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I've gotten to several dances while I've been in New England. It's such a hotbed for national bands and callers. I've seen Notorious and Lisa Greenleaf at local dances. Just amazing. These are the people we fly down south once a year for a special weekend. And the people have been incredibly welcoming. I've never walked into a dance hall not knowing a single dancer before. People have asked me to dance right at the start, kept asking me, talked to me at breaks, and truly made me welcome. I've even very grateful.
I got a banjo lesson from Larry Unger and a ride down to the waltz in Connecticut he was playing yesterday. He also let me draw his unbelievable banjo wall. For my lesson I got to play a 1903 White Layde, and then he let me noodle around on his 1870's fretless with gut strings. Both were a joy to play.
The waltz was three hours, so I did sat out a few and did a little sketching. Each half page is one tine's worth of sketching, so about 4 minutes each.
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I've had a hectic schedule lately, which has made it tough to dive into a new intricate print. The sketch from that first house concert kept calling my name. It's an unusual sort of print for me, very little detail, but I was happy with the image and wanted to try to make something more from it. It's also a lovey sort of simple thing to do in a busy week. So I did this, of Larry Unger and Audrey Knuth, and I'm not pondering a small dance piece in the same style to go with it. I intentionally made this one the same height as "The Waltz", my smallest of the dance prints, thinking perhaps I'd end up with a series for my spring show. I'm just starting a much bigger print, so I haven't gotten further in my thinking, but it's germinating on some subterranean level.
In the meantime, I'm grateful to Audrey and Larry for a marvelous weekend in their company and for the music they played in my house.
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I am both listening to and sketching an awful lot of music lately, which is a lovely state of affairs. Nine days after hosting my first ever house concert, I hosted my second as well. My friends and one of my favorite local bands the Side Street Steppers had musical friends coming through town, and I have a bigger front bigger front room than they do. So they brought some more great music to my house and opened the show (above).
Their friend Putnam Smith, who not only plays banjo but also owns a printing press, brought his band the Swamp Brothers. Banjo plus letterpress was all that was needed to talk me into hosting them.
I got their name wrong in the sketch below. Putnam was going through all the iterations they had tried along the way, and when I'm drawing I don't always process everything verbal going on around me, so I ended up with Swamp Boys instead in the sketch...
Their friend Putnam Smith, who not only plays banjo but also owns a printing press, brought his band the Swamp Brothers. Banjo plus letterpress was all that was needed to talk me into hosting them.
I got their name wrong in the sketch below. Putnam was going through all the iterations they had tried along the way, and when I'm drawing I don't always process everything verbal going on around me, so I ended up with Swamp Boys instead in the sketch...
I did a little audience sketching as well, though with three bands in the living room, fully half the audience was also part of the show. That's Ben Hunter on the left and Christian and Vera of the Steppers on the right.
The third act, amazingly playing in my own house, had just won the International Blues Challenge that week. It's a huge competition here in Memphis each year, with two winners, a solo/duo category and a band category. Out of all the musicians who descend from around the world. I was delighted some traditional blues (fiddle, acoustic guitar, harmonica) had won the contest this year and even more delighted to have them play in my home. Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons put on quite a show.
Interestingly, both groups have a printing connection, and I managed to barter for all their cds. Putnam letter presses all his cd sleeves, and Joe's mom is a gorgeous block printer and did all the art for their album. I'd love to do some album artwork sometime. Putnam really liked my recent favorite print, "the Waltz," so my favorite waltz partner and I have now gone to live in Maine. Joe and Ben wanted some letterpress cards, so I got their cd as well, and an invitation to visit the art space they run in Seattle. It was a lovely evening of music and art.
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.....This time I played. That's my bass, still in its case, with the empty chairs waiting to be filled. I decided sketching was better than sitting around and thinking about being nervous. Andy Cohen sometimes asks me to play bass for him when he's in town. It's always a wild ride, because he usually does plenty of songs we haven't rehearsed and often songs I've never heard before, but it's fun, and I get a front row seat to watch him perform. And it's sweet that he wants me. Usually I just play in a weekly jam in someone's back living room.
It was a double bill, so I did get to sketch for part of the concert. Below are Andy and his wife Larkin listening to his friends open the show. I realized when I scanned this in that I went from dinner on Monday to Saturday night without sketching, but I had a home show to put on in between, so that took up a lot of the week.
It was a double bill, so I did get to sketch for part of the concert. Below are Andy and his wife Larkin listening to his friends open the show. I realized when I scanned this in that I went from dinner on Monday to Saturday night without sketching, but I had a home show to put on in between, so that took up a lot of the week.
Here are the other concert sketches. My watercolor marker didn't work as well as I remembered it doing before, and I ended up soaking through the page and getting more bleed than I normally. Or like to. But it's just a sketch book.
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I had not only never hosted a house concert before last week, but I had never (amazingly) been to one. That is now rectified on both scores. Larry Unger, amazing waltz and tune writer as well as exquisite player, and Audrey Knuth, a marvelous fiddler who amazed my whole crew here, played in my front gallery. I love having my house full of music, and it was also a lovely excuse to invite some different folks in to see my art. We jammed afterwards, and my house was utterly happy with all the music and joy.
Mr. Darcy had a great time too. He lay at Audrey's feet for most of the concert. He was utterly fascinated by Larry playing the jaw harp. He'd never heard anything like it and made hilarious faces.
