Plein Air Tuesday - 10/29/24 - Secret Slick Rock Trail - Day 2

 

I arrived with Denise and while there were a lot of cars in the parking lot, only one of them looked familiar.  It belonged to Bob.

Denise

Don't you wonder what she was peaking around looking at?

Bob - who is also always smiling

So, we, of course, all started talking.  I heard another car pull up and looked to see if it was any of our group and it was.  

Mike through the trees, etc.

Typical of my photos of Mike, he’s partially hidden by shrubs and trees.  So, you’ll have to just take my word for it, it was him.  

What’s funny is when there’s only a few of us like this, I think we do more talking about stuff then when there’s a larger crowd.  That means it took us a bit before we all stood back and agreed, guess we should find a spot and pull out our paints.   But, you should know that it was agreed that the demo that was done at the last NAWS meeting was very entertaining (obviously this was one of the topics that was brought up as we chatted).

So, this made it a very easy day for me since no one else showed up, or at least that I knew of at this point (hmmm, wonder if there’s some one else lurking about).

The 4 of us stayed near one another which was the location right off the parking area.  Bob’s spot was close to where he was last week.

Bob

Bob - my real view of him

Mike was just over from Bob.

Mike

Once again no surprise here, Mike had the most shrubbery around him.

Denise

Denise in her spot and my spot was actually off to her right about 30 ft or so, I didn't actually measure it.

So, what you should all know about Denise is that she's really a part-timer.  She's only with us for 6 months of the year and then she winters in Ahwatukee where her real home is (part of  Phoenix in case you weren't sure).  Ok, and after reading the following article, I'm ready to pack up and move there too!

https://livinginphoenixaz.com/blog/reasons-to-move-to-ahwatukee

So, I finished quite early and was sort of hanging out when -- whoa, who's that????  As he said when he came walking over "It's a blast from the past!".

David

That's right - it's David!  He hasn't joined us in quite a while and decided to show up today.  He apparently arrived very early (6:30) and hiked around for a bit and then wound up setting up in a spot down the trail.  Didn't see him until he was finished and going to his car, finished painting in hand.

David & his painting

Having arrived as early as he did, he was ready to go home.  So, he didn't stick around for the final photos.  But he stopped to chat with each one of us.  Really good to see him and what a surprise!

Some visitors came by who were from Cincinnati and I  wound up passing quite a bit of time with them taking their pictures and joking around.   Nice couple, didn't get their names, but still fun passing time with them.  Hey, at least they left Sedona thinking we're quite the friendly group.

By 10:53 we had our gallery set up.  Didn't take too much time since there were so few of us.

As you'll see from the group photo, while the morning started out a bit breezy and chilly, standing in the sun still can be warm.  This was evidenced by Denise having discarded her sweatshirt.   Me, I was still quite comfy with mine on.  Here we are, where we all smiled on 2!

Mike, Denise, Me, Bob

So, have a good winter Denise, we'll miss you!  But, the rest of you, I hope to see you next Tuesday!

Cecilia

 

Plein Air Tuesday -- 10/22/24 - Secret Slick Rock Trail - Day 1

 

Denise and I arrived and a few cars were there, but not any I recognized.  Bob and Pat pulled in shortly after us.

Pat, Bob (checking his phone)

So, it might really be that Bob was actually already checking a picture he took with his phone as he was deciding where he wanted his spot to be.

Denise had never been to this location before so I took a walk with her down the trail to the red rock overlook area.  That's where the top picture was taken -- you can scroll up to the top of this post to see what I mean -- it should only take you a second as we're only one photo down.

Denise -- Bob far back left still checking his phone

As we started down the trail, we saw someone heading out way.  It turned out to be Barb, she got there early (so one of those cars) and went down to the place from the photo at the top and found her spot.  Only thing is, she got herself all set up and realized she didn't have a pencil, so walked all the way back to get one.  The rest of us hadn't taken our stuff with us.  We left it in the car while we wandered, otherwise I could've given her one, although she wasn't that far from her car at this point.

