I think every painter has a sketch or two that they tend to paint again and again. I have an old sketch of a tow entering lock 3 on the Mon at Elizabeth, PA that I keep going back to frequently.
Even though the subject is the same, the paintings are all different as the color choices of the moment dictate the mood of the work. The finished work is an approximate 11 x 14 image in a 16 X 20 matte.
Locking Up
My mother used to tell stories about how when she was a kid, living near the Ohio River in the Pittsburgh, a fun time was running on the banks of the river chasing riverboats on their way to or from Pittsburgh. And, even though forbidden, she and her siblings would wade to wave to the boats as they passed.
One steamboat she mentioned frequently was a favorite of hers, the Homer Smith. The watercolor in this post was based on her stories about chasing the Homer Smith from the north shore of the Ohio. I call it "Banks of the Ohio"
The riverboat pilot had to be on his toes constantly. A hazard, such as a fallen tree or submerged stump and branches, could quickly put a boat out of commission or worse yet, sink it.
This little watercolor depicts one of these hazards and a sternwheeler making an evasive shift of course. There is an old fiddle tune called "Mississippi Sawyer" and these treacherous tree obstacles were often called the same.
"A Mississippi Sawyer" (approximately 12 X 16 image, watercolor on paper)
Petunia has booked a fairly full month of workshops and demonstrations for February. All of them are in the state of Florida which makes the Queenbee happy since she loves the opportunity to get to a warmer clime if only for a short while.
So far, all of the workshops are for private groups with the exception of a demonstration of water color on canvas to be held in Sun City on February 27.
Winter has been milder than most so far and I guess that is good except that I find painting winterscapes with lots of snow a favorite thing to do. Not that lack of snow should hinder the painting of such but it an issue of stimulation. Anyhow, I've retreated to subject matter that is always appealing to me and that is the rivers and riverboats. Here is a quick watercolor that I just finished of the towboat "WES McDONALD" that I did from an earlier sketch made from a vantage point in Elizabeth, PA.
This is a practice for placement of selective detail and contrasts and use of a limited palette.
I do want to get back to painting bluegrass music themes as well. Last weekend was the annual Ice Jam in Butler, PA. I did spend Saturday afternoon there and had a great time talking to some old friends and picking a bit with some new ones.
Here it is, first week of 2012 and time to get back to being productive. First challenge of the year is inputting this blog from the iPad we got as a Christmas present from our son. Had a very nice New Years Eve with kids and grand kids...best in years if not ever.
Technology has passed me by. I have had lots of problems getting this post up. My old reliable Dell laptop died last month and the mac wasn't letting me into my account for some reason. But, I'm in now, using our old mac, and hopefully will be able to keep the posts coming more frequently.
The plan is to conduct two workshops in Florida in February. These are both for private groups and, as such, not open to general public. Sorry to others who have expressed interest. Stay in touch, possibly something else can be arranged.
Winter has finally settled in here about a week or so late for Christmas. Above is a watercolor sketch of the lane from our house to the main road. Winter can be uncomfortable at times and sometimes inconvenient; but, it sure is pretty.
The Our Town Theater Christmas Market in Oakland, MD is the unofficial start of the season for us. Great turnout, music, arts and crafts and lots of fun with weather more like a spring day than early December. If you didn't make it this year put it on your calendar for next.
If you are near Oakland, MD this weekend stop by and visit us at the Our Town Theatre Christmas Market being held in St. Peter's Catholic Church social hall on Saturday. That's December 3, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Plug Rte 135 and 4th street into your GPS.
There will be many vendors and we will have some new work to show along with our line of winter and Christmas cards. Pictured here is a watercolor on canvas, Winter Rush. Finished image size is 30 X 40 inches.
I'm looking forward to a Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends in the mountains, without snow. It isn't as pretty, but it does make life easier.
The forecast is for sunny and near 50 for Thanksgiving day and even warmer on Friday. Not always so. We've already had a dose of winter this year. I have a library of photos and sketches that were made this time of year but look very wintery. In fact, they're some of my favorites.
This painting is fairly new and reminds me of late November around here.
This is titled "Snowfence" and is a sign of things to come.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
This past Saturday night, the Western Garrett County State Park Volunteers, organizers of the Garrett County Bear Tour, held their fundraising dinner and auction in the ski lodge at the Wisp Resort. It was successful in that significant dollars were raised for construction of a canopy walk in Deep Creek Lake State Park and a grand time was had by all in attendance.
Twenty carved and painted bears were sold at auction conducted by auctioneer Tom Henline. More than three hundred patrons attended along with participating volunteer artists. Prizes were awarded by drawing to patrons who had successfully completed the bear crawl which required them to visit and be logged in at every sponsoring location in the county.
Headlining the entertainment was noted bluegrass performer and bandleader, John Mackin of Pittsburgh. John was supported here by Thomas Yonke on his banjo along with grandpap Bob. It was fun to be a part of it.
Not so many years ago, I was invited to join a serious fly fisherman and friend of mine, Tad Potter, for a couple days of fishing for King Salmon on the Salmon River near Pulaski, NY. The trip overwhelmed me. The river was attractive and the town of Pulaski was focused on fishing and providing the services that would draw serious fishermen.
Just the other day, I was going through some old photos of fall fishing trips and some shots of this trip to Pulaski were among them and I couldn't resist doing some sketches and small studies that I hope will work into larger pieces.
I call this 12 X 16, watercolor on canvas, "Stalking the Kings" and is my interpretation of our guide pointing to an area that is showing a sign of fish. These King Salmon get quite large, getting to 40 pounds or so and maybe 36 inches around the middle. Hooking one is a thrill, corraling one an even bigger thrill