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I hit the ground running yesterday sketching wise. I seem to be working very fast and loose, but we're here such a short time that I want to just be able to record a lot of scenes and play with the possibilities.
Sketching really is the way I take in and process and sit with landscapes, old or new.
I was out walking last night and did this last sketch. These guys seem to me to be the Dutch equivalents of the hilarious, Tenniel-like knights atop the Hotel de Ville in Paris.
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I've been off dancing this weekend and am on my way to a week in the Netherlands with my parents, so there will be sketches later. In the meantime, I haven't posted this yet. It's the first color proof of a new print, another one of my favorite tree in my local park.
I've done some more carving and am two days into a second proof. It has to dry overnight between each color. I'll pull the final round of the second proof when I get home and see how it's looking.
Here it is with the original ink and watercolor sketch and all three blocks.
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I'll get to make art with students in a variety of ways, help plan chapel and make art for use in worship, talk to classes about where art and the text and the church intersect, and maybe even host a few gospel singing jams with my banjo. I'm just delighted. I was an art and religion major, so my passions and interests all converge in this perfect position.
It's part time, so I'll be able to work around my fall show for Dixon and travel for my other work, but I'm really looking forward to spending a year in upper level learning with smart, engaged people.
I did this sketch of Founders Hall while waiting to meet last week with the guiding committee for my position. I'm happy to be fully official now and ready to start.
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Art is my vocation but is also occasionally a good social ice breaker. Once I was given my champagne, I realized I could stand around with it awkwardly, or I could sketch a while, keep myself busy, and maybe meet a few people in the process. I chose option two. Sketching occasionally makes a good parlor trick.
The ladies at my table continued the kind welcome and made me feel at home. Both women beside me had Tennessee connections, and we had a lovely meal.
I kept sketching after lunch during the program by James Farmer, who was delightful. I felt at home with his Southern accent and family stories. My grandmother from south Georgia sounded a lot like the women he grew up amongst. He had an easy manner and kept everyone laughing, and people were sorry when the talk was over. (Not always the case at these things.)
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I had spotted a gorgeous copper beech I'd never noticed before on my walk that morning (the park is so rich in beautiful trees), and it was calling my name, so we headed there. It turned out to be a perfect choice.
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I'm behind on my blog, so I'm going to work backwards because this is an easy post to get up tonight before falling into bed. My last night there was lovely. Frozen custard, of course, because I have to make the most of being in town with it (see the above paragraph), and then I went to a coffee shop called the Stone Spiral to hear some music. I only have a couple of facebook friends that are friends of friends whom I haven't met in person, but I've enjoyed greatly knowing Mike Holdinghaus that way. He's another musician and artist and has great reflections on life. I was delighted to get his invitation to come out and hear some songs and finally meet him and his wife Linda in person, along with a number of their talented friends. A couple of dancers I already knew came through as well, so it was an unexpectedly social evening. My original plan had been to paint till the light failed and then fall into bed after a Target/Ted Drewes run. This was much more fun, and I got to sketch musicians in the bargain, which I always love to do.
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I took Mr. Darcy since it's a quiet park and he'd been so good at our forest outing. I had a little trouble keeping his butt out of my paints (he stained it sap green on one recent foray by lying directly in my paint box), but otherwise he's excellent company on a sketching trip.
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I started a new print last night while I listened to the baseball game. Good to be back home and working. And yes, it's my same tree I can't stop drawing. I did this sketch back in January and had no real plan for it. I just saw the moon and wanted to draw. I'm grateful to the Memphis Urban Sketchers for getting me more in the habit of ongoing drawing. It's nice to have that much material to leaf back through and be inspired by.
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Marian and I had a slow start and enjoyed quiet time sitting and sketching and people watching in Central Park again. The weather was Warner yesterday, so sketching was more fun without freezing hands.
I really liked the Belvedere Castle rising up out of the rock, though I didn't do it the justice I would have liked. Another time I'll have to try it in watercolor.
We ended the trip with a matinee of It's Only A Play starring Nathan Lane. He is Marian's current obsession and crush and the reason for the trip. It was fun, but Marian and I agreed we both feel great about the state of Memphis theater. Three Broadway plays this weekend, and none of them sent me flying high out of the theater the way a number of Playhouse on the Square productions have made me feel lately. I'm glad to visit the big city and delighted to live in Memphis.
Dinner at Pylos for truly great Greek food, which we do not so much have in Memphis. It was a delicious meal, and the clay pots hanging from the ceiling also charmed me. It was a perfect end to a fun sister trip. We appreciated our New York sister showing us around her 'hood.
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We spent some time in Central Park yesterday. I'd read Olmstead's biography some years ago and wish I'd had time to reread the relevant sections before this trip. I love parks and public spaces, especially ones that give access to huge trees and a bit of nature in the midst of a city.
