Maybe by the weekend I will be able to work on it more. I did stop and shoot a few more tree images for a painting of Bonita Flats. Stay tuned.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
October 24, 2013
For the past few days I have been at the Chestnut working on "Forever Plaid." Only had an hour or so each night to paint. The Goer house is the first painting I started on while visiting Newton and it is the one I have worked on first.
Maybe by the weekend I will be able to work on it more. I did stop and shoot a few more tree images for a painting of Bonita Flats. Stay tuned.
Maybe by the weekend I will be able to work on it more. I did stop and shoot a few more tree images for a painting of Bonita Flats. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
October 16, 2013
Today was spent finishing up the sign that will be placed in the center of the stage for the upcoming show at the Chestnut Fine Arts Theatre. It is the show "Forever Plaid." And was my first attempt at painting plaid. Next week we will create the entire stage and set. Really quick turn around for this show.
Yesterday I went to the farm and did some sketches of my paternal grandfather's home and the cemetery in Goodrich. It was the only time I've ever gone to the farm alone. I also brought back a desk that my father made. As far as I know it's the one and only piece of furniture made by Marvin Zimmerman, a true original. In the drawers were dozens of cards that my grandmother had received over the years, some old appliance manuals and some photographs. Definitely a trip down memory lane.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
October 13, 2013
Today began with a few more images of the railroad yard and a walking tour of the campus. I saw the Thresher mural in the student center and the limerick drawings in MOJO's. Returned home in the early afternoon and hope to begin working on the paintings soon.
October 12, 2013
Today I began by going to the railroad tracks. This railroad seems to be a prevalent part of life in Newton. There are railroad tracks at both the north and south end of town and they seem to be brimming with activity. I began a piece looking straight to the west down the railroad tracks. As I was leaving there I noticed a fire escape coming from a second floor doorway and an interesting array of additions and receptacles.
I began sketching and soon met the owner of "El Toro," the restaurant whose rear side I was drawing. He shared a brief history of the building and his life in Newton. That night I ate dinner in his restaurant, where I ate some of the best enchiladas ever.
After finishing my drawing at the restaurant I returned to the Caring Place to draw the façade. While doing this drawing I met two of the patrons and was educated about the building, their mission and some of the other local landmarks I might find interesting. It turns out that the Caring Place is in what was the original railroad station but today the railroad only uses a portion of the building. My plan is to paint the façade at dusk with the warm glow of light coming from within. It was this light that illuminated the men playing cards that drew me to this space.
After lunch I drew the Goerz house looking from the south. This is a view that includes the porch that my sister and her husband enjoy. I plan to paint it in late afternoon light with the porch partially in shadow. At around 5, I went onto the Bethel campus where I drew up the image of the trees obscuring most of the buildings with the glow of the pillar lights acting like small torches. I also photographed some students coming and going to dinner that I plan to include in the painting.
In between the 4th and 5th painting I sketched from the driveway looking towards the back of the Goerz home. I would like to have Perry reading the newspaper on those steps in the late afternoon light. Maybe I can get him to pose the next time I'm in Newton.
Other ideas that I want to develop include the grain elevators on the north end of town in the late day, as giant gray monolithic shapes and something with those bicyclers. Who would have guessed that there would be so many bicyclists in Newton? That town is full of pleasant surprises. I am definitely looking forward to my next trip.
I began sketching and soon met the owner of "El Toro," the restaurant whose rear side I was drawing. He shared a brief history of the building and his life in Newton. That night I ate dinner in his restaurant, where I ate some of the best enchiladas ever.
After finishing my drawing at the restaurant I returned to the Caring Place to draw the façade. While doing this drawing I met two of the patrons and was educated about the building, their mission and some of the other local landmarks I might find interesting. It turns out that the Caring Place is in what was the original railroad station but today the railroad only uses a portion of the building. My plan is to paint the façade at dusk with the warm glow of light coming from within. It was this light that illuminated the men playing cards that drew me to this space.
After lunch I drew the Goerz house looking from the south. This is a view that includes the porch that my sister and her husband enjoy. I plan to paint it in late afternoon light with the porch partially in shadow. At around 5, I went onto the Bethel campus where I drew up the image of the trees obscuring most of the buildings with the glow of the pillar lights acting like small torches. I also photographed some students coming and going to dinner that I plan to include in the painting.
In between the 4th and 5th painting I sketched from the driveway looking towards the back of the Goerz home. I would like to have Perry reading the newspaper on those steps in the late afternoon light. Maybe I can get him to pose the next time I'm in Newton.
Other ideas that I want to develop include the grain elevators on the north end of town in the late day, as giant gray monolithic shapes and something with those bicyclers. Who would have guessed that there would be so many bicyclists in Newton? That town is full of pleasant surprises. I am definitely looking forward to my next trip.
Friday, October 11, 2013
October 11, 2013
In just under 15 months I will have a show at the newly renovated gallery on the campus of Bethel College. Yesterday I came to Newton and started the process of creating those pieces that I will eventually exhibit in that space. Where to start?
Since my sister and her husband were gracious enough to allow me to stay in their home I began by simply walking around their house. That house does happen to be the presidents home and is a beautiful large space that could yield many interesting images. I sketched a space from the side that included the porch. It was about 4 in the afternoon.
Next I traveled by car from the north to the south end of Newton. At the south end I found some interesting spaces of the edge of Newton. I like how they build all the way to the edge of the field compacting the homes right to the edge of a cultivated field.
By early evening I was back on campus sketching a space that was illuminated by some pillar lights. The students seem to be walking from the cafeteria back to the dorm. I would like to include the human element in that painting.
By evening I was back driving through Newton when I stumbled across a place called care something. Older gentleman playing cards at a table just inside the door may make a great painting showing a different side of Newton.
Since my sister and her husband were gracious enough to allow me to stay in their home I began by simply walking around their house. That house does happen to be the presidents home and is a beautiful large space that could yield many interesting images. I sketched a space from the side that included the porch. It was about 4 in the afternoon.
Next I traveled by car from the north to the south end of Newton. At the south end I found some interesting spaces of the edge of Newton. I like how they build all the way to the edge of the field compacting the homes right to the edge of a cultivated field.
By early evening I was back on campus sketching a space that was illuminated by some pillar lights. The students seem to be walking from the cafeteria back to the dorm. I would like to include the human element in that painting.
By evening I was back driving through Newton when I stumbled across a place called care something. Older gentleman playing cards at a table just inside the door may make a great painting showing a different side of Newton.
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