Riverwalk, East side of Barstow. 7/25/14

Well only 2 of us made it this week. John couldn't make it, Vivian was on vacation, Carol had to rake her recently rotor tilled lawn smooth before it rained. Only Gary and I showed up. Gary couldn't find frame park. He looked at a map and thought the Riverwalk was frame park. Luckily he had my cell phone number and called me. I was just wandering around at Frame park wondering where he was. He doesn't have a gps so he's one step down in technology from me. (My gps is old and the old computer I set up the updates to download on takes over 8 hours of babysitting to download the updates. Needless to say I haven't updated the maps for years. It's good enough. I just call and get directions if I need to.) We both have flip phones so in that way we are both technological dinosaurs. Oh well, painting is more important. I think the schedule next week puts us on the Riverwalk but that's ok. There's plenty to paint there. 

I'm looking at the last two weeks of paintings. Only 2 paintings but they're not too bad. I used the same colors on each. Burnt Sienna, cerulean blue, cadmium yellow medium, titanium white. (Gary uses this really pretty turquoise green.) My paints survived the week in the fridge even if I didn't spray them with golden open media. I got the bottle out but didn't put it in a spray bottle yet.

I am almost done with one work project so can probably make Tuesday night plein airs again. We'll be at McKinley Marina unless Al changes the location. I think last week he was in some competition down in the 3rd ward, so since he was already down there he wanted to plein air paint there. I guess only Roger and Al showed up. The weather was threatening rain all week but you can paint in the rain if you can find shelter. If you let the weather keep you from painting you will hardly ever paint in Wisconsin. I think our weather is unfriendly most of the time. It's either too hot and humid, buggy, raining, snowing, cold, or damp. It just depends on the time of year.

The River walk on the east side of Barstow and across from the DNR building, has an area in the river where there is dam like structure that water goes over like a water fall. It appears fairly shallow and clumps of waterweed pile up there. The ducks were standing on the clumps of waterweed right at the edge of the falls. One was sleeping! Further up the river were 3 fountains strung across the middle of the river. I assume it's to aerate the water.

An nice older gentleman told us that he caught bluegills and muskies in the river here. His second wife is a school teacher and they have traveled quite a few places, Warsaw, eastern and western Europe before and after the Berlin Wall, France, Italy, Spain..... One of his sisters was a World War II codebreaker. I think he worked in the automotive industry. He kept us company the entire time I was painting. Quite a few people came walking by and were complimentary about our paintings. I invited them to look us up and join us. So who knows maybe someone will show up one day.

Waukesha has done a good job with their riverfront. It is very accessible, open, and pretty. Parking is free and easy during the weekdays. That's the opposite of Milwaukee. Milwaukee parking can be difficult depending when and where you go.

Army Lake, East Troy 7/18/14

Vivian invited us as her guests to this private camper ground. It is very nice. She said the 70+ year old guy was very excited that we were coming but he didn't come to look at what we were doing. Gary and Vivan were there when I arrived. John arrived next. Then Carol arrived after we started painting. Judith arrived as I was leaving.

Vivian lives in a camper there in the summer. Gary paints everyday. He showed us his heavy duty umbrella clamp and plastic grid that he uses to get things in proportion. I took pictures of the items and plan to look them up to see how much everything costs so I can save up for it or use a coupon to buy off the internet. I would like an umbrella to clamp to my guerilla box. It can be hard to find a scenic view when you're trying to stay in the shade. Plus the shade moves quite fast.

[EasyL by Artworkessentials.com.  artworkessentials@gmail.com
Umbrella with Lumopro clamp. This is a great clamp.]

Today I turned my easel to keep the painting out of direct sunlight when the shade moved. I wore long pants and long sleeve cotton shirt with my insect repellent sprayed floppy camouflage hat. (I like being able to look up how words are spelled on line.)

I worked in golden open acrylics. Burnt sienna, white, c.p. cadmium yellow medium, cerulean blue. Made nice greens with the cad yellow and a really nice gray with the burnt sienna.

Despite walking and talking a lot. I think I managed to get a mostly done 8x8 painting done. I will evaluate it in fall to see if it needs more. There was a spruce on the edge of my painting. Spruces are kind of bluish white green trees. The reflection of the trees into the water on the far side of the lake kept changing height depending on how the wind was blowing. At first I thought it was the angle of the sun but then it got long again. So it must have been the wind on the water. I need to bring smaller brushes to add in detail easier.

