Painters In Plein Air-Camp Fire USA 2010

      Camp Fire USA sponsored an

invitational plein air paint out for 29 Texas Artists.

This was a four day paint out.  Thursday, Oct. 14 thru

Saturday, Oct. 17. The artists could paint paintings of locations in

the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens or the Japanese Gardens.

Each artist then donated one of their finished paintings to

Camp Fire USA for a silent auction. Awards and the auction were at a

Champagne and Jazz Brunch on Sunday after the Quick Draw Paint

on Sunday morning from 9 am to 11:30 am.

The Quick Draw paintings done by each artist was also donated to

the silent auction to raise funds for CF USA.

The weather during the paint out was wonderful.

Cool mornings, sunshine and warm afternoons.

An artist dream, to sit or stand and paint for four days.

I met so many talented artists, some I already knew

 and enjoyed every day.

I gained a new appreciation for Camp Fire USA and

their endeavors to help children of the community.  It

 is a great organization working to help

children and develop youth into strong leaders .

The Paint Out Committee and Camp Fire USA staff
did such a terrific job helping the artists,

 organizing the paint out and planning the luncheon.
 I was impressed on

so many levels with Camp Fire USA.

The picture of the painting below is of
my donation to the plein air painting of the paint out.

"WATERFALL"

9" x 12"

Oil

This rose painting was my quick draw contribution
to the paint out.
Both paintings sold at the silent auction at the
Sunday Brunch.

"ROSE"

9" x 12"

Oil

Following are pictures of friends and family that came to

visit during the paint out.I was overwhelmed with the support my

friends and family gave me during this

event.  Many of my watercolor class members, friends and 

my Canvas by Canvas group of artists visited and I met new friends

and artists as well.  Phil, my husband, Della, Marta, Judy, Jo and husband,  

Carolyn, her husband and son,

 Joan and husband, Peggy, Deb and friend

visited but I didn't get pictures.

Mary Ann, Connie, Barbara, Margie, Karen, Betty and Nancy

CBC artists

Sally and Francis

Richard, Hadley and Tweed

Leslie, Lisa and family

Danny and Cindy

Me and CBC

Margie

Charlott and Gaye

Nancy and Connie

It was a fun time and being outside at the Fort Worth Botanic gardens

in such beautiful fall weather was such a treat.

Come back soon and see some of the artists who painted in

the Camp Fire USA 2010 Paint Out. Click on the link

and see pictures and a list of artists that participated in this years paint out.

http://www.campfirefw.org/CampFire/Calendar/SpecialEvents/CampFireUSAPaintOut/tabid/422/Default.aspx



Paint Historic Waxahachie 2010

PAINT  HISTORIC  WAXAHACHIE

2010

A Plein Air Paint Out in Waxahachie, Texas

A week long paint out on location in downtown Waxahachie and

the surrounding area with beautiful Victorian houses, gardens, the courthouse,

a trolley car, and many other subjects just waiting to

be painted by 52+ artists who came from many cities in the

metroplex.  Artists represented many cities including Fort Worth, Dallas,

 Granbury, Grapevine, Corsicana, Maypearl, Arlington

and of course Waxahachie.

The painting event was sponsored by

The Ellis County Art Association

http://www.elliscountyart.net/

On the last Friday of the competition there is a BBQ

and an awards program for the artists who have participated

in the paint out.  The paintings produced during the week are on

display in the Pavilion in Getzendaner Park, Waxahachie for the

weekend for viewing and for sale.

There is also the annual Ginger Bread Trail and Tour of Homes and

an Arts and Craft fair in the park.  This is a fun weekend outing and

just a short drive from the Metroplex.

The following paintings are what I produced during the four days

I participated in the paint out event.

Day 1

I painted with two other painters who were from Granbury.  We

painted on Marvin Street.  I opted to do a pretty burgundy and red

Japanese Maple for my first painting of the day. 

"JAPANESE  MAPLE"

Oil on Canvas

8"x10"

My second painting was a lawn chair in the garden of a beautiful
Victorian house on Univerity Drive.

"LAWN  CHAIR"

Oil on Canvas

8"x10"

Day 2

Saturday morning was a Quick Draw Competition.

The artists had 90 minutes to complete a painting on the Courthouse Square.

Your subject could be anything from a store front, a trolley parked by

the Rogers Hotel, a Farmer's Market on the street by the courthouse

or the Courthouse itself.  My choice was an old Ford pickup that

belonged to a man selling produce at the market.  As I got set up

and started drawing, the owner came over to me and said,

"Are you gona paint my truck?"  I was afraid he might not want me to

but after saying yes, his response was, "I wanna buy the painting when your

finished".  I was relieved and he did buy it and he was happy and I was too.

"FORD  PICKUP"

Acrylic on Canvas

10"x10"
SOLD

Day 3  "Memorial Day 2010"

Phil, my husband joined me on Monday, Memorial Day to paint in Waxahachie.

I was pleased that he chose to paint rather than play golf.  We set up our

painting gear at the Old Feed Store a couple of blocks away from

the downtown area.  Along with an artist from Corsicana and one from

Dallas, we all painted in the heat of the Texas summer.  We had a shade

tree we all shared and there was a slight breeze occasionally.

Here are the results of our painting day. 

"FEED STORE"

Watercolor

11"x 14"

"FEED  STORE"

Oil on Canvas

9"x12"

by Phil Whittington

Day 4

My last day to paint in Waxahachie for this year's paint out.

As Phil and I had driven around the town on Memorial Day

we noticed this alley way and the Waxa Courthouse at the end.

I chose this as my subject to paint on this last day.  It was a bit of a

challenge but fun to paint and I liked the result.

