bypass elevation

The notes on the sketch for this painting say: " Early over late beans    under bypass" and "Gray beans w/ yellow over" (in other words the closer beans were already dusty brown but the further beans still yellow).  and then "silver wire."  Seems to me the beans in back were probably planted later than the front beans, due to some dirt work associated with the bypass or maybe some flooding by the creek early on - it was pretty wet this summer. The elevated bypass runs from rt to left in front of the last tree line in light browns. The distinct difference between the 3 rows of trees did not turn out so distinct in my sketch as in real life but I remembered how it actually was and tried to return to that clarity in the painting. You can see the "silver" power lines hanging in front of the trees but I did not do the ones on the right side with the same approach- seemed to me they should be in shadow.    The date was 10/9/15, so the painting was done that night after the bike ride that took me there, as it was already afternoon when the sketch was done.  The back of the 5" x 9" sketch pad says: "Three Hills  8/15" so this is the pad that went with us to Alberta in August.  Cannot say I was too happy with the tone of this photo- the original is a bit lighter, as the day was a bright fall day before harvest.

Metro center

I had ran with my son-in-law to the north side of Minneapolis to replace a defunct washing machine. It was not early in the day by the time we finished our errands and headed down the interstate.  Don't get many chances here to do a city-scape on the fly, so this was a good exercise.  Maybe you can recognize the exit and the bridge with the lightposts above it.

Lyon County

Some days it has just been too long since you did any painting. That can be after a long hiatus, or after spending the good part of a week painting. Not that I ever have a block of time like that, but maybe a simple painting each day or so.  This was such a day, and I had this scrap of paper waiting to be used.  Then I found a thumbnail sketch from a recent trip up through Lyon county and this, after a prelim sketch to lay out the concept, was the result. We sometimes take the back roads home from down south, cutting through the Flint Hills by a different route for a change. This barn is the kind of stuff you might see whenever you travel in the mid-west- especially Kansas.  

Done on Canson 140# paper about 4 1/2" by 12" on the day before Halloween though the thumbnail was done a few days before.

This is the quick study done between the thumbnail done on the road and this done just before the water color.  It has the note, "all sky" to remind me to stay focused when doing the painting.  Also the name "Lyon Co." to further clarify the name in my mind.

201 W 8th

Maybe we've done enough drawings of this stretch of 7th between Vermont & Tennessee Streets. Then again maybe not.  Today I was counting the buildings there. There are five. I've done some of them all.  Probably 6 or 8 of this one, and I was actually contemplating another one yesterday, which because I had no sketch pad along then or today, I did one from memory this morning.  This drawing however was done on location but with only some of the most important detail rendered, That is easier for me with buildings than with cars, because I have had so much more practice doing buildings. I keep saying I need more practice on the automotive end.  This drawing was done with a reflection of the side mirror in the paint of the door. It is not a shadow, as the scene was highlighted by the sun from the south behind the building.

Billtown crossing

This is the scene from the Hamm shop on 24 highway east of Perry. I have seen this view for some 16 years, but just now thought it should get put to paper.  Seems like the sketch was done one day about noon on a scrap of paper in my pocket as I was headed out the door. If you have something somewhat memorized, then a few quick scribbles are about all it takes to turn it into something. The note on the painting says only "10/8/15  Billtown Crossing".   I think the crossing needed a little clarity in my sketch as it was transferred to paint. What I was wanting to catch primarily was the relationship of the trees in shadow to the houses in full summer sun.   Seems like it turned out OK.  It was that time of year when some of the fields were bare and dark from the recent rain.  This was done on a scrap of Arches paper about 6 or 7 inches tall.

a little entertainment

There is an order to these quick sketches of our kids place under the patio windows done just before Thanksgiving. First the lamp, then the chair, now this cabinet & TV. From left to right. I did the individual drawings to catch specific things at different times, and just to do a little drawing rather than a complicated study.   That is a problem, when you think more info makes it more complicated or somehow better.  Details do will not necessarily make a better drawing.  I like the angles and negative spaces & how they relate to each other and the overall drawing.  This drawing seems to catch some of the depth front to back even as simple as it is, and maybe because it is not cluttered.

the window chair

It was late in the eve-another evening- and things were winding down for the night. But I had a little time on my hands so time to do a little chair study.  This chair sits right next to the table & lamp posted earlier on...   And done in the same 5" x 9" sketch book, but in pencil.

from the north

Here is a painting done on location on the east side of town. Kitsmiller Rd I guess. This is just south of the new county shop.  I have done more than one drawing from this location. Have also done paintings of the small building and cattle chute on the horizon. It seemed pretty impressive to me from this angle through the trees.  There was a long front of white clouds on the south horizon stretching for some distance.  While I was standing there beside my pickup, working from the back of it along the road, the fellow came along with his tractor hauling a disc.  He missed my truck by about 18" maybe and above the top of my cab. I was over as far as I could get & there was a power pole on the other side. He knew right where he was, so I just kept painting as he passed. Dumb huh?!  The small shed in this view is now gone now and being replaced by a new house on the place. This painting was less than a year ago, on March 15th this year.    9 1/2" x 13 1/2"-   seems like this was Strathmore 140# paper  -more of a mechanical looking finish than say an Arches paper, but a little quicker drying.
Below is a detail of the chute and shed.

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.