Pastel on Pastelbord, 10 x 8 inches

I'm pretty happy with this, only about an hour invested in it.  I din't capture the light as it really was so I think I will revisit this and adjust.  I rarely do that, but I like this start.

I then went to Maxine's on Main for a lunch break.  After that I decided to go paint Bastrop's Marilyn Monroe.  She is a statue chained in front of the Hairport across from the Art Center.  They also have a vape shop there and it looks like she is smoking.  I will need to investigate that!  Again, I only painted for about an hour and did not put in the street light and chain holding Marilyn in place.  Pomona and I went to sketch her last fall and she wasn't there.  I went in and asked and they said she was having a "makeover".   (Note, went by there today and her hand is holding her hair, not smoking, so my sketch is off.  Surprise!)

Bastrop's MM

Pastel on Pastelbord, 8 x 10 inches

Marilyn was mostly just for fun.  If I had more time I would include more of the scene to give some context.  Next time!!

We all got together for a show and tell of sorts at the Lost Pines Art Center.  We had a nice reception, thanks to Joan and Kent Bohls and the Art Center.  Next was dinner, off to Neighbor's Kitchen.  There was a 2 hour wait so we settled for the Tough Cookie Bakery.  We enjoyed the camaraderie and fresh food.

 Joanna took the photo of me. 

I didn't take any of the artists...shame.  I did get some of the paintings.  All fun and great.  

 

I'm getting closer to being ready for New Mexico in July.

Veterans, Kilt Sketch

We went to the Veterans Ceremony, car show and parade (well Veterans walk) yesterday. Made me smile when I saw the gentleman that was piping in the Colors and Veterans. Wearing a kilt! I took out my sketchbook but only had a couple of minutes before they marched off. Normally I guess I only see a kilt once a year. "Kilt" was on the last Scavenger Hunt list.  Missed by a few days.  Dang. 

The Ceremony in Bastrop is always very nice.  They had about 350 classic cars which are judged.  We didn't hear which ones won.  There were about 50 - 75 Veterans.  The Color Guard was from Bastrop High School.  Speeches by the vets and more awards.  The Navy award winner also was the chaplain for the benedictions. 

There is food and the Open Air Craft Market was open.  Lots of folks taking it in.  My pictures aren't great but here are a few.

 Color Guard with Piper

Some of the Vets

They ask the Vets to stand from each branch of the service, here are a few in my view.

 Army

 Gene, for Air Force

Marine

Navy

 Awards given out for Veterans of the Year presented by Willie Pina on the left.

The flyover for the veterans that have passed away or missing.  Gene thinks it was a B46.  The plane flew over twice with a moment of silence in the middle and taps was played during that time.

Dallas Wayne was the Master of Ceremonies

And a few of the cars, can you guess which paint job I liked? 

I like the red Mustang a lot, too.  I always wanted one.

There was a silent auction.  As we were leaving, Gene suggested I bid on something.  It was about 12:30 p.m. and there wasn't much bidding on some of the items, so I bid on about 6.  I figured the folks would come back and overbid my bids as it closed at 3:00 p.m.

We went to lunch at Guadalajara and when we were about half way home, Gene's phone rang.  We had "won" one of the auction items.  We went back and Gene stayed in the car to nap.  I walked back and as I was getting ready to pay, Gene called and said they called about another item.  Yep, I "won" some more.  About $300 worth of stuff.  One was a Doggy Bag.  It had a small pillow, a blanket, a dog toy, a plastic container for food, a toy truck and a wicker bed.  Obviously for a tiny dog and was $110 of the total bids I had made. 

As I finished paying and was trying to figure out how to carry all my stuff back to the car, a man came up and said in a disappointed voice, "Oh, you won the doggy bag."
"Yes, " I said, "Had you bid on it?"
"I did, I really wanted that.  What was the final bid?" he asked.
"$110," I said.
"I'll give you $120!" he blurted out.
"Sold!" I said.

He paid me with cash and I donated the $10 profit and $10 more to the gentleman giving away poppies for the VFW.  So a win, win all around!  We certainly didn't need a doggie bag!

It was a cloudy and cool day, but was well attended and we had a good time.

Pastel Plein Air

Joan Bohls invited me to her last plein air painting session for her class.  We met at their ranch which has B&B cabins.  Beautiful setting, so much to sketch or paint it is hard to decide.  I have been there before a couple of times so went up to a spot I had painted at before.  https://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/search?q=joan+bohls
Joan and I have painted together a few times.  We would probably get together more often, but sometimes they are traveling or we are traveling.  It is rare to get us together in Bastrop or Angel Fire at the same time.  Nice when we do.

Of course, I managed to get these painting sketches to fit the current Scavenger Hunt.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1448250

Number 2, from the north (looking south) - view near one of the cabins.  Pastel on Colourfix sanded pastel paper, 9 x 12 inches, variety of pastels, plein air (outside in the moment) about 1.5 hours.

