Tuesday Plein Air Group

Above: Gail gets a pat on the back from a passing cowboy.

The early morning sun hid behind fog and ragged rainclouds that promised to soak my pastels, but only thirteen drops of rain fell, and we chased the fleeting shapes of light and shadow across the red rock.  Karen and Gail disputed the names of the distant rock formations, but my favorite (and undisputed) was “Mother Coyote Teaches Her Children to Howl at the Moon.”

Michelle and I painted from the vantage point of the old museum’s agave garden.  I fought my pastel surface, finally resorting to Hannemulle Velour, which was exactly like painting on shaved monkey butt.

Dan joined us and took the Zen approach of less is more since he forgot his watercolor brushes and instead created a charming sketch with his tiny little silver ballpoint pen.

Fellow pastel painter, Karen, finished two terrific pastel pieces before we left, and was last seen in a rocky gulley, working on a third.

Pete, practicing for the Escalante Plein Air festival next week, worked his magic in oils.

Gail painted the howling red rock pups in oil, while Liz vividly depicted the old museum building. Betty expertly painted the old barnwood door of the apple shed, while Wendy and Janel painted the distant fog-shrouded rocks.

We had another outdoor enthusiast join us—Mrs. Furry—who scurried off to her secret spot in the rocks.

Left to right: Wendy, Karen, Betty, Dan, Pete, Michelle, Gail, Janel. Not shown: Mrs. Furry. Next week we’ll meet again at the Heritage Museum at 8:00. Hope to see you there!

The temperature was perfect and the sun was making lovely shadows on the lily pond, but some of us were just not quite feeling it.  Mike and Best-in-Show hung out—no watercolors in sight but gave us a masterclass in how to approach a plein air watercolor painting.  I was feeling lazy and overwhelmed by all those confounding lily pads, and my painting showed it.

Dona, Janel and Gail painted the park’s namesake windmill, and I painted its reflection (does that count?)

Karen painted the grazing quarterhorses, while LeAnne teased them with imaginary apples.  An indignant Cooper’s hawk flew down and criticized Gail, Janel and LeAnne’s paintings of trees.

Debborah, a fellow Arizona Pastel Artists Association painter, up for the day, set up in the shade to paint a charming oil of the landscape with Betty hidden in the foliage.  Betty and Wendy took in a wider view of the pond and park, while Sophie focused on a small vignette of the lilies, slowly unfurling in the sunlight. We tried to analyze the color of the algae oozing across the top of the water.

Kathi experimented with colored pencils, a new medium for her, and created a tiny treasure of white blossoms amid dark green pads. Karen, overly ambitious, completed a second gorgeous pastel of the pond.

Left to right: Wendy, Debborah, Kathi, Janel, Betty, Gail, Dona, LeAnne, Karen, Sophie

Next week we’re meeting at 8:00 at the Sedona Heritage Museum in Sedona at 735 Jordan Rd.  Link to the website is HERE: https://sedonamuseum.org/.  There’s plenty to paint on the grounds of the museum, including great red rock views, old barns and buildings, and plenty of shady trees.  Directions HERE: https://sedonamuseum.org/visit#shmdirect

The reflection of the pale three-quarters moon in the still waters of Windmill Park’s lily pond called for a haiku poem:

Moon lies belly up
Blushing pink waterlilies
Look the other way

On Tuesdays the park is flooded with water and everyone comes with their dogs and kids to splash and frolic in the shallow, grassy pools.  I wanted to jump in and roll around, too, but I haven’t had a recent hepatitis shot.

The pink and white waterlilies were all looking up and smiling for their photographs, and in the still water was the perfect reflection of the old windmill and the moon—until our international-yellow-shirted park worker created a tsunami with his push broom.

To prepare for the water lilies, I looked at Monet’s wonderful paintings, but his spirit refused to channel for me.  Janel caught the striking reddish underbelly of the lily pads in her painting, while LeAnne captured the character of a single flower and pad.

The Rylands set up in a nice shady spot on the edge of the lily pond with their watercolors.

Pat, Christine, Mike, and Gail opted for the view of trees and flooded grassy fields.  Karen got a late start with her pastel because her little dog, a terrible bully, forced her to throw his ball into the grass over and over and over and barked cuss words at her when she was slow.

Dona ordered the grazing horses to stand perfectly still (and they did).

Kirsten went further afield and drew six charming nature studies.  Finding beauty in grossity, Kathi sketched a massive clump of mushrooms.

Next week we’re going back again while the flowers are still blooming.

Left to right: Smelly (gnawing on Karen’s leg), Karen, Dona, Christine, Kristen, Janel, Gail, Mike, LeAnne, Kathi.

We painted in the cool shade of Tlaquepaque’s sycamores and courtyards, lulled by the splashing fountains and birdsong. LeAnne, Karen and Dona painted the fountains with and without water.

Janel found a charming Susan Kliewer bronze of a little Navajo girl to paint, while I attempted one of Waddell’s dancers.

