Summer Memories

Perhaps the nicest day since the pandemic began was an opportunity to attend live music by Sharon Bailey and the X-Statics in Youngstown. Just a small, well spread out group, sunshine and great music. 

A value study of the inside of the barn behind a musician.

Ric and Sharon with Bob on drums.

Did I mention it was perfectly lovely there?

 A view from my front row seat. (There was only one row, lined up against a fence, just a few in this audience.

Sing along time

An Ode to Plein Air Painting
(to the tune of "My Favorite Things")

By Casey Cheuvront

Sunshine on water and shadows on rushes,
New RayMar panels and Rosemary brushes,
All of the insights a good workshop brings -

These are a few of my favorite things.

Finding the right trail when GPS fails you;
Hiking in though there's a storm that assails you.
Finding that one view that makes your heart spring -

These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadmium Orange and fresh tubes of yellow,
Chatting with hikers who stop to say "Hello",
How good it feels when your painting just sings -

These are a few of my favorite things.

When the cap sticks,
When the rig falls,
When the weather's bad -
I simply remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel
so bad!

Finally Paintng at Knox Farm State Park

Knox Farm is a fairly new state park, in East Aurora, New York. This was the Knox family home and farm. That's the family of the original Albright Knox Museum and former owners of the Buffalo Sabres. It was a perfect day to wander before I painted, there were so many directions to face, buildings and fences, paddocks, gardens, and fields. I eventually returned from my walk and chose this view which is near the parking lot and the car. 

My painting has a LOT of sky, actually too much, and I wasn't about to add birds or storm clouds that I dd not see.  However, I was asked if the image could be 'borrowed' for the park's Facebook page and omitting some of the sky to fit the circle worked well. Next time I will spend more time on my planning and hold the canvas horizontal for a scene like this.

It's always an honor to see my work used, one way or another. As I recall, the hills and distance beyond the buildings were part of the attraction to me, it felt like we were closer to the sky. I will go back.

SUNFLOWERS 2020

Some really are taller than others, generally around 5-6 feet tall, there is an occasional plant 12 or 15 feet tall. I love how they demand attention. I created a collection of paintings over the years at Sunflowers of Sanborn but this may be the first that includes a group of buildings and the field. Mostly, I like closeup views of flowers in various positions. 

Some Are Taller Than Others, 12x16 pastel

Unity Island

Drive down bumpy Niagara Street towards downtown Buffalo, find the elusive Unity Island entrance, wait your turn for the one way railroad bridge (5mph, please) and there it is. Before I entered the quiet park I knew this would be my view. I was attracted to the water seen under the bridge, and the shore of Canada across the river. These little ink drawings colored in with my travel watercolor set are fun and good for the spirit. I took photos of everyone else to post on the NFPAP blog, Diane took a photo of me.