Kitsmiller Road east

Unfortunately this w/c has no date to tell when it was done.  It was this summer though when the grasses had begun to mature. I had taken the bicycle on one of my favorite rides out to E1700 road where this fence is characteristic of the landscape.  Did a sketch directly on the Canson w/c paper and then later at home did this painting over the sketch.  Cannot say I was too happy with it to start, but after it sat a couple months I began to like it better.  I have often watched a hawk work its way along this tree line in the distance headed east -to the right of the picture.  According to the address on the utility easement south of here the name  is Kitzmiller Rd, though none of the signs indicate that. But I would suppose the Kitzmiller's, north or south had something to do with the use of all the woven wire fence, which has been here longer than I by far. They could also  explain the occasional use of an old streel framed bed spring in a fence here and there.  We are talking 60 year old or more springs -before the advent of the new wood framed "box spring".           This was done on 9" x 12" Canson 140 # paper. It reproduced here way darker than it actually is for some reason...

Hiawatha wigwam

From time to time you see a tee pee on the south side of the Haskell campus.  This time I ran into the tipi (wigwams were I guess a more round top structure -am I right?) while riding through the center of campus.  The 'ol Hiawatha Hall is a recent idea of, say some 120 years. On the National Register it looks fairly permanent sitting there in its ancient local stone.  The tee pee on the other hand is really an ancient idea, although the cloth (?) and pole of which it is made are no doubt much more recent.  The near dwelling made to be transient, the far intended to be permanent.  Hiawatha, like a couple other structures in this row of buildings may slowly be loosing its relevance as it becomes more and more expensive to update.    At the last minute while passing by, I stopped, backed up my bicycle and did this quick drawing, which I touched up at home over the next couple days.  9" x 5" format with .9mm 2B lead.

white place in the fall sun

In an attempt to deal with a nondescript foreground and at the same time add a little fall color to the scene, I ended up with this piece.  It was conceived from a sketch done on recent road trip. Maybe I am getting better at catching in pencil a quick idea of something that could turn into a painting.  What do you think?    Canson 9 x 12 140# paper on the first of October when the grasses where drying up, the stag-horn sumac had been full red for a long time, but not all the trees had yet given up their green for the shades of fall.

Murphy-Bromelsick porch

 This place is easy to get interested in.  We have a painting I did hanging here of this place back in the 1980's that one of the kid's framed & gave me.  At that time it was still on Delaware St.  It is an interesting story of how it was moved to Hobb's park.  Also have a number of sketches black & white as well as color of it since being moved.   Every angle of this place is interesting. This drawing is done on 11 x 14 paper with the .9 mm B lead.
A few years ago we met one of the few surviving decendants of the Lawrence newspaper editor during Quantrill's raid.  He was using the old house as a studio for his ink portraits while tending the building during the hours it was open.
Below is a detail of the porch corner.

burr oak

The giant ghost in the tree is the result of cramming too much onto one page.  There are way more burr oak at least in this part of Minnesota, than in eastern Kansas it seems to me.  There are about 5 or 6 along this tree line at the edge of the kids woods. These are the quintessential oak tree.  Large and rounded and blocky heavy twigs with strong angles at each bend.  They are a beautiful tree.  They are especially rugged looking when they are bare, as these were on the 22 of October- one day before our daughter's birthday.  That was a month ago now, and they are still celebrating her birthday!!!

further shadows

An early morning sketch. The second I have tried when I rose before day break to take a walk and do some birding. No date or even a signature on this drawing but it was done a few days after the similar one of the pickup in the same street light.

long tin hill

Another study of sky hill and a little human activity in the middle. There is always a struggle between man and the natural world.  The vegetation, ie. trees & "shurruubburry" as well as the bugs, mice and mold are always trying to diminish the impact of man's efforts. Below is a detail of the painting.

wind'a chair

9/2/15   10:15     Killing time at the Lawrence Public Library one morning.  These are the new chairs at the new window in the north east corner of the new library. Don't ya get a kick outa' the shape? The Pentel .9mm is my weapon of choice- loaded with 2 B lead it makes a versatile tool; easy to carry and good for larger drawings, as well as smaller ones like this 5" x 9" sketch.

