Going Places | Cabin Art

Road Trip, Day Four

On Day Four, we were READY TO BE HOME. We looked over the maps, picked a route, finished emptying the UHaul, returned it, and hit the road with the intention of driving until just before we got sick of it. It is easier with two drivers, so you can switch off.

This time I was a passenger and could take photos of saguaro, but there were no purple prickly pear.

We went through a severe thunderstorm, with hail that we thought might crack the windshield.

This was one of the oddest cloud situations I’ve ever seen.

We wanted to be home pretty badly to brave that storm and 545 miles in one day. I have kittens to play with and a painting to finish. Sister-in-law is settling into her new surroundings, and We Are Home!

Road Trip, Day Three

Day Three wasn’t as pretty. I’m not fond of desert scenery. We drove very far. We were tired of driving. We were not looking forward to unloading the UHaul. There aren’t many photos. (Our destination was a town outside of Phoenix, in case you were wondering.)

Yep. Arizona. Did you know the speed limit there is the same for passenger cars as for big rigs? It certainly makes for easier driving.

I missed many interesting shots, including saguaro, so I took advantage of the one across the street from the sister’s new home. I also passed up the most interesting cactus I’ve ever seen: it was prickly pear (the kind with paddle-like things) but it was PURPLE!

Road Trip, Day Two

Day Two began with finishing the UHaul load, and then leaving Tahoe, headed toward Barstow. (I know, “WHY??”) The drive was gorgeous. We went over two mountain passes, heading toward 395. We don’t often get to see the Sierra from the east side.

Stopped somewhere near Monitor Pass for road work.

Good thing the traffic was light with all this distraction and multi-tasking. NO, it isn’t because I have a cell phone now – I used to do this with a camera, so there. It takes many attempts to get a decent photo without looking at the screen.

So many missed shots because I was driving. I think we need to return to this part of the world, preferably with these clouds and all this snow.

We gave up in Ridgecrest and had to eat the motel reservations in Barstow. That made for a very long Day three, but sometimes a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. Women too. We had to stop. Had. To. Stop.

Road Trip, Day One

California is a HUGE state. We began our trip by driving to Tahoe. Trail Guy’s sister needed help moving and we were chosen.

There is a rest stop in Central Calif. on Highway 99 that has incorporated blue glass shards in its sidewalk, something I find puzzling and delightful.

See the trees ahead in the median? On the south side is a palm and on the north is a (barely visible) pine. These trees mark the center of California from north to south. They are on 99, not too far north of Fresno.

These next photos are my version of a drive-by shooting. I think I could do some paintings of oaks on golden hills (minus the phone lines and road signs).

I took a brief walk and discovered a new-to-me wildflower.

Trail Guy is a brilliant packer and loader of trucks, cars and vans. He is excellent at putting all the odd pieces together to maximize the space.

What a day to leave Tahoe! Trail Guy drove the UHaul, I drove our pick-em-up truck, and Sister drove her car.

Since we only have one cell phone among the three of us, it made sense to have the highly visible UHaul in front. Trail Guy and I had walkie-talkies, which was helpful, since I was the navigator but not driving in the lead.

I believe that UHaul is a highly necessary, convenient business model. Whoever thought that up was a genius, right there with the dudes who invented Post-It Notes, W-D40, and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing.

Final Plein Air Painting Day in Georgia

So many things to choose from for my final plein air painting.

More “tabby cabins”. I don’t know why that name bugs me. Maybe because it is whitewashing a segment of our history.

THIS is what I wanted to paint, but minus the palms.

Like this, but waiting for the light, which Laurel explained would come soon.

Step one, only 2 hours to complete this.

Step two, adding in the dark colors which make the light places appear.

Preparations for a wedding on the outside of the chapel. That’s unusual. I thought people got married INSIDE churches. But actually, very few do anymore. That’s a different topic for a different sort of blog.

Time for the critique. I didn’t get a good photo of this painting but have asked my hostess to photograph it for me when it is dry. I left it on top of her refrigerator.

And that’s all, folks. Suddenly, the carriage turned into a pumpkin. I told Laurel that the entire experience was so perfect that I’d think it was just a dream if I wasn’t sweating so much in the humidity.

So, back to the host and hostess’s home in Brunswick, rearrange all my supplies to pack for flying, say a quick good-bye (like ripping off a bandaid), hit the road for a silent drive back to Jacksonville (since I never did figure out the fancy radio), return the car, oops, go back to gas up the car (less than $3/gallon in Florida when it is over $4 now in Calif.), get a ride to the hotel, find some dinner (grits! because I was in the south), fall into bed for a 4 a.m. wake-up call. “Pumpkin”? More like a squash.