Barb

So, we continued on, debated about making that our spot and then headed back to the car for our stuff.  At that point we met up with Barb once again as she was heading back to her spot, pencil in hand.  She had some followers though.

Barb, Kris, Nita2

Barb wound up getting to her car as Kris and Nita2 pulled in, so she showed them the way to where her spot was.

We stood and chatted for a bit and Kris ultimately decided to turn around and go back to the area by the cars where we left Bob checking his phone.

Oh, here's a better view of Nita2 -- I didn't recognize her at first -- I don't think I ever saw her without a pony tail before.

Nita2

I stopped to take in the view along the way.

Pretty View 

So, just in case you didn't recognize it, that's Cathedral Rock from the other side.

Oh, and here's Bob in the spot he decided on.

Bob in his spot

And, standing where I took this photo of Bob I just turned to my right and 

Kris

There was Kris in her spot.  But, she wasn't alone.  My spot was not far over from her and Denise's was to my right.

(L to R) Kris, my spot, Denise

As we were starting to pack up (once again those 2 hours go quick), Pat came along with her stuff and stopped to talk with Denise as the rest of us gathered our stuff.  

(L to R) Kris, Denise, Pat

As you can see, the location right by the cars is actually quite pretty.  So, if you're not up to doing a little trail meandering, you can park it right there and find plenty of spots.

Had to text Nita2 to see if she would be joining us, Barb elected to stay where she was and continue painting.  So, we never saw Barb's painting.  But here are the rest of them even though Kris had to stop before she was totally finished.

After admiring everyone's work, we quickly gathered together to smile on 2!

(Back) Bob, Kris, Denise
(Front) Pat, Nita2, Me

While we started out with it being a bit cool, it had quickly warmed up and those of us that were not in the shade discovered how very warm it became.  So, it was a speedy departure after the photo.

As always, this location deserves a Day 2, so you can guess where we'll be next week!

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - 10/15/24 - Rangers' Station - Day 2

 

Well, I arrived early and by myself.  However, I had received word that at least a few artists would be joining me.  So, I started to set up and as I was doing so Denise arrived.

Denise

Smiling as always!  It wasn't long before we had Mike join us.

Mike

Mike and the scenic background.  He's clearly been drinking his coffee earlier as his mug didn't join him.

Well, believe it or not, that was it.  Hope all the missing artists learned a lot in their portrait workshop.  I'll be expecting to see a lot of paintings of fellow artists (including their faces) in their future plein air paintings.

So, I obviously won't have to do a lot of running around trying to find people in their spots as the 3 of us set up right by that patio.  In fact Mike took his spot from last week.  So, since I didn't get a photo of him last week, this week I'll provide you with 2 😊.

Mike

Mike

So, check it out -- Mike paints with SUNGLASSES ON -- hmmm, no wonder his paintings always have such strong values, he literally is seeing things in a different color.

Here's Denise in her spot and the easel without a person is my spot.

Denise

As you can see, we were all right near one another.  It really made for a fun morning as we got to talk a lot and also relax and enjoy the plein air experience.  Of course, you realize that even though our spots were all in the basic same location, NONE of our paintings looked alike.  So, what else is new - clearly we all see different things.

Before Denise got started, she was commenting on how she really needed to clean her palette.  So, I had to take a look at it -- as it turned out, it looked so pretty I had to take a picture of it.  She really should have a print made of this.  Check it out!

Denise's Palette before she started painting

I did learn when I got home that Robin had actually attempted to join us, but I think she thought we were down by the creek and since she had Hamilton with her, decided not to go down there.  It's too bad I didn't learn about her being there before she headed home.

Ah well, the 3 of us still had a good time and managed to stand around and discuss our paintings quite a bit, among other things of course.  We did a little different set up for our gallery this day and we were able to show off our paintings in the best light.

