Plein Air Tuesday - 8/1/23 - Verde River Access Point

Photo from 5/26/20 at Verde River Access Point
(L to R) Sue, Carolyn, John

As you all can see from the above photo, this location does provide shade and a place to dip your toes should you be so inclined.  Directions are on the left.  Changing the Meet Up Time once again, we'll just make it 7:45.  Also on the up side, the weather forecast does have it with a high of ONLY 95 on 8/1.

This past week I arrived quite early and instead of setting up, I sat, looked around, took a few photos and tried to pick my spot.  But, I did become distracted by the javelina.

It wasn't long though before Denise came along.

Denise

She joined me in the sitting, looking around and chatting, we wondered if anyone else would be joining us when Carolyn and Tecla came along.

Tecla & Carolyn

Of course, I forgot to mention that Smokey was really the first one there.  He's not very talkative though, but he's always prepared with shovel in hand.

Alright, so here is where I have to tell you all that I sort of screwed up.  I was so busy "relaxing" that I totally forgot to take pictures of artists in their "spots".  Well, just take it from me, they all found a spot and it was in the shade!

For instance, Tecla went back to her spot from the previous week as she wanted to try a new technique on the same scene, also this time standing.  Denise took a spot further forward from last week so that she could see the light from the big round ball in the sky on her painting since last week she kept saying that she couldn't see what she was painting.  She also decided to stand.  Carolyn switched benches but was still able to utilize the patio floor for her Numerous paper plates that she thought to use as her palette.  And, I used the bench that Carolyn had used the prior week, but I stood by it and propped my bag on the bench which bench later became our gallery.

And, much to my surprise, it turns out that my husband, Dave, showed up at some point.  Now, I didn't see him and I don't think anyone else did either.  But I know he was there because he gave me a picture he had of Smokey in his Spot.  Boy, was I surprised and I think you will be too.

Smokey in his spot

He apparently decided to strip down - guess he didn't want to get  paint on his blue jeans.  It also turns out that he is quite the artist too.

We all did visit back and forth and watched visitors wander in and out.  Overall, it was a very pleasant morning and we were all glad for the opportunity to get out and paint together. Being close together we were also able to discuss where would be best for the following Tuesday and that's how we came up with the Verde River.  Oh, Wow, I almost forgot.  This is REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT!!!!

I had stopped INSIDE the ranger's station to ask about Banjo Bill's and learned that the reason it's closed is due to a rock slide, so we won't be visiting there this summer.  BUT, when I turned around to leave I saw this display -- check it out!

Happy Birthday to Smokey - Birthdate:  August 4, 1944

That's right, it's Smokey's birthday coming up - had we known we would've postponed our outings to the ranger station until next week.  Oh well, we still got to wish him a Happy Birthday.  Really glad we have a pic of him painting in his spot too.   I also thought you all might like to learn his story:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/story-smokey-bear

As I mentioned above, we used one of those nice long benches to build our gallery.

Well, Sue, this time Smokey did include his painting 😉  He did an excellent painting too, of course, he does spend every day just standing there staring at the scenery.

You'll be glad to know, Smokey did put his pants back on for the group photo.  I was real glad about that, it could've been awkward.

(L to R) Carolyn, Tecla, Smokey, Denise, Me

Hope you took the time to read Smokey's story!  Have a good week and we'll see you next week at the river.

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - 7/25/23 - Ranger's Station on 179, Day 2

Hi All,

We're going back for a Day 2 as all who showed up agreed, it was a quite pleasant place to be and we had enough options of things to paint.  The shade is plentiful and it's easy to get comfortable.  Directions once again are on the right.    -- SIRENS BLARE -- WHOOP, WHOOP -- Time Change Ahead -- Keep your eyes open and Read!!

Since it is so hot out there and pretty much everyone arrived well before 8:00 am, we opted to change the time to 7:30 or, of course, it's whenever you get there.  

I arrived after Suzette as she wanted to get an early start.  She brought her trusty chair and was all set up in her spot when I got there.

Suzette & her trusty chair

Betty wandered in shortly after.