Patterson's buggy

Don't know why it took so long to take the time to sketch this buggy. It belongs to a Mr. Patterson who lives around the block. I have gone past it for some years I guess.  Finally stopped on the bicycle and came up with this.  Patersons are the ones who once owned  "Lunkers"- the bait shop up on 23rd Street. Greg Ostertag worked there once when he first came to KU for basketball.  At least he was in there dipping minnows one day while we were getting some tackle.  The ceiling was a little low for him, but I guess he was used to that.              This is another small sketch done with a Sharpie, in a hurry in a 5" x 9" pad.

After the bypass

This scene was on a quick trip out east to where the road work has quieted the traffic and made it possible for a few months to have a peaceful place to sketch. The bypass will not be done for a year, but the bridge over this road is nearly done, so you can get to this spot with a short drive.  The beans had not yet lost their green color.  There are a few 6 foot diameter concrete drain pipes sitting unused in the corner of the field.  This painting was started at the site, while only a couple end dumps went by.  Go figure.  I was sitting beside their shortcut for the day. Wish I could say that a few finishing touches were all this needed at home, but because of the trucks and the heat that day, I did a pencil sketch and headed for the house!  But the painting seemed to turn out ok.  It was done on 9" x 12" Canson 140 lb paper.   It was about 80 degrees at 3pm on a late August day.

Dry shade

 
Great protection for the rain we have not been getting. These umbrellas stand out more now than in the heat of summer.  The "Pooch Plunge" is over and the municipal pool is drained, but the umbrellas have not yet been retired for the winter. The shape of an umbrella is interesting; it provides a nice form against just about any backdrop. They are like a flattened tee pee, but the ribs do not reach to the ground. Who invented the umbrella, and how long ago was that?

parked Mack

We had been working in the east yard for most the day.  Very little of the equipment or trucks that usually have lined the south side of the lot are still there- at least this day.  The old water truck caught my eye sometime during the day, so at the end of the day I wandered out there again and did a quick pencil sketch that is very little different than this watercolor.             I took the sketch and transferred it to watercolor paper just by sight. Making a few changes to "improve" the composition. As usual I was not at all pleased with the result until a few days later.  I guess that's when a person gains a little perspective.    
This is on a sheet of Strathmore  12" x 12" 140lb paper.

Little "Coop"

There is never a shortage of traffic in our town of 90,000.  So finding a vehicle to sketch usually does not take much.  As long as you can find a place to sit or even stand for a few minutes.  We spend a good amount of time around 7th & Vermont streets.  There is a little grass and some seating that usually will provide a place to draw.  So it was the day I sat at the picnic table and did this 5 x 9 inch drawing.

Summer grasses

This composition from 2 sketches done our trip to Stockton for Gramma Ruth's reunion. This takes me to a time when she was a kid down on "the Turnback".  It is mostly forgotten now, though 2 or 3 generations have since grown up on the property and no doubt played in "Gum spring" just like Gramma did.  I am sure the old log cabin has returned to the earth.  Maybe there is a barn, a silo or a shed to save a truck for a later, a... a...      I hear the breeze through the grass and the trees. Maybe there is a chicken hawk perched up there and waiting for a rabbit.           This painting was done on the 7th of September.  It was done on Fluid cold press 140 lb paper.

Grease monkey

Trucks are always a good subject.  And you don't need to have the full image to get some nice lines and composition. This one spends a lot of time on the road, but mostly in rock quarries and road jobs where there is always lube and oil changes to be done.   Another 5 x 9 inch sketch done at lunchtime in the parking lot at the shop.

East 1700 road

 I had started this one afternoon as the rain was threatening. I was sitting in my pick-up near a barricade in the road, and had started some of the washes working my way down the painting while watching a good storm coming over the hill you see on the right.  When the lightning and thunder got just too intense and I could not see out of the windshield, I decided it was time to bail. Then the half finished water color sat around for a couple months or more as we made a trip to Georgia and back before I picked it up again. This scene out east of Lawrence is one of the few corners that way that still looks the same after most of the road work is done east and south of this spot.

Here is a detail of the trees by the end of the building. You can see some of the pencil lines of the beginning sketch, before I started puttin' brush to paper.

