Sketch Journal: North Carolina

These are scenes from my journal of the recent Pieces of 8 artists' retreat to North Carolina. We happily sat on rocks and sketched a waterfall, and we didn't mention to Donna that we passed a large example of bear scat on the trail. Ignorance is bliss.

Carmen

Clinton, Iowa

We traveled to Clinton, Iowa for yet another sad occasion, the loss of a beloved aunt. My husband got to reconnect with the huge family he used to play with as a child in Grandma's house (above left). Some of the cousins revisited Eagle Point Park, which sits on the widest part of the Mississippi.

We flew into Midway Airport in Chicago then drove to Iowa on Hwy 88, which is abusively toll-heavy. We couldn't believe the number of tolls, and no places to stop for food for a hundred miles. We saw a little town, DeKalb, and made for it. We found Busters, a little cafe where I had my first Chicago Hot Dog. It was delicious.

I was struck by the stark landscape, Spring not showing anywhere, just flat fields and isolated farms. Very Edward Hopperish. I am going to paint one of my windshield photos, which you will see in this blog if it's a successful painting.

Everglades Sketch Journal

This is just fun. Ever since Diana Gessler's class, I have enjoyed journaling my experience in a sketchbook. If you go to the Everglades, be sure to stop at the Robert is Here fruit stand. Robert started as a six-year-old child in 1959, selling cucumbers on the corner. He was so small people couldn't see him and would drive by, so his father put up a sign that said, "Robert is Here." Now Robert is raking in, as this place has a booming business, with every fruit and vegetable you can think of.

Below, this is exactly how we looked sleeping inside the little tent. It was cold at night, and we were like mummies. Our picnic table was decorated with a lamp, which Cindy brought in case we had electricity at the site. We didn't.

Lydia at a Tapestry Loom, 24x18 oil on canvas

This is a direct copy of a Mary Cassatt painting done in the 1800s. My painting group, Pieces of 8, did copies of masters as a learning experience, and I went on to copy Sargent, Gauguin,Van Gogh and Homer. This was time very well-spent. My last post was a copy, too, which I neglected to mention.

 PURCHASE

Three of us Pieces of 8 members took Dianna Gessler's journaling workshop last Monday, and had a great time wandering around Cocoa Village sketching and painting. I am flush with ideas, and hope I remember them when I have some time! Check out our efforts by clicking here.