Betty

Tecla and Carolyn arrived next.  I was too busy talking and didn't get a pic of Carolyn, but you'll see her later.  However, here's Tecla checking out the shade for her spot.

Tecla being distracted by all the signage

While Tecla was setting up her spot, Denise came walking in

Denise with a spring in her step

And, apparently, she let Tecla do the work for her in finding a spot as she set up right behind her.

Tecla and Denise

It looks like Carolyn and Betty decided to share the long bench for their spots and mine was on the other side of Smokey.

Tecla, Denise, Carolyn, Betty

Oh, I found a photo that has my spot in it -- you can see my tripod set up on the other side of Smokey

Left to Right and Front of photo to back to front again
Carolyn, Betty, Smokey, My Spot, strangers, Suzette, more strangers, Denise

For those of you that don't know, this station has a hummingbird garden.  It happens to be right over the wall from where Suzette is sitting.  Along that opening they have images with names and descriptions of all the hummingbirds you might see there - that's what all those evenly spaced signs are.  And, here is a photo of Suzette looking at them as well as one of the smaller strangers (little visitor).

Suzette, little visitor, papa visitor

This next photo is "The Family From Ohio", the fellow in the front was sitting next to me and asking all sorts of questions about our group.  He had said they were from Ohio and weren't used to this intense heat.  I let him know that it was even HOT for us.  They were a nice, cheerful and friendly group.  Another plus to this location is getting to meet friendly people from all over.

The Family From Ohio

Well, shortly after that little visit it was time to wrap things up.  At least I didn't have to go wandering in search of anyone because we were all right there.  It certainly did make my job easier, plus those benches definitely make putting together the gallery a lot easier.

While we all smiled on 2, Smokey didn't even blink.  Although he did seem to enjoy having a couple of lovely ladies put their heads on his shoulders.  Oh, I also now understand why Tecla was tilting her head like that.

Me, Denise, Carolyn, Smokey, Suzette, Tecla, Smokey's Shovel, Betty

Hopefully we'll see you there next week, I know Smokey will be there, you can always count on him!

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - 7/18/23 - Ranger's Station on 179

Can anyone guess why this is the location?  Oh, alright I'll just state the obvious, there is shelter from the sun.  Yes, it is still the warm season and we are all busy seeking shade.  This location definitely provides it, along with water and facilities.  So, we'll meet there at 8:00 am on the 18th.  Directions are on the right.

This past week I arrived a few people behind, though still on time.  Tecla, Carolyn and Mike were busy discussing something.

Tecla, Mike, Carolyn

Well, I didn't get everyone's arrival but while I went over to join the above three, another familiar face drove in and we were all surprised to see him.

Ed

That's Ed AND he arrived with a stranger.  He brought along Jesse Petersen who is giving a workshop at Sedona Arts Center (SAC) this week.  https://sedonaartscenter.org/product/baggage-claim-23-0712-jp/ 

She bounced out of the car and came over all smiles.  She has a very bubbly personality and I was happy to get a chance to meet her.  She actually resides in an M state - so many M states were mentioned I' probably have it wrong but I'm thinking Missouri 🤷

As I went off looking for Suzette because she told me she would be heading out earlier and I'd see her there, I actually found Christine instead.

Christine

Well, I guess it's not real obvious it's Christine, but maybe we'll catch up with her later once she's through setting up her easel.

While having a little chat with Christine I heard a voice from above 😮 oh my!  Oh wait, it's just Lisa up on the rooftop.  

Lisa -- you have to look up to the top of the photo

And, going on down below Lisa was where Christine was and a few others happened along in search of spots.

Christine (see I told you it was her), walking down the steps is Betty and that's Jesse standing in front of Ed

Then looking like he's out for a hike along came Mike.

Mike

Well, let me get back to who I was looking for in the first place and here she is, all set up and what a pretty toned paper she has, and her smile is real pretty too.

Suzette

Oh, here's someone else "wandering" around, gee from the back it looks like Sophie, the wanderer.

The Wanderer

How about that, from the picture below, it looks like I got it right and I apparently found Mike in his spot too.

That's Sophie and Mike is sitting in his spot

Did you by any chance notice that Sophie is standing in the exact same spot that 2 Panel Cynde was in last week.  