Alley south

Sketch of the alley heading south from 7th across from the downtown fire station.  Done with a "Sharpie" fine point. Was not one of my favorite, but I kinda' like it now. Catches some of the depth of the scene though there is no variation in tone.  Catches also some of the reflection of light and dark on the puddles in the depression in the middle of the alley.

late summer grasses

This composition from 2 sketches from our trip to Stockton for Gramma Ruth's reunion. This takes me to a time when she was a kid down on "the Turnback".  It is mostly forgotten now, though 2 or 3 generations have since grown up on the property and no doubt played in "Gum spring". I am sure the old log cabin has returned to the earth.  Maybe there is a barn, a silo or a shed to save a truck for a later, a... a...      I hear the breeze through the grass and the trees. Maybe there is a chicken hawk perched up there and waiting for a rabbit. If you'd like to see a closeup, try the thumnails pg.

Walnut dolphin

There were three of us sitting around the table with this dolphin carved from a rough chunk of walnut sitting in the middle.  It was, as it has been for a long time, at the apex of its highest jump.  I was sketching it and listening to a discussion of the history of Emporia State football coaches and...  Ok I guess I was not listening very carefully.  But it was as good as background music for drawing.  The ol' guitarist, John P. Jervis, Jr. who played one night at "Signs of Life" when we stopped there was in the room as well.  He liked the drawing, and suggested we come to Panera on a Saturday morning to hear him play and do some sketching perhaps.
A walnut dolphin is a good dolphin for landlocked Kansas, full of old walnut trees...
This drawing is 2B .9mm lead on 5" x 9" paper.

Shadows

This is the first of two drawings done of the same scene at the same time of day, but with different vehicles on different days. I was sitting on the porch waiting for the sky to begin lighting up just a bit before I took an early walk.  Not having done many sketches in the dark, and knowing how "enlightening" they can be, I had been looking for a good opportunity to do some more.  So the chance came at an unexpected moment.
None with a couple half dry "Sharpie"s in a 5 x 9" pad.

Late summer porch

Here is a shot of some of the stuff that has sat a few years on the porch. The metal chair, one of two, came in the truck from Monrovia, CA when Gramma Lottie came to KS. The chairs are nearly indestructible- who knows how many times they have rolled off the porch in a summer squall.  The "Snake plant" came from the neighbor.  It was in the piano drawing of last winter. Done on 11? x 16" paper with the .9mm 2B lead. These drawings take a little time to do. Sitting for an hour or more to get the main drawing done, maybe over the course of a day or two, and then finishing up the details and tweaking them here and there over the next days.

smokin' egg

Done in very early spring while visiting in Georgia.  Matthew was smoking a pork butt for our evening meal. The "Big Green Egg" has a temp control sitting in the intake down on the left that is wired up to the readout you can see from inside the kitchen window.  The epitome of convenience.  I think the "Egg" could do one butt after another and not run out of fuel.                        This drawing was sitting in a forgotten pad waiting to have a few finishing touches added.  When I found it the other day I thought it better get done.  Like a lot of other stuff around here; painting the house, cleaning out the garage; finishing up the garden for the year, etc, etc... Done in a 11 x 14 inch Strathmore Sketch pad.
     You can go to the thumbnails pg to see a detail or 2.

Farmhouse south wall

White paper and white farm houses seem to go together well. A clear warm summer day, just before the change to fall starts  the air chillin'  & the leaves turning in earnest. Though the grasses have been ripe for days and have long lost their deep spring green.
I'll stick a detail on the thumbnails page (right side bar) for anyone wanting to get up close & personal...

chair back

The ol' desk chair - or so we call it - has served us well.  Now it makes a great place for a laptop to get plopped.  I do not remember the sun landing on the back of the chair as it was this particular afternoon. The juxtaposition of light and dark against each other is irresistible to draw.  After laying out the chair and getting the shades, I added the background.  Then I decided the darks of the chair did not stand out like the should, so I took some 4B lead to them.  It is probably ok now.  I may eventually do a composition that is more black and white, just to see how it would look. It would make an interesting watercolor.

