Easle on Down the Road - First Five

My route

Arkansas

Oklahoma

Texas 

Louisiana

Mississippi

I have more pictures and a story that goes with each state but I do like to see them together as a group on their own.  Perhaps I will blog each state separately, as I did with Texas. Meanwhile, Florida is next.  It is a singular event, not a leg; in fact, it is a mom-tour.  I will bring watercolors and sketch pads and I look forward to recording lots of Florida scenes while I am there.

Texas (it might be done): Follow the Fifty

This may be the final version of "Texas".  It is impossibly hard to determine an end point but I can't dawdle too long; there are many more to paint!

Below is Peter painting a watercolor in the grotto that is called Hamilton Pool. My setup comes next and then the 10x14 that I did on location. I like this plein air version because it is fresh. There were a lot of people climbing around behind us, including rasta-types that juggled long sticks with tassels. Some folks even swam in the 45* water. So it was challenging to concentrate and I remember I mixed only about 7 colors. We got out of there in about two hours. Peter carried all the heavy stuff and I led the way, missing the steps up to parking and adding about a mile onto the trek.

Below starts the 24x30 canvas.  It was a challenge to draw because I only had the on-site painting to look at. The photos from the spot did not turn out well and were not a good source of information.

Day 12 and Conclusions of the First Leg - Easel on Down the Road, Follow the 50

I am home! My house feels big and indulgent after hotel rooms and a traveling studio. I grew to be comfortable in my car; the front seat was my living room. It's smell made me dizzy at times. (I did not anticipate the strong odorless-turpentine-odor. Or was that the oil paint?) There is a kind-of community on the highway:  a set of standard practices regarding speed, passing and I don't know what else since I'm a beginner.  But I sorta felt like a trucker... or, well, a citizen of the road...

Points of note from First Leg:

State parks with lodges rock!
Two nights in one spot is optimal.
Pack more socks and less t-shirts.
A smaller suitcase would be easier.
12 days is just the right amount of time to be away from home (only one weekend gone).
Having a destination or specific turn-around point, that has a separate function from painting (like visiting your first-born), is ideal.
The journey is as much about interacting with local culture as about painting.
Salads on the road suck.
It is smart to stop at a grocery and buy apples and oranges.

Stuff I learned about myself:

I like the anonymity of the road.
I like writing as much as painting.
Meeting people is easy when I am well rested.
The giant plains are home to me.
I like the freedom of being responsible only to me.
I do best when following my gut.

In conclusion, I have 7 paintings of 5 states and I will need to put lots more time into a Final Five, but I think I have enough information with which to work. I will post photos of each state and its finished painting as it makes sense. I am already planning my next trip (can't tell!). I would return to three places in a heartbeat: Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas, Austin, TX and Clarksdale, MS. I have had a blast relating my adventures.  Thanks for following!

Days 10 and 11 - Follow the Easel

I am tired.  I am mighty glad to be headed home tomorrow. Yesterday and today were the last two painting days of "Leg One", spent in Louisiana and Mississippi respectively.

Yesterday was grey and cool and I did not leave myself many options for finding a landscape in Louisiana. I spent the night in the northeast corner of the state. I naively thought that I could access the Mississippi River from Highway 65, a "scenic route". Later I realized that the pattern on the map may have actually indicated a railroad, as tracks ran next to me the entire length of my drive north.  Finally, when I was within 16 miles of the Arkansas border, I pulled into "The Byerly House Visitor Information Center" in Lake Providence. Edith greeted me from a large desk two rooms back.  The building was old and hot; she was very hospitable.  She said, "In Louisiana, we take our cypress trees seriously," so I set up on a boardwalk on "Grant's Canal" (he attempted to build a canal to the Mississippi and failed) and painted the trees that grew out of the water.  I packed up three hours later and headed North.

I landed in Clarksdale, Mississippi rather randomly; it fit my itinerary. By chance there was a busy Mexican restaurant within walking distance of my motel and that is where I met George and Goldie, my Clarksdale angels. I do not overstate! We struck up a conversation at dinner and before I knew it, they were chauffeuring me around town on a guided tour. These two are not just any old locals - they know the historical significance of every home and building (like the rectory where Tennessee Williams spent childhood with an uncle). They know the owners of very unique places like the Shack Up Inn, an inn made from the original sharecropper shacks on the Hopson Cotton Plantation. (I highly recommend checking out their website - very cool place!) They told me all about "The Juke Joint Festival", a blues festival that celebrates past and living history. (This event is going on my calendar! And, in the small-world-department, Mississippi Gabe Carter, the son of very good friends of mine, plays here every year.) I am so glad that this city was exactly three hours north of my landscape location in Louisiana.

The next day, today, I went back to the Shack Up Inn to paint.  I liked the old buildings with the vast, flat delta beyond. The people I met there were friendly and open. An artist with a studio in the seed building behind my setup, affably showed me his work-space when I needed a break. It was inspiring to see where he makes his art and to hear about what motivates him. After wrestling for over two hours with an 11x14 of a silo, windmill and other structures, I packed my paints for the last time this trip.

