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.