Curb hardware... or bloomin' hostas

 These hostas were leftover from a makeover a Gramma's place.  They spent a winter in the compost pile, and then planted by the back door.  They did not take an extra year to bloom again as I half expected; was that because of the good compost? 

Nice to be able to stand up.   The big chunk of graphite laying on the easel was a gift from Deana who was cleaning out her closet.  The easel came from a neighbor around the block- "curb hardware"- believe it!  I actually have another lighter one from the same store as well. 

        I was keeping an eye out for an opportunity to use the graphite stick.   Had not done these plants when they were blooming, so I am glad I got this done.   Now (since Monday 8/31) I have a roll of heavy paper to use for these quick studies or for large project layouts: 8" diameter by some 62" tall that I can cut paper from one pc at a time.  It should last some years I suppose.  It is also from the same curb!

You can see that I did this on the easel standing by the hostas.
Here is the drawing; the easel; the hostas off to the side and the yard behind.











And a closeup.

Fairgrounds overcast

I had gone for a quick spin in the truck to see what could be found to sketch.  I rolled past the fairgrounds on Harper Street headed north then turned around above the inersection and headed back. Driving into the parking area on the very north end I could see that the scene I had originally hoped for - of a fellow tending a horse next to his rig - had changed.  Then when I saw this scene out my driver's side window I thought, "that's it!"  As I finished drawing a sketch the sprinkles that had been coming off and on started up again in earnest.  It was gray and overcast most the day on this Tuesday the 7th of July and by now at 5 pm it did not look like any hope of fair weather.  Seems like it was a 4-H group that was having a show in the arena, so there were 15 or so rigs around, most of them to the south in the gravel lot. There was a mother guiding a mount past my truck with what looked like her daughter sitting on the horse -they were getting wetter by the second as I drove away.  The grass and the trees added a good feel to the scene.          The watercolor painting was finished at home from the sketch done that afternoon on Strathmore 400 series 11" x 15" paper in a spiral bound pad.

4000 twice

Here is another of the pickup.  Again I just sat in the drive beating off the mosquitoes and did this drawing in the 90 degree heat.  Done in a smaller format of about 10" x 12" with the same 0.9mm B lead, with maybe some larger 2B. These drawings take a little more time than some simplier sketches - maybe about an hour originally sitting there. Then another 30 - 45 min. or so the next day.  Then some reviewing the drawing over the next couple days and tweaking it to improve some areas, and showing a little more depth and believability.

fiddled with the look

Had to change the design so the "follow me" gadget would show up. Some have been wondering why it was not available. Now it is. Let me know what you think. Here's a couple thumbnails I don't think you have seen before, maybe...

Haskell driving range

A quick trip by truck one rainy day to a spot I often pass on the Trek if the weather is a little more dry.  I faced toward the ball field over the top of the driving range toward the trees south of where the red tailed hawks nested this spring.  At the time the young 2 or 3 that survived could still be heard squawking for some attention in the trees as you passed- if it was not raining too much. Why should they hunt for food when complaining works just as well.  I have not seen or heard one of the offspring for a month or so now, so hopefully they are off on their own doing ok. This was a quick sketch, as I was not inclined that morning to fuss with it and also I was wanting to catch the mood and the tone of the scene before another downpour started.                                                               This was done on a Strathmore  140lb pad about 11" x 11" using only part of the paper. I could stand to do more of these quick studies.                            

phone time

 Yah, so I had some opportunities to sketch folk on their phones.  This is a very typical pose as you well know.  These are small thumbnails about 2" tall.

 Cross legged and index finger supported head.

This guy is working his thumb pretty hard.

 Quick sketches like this teach you a bit about how things really look.

South Park south

I figured there would be a place around South Park where I could sit and sketch something of interest. Ta da! Here it is. I actually returned to this place 3 times.  After about 90 minutes of drawing on the first afternoon, the threatening storm finally chased me off with some sprinkles.  Only a couple landed on the paper - and that was through the open car window on the way home. This place attracted my attention  for a number of reasons.  The porch, the roof line, the view down the side of the place, the car, the bike, and on and on... Yah, I know I am not 'sposta get sidetracked by all the details.  So where do I stop?  I had some time, a pencil, and a little white paper left in front of me. There musta been a little breeze too, as the mosquitoes were not pestering me.       Most of the first session was getting the  basic lines down, then I made a stop another day to check on some of the shading. The kid who owns the toad in the driveway walked by and commented how nice it was to find this place to live, and that, "you even got my car in it!"  Then a couple days later on the last stop to finish the drawing Stephanie came with me as I was able to pretty much complete it.
As you can see this was started on the 18th of August about 5 pm when the temp was 78 degrees. Done on Strathmore Sketch 60 lb paper with my trusty Pentel .9mm B lead.