Well, Ed and Jesse found spots near where Christine was, but not on the rooftop like Lisa.

Ed in his spot

Jesse seated comfortably in her spot.

Now, while Jesse looks very comfortable in her spot, the truth is she actually had a little mishap with her bottle of Coke, it's not down that much because she drank it all.  While trying to get settled she managed to spill it on herself.  The funny part about that story though is this. After she used water to clean the soda off, she was concerned about drying it -- definitely not from around here.  Just face the sun for about a minute, you'll be fine.  -- Oh one more thing about that picture -- take a good look at the fountain, hmmm, wonder what it looks like from up above?

Betty in her spot, just over from Christine as well.

In fact, if you look at the steps behind Betty, that's where we saw her last and those are the same steps used to get to Lisa's spot. 

Tecla found a nice shady courtyard for her spot and I also thought it looked interesting, so I also found a spot in this courtyard.

Tecla

I know I didn't find everyone's spot, but before I knew it, it was time to wrap up.  So, I headed up to the original meet up fountain and others started to gather.  It being 10:00, there was all sorts of activity as stores began to open and tourists started arriving.  It turned out that with all the wandering around I did, there were still a couple of artists that managed to hide from me.  One was LeAnne, didn't get her picture but then also Cynde was there somewhere.  But, they both managed to show up as scheduled for Gallery time.

2 Panel Cynde - and she did do 2 panels again!

We couldn't use our usual spot for the gallery as they were watering over there.  So, we had to do a little finagling around with the paintings to get them all in the photo.  Oh and before you close on out of here, you have to continue on after the group photo because a lot of very noteworthy stuff did happen.

I forgot to mention, several artists mentioned they were going to do the challenge and they did a fantastic job!!  For this coming week, I'm going for the challenge again, except I'm switching out the magenta I used for cad red.  Anyone else plan on switching out a color to see how different their paintings turn out?  Oh, just a few more things about the paintings.  It looks like there was one spot enjoyed by at least 2 people, ribbit, oops excuse me.  Also, there's that fountain I mentioned in the other picture, only a different view.   😉

Ok, now, remember you have to keep reading because something does happen about a mile down the road.

But first, the 13 artists who all know to smile on 2!

Ok, Back to Front and we're doing it in 3 rows.
Mike, Jesse, Ed
Cynde, LeAnne, Betty, Lisa, Suzette (almost totally hidden by the tree and me)
Tecla, Me, Sophie, Christine, Carolyn

It was a toss up, should Sophie really have been considered to be in the 2nd row, but then her leg was definitely in the front row.  Oh, and Suzette really hadn't donned a leaf hat, it just looks that way.

Alright, for the stuff that happened a mile or so down the road.  -- Several of us decided to go to SAC to see Mike's paintings since he's the featured artist for this month and next.  It was really a treat to see it with him and several of our group and this is where I also made a few discoveries.  But first - the gallery star for the month (or as the Art's Center calls it - Featured Artist) ...

Mike with his wall of great paintings

All of the paintings looked fantastic and he had 3 there that hold very special meaning to him, so it was nice to learn about them from him.  It's a great exhibit and well worth your time to swing by and take a look.  Of course, you could always buy some too...

But, as I mentioned that wasn't all.  Now, I knew that Christine also has paintings in their gallery, so I went looking to see where they were hanging.  While doing so, I made this discovery.

LeAnne and her paintings

That's right, that's not just LeAnne hanging out by some pantings, but it turns out those are hers.  Ok, to be fair so that you don't think that LeAnne just hangs out there by her paintings, I did ask her to pose for me once I discovered them.

Now, I still had to find Christine's paintings but wait, I found some more from our group.

Paintings by Chris & Ed

Now, Chris and Ed weren't there for the photo op, but their paintings happened to be be sharing a wall.

Ok, finally, I found Christine - but, I'm glad it took me this long otherwise I might've never learned about the others.

Christine with her paintings

Wow, I think half the paintings were from artists in our group.  Gee, it's like painting with the masters! Well, all of you can come along and paint with them too.  Hope to see you all next week on the covered patio at the Ranger's Station.