Number 3, from the south (looking north) - turned around toward the cabins. 
5.5 x 8.5 inches in Canson Mix Media small sketchbook, Micron 05 about 5 minutes.

I did this with watercolor and ink back in November.

Number 4, short - Joan's cat with his hair cut short via scissors for the heat.  The cat is also short compared to us, right?  About 1 minute, the cat went on to see what else was going on.

My work in progress and a photo of the cabin.

Joan and I plan another painting venture together.  We plan on going to the Questa/Red River paint out in July.  It is very soon after Gene and I  get to Angel Fire so I need to practice and get back in the swing of painting.  It is like 4 days in a row.... whew.  Always tiring.   Here is a link, hope you can sign up and we can see you in northern New Mexico.  It will be nice and cool!
https://www.wildriverspleinair.com/blank-ctwr

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After I got back to the house from painting we went to Gonzales, Texas, to the Junior High School Finals Rodeo.  My cousin's, Pat's, granddaughter was performing.  She qualified in roping and pole bending.  We saw her in the pole bending.  Hopefully we will get there on Friday morning for the roping.  The arena there is amazing with 500 RV hook ups.  Lots of folks, horses and fun.  The photos are on Gene's phone and I haven't downloaded them yet.

The clouds were out this morning so I couldn't get a new photo of my painting from yesterday, but the one I took there is pretty good.  This was our morning sky:

Now the sun is out with a vengeance.  It may get to 100 degrees F.  Yikes....  We had not planned on going to New Mexico this summer, we were going to try to tough it out here for the first time, but the early heat prompted me to find a place to stay in Angel Fire.  Happy we are still able to do it.

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Friday starts the Regional Baseball games here in Austin with the Longhorns being host.  Our weekend will be busy with the elimination tournament.  The other three teams are the Indiana, Texas Aggies,  and Texas Southern.  Hook 'em Horns!

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Today is  "real" Memorial Day.  Hope you all had a great weekend a had some time to remember our fallen heroes.  We have quite a few in our families.  Thanks to all of them for their service and love of our great country, especially the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice and  gave their lives to let us live free. 

This was in Gonzales near downtown.

Out and About - Sketches and Photos

 I went sketching with Pomona yesterday and then went to the baseball game last night.  What could be better?

One of my sketches sort of fits in Scavenger Hunt 532
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21306093

Number 6, mirror - substitute a reflection in the window of the old building where I was sitting.

I did a couple more sketches, not in the mood.  I do enjoy being out and having a latte while sketching.  It was a beautiful day and nice to visit with Pomona.  I've mentioned before that she teaches at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico so we have lots to talk about in that regard.

 

Some of the parkong on the street, I bet there would have been a mailbox nearby for the Scavenger Hunt.  I was lazy and sat on the porch in the shade.

This is the little closed in area behind the main buildings on the street.  My sketches were in the watercolor sketchbook with Prismacolor and watercolor on the first one.  The middle sketch is in a book that doesn't take watercolor.  I may add color to the last one later, I hardly ever go back to a sketch, but I might just to practice with watercolor.

Katherine Tyrrell has been a great internet sketching friend and my art encyclopedia.  She found and reviewed this article. includes an animated movie.  Super:  How to Paint like Van Gogh

https://makingamark.blogspot.com/2018/03/how-to-paint-like-Van-Gogh.html


We went to the baseball game last night.  Northwestern won over the Longhorns 6 - 2.  Irritating!  It was a beautiful night with the full moon so beautiful.  I wanted to take more photos of the moon but the lights were in the way.  It looked so big and orange.  Perfect.

There is a double header today and another tomorrow.  They built a parking garage right in front of the stadium.  Excellent.  Problem is that soon folks will figure out that parking there is $5 and they are charging $20 in the private parking nearby.  Guess we will have to go earlier and earlier.  Joanna pays parking for us, but I'm pretty sure it will be on a first come basis anyway.  Don't see any way they can divide it up.  They put in the new tennis courts and buildings right next door and took away some of the parking.  Interesting for sure.  They also have paid catering for tail gating.  We plan to have sandwiches from HEB between the games -- sort of tail gating.  A burger in the stadium is about $10, large cokes are $7 and beer and wine are $8.  Hot Dogs are $5.50.  Kettle corn $7.    General Admission is $9 or $10 I think.  Big bucks if you take a family of four, right?

Anyway ... Hook 'em Horns!

Sketching with Friends

We had visitors.  That is always good.  We end up doing things we normally wouldn't.  We got out of the house and had a good time.

We took in a Longhorn baseball game and a bit of karaoke and smoke!  After the game we were all hungry.  The only place open between Austin and home was Bob's Sports Bar just out of Elgin.  Most of the patrons were smoking.  The four of us are non smokers but decided we would suffer and have some burgers.  The singers were not great.  Kurt sang country western so we bought him a beer and encouraged him to sign up as often as possible to avoid the rap and loud rock songs.  Ha.  It was different for sure.  We arrived home, put our clothes in the washing machine and all had showers before bed!