O'Connell bridge

 I was trying to remember when this painting was done.  Sometime the last week or two of June, as it was before "South wetlands". So it was late in June.   I had been thinking that something like this would be interesting, and I had been by here a few days before this.  It was a nice hot day with little breeze and little cloud cover too.  This is less than two miles from home by bicycle and so late afternoon I was able to make it to the spot. I liked the relationship of all the elements together. The bridge, the truck and the cranes sitting on either side of the bridge with their booms aloft. The 2 warning signs on the ends of the vintage bridge framing the new construction....                                 This 11" x 15" was painted directly over a pencil sketch in a Strathmore 140lb watercolor pad.  That is a nice way for me to work.  Gives the spontaneity of a drawing while doing most of the color work in the studio.  Below is a detail of some of the equipment.

connections

This was one of the more interesting sketches to do while sitting at the terminal in Minneapolis.  We had just flown over Rebok's house as we came in. We had only a few minutes to kill. These 2 fellas were sitting where the pilot had been eating his burrito. They were having a lot more pleasant time than their expressions would indicate. They were probably 25 feet away from us but I could hear their accent well enough to guess they were eastern European.

An hour and a half later while waiting at the baggage claim in Kansas City I was standing next to them so I asked where they were from.  One was from Hungary, and the other from Lithuania. They asked me were to find some food and so I told them where the map was of the terminal.  They asked if we had been in Kansas long.  Only since 1970.  After that our bags came so I did not get to ask why they were here. I assumed they were students...

'95 B4

I have had a couple notions about pieces to do that involve my old truck.  This is the first full scale one I have done.  The weather has been almost perfect- better than any Kansas August that I can recall.  Days starting in the 50's & 60's and ending below the mid 80's -sometimes down in the lower 70's.  Wow.  I picked this truck up to replace a '94 that was nearly dragging on the street.  A tremendous upgrade considering it had both a/c and an automatic tranny.  Power steering and power windows were also an upgrade.  Anywho, it was very nice to sit out with the mosquitoes in the perfectly still weather and do some sketching without even leaving home...  If there were only a little breeze it would'a held the little buuggers at bay, but alas...  Even now as I write this sitting on the front porch, the DEET I put on earlier is not stopping the villains from attacking my elbows and hands. (Sorry about the rant!) The truck has served me well; and I needn't worry about someone driving off with my subject as sometimes happens. I just backed the pick up down the driveway to the street, cocked the wheels, and was ready to go.  Done in a mostly used up pad of Strathmore sketch 60 lb, 11" x 14" paper.  It always amazes me just how much I learn when drawing. I always see something I did not notice before. It is crazy what a minuscule little chunk of graphite can do to a piece of paper. (Just doused my arms again with "Off", and now the mosquitoes are attacking my ears!  But I refuse to go in!)
Here below is a detail of the center of the drawing.

South wetlands.

 The date was the 4th of July as the note on the side indicates.  I headed down the new Haskell Ave. just before it opened.  Took the old road back west that leads through the wetlands. Just as I was getting on the dirt road off Haskell I met a fella as old as I who had just come through the way I was considering going. He on his bicycle and I on mine. Never having been that way before, I was glad to get a little direction from him.  After a wander down through some beautiful country I had not been in before - mostly grass and dirt trails- I came upon the new road replacing Louisiana through the wetlands.  This is the painting that resulted from the sketch I did while sitting on the bike. While sketching I was watching as a small group of grown kids came out to the bridge from father south and were doing some fireworks.
   