Sophie caught the glancing sunlight and shadow on an old adobe wall, while Karen and Tecla captured Tlaquepaque’s Rincon corner, with its colorful umbrellas.  Tlaquepaque’s Spanish Colonial architecture is a challenge for me, but Pat rendered the chapel, with its bell and turquoise dome. Christine worked her magic in goache, depicting the flower-filled alleyway.

Mike caught the red tile roof of one of the shadowy old art studios while Nita and Gail focused on other street scenes.

Pat suggested painting the blooming waterlilies at Windmill Park next week since they are at their perfect peak, so we’re heading to Cornville at 8:00.  The Heritage Museum in Sedona may be on our agenda for a September paintout—stay tuned.

Dona New, “Guesthouse”

Kathi F. received permission from Jerome State Park rangers to paint on the grounds of the historic Douglas Mansion, a Jerome landmark since 1916, when James S. Douglas built it on the hill just above his Little Daisy Mine. Dona sketched one of his daughters’ homes high on the opposite hill. Pat and Tecla found a shady spot on the lawn, while Kathi traced the shadows of flowers.

Pliny the Elder tells the story of Kora, who falls in love with a young soldier on the eve of his departure. Faced with impending separation, Kora tries to preserve her lover’s beautiful features by tracing the silhouette of his shadow, cast by the light of an oil lamp. The soldier sails at dawn, leaving Kora as empty as the outline she drew on the wall. Unlike poor Kora’s sketch, Kathi’s shadow tracing of vibrant orange gladiolas burst off the page in abstract splendor.

I attempted the Jerome landscape as seen through the lovely Spanish Colonial archway. James, painting from the patio, promises to bring a cheater tool to help with my sadly wanting perspective. I’ve never understood Renaissance painter Paolo Uccello who said, “what a sweet mistress is perspective.” If he wasn’t so dead I’d like to kick him right in his vanishing point.

Big thanks to the generosity of the Jerome State Park rangers.

I’m sorry to have missed painting at one of my favorite places, but hope to join our group next week. Huge thanks to Nita M. for getting permission for our artist invasion. I personally think we add to the charming ambiance of the spot.

It looks like everyone found their happy place by fountains, alleyways or in the shade of the chapel. Mike painted the entrance gates to Tlaquepaque. Welcome back, Nita D. and LeAnne! We missed you.

Painters include Christine, Karen, LeAnne, Mike, Nita D., Nita M., Pete, Suze, Janel and Tecla. We have permission to paint at Tlaquepaque for Day 2, 8 – 10 on August 25.

Tecla found our small Monday group a fun place to paint, under the shadecloth and amid flowering plants at Verde Valley Growers.

My ambition exceeded my skills, but I admired the Seuss-like Tizzle-tops, bold marigolds and black-eyed Susans.

Nita painted charming vignettes inside the building, while Gail tackled a pyramid of vivid orange pots. Betty, embraced by grape vines, painted the quonset-hut shaped out-building housing vegetables.

Big thanks to Tacla for finding our paint-out location.

The lagoon was quiet except for the squeak-toy cries of a Cooper’s Hawk high up in the cottonwoods.  I set up at the far edge of Big Lagoon and tried to capture the red-capped angler before he ambled off to a more secluded spot.  Rain began to hit the mirrorlike surface of the pond and spotted my watercolor—improving it.  My grandfather always said that fish like rain, and there was suddenly a lot of greedy gobbling and grabbing in the reeds at the shoreline.

Suzie, Sophie and Karen found a deep arroyo cut into the bank, and Christine said she was painting “the Gothic arches” of overhanging cottonwood boughs.

Caroline and Tacla found a shady picnic table and painted the small lagoon with its cattails and ripples while Betty, in a mesquite stand, painted the riding horses patiently waiting for customers. 

Mike worked magic with his watercolor landscape, and James and Pete captured fleeting light and shadows on the pond as the rain vanished and the sun came out.

We’ll be painting at Tlaquepaque from 8 – 10 for the next two weeks (August 18 and 25) thanks to Nita’s pull with the C-Suite.  You can find directions and links to the venue under “Outings and Directions.”

Mike Trulson, “Blue House” watercolor

Our Monday painters met in Jerome at the House of Joy, once a brothel, now a cute boutique.

 Architectural perspective is my least favorite thing, but I was inspired by the buildings tumbling down the mountainside like kids’ building blocks and set up with Mike and Nita on a concrete slab in front of a sign that warned, “No Trespassing, Loitering, or Hanging Around.”  The pungent odor of a skunk family denning beneath the concrete slab may have scared off other vagrants, but not us.

According to Tecla, ducks were sitting pretty for their portraits at Dead Horse Park and eager for Day 2, August 11.  Meet at the ballpark at 8:00 am if you wish to carpool and avoid the $10 entry fee.  Once inside, we will gather at the first lagoon under the shade trees.

Instead of painting the very lovely ducks, I was at my daughter’s wedding, held in the middle of a wildflower field at a winery. It was very DYI and we had fun picking flowers for the bridal bouquet and decorating the gazebo with garlands of sunflowers and ivy. Joy and happiness!