Thursday, April 2, 2026

Plein Air Tuesday - 3/31/26 - M's Secret Spot - Day 1

 


I arrived the same time as Dona & Jim.

Dona
Jim

As you can see, Jim is all ready to do his hike while Dona paints.  But, who's this coming down the road?

Red Jeep

Hmmm, Red Jeep, that can only mean ...


Mike's Mug

Yes the Mug has RETURNED, haven't seen it in a while.  Oh, and that is Mike holding THE Mug.  Good of Mike to chauffeur the Mug around.

Next to pull in was James.

James

Ok, I'm going to say something here that might strike you all as a bit silly, but yesterday was actually the first time I sort of realized that we had 2 James' in the group.  Just never think of Jim as being a James.  

As we were setting up by the river another familiar face started walking towards us.

Nori

It was Nori, she's been busy doing APAA related stuff since she's their President:

https://apaa.wildapricot.org/

Please do click on the link, it'll take you to the Arizona Pastel Artists Association website -- I know, Wildapricot sounds odd, but it's the Organization Management Platform they use for their website which incorporates and organizes all the things that the association has going on.

Oh, don't forget to come back here though if you do click on the link.

Here's the spot James found, gee, looks like he's off in the weeds.

James

But, it's not quite as bad as it looks -- see

James, not really in the weeds

Here comes someone else -- I think it's another artist

Another artist

Let's see if they come closer, maybe we'll figure out who they are.

Kirsten

It's Kirsten, looks like she's doing a balancing act with her paints.  She's also another one that always seems to be smiling.  Speaking of which ...

LeAnne

That's right, it's Smiling LeAnne.  I know hard to tell since her head is down, but I'd bet anything she has a smile on her face!  Unfortunately, I didn't get another pic of her until the end.

Oh, look at this, here's yet another artist wandering on over.

Gail

Yes, Gail found her way to the water too.  Looks like she's going to head over to where Dona's spot is.

Gail -- in the background is Dona with her back to us

Nori also found a spot right on the edge of the water.

Nori in her spot

Oh, look, wait  a second let me check the time -- 8:58:25, gee less than 1/2 hour late, it's (drum roll) our favorite late comer...

(L to R) Nita, Kirsten in her spot (behind me)

Yes, Timestamp Nita arrived, and like always, winds up with a great drawing/painting in the  shortest amount of time.

So, once again Nita found a comfy rock to sit on and used her little bench to hold her paint. 

Nita

I'll have you know, she spent the entire time doing that very involved  painting while holding that phone and talking to someone.  The girl is good!!  

We had a group of high school students show up with their teacher.  They were working on collecting data about the river in different locations as a science experiment, last week they were over by TuziRAP (Tuzigoot River Access Point).     What a fun and interesting way to learn and something I'm sure they'll always remember.


As it got close to wrap up time, some artists started to appear wandering over from their spots, one or two I hadn't seen until this point.

LeAnne

She almost looks like she should be doing some bushwhacking!

Oh my, I didn't realize this guy joined us.

(L to R) Pete, Dona

At this point I checked my phone and realized I had received a text from him asking where we were - Sorry I missed that, Pete.   Thankfully, he did eventually find us before we all left.

So, turns out Eileen was another one I didn't see until the end.  I want you to look at this next picture very closely, don't worry, I'll explain why.

Eileen

Ok, so, see that BIG BAG on her shoulder, how about that box behind her and the bag to the side of her.   Now, see the little tiny, itty bitty painting she's holding!!  Yup, all that gear for that little painting.  I should mention though, it was a very good painting AND there's even a person in it.

Alright, now let's have a look at the gallery whose photo I had to keep retaking as more and more artists showed up with their paintings.  But, here's the end result and it's quite impressive!


Now for them all to show off.





Then, finally got everyone to stop chatting long enough so that we could give it a shake and smile on 2.

Back Row - Mike, Pete
Middle Row - Gail, Eileen, Kirsten, Dona, Nita
Front Row - Me, LeAnne, James, Nori, Jim

Well, that's it for our day in the shade.  As Mike mentioned when we got there, this is normally the spot we go to when it's sunny and hot -- this day it was cloudy and a little chilly to start.   That's ok though, we still all had fun.  'Till next time!

Cecilia