John told me of spraying his acrylics with golden open thinner to keep them wet. I think that will work better than water so I will try that next time. It's been so cool this year despite sun and wind I have not needed a damp towel for paints in the palette. Plus the paints are not drying as fast as I would like. I wonder if the thinner will help me make long thin lines without gaps too?

We basically all hung out painting in the area around the big parking lot. Maybe next time we'll go paint over by the small parking lot where the antiques and cabins are located. Gary painted the island, Vivian painted the lake too.John painted the canoes. The orangish red canoe was Vivian's. Carol painted Vivian blue trailer without knowing it was her trailer. I don't know what Judith ended up painting as I had to leave as she was showing up.

Gary's was telling us a little bit about his exhibition and plein air adventures. He started painting when he was 50. He told of being disqualified for using gouche on watercolor for watercolor competition and being dinged for using an acrylic underpainting under an oil painting. He likes to do a black and white underpainting for the values in acrylic. However when he paints the fur of police dogs he uses oils over acrylic painting because he can get a nice long stroke without gaps.

Vivian can't use turp due to work related health breathing issues anymore so is learning how to use a different media. She likes the slow dry of oils.

Prospect Hills Settlement New Berlin Historical Park 7/11/14 outing

I ran a few errands before arriving a little after 8:30am here. Quick said Hi to everyone, Gary, Vivian, John, Terry, and Carol. Judith showed up right before we left. She had wrist surgery on her left wrist but is right handed I believe she said. Gary's been busy painting with the WIPAPA and others. His goal is to do 50? paintings a year. So about 2 per week. He said he did 4 last weekend. So that's good. Carol didn't feel good so she just came and visited.

I did a quick water color sketch of the outhouse. I kept moving to stay in the shade. It was hot in the sun. One of the few somewhat warmer days this year but probably not 80 F yet. The sketch turned out OK. Terry has outhouse pictures in her bathroom downstairs (basement?) Gary's painting looked quite nice. Terry painted flower garden. John and Vivian were still working on there paintings when I left. While we were looking at our paintings an older gentleman wandered by to look at them but didn't say anything.

All that rush to leave and then none of my appointments showed up. What a waste!

Greendale outing on 7/8/14

Work keeps enroaching on my scheduled painting time. I dropped off my paintings for the Schauer Show in Hartland at 3ish but then made the mistake of taking 83 south. A lot of construction which wouldn't have been too bad except I went too far south into Waukesha so ended up cutting back north. I was avoiding the southbound 45 mess which was already backed up when I went to Hartland. I should have taken 94 east to moreland, which is where eastbound 94 starts to back up during rush hour, then moreland south until I got to howard/grange or so to take east to greendale.

Well by the time I got to Greendale I only had an hour to paint so parked my car in the parking lot across the street from the library and went over by the Gazebo. I figured they could see me there from the library but I guess not. Al came by about 15 minutes before I had to leave and said Roger, Cathy, Ted and Amy came but I did not see them because I had to leave for work.

I decided to do a watercolor sketch as I didn't have much time and it was less stressful than acrylics and less messy than pastels. I got the shapes penciled in and a light layer of watercolor put in then my hour was up and I had to leave. It was a good start. Maybe I will finish it later.

Weather was about 70 and cool in the shade with a slight breeze. I sat at a picnic table with my multimedia sketchbook and my prange and sparkly watercolors. Everything fits in my backpack and is quick and easy to setup, use, and take down. Just practice, that's all.

Greenfield park outing 7/1/14

I guess 2 other people were there but we never did find each other. I had to leave at 7:30pm so couldn't walk around and look for anyone. I just went down by the water and started painting. Al said Pat and Roger? were there. Never saw them but Greenfield park is quite large. Al couldn't make it as he had an obligation. I'm looking at the Milwaukee Sketch Club blog so I can remember where I was and when, as I'm a little behind on this blog. That's OK. Anything worth doing is worth doing imperfectly or you will drive yourself crazy or be so paralyzed that you won't get anything done.

The weather was probably about 70. I set up my acrylic box on the ledge in the shade down by the water and painted the trees across the lagoon. The wind was making the light highlight the windblown leaves. I made the mistake of cutting the painting in half with water in the lower half and the trees in the upper half but I had a good fun time painting. I can always paint over it.

