Wakarusa sunset

On a warm fall day when the sun has begun setting well before 6 pm I was on my bike trying to get home before the sky completely darkened. I am not prepared to ride a bicycle in the dark.  But I had asked for it, stopping too often to sketch or chase a hawk over the bottoms with my binoculars. These can be very peaceful rides, with almost no traffic especially if it is a weekend, and because it had been a spell since I'd ridden, I was enjoying it a bunch. This painting was not done on the spot, nor from a sketch that day, but rather by memory from the image in my head when I returned home. Though probably not very true to the scene, such pieces are a great exercise in recall of color and impression. They are also great at forcing some spontaneity in the approach and execution of the painting.  More info than you had asked for I know...  
Done on a scrap of 140# Canson paper approximately 5 1/2" x 13 1/2"

the window lamp

We had not been in Minnesota more than a couple hours when I did this sketch of Rebekah's living room lamp, just to see if the marker was still working. Yup, did ok. It was evening and the dark window made a great background for the marker, so I could not resist.  A small series of these "interior" drawings were done in a 5x 9 sketch pad.

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.