It was a fabulous adventure, a time of new sights, learning, friendships, challenges, new wildflowers, and, umm, sweating.

Final Morning of Plein Air

On day three of the workshop, we met at a conference grounds, full of chapels, tabby cabins (converted slave quarters), views of the water and marshes, bells playing hymns every 1/2 hour, weddings, guests wandering the grounds.

I wanted to paint this cabin, but made myself choose something harder.

I chose this scene, because I have a bent toward bridges as a painting (and drawing) subject.

Funny to call this a “bridge scene” when there is more sky than anything else. Part of why I chose it was to learn from Laurel how to turn a fairly nondescript subject into something worth painting.

step one, following my sketch but with modifications after I eavesdropped on Laurel helping Peggy refine the same view (minus the bridge).

Step two, but what did I do this photo? It looks weird.

Then we had lunch, did a critique, and chose our afternoon subject. Not everyone wanted to do a second painting, but there was something I really wanted to paint.

And back at home, the kitties were just fine.

Show you tomorrow, our final travelogue post about my trip to Georgia.

Sightseeing in Georgia

After class on day 2 and before class on day 3, I went driving around, looking for things, taking in all the sights. I love exploring!

There is always time to look at wildflowers.

Laurel told me this church, which was in the Eugenia Price novels, was a must-see. When she said Eugenia is buried in the adjoining cemetery, I asked for directions. Something was happening inside the church, so I didn’t go inside.

I wondered around among the graves, but didn’t take many photos. It was tempting, because I saw a plot called “Graves” and another one called “Coffin”. There was also one called “Outlaw”. These were people’s names, of course.

I met someone who showed me what I was looking for.

The next morning I drove through the Victorian neighborhood of Brunswick, just being a looky-loo. It isn’t often I get to see such fabulous houses or such a variety of architecture, so I was definitely gawking.

For sale. I wonder how much they are asking. I ducked it (DuckDuckGo is my preferred search engine) and saw there are 800-1600 homes for sale there. Not gonna find this one easily.

Churches on every corner. I didn’t have time to capture them all, but none were the plain-Janes of Tulare County.

I couldn’t figure out the meaning of this. Finally my host explained it to me. It means that bridges ice up sooner than the roads do.

These flowers were profuse and beautiful. I bought a wildflower guide to learn the name. None of the people I was hanging out with had much interest in wildflowers, definitely not the way we have been going gaga in Tulare County this spring.

Marsh, marsh, marsh. This is one of the draws of the area. What’s the difference between a marsh and a swamp? Do people go wading out in the marshes? Are there wildflowers out there? wildlife? Do people drown? So many questions.

My wildflower guide was grossly inadequate.

But, it did have the name of this beauty, an unfortunate moniker of “Spiderwort”. What??

Afternoon Painting at an Estate

Some of this will look familiar to you, since I did a rudimentary blog post while still in Georgia. Boy oh boy am I glad to be back with my laptop!

This is the continuation of the post on Monday about painting at the private estate on St. Simons Island. There were many possibilities, but I knew the clock was ticking so I needed to make a quick decision. I love architecture, so the back of the house won.

The formal garden with a maze was tempting.

This giant oak with wisteria winding up its trunk was interesting.

The moss was very interestingly weird, but would have been impossible to paint.

Simpler angle, and I could ignore the trees in the way.

Finished? I don’t know, because it looks so messy.

This is the front of the house. There was so much to see, and too little time.

Morning at an Estate

On day two of the plein air painting workshop, we were admitted to a private estate on 1000 acres on St. Simons Island. We drove about 1-1/2 miles behind a locked gate to reach the grounds of the home. Out of respect for the homeowners, I will eliminate many specifics but will show you photos.

We began the day with a tour by the caretaker, and then were set free to find a place to set up. This time we were on our own; Laurel didn’t tell us where or how to paint, although she circulated among us the entire time (and collapsed my beast of an easel on one visit!)

A couple of original Andy Warhol paintings, Jimmy Carter and Miss Lillian. (Remember, we were in Georgia.)

Oklahoma Judy, Georgia Bill, and Florida Marty discuss the various possibilities for painting.

This looks like a little canal, but sizable boats went past as we were painting.

The pool was about 1/5 full of greenish water.

After wandering around gawking, I chose this view. It was shady beneath the pergola of the pool house.

After lunch, we put the final touches on our paintings and then chose a new location for the afternoon.

And the grandkitties were just fine back at home.

Exploring and Sightseeing

First, an update.

Trail Guy wanted me to show you Scout and the grandkitties as they appeared yesterday. They are almost 2 weeks old now.

Now, back to Georgia. It took some focused discipline to concentrate on painting a new way when there were so many new sights to see. I was a good student, but I was eager for the next stage of exploring the area after class.

Category: Going Places