Plein Air Tuesday - Suzette's Place

 Suzette lives in a beautiful location in the village and it definitely provided us with some wonderful views.

When I arrived, Suzette already had her spot in the shade picked out and was even all set up with a drawing done -- hmmm, the word Cheater does come to mind.  But, I guess in all fairness a number of us do sometimes show up prior to the meet up time just to get a head start and she didn't have far to travel.

Suzette in her spot

She did actually come out front to greet me, I just missed taking a picture of her then as I was so busy looking around at the great location.

As we were talking we heard a car pull up and was all ready to head out and greet the newcomer when we heard footsteps along the side.

Denise

It was Denise, once again all in black but wearing her signature hat.  She even said people in her neighborhood don't recognize her when she's walking her little pup if she doesn't have the hat on.  Oh by the way, learned that Denise had a birthday last week -- Happy Belated Birthday!!!  

Ok, well now this is one for the record books -- are you ready?  ... The next person to show up and ONLY 3 minutes after Denise was Nita.

Nita's arrival

Shocking you say, I had to show  proof with her still in her car.  She even beat Carolyn getting there.

Carolyn  - oh look how nice her sandals match her capris

Tecla was supposed to be coming along with Carolyn, but apparently life got in the way and she couldn't make it.

Here's one of the views from the patio.

Carolyn actually took advantage of the very nice patio and set up there.

Carolyn in her spot

That see through structure in the background is Suzette's greenhouse.   It's empty at the moment as its intended use is for when it's cooler and also as a place to start some of her plants that go into her vegetable garden in the summer.

The brown structure I've already forgotten it's intended use, but Suzette mentioned something about rabbits taking over  now.  Not sure if they're inside or hiding around the back.  

You can also see my setup just outside the patio next to Carolyn.  While we were all there painting a coyote actually appeared in between those 2 structures, he looked a bit surprised to see us.  I didn't get my phone out in time for a pic, I also missed getting a pic of someone riding down the street on their horse.

Oh, one of the other things Suzette has is a hummingbird feeder.  They were continually buzzing past us - boy do they make a lot of noise flying past.

Nita found a spot out front and decided to paint Suzette's house.  She was the only one out there by herself.  The rest of us were all pretty close together.

Nita in her spot

As you can see, we did get some clouds which was a big plus!

Denise decided she liked Suzette's spot and joined her just around the corner from me and Carolyn.

Suzette, Denise (no hat and hair up)

Suzette surprised us with a treat of a special ice tea.   The blend is one that is sold and served exclusively by Pita Jungle restaurant in Flagstaff.  It's an unsweetened Hibiscus & Berry blend that is very refreshing and delicious.   If you're ever up there, give it a try.

Suzette & Denise with the iced tea and Carolyn painting 

Someone had stepped inside and came out with tales of the wonderful paintings to be seen inside.  So we all went inside and did the tour.  Ok, so we all know that Suzette paints with pastels en plein air, but what we all may not know is that her real works of art have been done in her studio throughout a good portion  of her life and her medium was not always  pastel.  She has done incredible colored pencil paintings as well as acrylic and, of course, pastel.  Each one as beautiful as the next and can keep you mesmerized for extended periods of time studying them.  She even has one of the red rocks where as you keep looking at it, you see more and more things, like lizards and turtles and a man carrying golf clubs (hey Mike maybe it was you - although her husband is quite the avid golfer).

It was a very pleasant and extended morning, as we didn't all stop everything and leave after 2 hours.  Plus, there was a lot of visiting going on.  Thank you so much Suzette for a terrific morning.

Our gallery was built on a table on that patio and the photo has an interesting aspect.  Here you'll see.

There it is with its own mirror image.  Hey, well you know how it's always good to look at  your painting in a mirror to see if you need to do anything to it.  But, I think for the most part all of these pass the mirror test, what about you?

Well we opted to stand in the shade of the patio with the sunlit background and after some hat placement 😉 we smiled on 2.

(L to R) Me, Nita, Denise, Suzette, Carolyn
In the upper left corner you can see the hummingbird feeder

As I mentioned last week - next week for real is a week off.  Not sure where we'll head the week after that as it's too soon to come close to a reliable weather prediction.  But, with the sun rising later, we might be backing off on the time a little bit.  We'll see what happens in another week.  Have a fun time!

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - This Past Week at Verde River Access Point

 

As you can see from the above photo, there was a lot of growing going on between Day 1 and Day 2 at this Verde River Access Point.  We all were very surprised how much the green grew in 1 week.

Before I get into the details of the morning though, I'd like to share with you a little bit of news.  Another one of our artists has been honored.  It's Gretchen Lopez, she has been selected to be the Juror for the Arizona Plein Air Painters.  The show runs from 8/17 - 9/14/2023 down in Phoenix.  So, if you're down that way, stop in.  Here is a link to info about the show and if you scroll you'll be able to read all the info on Gretchen including some exciting workshops she's planning.  Congratulations Gretchen! https://arizonapleinair.com/mood-room

When Suzette and I arrived, I was confused by what I saw because it looked so different -- see

Suzette

See what I mean, you walk into the area and instead of seeing the river, you're hit in the face with overgrown shrubs totally changing the look of things.  I almost didn't know where to go.