I did two kind of labored and fussy watercolors and finished with the quick pen sketches above once I was warmed up. I wish I'd done more of them. The left one made me especially happy. I'm still having trouble capturing greater detail in my people sketches. Guess I'll keep practicing.
Mr. Darcy had a great time too. He lay at Audrey's feet for most of the concert. He was utterly fascinated by Larry playing the jaw harp. He'd never heard anything like it and made hilarious faces.
I did two kind of labored and fussy watercolors and finished with the quick pen sketches above once I was warmed up. I wish I'd done more of them. The left one made me especially happy. I'm still having trouble capturing greater detail in my people sketches. Guess I'll keep practicing.
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First off, let me announce that the opening for my Dixon show is Thursday, November 19, 6-8pm. (Tomorrow!) The museum is completely free that night, so come out and see me but also see the truly lovely landscape exhibits in the other galleries. And the Tom Lonardo Trio will be playing music that night. Two of them were "boyfriends" in Di Anne Price and her Boyfriends, my favorite all time band. It's lovely to have the guys playing for my special night.
Here is the finished version of my Busker print. I followed this guy, walking slowly, down a street in Amsterdam as I sketched him this past summer. I'm having fun doing a few more figures in print lately.
He's on 9.5x12" paper, and $60 in my online store https://squareup.com/market/martha-kelly-art
Here's the original sketch:
Here is the finished version of my Busker print. I followed this guy, walking slowly, down a street in Amsterdam as I sketched him this past summer. I'm having fun doing a few more figures in print lately.
He's on 9.5x12" paper, and $60 in my online store https://squareup.com/market/martha-kelly-art
Here's the original sketch:
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Ironically I spent most of last week thinking about Paris, being really happy, and singing along to my René Miller's albums I bought from him there. I love stretching trips out by making art from them. It feels like I'm still living in that world when I'm inhabiting it and making art from it. I even found myself dancing through the woods on my walk singing René's songs.
Then Friday happened. And I'm just heartbroken for the city and very grateful my friends are all safe.
I'm going to keep working on this print of René and Dédé singing at the Marche d'Aligre. I did a sketch of them on site, sitting at one of the cafe tables, and then I came around the front and took the photo below. This sketch is from last year, but I'm working on a series of musicians, and I think I'll try one from this summer as well, René playing with Stephen Harrison.
Then Friday happened. And I'm just heartbroken for the city and very grateful my friends are all safe.
I'm going to keep working on this print of René and Dédé singing at the Marche d'Aligre. I did a sketch of them on site, sitting at one of the cafe tables, and then I came around the front and took the photo below. This sketch is from last year, but I'm working on a series of musicians, and I think I'll try one from this summer as well, René playing with Stephen Harrison.
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The Memphis Urban Sketchers met at the Memphis Farmers Market yesterday. I am having a crazy busy week, but I decided to take time to go see some of my people, and I was very glad I did. It was fun to catch up with everyone after my trip, and I always enjoy drawing down there.
I did a good bit of printing, calendar work, and board cutting in between, but I also went for the second and third sets of Le Tumulte Noir playing at Huey's tonight. They're an incredibly talented across the board gypsy jazz group, and I even got a little surprise swing dancing when I happened to sit next to a few dancer friends. Such a perfect way to spend an early Sunday evening. They gu
The guys are really fun to sketch and very nice about my doing it.
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I enjoyed my fast train sketching on the way over here, and I'm going to try to stay in that mode for a bit and not get too labored.
So here are some early sketches from
Abbesses, the cool area just up the hill from me.
I met my friends Audra and Pascal for a sidewalk bakery visit. They're musicians who came to stay with me last year as they toured though the States. Audra even wrote a song that has Sun Studio and Mr. Darcy in it. I can't wait for the cd to come out, because it's lovely.
I sketched Pascal looking incredibly French, leaning against the bar with a coffee at his elbow. They both draw too, so they're nice enough to get it.
It's really lovely to get into town and have such a warm welcome waiting. I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone and hearing them play. All my friends here seem to be musicians, which is marvelous.
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I had a way fun week last week. A longtime friend and favorite swing partner came to town, and several of us friends went out three nights in a row to hear live music and do a little dancing. Not my normal life, but it was fun to take advantage of the opportunity.
We started Wednesday night with hearing the Side Street Steppers on the deck at Central BBQ.
We started Wednesday night with hearing the Side Street Steppers on the deck at Central BBQ.
Thursday night, without a favorite band playing anywhere, we played tourist and went to Beale Street, where there's always live music of some sort. It was fun to go down and walk the few blocks and check out the offerings. We found a fun rockabilly show at Jerry Lee Lewis's place. The Jason James band put on a polished and accomplished show of songs that came from Memphis's Sun Records heritage (Elvis, Jerry Lee, Johny Cash). We did a little dancing and sketching and enjoyed the lead singer's rapport with the audience.
Then we moved on down the street to a smaller blues club that was playing some authentic Memphis blues and did some more dancing. It was lovely. Then we found a patio with something more in the soul range. We hit the trifecta of Memphis music that night.
As we were leaving we did a little more dancing on the sidewalk to the Jason James band. Jill was kind enough to take this awesome photo of Charley and me under the neon. It was a fabulous night.