"COURTHOUSE  ALLEY"

Acrylic on Canvas

11" x 14"

SOLD

I had time for one final painting on Day 4.  There was

the cutest pig planter at  a house on University Dr. where I

had painted the "Yard Chair"  on Day 1.  So, here is my

painting of the "Pig Planter"

"PIG  PLANTER"

Acrylic on Canvas

6"x6"
SOLD

The paint out was fun but very hot.  It is a challenge to paint on location but it is also

very rewarding to produce paintings that are original and meaningful.

Hope you get a chance to visit  Historic Waxahachie sometime soon.

Come back soon to see the next painting project!

Day Two, Graham Plein Air Watercolor Workshop & Side Trip

DAY  TWO
 PLEIN  AIR  WATERCOLOR  WORKSHOP

Graham, Texas

Bluebonnets and Lake Graham Shoreline

  

Here we are standing in the Bluebonnets

Left to right...

Sandra, Debi, Suzy, Beth, Joann, Rose, Louisa, Margie

The bluebonnets were beautiful along the roadside on the Lake Road.

This is the scene I chose for my first demo of the morning.

The second demo of the morning was a veiw of Bluebonnets

up close and as they recede into the distance.

We had a picnic lunch under a shade tree by the shore of

Lake Graham.  The only thing missing was a hammock

to take an afternoon nap with the cool breeze of the

lake blowing gently.  But, alas, we got back to painting.

My third demo of the day in the afternoon was a scene of a tree branch

reflecting in a pool of water on the lake shore.

There was a painting everywhere you looked on this

glorious day of painting.

Be sure and check on our Third Day of the

workshop.  The weather was cold, windy and rainy

so we painted in the nice warm Post Office Museum in town.

SIDE TRIP

Debi, one of the ladies in the paint group lived

on the other side of the lake and invited us to come

see the water flooding her pasture where the spillway is on

her property.  We also saw her herd of goats.

There was a baby goat just born the night before. 

The little baby goat was so cute and

very wobbly on its little legs.  Mama was very protective.

Ginger, Debi's dog wanted to be in a picture. See photos below.

Such a nice ending to a wonderful day!

This is a flooded pasture.  The spillway is under water

to the right of the road where it goes into the water and

picks up again on the other side.

When dry, this is a pasture area.

Less than a day old baby goat.

Toooo Cute!!!!

A Gathering of Goats at Lake Graham! 

Ginger says Bye, Bye for now,

Come back soon!

One Final note.  Beth, Debi and I ate at the Wildcatter Restaurant Wednesday

evening.  Great food, great scenery looking over the Brazos River valley

and great company. 

Watercolor Plein Air Workshop, Graham, Texas

GRAHAM, TEXAS

April 2010

Red and Linda Foster's Guest House

This cozy cottage is where I stayed

during a 2 1/2 day workshop for the

Graham Art Guild

Linda Foster decorated this

house built in the 1940s just

like it might have been in that time period.

The kitchen had red checked curtains and

red  accents.  Roosters and hens were

in the boarder and the motif of the

kitchen.  The old wooden washboard and

sink had been refurbished as had the

entire house and everything was

sparkling clean.

My stay was very comfortable and quiet.

The only noise came from the birds chirping

in the morning that woke me up.

Day One of the Workshop

Tuesday, April 20,2010

Our painting group met at the Post Office Museum.

We traveled just a few blocks off Main Street to

a pretty bed and breakfast with lots of subject matter

 to paint.  Here are the ladies in our group...

back row, Louisa, Susie, Rose, Sandra

front row, Debbie and Joann

Beth was in charge of the workshop and took very good

care of me during my stay. Monday evening, she provided her

homemade chicken soup for my dinner, delicious!

Tuesday, we all went to a tea room on the square for a salad lunch.

After getting set up with our paints and papers, I did a watercolor demo

of some purple flowers growing by a white picket fence in front of

the house.

Everyone  painted either on

paper or in sketch books their own subject.

I did another demo before we broke for lunch

of an iris.

After lunch we came back to the Victorian House

and painted in the backyard area.

I did this sponge tree and one other demo of a bench

with flowers and picket fence in background.  Sorry, didn't

get a photo of the painting. 

We finished our first day and all went home to

get rested up for Day Two!

This is Red and Linda Foster's House,

 next to the Guest House where I stayed.

A beautiful home with flower gardens full of

purple and yellow iris.

A friend, Cindy and her husband, Danny took me out for dinner to

Sanderson's Restaurant, a well known gathering place

in Graham owned by Joann Sanderson who happens to be

an artist and a member of the Art Guild.

Come back soon to see the bluebonnets we painted on the second day

of our plein air paint out in Graham, Texas.

PAINT HISTORIC WAXAHACHIE

A week long plein air paint out

in and around the historic downtown

area of Waxahacie

http://www.elliscountyart.net/

Saturday Morning Quick Draw Painting

Painted on the Square in 90 min. and auctioned

on the stairs of the Court House at noon.

8 X 10 Acrylic on canvas

Sold

Painting of 907 W. Main

at the Show and Sale in the Park

Pavilion on Sat. and Sun.
9 X 12 Acrylic on Canvas

Sold

Cannas in a park in Downtown Waxahachie
9X 12 Pastel Painting

Sold

Water Lillies
9 X 12 Pastel Painting
A beautiful backyard off of
Main Street in Waxahachie
9 X 12 Pastel Painting

sold

A Quiet Retreat
on Marvin Street
in Waxahachie
6 x 6 Acrylic on Canvas

Sold


There was also a BBQ and awards on Friday evening.
A fun and productive week for 50 area artists.

http://www.margiewhittington.com/
http://www.canvasbycanvas.com/
http://www.upstairsartgallery.com/
http://www.thegoodartco.com/
http://www.artistfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/


Come back soon to see some of the work my

watercolor classes have done.