Now, I knew from the parking lot that we weren't the only ones there, and as we traversed the shrubs I finally spotted Mike who looked like he was looking for a spot.

Suzette, Mike (the man in black)

It was early enough for the Datura to still be strutting their stuff.

Show offs

Cathy apparently had arrived just a little ahead of us too and was getting set up in her spot.

Cathy (with her shoes still on - bet that changes)

It looked like Cathy was talking to someone - so let's look over to the left.

Bob

It was Bob, also just getting set up in his spot.  Then I looked over to Bob's left and found another artist, also just getting set up in their spot -- looks like we all arrived right on time.

Tecla in her spot

Here's a different angle of those two.

(L to R and front to back) Tecla, Bob

Suzette decided she was going to tackle the Datura as they strutted their stuff -- but, as we all know the Datura only show off at certain times of the day and we were just lucky to get there while they were still doing their thing.

Suzette

Yes, Suzette started her painting with them really showing off and just as we deal with the ever changing shadows as the morning progresses, she wound up having her focal point continuously getting smaller and smaller till it completely closed up and you couldn't see anything -- talk about a challenge!!

I had picked a spot behind the shrub that is foremost in the above photo. 

We seemed to have lost Mike, so I decided to venture out to see if I could locate him.  AND, while doing that, look at who I encountered.

Nita (better known as Timestamp Nita) in her spot

Look at that, she snuck in.  It turns out she really did "sneak" in.  She saw me and Suzette then quickly and quietly snuck past us.  It clearly was well beyond the 7:45 meet up time.  After a short inquiry (I promise you, no torture was involved), she owned up to it maybe having been about 8:15 when she got there.   She had thought maybe I wouldn't realize that she wasn't there all along, now that's funny.

Ok, back to Mike.  I had to wander on down through a lot loose rock, some of which went a bit down a slope that nearly got the better of me.  That's right, nearly took a sliding fall onto my butt.  Thankfully I was able to defy gravity and stayed standing.  But, I did find Mike.

Mike

As usual, there he is tucked behind shrubs and under trees.  See all those loose rocks in the foreground -- those were the culprits that nearly took me down.

As I very carefully made my way back from that search for Mike, I was looking at all the little rocks and discovered that there really are a lot of little shells mixed in.  See

Shells

You just don't expect to see them or so many of them.  But, when you start looking, you realize they're all over the place.  

Oh, I also passed Cathy again -- check this out

"Barefoot Cathy"  - See, I told you so 😊

Well, 2 hours goes by quickly and before we all knew it, it was time to wrap up.  Here's when I discovered that there was one more artist among us.  

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of her but Tecla has provided one of Betty and I talking about something and it almost looks like it's serious, perhaps it has something to do with next week. 

Me & Betty discussing something (Photo by Tecla)

Well, thankfully Betty did make it back to us for the photo and she made it in plenty of time for setup of the gallery.  Turns out that she rode with Bob, but he failed to mention it.  Good thing she got back before he left!!!  

Oh, It turns out Betty's spot was Tecla's spot from last week.  I never did see that spot, not this week or last.  But the swing that hangs from the tree is still there.

We resorted to a gallery built from backpacks as all roots were not cooperating this time and none of us were inclined to drag some very dirty branches around to create a space.

I did do a split on them, so you can see them bigger.  And, as proof that I did take photos breaking the Gallery down to 3 photos for your enjoyment, here I am; with again thanks to Tecla, taking a pic of the first group of paintings as I worked from left to right.

That's me, gee wonder whose sunglasses those were (Photo by Tecla)

We did it again -- we all smiled on 2!!

Back Row (L to R) Bob, Mike, Suzette
Front Row - Betty, Tecla, Nita, Me (straddling rows again) & Cathy

Oh, in case you can't tell, a breeze did pick up (see some wind blown hair) while we were there.

Well, if you're on the list, that means you got the email and know what's happening for the next 2 weeks.  So unless something changes, we'll be at it again at the end of the month!

Have a fun one!

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - 8/8/23 - Verde River Access Point - Day 2

 

This coming week will be a Day 2 -- That was the general consensus.  While Green, it was still very pleasant and provided a great amount of shade.  We're keeping the time at 7:45 for this coming week.  And, you'll find the directions for Verde River Access Point on the right.

Suzette and I arrived there and discovered that the area looked dramatically different from the last time we were there which wasn't all that long ago.  This meant that we did have to look around.

Suzette wandering around

As Suzette wandered over towards where the river is flowing peacefully before breaking off into our usual area, she discovered there was someone over on the other side.  So, we went to check out who it was and found that there was not just one person but two.

The first I encountered amongst the greenery was Bob.

(L to R) Suzette, Bob in his spot

Now, where Bob is standing is an area that used to be totally open, there were no shrubs there creating the narrow walkway you see now.   This next photo shows what I mean a bit better and you'll also see the person we saw when we initially started wandering.

Bob and in the background is Betty

Well, as you now know that first person we saw in the distance was Betty in her spot.

