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.