Yesterday, Estela and I went to The Crossing to meet up with Joan from the Bastrop Sketchers.  It is always good to get out in the world.  I stretched the sketches to fit in the Scavenger Hunt.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21310191#post21310191

Number 5, corner - corner of the porch at The Crossing.  Watercolor and Prismacolor fine line marker/pen.

I also used the sihlouette sketch from Saturday for #4, row of something.

Oh, the Longhorns won the game 2-0 over the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners.  The score was great but not much excitement.  A most beautiful evening at the ballpark, though.  I will complain a bit.  The prices for food have skyrocketed.  A bottle of water is $4, coke (soda) $7, kettle corn $7.  We didn't look over more than that.  I can't imagine taking four kids to the game.  I think a general admission ticket must be around $10.  Whew!

They do have a new parking garage and we can park right in front of the stadium.  That is great.

Pastel Demo at LPAC

Yesterday was my demo at the Lost Pines Art Center.  It is beautiful and an asset to the community.
http://www.lostpinesartcenter.org/

Painting in the big showroom was almost like painting outside.  Windows and raised roof skylighting.

This was my area.  You are looking at about 1/4 of the room.

I took my iPad with quite a few reference photos on it.  I planned on doing a landscape of our area and maybe add a longhorn or two.  I don't like painting from photos very much so decided to just look out the window.

I took this through the window as you can see.  There wasn't anyone around at the moment and if you go out that door you have to go to the front to get back in.  So, bad photo.  Using the photo is mainly for reference later.  The photo doesn't have to be perfect.  The big tree would be the focus of my painting.  You can see the farmers market in the back, Chestnut street and the new City Hall.  If the photo is too perfect, you can end up just making a copy.

I was working on a 14 x 11 Pastelbord.  This has a nice smooth sand grit.  I put on some pastel and wet it with water and spread with a brush.  It didn't want to adhere for some reason.  I'm thinking now that maybe my brush had oil on it from oil painting??  But you can use oil for under painting, too.

Pastel paintings do not require under paintings, but it saves time, pastels and can add a great deal to a painting.  You can cover it completely or let the color show through.  I put sort of a red and purple as a complement to the green that was to follow.  It adds to the continuity of the painting to keep the darks connected as one shape.

I began to develop the painting, adding some more darks and working on the sky and foreground.  I was trying to just give a feeling of background without any details.

This is about where I was before I packed up to leave.  Very incomplete but an hour and a half or so of work.

The rest of the time was talking with visitors and audience.  I was also checking out other artists.  Mark Bray was doing a drawing of a horse in black and white, charcoal and pencil.  There was a wood carver working on a display for the First National Bank and the museum.  Why did I not get a photo or two?

Just received this photo by e-mail.  Thanks, Pam Hickl.  Nice of her to take the time.  It was her birthday yesterday, but I didn't know, Happy Belated Birthday!  We met through Enid Wood's pastel classes.  Fun!

And a more friendly version without the serious contemplation.

Robin Lively http://www.robinlively.com/  was doing a pastel demo as well.  She was working/painting on an old pickup.  She was using some dark slate color, Colourfix sanded paper.  The paper itself was the underpainting and she left some of that to show through....

I love talking and had a great time visiting with the artists and gallery lookers. Oh, actually enjoyed painting, too.

There is a fine coffee shop in the Art Center that serves all the specialty style coffee and tea, snacks and wine.  They make their own meade and sell honey.  What more do you want?  Latte, wine and art!  Woohoo!

We will see how the painting "finishes" or not.  You will have to stay tuned to find out.

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Baseball note:  I stayed up until about 1:00 a.m. watching and listening to the Longhorns.  We went to dinner at the Roadhouse in Paige and started watching there.  We came home and finished listening on the internet.  The Horns defeated the Long Beach State Dirtbags, 5 - 3 in 12 innings as the visiting team.  We don't have a sports package for TV so don't get ESPN or ESPN2.  Anyway the game was very good and close.  You can read about it here.  (Thanks for the link, Joanna.)

http://www.burntorangenation.com/2017/6/4/15736112/texas-longhorns-baseball-defeats-long-beach-state-5-3-in-thrilling-ncaa-regional

The Longhorns carry on.  One more win at the Regional (double elimination tournament) and they play for the Championship.  Not expected but what fun.  Next up would be the Super Regionals which is next weekend with another Regional winner, best 2 of three games.  Then in 10 days or so after that, the NCAA College World Series in Omaha.  We have never been.  Maybe on our trip the Horns will be there and we could just drop by Omaha on our way home from Montana.  Just a few hundred miles more!

Hook 'em Horns!