The other thing I did today was help hang the Memphis Urban Sketchers show at ANF. It took three of us two hours to hang artwork from about 16 of our regular artists. It's fun to see the group's work all up together, and I like spreading the word about the genre of urban sketching.

Appropriately, the Memphis Urban Sketchers met the morning after Elizabeth's and my opening. It was fun to get out with a group, with no agenda (show, commission, etc.) and just draw. The first thing that caught my eye was the moon setting over the church in the west. I've really enjoyed watching the moon's progress this month and may have to do some more moon sketches soon.

A race was happening while we were there, and they had a brass band playing at the finish -- awesome! I love brass band music, and this group is made up from some really fine musicians around town. I love to sketch musicians, too, so I did a couple of sketches until they stopped playing. I don't draw people that often, and when I do, it's usually bands Elmore and I have gone to see.

Finally, I went to join the rest of the group in an inner courtyard. This tree called me immediately.

The Memphis Urban Sketchers met on my home turf of Idlewild Presbyterian this past Saturday, and it was fun to get to draw with a whole group in the church I grew up in. It's a beautiful old Gothic church, built just before the depression, and it was fun to share it with the group.

I got my first peek at the Memphis Magazine City Guide issue that used my illustrations. It's on sale for the month of August, and it was fun to see my watercolors in print. I took one to my opening Friday night for folks to see.

It was a highlight week for me, art-wise, because the opening for my watercolor show at Playhouse on the Square was wonderful also. I really appreciated so many friends turning out to support me, and it was fun to get to share some of my favorite places with them through art.  The show will be up through September 16th, and I hope people will see it and want to visit Greece and Turkey.

Saturday was our meeting of the Memphis Urban Sketchers, and we rendezvous-ed at the central library. It's a great building (except for the escalator in the center of the main floor, which I still hate) with public art and great views. I always love the chance to go out and work with other artists, get inspiration from what they do, and just squeeze in a little socializing to my normally solitary work time.

I took my time over the first one and then realized I had only 45 minutes left (the watercolors usually take a bit more than an hour), so I intentionally loosened up a bit and did the second one in time to meet up with everyone. It's good practice for me to sometimes break out of my normal work habits and try something new. And I'm always drawn to that fabulous hanging glass sculpture in the atrium.

Saturday was our regular meeting for the Memphis Urban Sketchers. Elizabeth had decided to convene us downtown near the Memphis in May festivities, which is also near my regular Saturday morning destination of the farmers market. I'm an early bird and like to get to the market pretty early to get my pick of things. I was also concerned about parking once downtown got hopping, so I put a cooler in the car, hit the market about 8:30, and then headed for our meeting spot at Beale near the Orpheum.

I've got a commission on my list for the Orpheum theater, Memphis's old Vaudeville theater that now houses Broadway shows and the opera and whatnot, so I set up to paint it while waiting for the 11:00 meeting time to roll around. It's a pretty complicated building with lots of architectural grace notes, so it took about the full two hours, a bit longer than my usual watercolor time. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome, though, and I was also pleased to find some shade to paint in (not always possible when I need a certain view).

It was quite hot on Saturday. A couple of our group had had the foresight to scout out a good location ahead of time. Four of us ended up at a table with an umbrella on the upstairs deck of Alfred's, overlooking the main strip of Beale Street. It was lovely to sit in a comfortable chair with wait service and good spinach dip (since the 11-1:00 time frame is right through my lunch hour) and paint in comfort and companionship. I enjoy getting out with other artists, seeing what they are drawn to in the same scene, and swapping ideas. It's a lovely break from working alone at home so much of the time. We had several new and talented folks join us for the first time, and I love how the group continues to grow and attract new people. I'm often out of town for the meetings, but I love to be there when I'm home.

I was pretty worn out both my architectural concentration and almost five hours out in the heat by the time we were done. Elmore had finally turned on our a/c at home, and I happily did some sitting down printmaking indoors for the rest of the afternoon.