Plein Air Tuesday - 7/29/25 - The Place That's Pretty When There's Water In It (Ed's Place) - Day 1

 

Shocking that there was still actually some water in it.   There were puddles like the above in various locations.  There were also many very dry looking cracked pieces of land too.

I arrived way earlier (7:30) than the meet up time of 8:00.  Which meant I had a bit of time on my hands as I wasn't sure if everyone who would come would know where to go, I waited.

Betty

Fortunately, Betty showed up just 15 minutes later, she looked at me and said "So, this is it?"  As we were next to the huge gravel dump/pile that the county uses.  I told her (here's where I sounded like Ed) it's actually pretty when you go down to the creek 😳.  Then Dona pulled in right after, this time Dona arrived alone, no Jim.

Dona, no Jim

Yes, Jim wanted to hike someplace else -- guess a dry Dry Beaver Creek didn't sound appealing.

So, we waited a few minutes and then decided to head on down to the actual creek.

Betty going through the gate

(L to R) Dona, Betty

And, there they are at the creek where if there was water in it, they'd probably be up to their knees.

And here's a pic of Dona examining the puddle.

Dona and the puddle

So, we found our spots and started to paint when there was rustling coming from the brush behind us.

I wasn't prepared, so only got his back, but first came Ed.

Ed

Next LeAnne with Mike following right behind her.

LeAnne

Mike

So, they all arrived at 8:09, a little late for that trio.  But, of course, they weren't the last to arrive.  Here she comes, it's Timestamp Nita and less than a minute behind them.  That's actually almost early for her.

Nita

Well, they all went beyond mine and Betty's spot, speaking of which, here's Betty in her spot.

Betty

Betty and I were standing close enough that every time I heard her scratching lines in her paper, I kept looking around for critters that might be around me and then I'd realize it was just Betty making marks.   In case you were wondering, I'm not an outdoor critter kind of person, although I'm ok with lizards running by.

When I finally took a walk to see where the rest headed off to, I found that Dona had made quite a bit of progress on her painting.

Dona

And, LeAnne made her way over to what would be the other side of the creek.

LeAnne

Mike and Nita also found water in their spot.

(L to R) Nita, Mike

Oh my, they even have reflections in their puddle.  Well, that was as far down the trail I went, so I never found Ed's spot.   But, my message to Ed when it was time to leave finally got through and he arrived at the cars just behind Nita, Mike & LeAnne after our 2 hours were up. 

As Mike said when he first got there that morning, only in Arizona would you go to a dry creek and attempt to paint water.   Hey, we did pretty good though, as you can see from our gallery.

And, because they all deserve a close up, here they are.

That was it for this morning; but before we all melted from the heat, we formed our lineup and smiled on 2.

Back Row - Dona, Mike
Front Row - Ed, Me, Nita, LeAnne, Betty

Looking forward to doing it again next week!

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - M's Secret Spot - 7/22/25 Day 2

 What you're looking at above is a "recycled photo".  Bet you're wondering what I mean by that.  How about I forgot to take a solo photo (as in location only and no artists) of the location we were at this morning.   The above was taken on 5/20/25 and that setup no longer exists and I think that tree trunk is gone too even though that much time hasn't gone by.

Ok, now fast forward to today.  It was a pretty morning and I got there early, but it didn't take long for Betty to pull in next to me.

Betty

Sophie followed soon after.  Look at that smile!  You think she's getting ready to do something she really enjoys?

Sophie

Mike then came along,  check out that cloud behind him --  looks ominous.

Mike (no mug)

Ed pulled in right behind him.

Ed behind the wheel, Mike between the cars

While they were busy driving in, I saw this person walking through the field toward the water.

Kirsten wallking in

That's right, it's Kirsten as she walks from home with all her gear, doesn't even pause to look around as we're all staring at her - the girl is on a mission!

And here we have arrived under the bridge for our shelter from the sun.

(L to R) Mike, Ed, Sophie

Interesting, the ones on the right have their right foot first and Mike on the left has his left foot first.  You have to admit though that Ed and Sophie look like they're in lock step.

Those 3 walked over to where they saw Kirsten sitting in her spot (told you she was on a mission  - it makes it look like she's been there for hours).

(L to R) Kirsten, Ed, Sophie, Betty

Shortly after that Dona wandered in.

Dona

Betty, Mike and Ed all decided on different locations for their spots.  And, it turns out that Pat also joined us, I missed getting her pic though.

Betty & Mike seated in their spots and hidden amongst the shrubs in the background is Pat

Pat in her spot

There was one more yet to arrive and that was Timestamp Nita.

Nita - Timestamp 8:21

Hey, less than a 1/2 hour late, not bad.  At least she always shows up smiling.  Look at the small amount of stuff she's carrying, yet she'll come up with a really great painting and do it in the least amount of time.