I will drive 9 hours tomorrow to spend the night in my very own bed. I miss my boyfriend, my dog, my friends and my house. The best part about traveling is returning home!

Days 7, 8 and 9 - Easle on Down the Road - Follw the Fifty

I spent the weekend in Austin. I love that city! It is clean, young and full of arty-hippie types. I think we ate Tex-Mex 3 out of 4 meals: hot, freshly toasted tortillas with fried avocado or eggs, cheese and peppers. There was lots of food served in "parks" out of trailers, sort of like at a carnival but made with fresh and unique ingediants and not necessarily deep-fried. Last night we went to "Django Unchained", a must-see, in a theater that served dinner and drinks while you watched the movie. What a simple luxury; we need these establishments in Michigan!

On Sunday Peter and I drove to Hamilton Pool, a natural basin sunk into an amphitheater of rock, 20 miles west of Austin. He was my Sherpa, carrying the heavy painting supplies into the canyon. He good-naturedly agreed to paint a watercolor landscape while I worked in oils. (I feel success as a mom in that not only do both children like The Beatles but both asked for art supplies for Christmas.) It was a hard view to capture, the rock rising far above and wrapping around us. We did as best we could and were both relieved to pack it up two hours later. I produced a 9x12 that I think I like. I'm not sure how it will translate to a final 24x30 but that is clearly a problem for another day.

Today I drove 8 hours northeast through rural Texas into Louisiana.  The trip went quickly because I was listening to "Sweet Tooth" by Ian McEwan. I LOVE the story so far; the characters are interesting, the description is rich and the plot is compelling. Tomorrow I will look for a landscape to paint in this state, possibly overlooking the Mississippi River.

Day 6 - Easel on Down the Road

This title seems to be sticking... I continue to be open to suggestions because this is a fluid project, but I do love the humor of the name. I think if you can laugh your way through life, your quality of living must be pretty high.

Yesterday, Day 6, was extremely uneventful. I hiked for an hour in Beavers Bend Sate Park before packing up to head into Texas. The trail felt surprisingly similar to those of Dunes State Park at home in Michigan, with rolling hills and leafless hardwoods, the early morning light creating shadow stripes across my path. One big difference was the chunks of quartz, large and small, littered everywhere. At first I thought they were patches of snow because of the way they glinted in the sun. Evidently the Ouachita Mountains are "fold mountains", like the Appalachians, and were originally part of that range. They were created 300 million years ago during a collision of the South American plate with the North American continental crust, an event called the Ouachita orogeny. The quartz was "formed as folded rocks cracked and allowed fluids from deep in the Earth to fill the cracks." (Thank you, Wikipedia!)

The road trip from Broken Bow Lake in Oklahoma through Paris, Dallas and Waco, Texas was incredibly boring.  Most of it was city-scape and uninspiring. I was surprised to cross a large lake (Lake Ray Hubbard) east of Dallas on a very long bridge. The GPS took me straight through that city, a curiously easy route. Entering Austin during rush hour was no picnic, however, as going 3 miles took over 30 minutes.

Peter lives in a funky little neighborhood near downtown.  The houses are small and artsy, with Mexican tiles embedded, Christmas lights stretching and trees growing up, down and sideways, appearing to hug the homes. Today will be sunny and warm and though I don't expect to paint, I look forward to exploring this new territory.

Day 5, Easel on Down - Follow the 50

Today I painted. I'm starting to get the rhythm of driving, sleeping, painting (hiking too). The days when I don't drive are so long and free! The only part I don't like so far is eating alone.  Sometimes I can get people to talk to me, sometimes I can't, but mostly its lonely.  I'm not sure if I am tired of reaching out or if people in Oklahoma are less accessible than in Arkansas. Anyway, the painting part of today was great.

I set up at the edge of a lake. The temperature rose from low 40's to mid 50's  and the wind was mild at first.  I got out a big canvas because I foresaw painting only one piece in Oklahoma.  I am starting to be realistic with myself. I drew a detailed pencil drawing first.  I fleshed in a composition but my focus was on value.  I wrote the words "darkest", "2nd darkest", etc. over each succinct area of the drawing. I am not usually a planner but this really helped me deal with the change of light in a four hour span. My primary goal was in covering the entire canvas with at least one layer of paint.  When I go back to it, the white of the canvas will not distract my attention and the colors will provide something to build on. Hopefully the value will be correct.

So now I have two large, wet paintings in my super cool portable painting rack (thank you, Allen) and two small ones.  Tomorrow I drive to Texas to visit my number-one-son, Peter aka Pedro aka Pascaal. This time I will enjoy the scenery of the trip and maybe even pull over and sketch a view or two. I can't wait to see Peter and the city of Austin and have a cold beer while listening to great live music.

My stay in Oklahoma has been short. They say the topography in this SE corner is atypical for the state.  I guess that means my paintings are more about my journey than about some kind of quintessential state landscape. One thing I noticed: the coyotes here sound just the same as back home.