Betty

Then as I was looking for a spot I saw this person wandering through the jungle.   Geez, not a wonder that it's called the "Verde" river.

Denise

That was Denise with a big smile as she wound her way through the greenery looking for a spot.  As I started to set up my tripod in my spot I heard some talking in front of me and discovered that Cathy had arrived.  It looks like she's hiding her face, but I think it was just that she was waving hello.

(L to R) Suzette in her spot and Cathy waving

Next to come along and arriving at the same time were LeAnne & Carolyn.  Oh and look, we now know where Denise found her spot. 

(L to R) Denise, LeAnne, Carolyn and her trusty chair/stool

Next, taking the high road around Bob and his shrubs is Nita with a timestamp of 7:59.  Not bad Nita, you made it there before 8, but you do know the start time was 7:45 😊.

(L To R) Bob, Nita, Denise

See what I mean about how different things look.  All those shrubs are new.  Wonder if they'll come along and get rid of them when they do cleanup.  

It's like people just show up, you don't see them coming and all of a sudden they're there.  For instance here's Tecla, I just turned around and she was there.

Way in the background is Denise then in front we have:
Barefoot Cathy, Tecla & Carolyn

Yes, Cathy always loses her shoes when she gets here, she claims it feels really good under her toes.  Me, the sand stuck between my toes would drive me crazy the whole way home.

So while I was busy taking pics of these next few spots, someone else arrived.

LeAnne in her spot -- as usual pretty in pink

Carolyn has a friend that arrived separately

Carolyn and her buddy in her spot

Yes, we have seen this pup before, he belongs to the lady in black.

Lady in black

See the way she's holding her dress.  Turns out she uses it to hold all the rocks and interesting pieces she collects while there.  She then goes over and puts them in her backpack (which was loaded with rocks) and resumes searching for more.  She finds various interesting pieces in the rocks from the riverbed.  She showed me a few.  Some that looked like they were used for cutting like a knife, a few that were beads.  In the below picture you can see the holes in the beads if you look close.  The positioning of the hole makes it look like they were strung together.

Look at the little rocks on top of the 2 bigger rocks.
On the front 2 little ones, you can see the holes

Nita walked off behind us to find her spot.  It was near (can you guess) a dry wash of rocks.

Nita Walking to Her Spot

Nita in her Spot

Nita's VIEW

I bet you thought it was just some random photo, but no.  That's what Nita was looking at - her favorite, Rocks!

So, now after all this time you probably think I forgot - or maybe you forgot that I was going someplace before I showed you all these spots.  Lets have a quick refresher.  While I was off taking pics of artists' in their spots another artist arrived and I caught her setting up.

It was Nori and this is her spot. 

(L to R) Denise (my she stands so straight) and Nori in her spot

Speaking of Nori, WOW, wait'll you hear this!!!  There is a rather extensive article about Nori Thorne and her paintings in Art of the West magazine in the July/August 2023 issue.   Here is a link to an excerpt from the article located on the magazines' website:

https://aotw.com/2023/06/a-compelling-medium/

You'll also see 2 of her paintings there.  Congratulations Nori!!  Now while all the artists in our group are wonderful, you have to admit that we certainly have a few that are beyond exceptional, Nori of course being one.  What a treat to be able to paint alongside her and the others.  In fact, after having seen her painting in the gallery, I felt compelled to go home and add a little more color to my very bland milk chocolate colored river.

Well, at this point you might be interested in a little perspective as to where all these spots were in relation to one another.  Have no fear, I have a picture or two for you.

(L to R) Denise, Nori, Carolyn Bob
and those specks of color in the weeds that aren't green located to the right of Bob are actually the artists Betty & Cathy who were chatting

(L toR) Suzette, My spot, Cathy, Denise & Carolyn seated

I did go looking for Tecla but never found her, turns out she was off hoping to try her luck on a Swing that was hanging from a tree.  But, like clockwork, she showed up as we were all packing up.

Center is Tecla with her back to us

With some effort and finagling of some of those river rocks against a very large tree root, plus Carolyn's trusty stool and someone else's camouflage stool, we built our gallery.

The Gallery as we saw it

Some blow ups of it since it had to be pieced together for showing

While they all look great in the photos, they look even better in person.  It's really a treat to stand there and see what everyone painted that morning.  It's always fascinating to see the different interpretations of pretty much the same scene.

We had to find an area where we could all stand for our group photo and while you would think after the number of times we've done this it would be easy 🙄 but no, beside a lot of chatting it takes a lot of shuffling ...  so shuffle, shuffle -- shuffle, shuffle and then shuffle again.  Ok, let me check,  we're all in and it's a smile on 2!

Well, one thing about all the shuffling (and no it's not that it keeps us limber - although it probably does help), but it makes us all smile.

Oh, I almost forgot -- I think it was Suzette, may have been Denise or possibly even Nori (isn't this helpful) anyway they mentioned using dryer sheets in your hat to keep the bugs away.  Whoever it was, it was someone wearing a beige hat and they swear by it, certainly worth a try.

So, yes, with the abundant shade and great temps, we're heading back for another fun day at the river.   Hope you all can make it.

Cecilia