Below is a detail of the painting.

clear harbor

          This is about the only drawing I did while actually in Three Hills.  The Super 8 motel actually sits where a farm sat 50 years ago. The motel is a happening place. There are always people in there. From bikers on a weekend explore, to Hutterites arranging rides around the country. It happened to be a long weekend and the motel was crawling with families and kids- some were going to the Dinosaur museum in Drumheller. That is some 25 miles to the south, in Alberta desert country.   This was early one morning.  I took a walk out around the parking lot, and this is what I found. Some truck driver found an overnight harbor for his rig, in the parking lot at the motel. There are no real harbors close, but I am sure there are reclamation projects to be done. Or maybe this was headed to the west coast, one Province away.  The pine trees in this part of Alberta have a different feel than the cedar trees of Kansas. The prairie is rolling and yellow green from the maturing canola, mixed with wheat and barley fields in a latitude where they get enough rain to need little if any irrigation.   I do not remember seeing barley fields since helping with harvest in south west Nebraska in the early 1960's.
          This vacuum tank sitting on this lowboy looks like it is made for sucking up polluted sea water.  What you do with it after that, I have no idea.  I made a note of one of the warning signs posted on the back that warns operators or maintenance people of one of the dangers working on this piece of equipment.  You can also see a sketchy reproduction of the logo that was on the door of the semi tractor with the waves below and the sea gull above.
          This is a lot of jabbering for a small sketch!

face time

Needless to say this sketch brought some chuckles from the folk sitting next to us.  Nice thing when someone is phone channeling-  they have no idea what is going on around them!  This guy plopped in a seat as the terminal was beginning to fill with passengers for 3 different flights.  He seemed unwilling to shift his pose, let alone walk about some.  So I could sketch on; and so I did.  I guess it is nice to have a ledge on which to rest your phone so the fingers are the only thing working. Well, hopefully the brain too!
One lady sat down to see what I was up to. She was returning home after helping her daughter with a new baby.  One kid who has been working in Tuscon for a year was headed to Calgary- arriving at 10:10 pm - and then renting a car for an 8 hour drive into Saskatchewan for a wedding. The drive included a little sleep at his folks house, plus a detour to pick up a friend.  We were glad we had a room reserved near the Calgary airport.
I was surprised at how simple it was to find places and people to sketch in an airport terminal. Cannot say I have ever tried it before. Usually at home it is a bit more disconcerting to find a place where I am comfortable sketching people - or where I think they are ok with someone sketching them.  One nice thing about the airport terminal is that there is such a variety of people, and most are "in their own world" paying little attention to anyone else.

Skychefs

       

            These common views of a plane nosed into the terminal with the crews buzzing around both sides and the boarding ramp snuggled up to the side turned out to be not as common as I thought. This view with the mountains behind was about my only chance for such a sketch.  There were no views like this on our 2 hour wait to board in Calgary.  We were jammed into a terminal half its normal size due to construction, and for some reason they also had the windows screened off about 6 or 7' up so no one could see out.  Though I had some time to sketch, there would be none of the planes prepping for their next flight.  So I had to settle for sketching fellow passengers, and at very close range. They sometimes give you dirty looks when they realize you are committing them to paper- especially when they see how uncomplimentary the sketches are.          
           As far as the subject of this drawing is concerned, it is interesting just how much can be jammed in around the plane.  The airline's goal is to make up for a late arrival by squeezing the cleanup and re stocking into as short a time as possible.  They have to unload all the checked bags and reload a whole new set as well.

heavy lunch

     
           We have spent the last week and a half recovering from a hectic end of July and beginning of August.  By the time of this sketch we were waiting for a connecting flight in Minneapolis when this pilot showed up with his dinner.  I would suppose him to be on a tight schedule perhaps.  You can see the wrap around his burrito or whatever with his jowls drooling in it. You can also see his black Captain's cap stuffed between the bars on his luggage.  No, I did not do him justice in the weight department.  I cannot ever remember seeing a pilot this chubby- not that I fly enough to know if there are some.  But I couldn't resist stretching the girth just a little. Seems like a perfect definition of the phrase, "feeding your face".                      
           I had taken along a 5" x 9" Strathmore 60 lb pad of 100 sheets which gave me ample space for sketching on the way north without being too cumbersome in the backpack.  This is actually one of the last full sketches I did before the trip ended.