Nita quickly found a spot near the waters' edge just over from Ed's spot.

(L to R) Nita, Ed

I'll show you some others in their spots and then I'll tell you about something funny that happened.

Here's Sophie and Dona doing a little chatting - I'm going to guess, 2 oil painters discussing oil painting, but I could be wrong.

Sophie in her spot, Dona

While I showed you Mike's spot earlier, this is worth seeing again for a closer look at all the vegetation he's sitting in the middle of. 

Front, Mike - further back is Pat

Looks like they're painting in the jungle!  While I was walking back to my spot from taking their pics I saw this fellow.

Jim

So, that's Jim once again off hiking while Dona paints, he loves it that she's joined our group as he gets to go hiking/exploring wherever we go on Tuesdays'.

Ok, so the funny thing is, I'm standing there painting when I swear I hear a chicken.  Huh?  So I look up and see the cutest black chickens running past.

There's one over on the right too and you can see Mike on the left.  They're the type that have very fluffy looking legs, they really were very cute.   Not long after a woman came by with a little dog and happened to go walking off behind those shrubs where the chickens went.  The next thing you know you can hear loud squawking going on and then the chickens come walking out - never did see the dog again.  We'll just have to assume that the woman got the dog out of there.

But, the chicken's were a first for this area.  I'm sure whoever owns them was wondering where they got off to.

Here's another one of Dona chatting away, this time with Kirsten as she stopped by to visit.  You do have to wonder how she had time to paint though.

(L to R) Dona, Kirsten

As you can see, we did manage to stay in the shade, so the temps were very tolerable for all of us for the short time we were there.  But, before we knew it, it was time to wrap things up and build our gallery.

Quite the display, with one being a restart - but it's certainly off to a good one!

We did spend quite a bit of time chatting at the end, but since we all know the drill, it didn't take long to round us up so that we could all smile on 2.

Back Row - Kirsten, Dona, Ed, Betty, Nita, Mike, Sophie
Front Row - Pat, Me

Well, that's it for this location for a while.  But, I have no doubt we'll be back!

Cecilia

Plein Air Tuesday - 7/8/25 - Oak Creek Country Club Park - Day 2

 

 It was a Still Life Day!  Weird, huh?

Well, some of us were up for the challenge - and believe me, it was a CHALLENGE.  It's actually easier to paint landscapes, who knew, even with all that GREEN.

So, I sort of messed up this day, think my brain was already on vacation.  I barely took any photos, and my painting was a disaster.   Oh well.    But, here's what I got.   Most of the arrivals, the still lifes, and the end photos 🤷

So, here are the arrivals.   The first person to arrive after me was a complete surprise as we haven't seen her in quite a while.   What a treat she was able to join us.

Cathy

Yes, it was Cathy and while I didn't find this out until she was heading home, it was also her birthday.  So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATHY and here's wishing you many, many, many more!!

I was actually talking to a friend of mine who happened to have her dog with her at the park, so poor Cathy seeing me there, walked all the way over to where I was instead of the pavilion.  Sorry, about that Cathy, didn't mean to cause confusion and an extra trek across the dewey grass.

Next to arrive were Carolyn and Tecla.

(L to R) Tecla, Carolyn

And, who's this cutie coming along?

Betty

It was Betty, rolling on up the path - well, rolling her art stuff.  One thing that was convenient about this location was that we were able to park real close!

Another artist showed up, but I didn't get a pic of her until she was seated and getting ready to paint -- told you, my brain was on vacation!

Dona in her spot

So, Carolyn and Tecla found their way straight to the pavilion and immediately staked out some shady spots.

(L to R) Carolyn, Tecla in the shade

We all stood in the pavilion discussing whether or not there was as much shade as last week 🙄 when really what the case was is that we didn't enter the pavilion until it was time for the photos last week as none of us painted there.  Therefore, it did look different -- doesn't take much to trip us up, oh dear!

Well, while I was busy not doing what I should've been, Tecla was busy taking some photos of artists in their spots -- thanks Tecla!

Mike in his spot - Photo by Tecla

and

Me in my spot - Photo by Tecla

I know, I know, I wasn't holding my brush correctly -- geez!!  Although, maybe that was my problem.

Cathy and Betty didn't join us in the pavilion and Cathy was actually seated in the sun.  So, just before wrap up time, she packed it in and headed straight home.  We were all so glad she could join us and in honor of her birthday, she gets the "stand alone" pic showing off her painting.

Cathy and her painting

Wow, great painting and I really loved her top -- isn't that a great color!

Our gallery was located in the same spot as last week with the horse in the background -- gee no one painted him!

And, here we all are smiling (actually laughing) on 2.

(L to R) Me, Dona, Mike, Tecla, Carolyn, Betty

So, that was our Still Life adventure in the great outdoors!   Till next time!

Cecilia