Once I got home I realized I forgot to take a group photo 😟 -- So, I promptly contacted them and said we had to go back for the group photo -- oh, ok, I really didn't do that.  But, since it was Day 2 -- I had an alternative and here we all are where and when we had once smiled on 2.

Mike, Denise
Me

That's it for this Day 2.  As you can see, it was a beautiful morning and so glad we had a chance to get out and enjoy it.  Until next week at a "Secret" location.

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - Rangers' Station on 179 - Day 1

 

I arrived just before 8:00 am and found Bob & Betty sitting in their car.  Denise, however, decided she wasn't going to waste any time and headed right on up to the Rangers' Station patio.

Denise

Bob exiting the vehicle and Betty ( I can see her foot on the right)

Denise & visitors

As you can see, I wasn't kidding, Denise wasn't wasting any time.  She quickly picked her spot and set up while Bob & Betty took in the view.

Bob and Betty - plus "The View" of course

I heard talking and since it was still too early for visitors, I had to see if it was any of our crew.

It was!  Here's Mike, Nori & Sophie

Bob ultimately opted for the covered patio as did most of us.

Bob in his spot

Nita2 came briskly walking in as well.

Nita2 -- background is Betty leaning over

One thing that's convenient about this location is that I don't have to do a lot of running around trying to find people.  But, that also meant I did get a little lax and didn't catch everyone's spots even though they were right in front of me (sorry Mike).  I also didn't catch Nita2's spot - but it was also on the patio.

It turned out that Nita2 wasn't the last to join us.  LeAnne came strolling in at 8:14.

(L to R) Denise seated, LeAnne

Smokey was also there - ever vigilant fellow!

Smokey

Geez, I got Smokey in his spot but missed getting Mike, Nori, Nita2 and Sophie.  Oh well!  Smokey wound up having some company since Betty chose the bench on the left side of him.

(L to R) Betty and Smokey (just in case you weren't sure who was who)

So while it was pretty silly of me to have missed getting Mike, Nori & Nita2 in their spots 😳, it's really no surprise  I didn't get Sophie "The Wanderer" in hers.  Don't really know exactly where Sophie's spot was, but it was somewhere down below in the wash and she had to be called in for the group photo and to hang her piece in the gallery.

As we waited for Sophie to arrive, we made use of Betty's bench for the Gallery.  However, the amazing thing was that visitors would come over and just through their stuff on top of our paintings so they could take a picture with Smokey -- ummm, folks - there was the other bench!  They were just lucky that it was a watercolor piece on the end and not one of the oils!

Oh look, you get a sneak preview of all the artists and visitors too -- see the reflections in the window!

But, first, here's a closer look at the paintings.

Soooo, as it turns out, the Group Photo is going to need a little explaining.   Ahem, I really wasn't on top of things this day - think I was tired.  Anyway, it might seem that LeAnne doesn't seem to quite fit in - you'll see what I mean.

(L to R) (Back Row) Mike, Betty, Bob, Denise, Nita2, Nori
(Front Row) Sophie, Me, LeAnne

 LeAnne is special in this photo -- she has her own background!  And, for those of you who haven't already guessed what happened ...  I didn't get LeAnne in the photo - see the far left and Pink Check Shirt - that's her.  But, thankfully, she magically appeared next to me and look she even changed her top!  

As you know, few things are kept secret as I manage to point out various things noted in photos, but sometimes it's stuff that isn't in the photo.  This day was Bob's day to leave things behind 😲.  When we got there he went to take a picture and realized he left his phone at home - ugh, we all know what that feels like.  We've really become dependent on those things.  But, you see, that's not all.  After all was said and done, I turned around to get my painting to put away and saw that there was another lone painting sitting near it.  I quickly looked around and realized its owner wasn't there.  Well, I'm sure you guessed the answer to this one - it was Bob's.  Have no fear Bob, I have it and will get it back to you.

'Till the next time, have a good one!

Cecilia