 People were just the right amount of friendly walked by and looked. A couple said it was pretty. One thing nice about Wisconsin, people are very nice. I think even if you painted a bad painting they would say something nice. I remember one time when Carol and I were painting the backs of some old buildings with pastels in Waukesha by the Riverwalk, a drunk walked by and said, "Whoa, look at them colors." Carol was doing her underpainting in complementary oranges. It's a way of making your pastel more lively. You keep the values but if the grass is green you paint the right values in red then put the greens over the top so the red peeks through. You can do the same thing with acrylics and possibly oils but not watercolors I believe. I think it would make the water colors muddy. However I have used complements to make edges and shadows in watercolors which seems to work.

I'm starting to get a few paintings that I need to rework. I'm thinking of covering it with tinted acrylic clear so the underpainting faintly shows through to see what kind of effect that has. I bought some more 6x8 canvas. It is so hard to work small. So I don't think I will be using my smaller canvases.

It's been a very cool year. The golden open acrylics do not skin over. In fact I need to hold off spraying the to keep them from getting too watery.

a quick watercolor sketch in marinette county about 7/4/14

I was up north the previous weekend for the 4th of July holiday. I went with my relatives to see the Wausaukee parade. I love that parade. They had a lot of old cars, tree trimming exhibition, and a water balloon/squirt gun battle between the parade spectators who brought a cooler of water balloons and the baseball teams who had squirt guns and water balloons. It was fun!

Anyway I digress. I did manage in between the fun to do a quick watercolor sketch with my sparkley pan water color paints while we were sitting around the campfire as dusk approached. I just did a freeform water color of the the woods. I like prange and prange type water colors when I travel.

I got interrupted a couple of days ago when I was writing this post. Not sure where I was going with the above thought.

Sunday we celebrated my niece's birthday so I made her a card of this sketch. Everyone liked the sparkles too.

MSC at East Troy City Center 6/27/14

It wasn't so bad getting there at 8:30am despite construction on I-43 around Mukwonago. Basically took I-43 south, went north on 20, made a left at the lights (main street) and followed that to the town square. The town square is like a big round-about where traffic goes in on direction around it. I had a hard time planning what to paint. John and Terry painted the flower shop. Vivian and I painted a shop with bright blueish red striped awning and pink planters in front. We all sat in front of the newspaper office which was either closed or moving down the street. Several people said hi. A guy with a camera came and asked if it was ok if he took pictures of us painting for the chamber of commerce website. We said yes, and I pulled my hat down over my face to hide it better. So who knows we may have pictures on the chamber of commerce.

It started out cool at 65 F but by the time we left about 10:30 it was sunny and approaching 80F. Acrylic paint dried like I expected. I loosely covered the palette with its cover as there was a slight breeze and I was standing in the sun. Sprayed the acrylics a few times with water. I normally use golden open acrylics outside. Blocked in the shapes with burnt sienna, Made the awning and planters with alizarin crimson and titanium white. Made greens with ultramarine blue and hansa yellow opaque.

4th of July parade is on Sunday the 6th in East Troy.

All of us have easels in this Friday morning group. Vivien and Terry used a french easel. Vivien regular oils and Terry water soluble oils. I used my guerilla box on a tripod with golden open acrylics. John has his stool, table, and water color easel. He starts with a fairly complete drawing without shading, the uses his water colors to shade and bring color to the drawing. 

I am working small (8x8 maximum size) for the upcoming mini art show at artbar in December. It's hard to go back to painting small. I can't get detail easily. I like to use medium size brushes. The last two times out we  painted buildings so have used my flat brushes. Both of the last two paintings are not finished. 2 hours is not enough to finish the paintings. However, I will get quicker with practice. I want to put a clear coat over these last 2 paintings, then go over the top with regular acrylic paint until I am finished. Probably proportion will need a little fixing too. They will definitely change a little as painting from photographs is not the same as painting in the field.

Terry was at some fundraiser last night where they had to paint a flower bouquet in 90 minutes which was then auctioned off. Terry's a contact person for the WVA, Wisconsin Visual Artists to the end of her term, but someone else is taking over that job now.

Next week no Friday morning painting because it is the 4th of July. The next Friday morning outing is to the New Berlin Historical Park. In fall we may go to Army Lake and Rochester, Wisconsin.