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - 7/11/23 - Tlaquepaque - Day 3 (Yikes)

 Ok, I know we don't normally do a Day 3, but the heat is intense and Tlaquepaque does offer many opportunities for shade and you can certainly paint something different each time your go.  So, we decided to head there one more time, once again meeting at 8:00 am at "The Fountain".  See the directions on the right.

This past Tuesday being the 4th of July, we had a few less people show up, but still a nice fun group.

One of the first people to arrive after me was Mike

Mike & his Red Jeep

Tecla & Carolyn drove right in after that and boy, they didn't even give me a chance to say hi before they took off scouting out spots.

Carolyn & Tecla

Ok, so their backs are to us, but you have to take my word for it, it's them!  Bob came swinging in after them.

Bob

Cathy surprised me by coming in from a different location, turned out that she thought she'd get a little extra walk in by parking at the other end of Tlaquepaque.

Cathy talking with Carolyn

Whoa, and it still not being quite 8:00, I spotted of all people, NITA!!  That's right, time stamp 7:57

Nita, Cathy, Tecla

Look at that, Nita & Cathy are both wearing the same color blue and apparently when you wear that color blue, you also wear colorful sneakers since they both are.  So, Nita returned from her trip back east and even got a tour of our nation's capital, she does have a story about it if you ask her.  She was also quite impressed with the architecture.

Cynde also showed up, however, my camera wasn't ready for her arrival.

Needless to say, knowing that the temps were going to be rising, everyone headed off pretty quickly to find their spots.

Nita in her spot with multiple sketch books

You know she takes this all very seriously, not sure how many sketches/paintings she actually did that day, but I do know of at least 3.

I found evidence of an artist when I looked down this alleyway into a courtyard -- see the tripod down at the end.

That meant I had to take a walk down there to see who it was.

Cynde in her spot

Speaking of multiples, turns out the artist was 2 Panel Cynde.  Yes, she actually had 2 oil paintings going at the same time.

Carolyn found her spot in the shade of a few sycamores.

Carolyn

Cathy's spot wound up being in the sun because some pretty flowers caught her eye.

(L to R) Stranger, Cathy and way in the back is Bob

Yes, Bob decided to take advantage of the bench underneath the Mexican Restaurant sign.  Although I know that was not his final Spot.

Bob squinting as a lot of artists do in his initial Spot

I didn't have to look far to find Mike in his spot, just out beyond where Bob was and very much in the shade.

Mike

I had to check with Carolyn to see if she knew where Tecla went because I couldn't find her.  She told me to check The Secret Garden all the way on the other side.  I have to be honest, off the top of my head I couldn't place where it was, so I had to go in search.  I did find it and it was a very active restaurant proudly claiming they served breakfast.

In fact, the location was so busy that Tecla, with her big heart, wound up sharing some paper and paint with two little wanna be artists.  Guess they thought she was there for their entertainment.

Tecla in her spot alongside The Secret Garden

The two little artist wannabes and their mom

Oh look, I didn't realize this even though I took the picture.  Cathy also had more than one spot, here she is alongside Carolyn.

Carolyn, pretty stairway & sycamores, Cathy

Oh, how appropriate, they're by a sign (for a store I imagine) that says "Just Us Girls"

And, while I didn't get a picture of this, a few of us did gather around to chat while others finished their paintings.  At this point a few of us did discuss next week's location and that's when it was decided we would return for a third week.  We all felt like we still would need shade.

Oh, that reminds me, one thing that came up was a discussion started by Mike on Hazel Soan and her use of a limited palette.  We all thought, well, now there's a challenge for us.  Let's all plan on next week using a very limited palette.  While he talked about 3 colors, maybe we can expand that to 4, I don't know, what do you think?  Are you in?

Well, as usual we built our gallery not far from The Fountain along the curb and in front of these old sycamores.

And, as always, a lot of smiles on 2

(Back L to R) Cynde, Mike Bob
(Front L to R) Cathy, Tecla, Nita, Carolyn, Me

Well, that's another Tuesday down.  Hopefully, many, many more to come.  Hope to see you all next week!

Cecilia