The Bluegrass Painter

A Busy Week

The Queen Bee and I had a busy weekend dropping off art at various places for some upcoming exhibits.  "Over the Edge" was dropped at The Gallery at The Garrett County Arts Council in Oakland for the seasonal art change out.  We had a nice visit with Sue and Alan Arnson at The Loft Shop,  while dropping a piece that they are helping us to deliver for jurying in the GCAC's juried event.  Then, it was off to the Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, PA, where we made it within minutes of the drop-off deadline for the upcoming Westmoreland Art Nationals.     This week, I'm looking forward to visiting a company down on the river to discuss a commission.  

Below is the piece we dropped at the Garrett County Arts Council. 

"Over the Edge"
Original Watercolor On Canvas
40"x30"
 ©copyright 2011 Robert Yonke 

Thank you Carol Lois Haywood and "Boat Art" Blog

I received a nice boost last week when Carol Lois Haywood posted some of my river boat art on her Boat Art Blog.   We share the interest of working boats from our respective regions of the country.  Carol is a prolific painter, sharing her transparent watercolor, with good use of color and control.  Her boats are nicely drawn with a solid design and her work is very consistent.  Her readers chose "Low Country" as a favorite out of three of my working boat series.  

 

 

"Postcard" from New Smyrna

The Queen Bee and I are enjoying ourselves down here in New Smyrna Beach.  While I understand the weather hasn't been all that bad up north, we're still happy to be here in the sunshine with our friends.   I've managed to work up some paintings along the way.  This first one is "Dunes". 

 

...from the Banks of the Ohio

My mother used to tell stories about how when she was a kid, living near the Ohio River in the Pittsburgh, a fun time was running on the banks of the river chasing riverboats on their way to or from Pittsburgh. And, even though forbidden, she and her siblings would wade to wave to the boats as they passed.

One steamboat she mentioned frequently was a favorite of hers, the Homer Smith. The watercolor in this post was based on her stories about chasing the Homer Smith from the north shore of the Ohio. I call it "Banks of the Ohio"

Hazards of the rivers

The riverboat pilot had to be on his toes constantly. A hazard, such as a fallen tree or submerged stump and branches, could quickly put a boat out of commission or worse yet, sink it.

This little watercolor depicts one of these hazards and a sternwheeler making an evasive shift of course. There is an old fiddle tune called "Mississippi Sawyer" and these treacherous tree obstacles were often called the same.

"A Mississippi Sawyer"  (approximately 12 X 16 image, watercolor on paper)

February Workshops

Petunia has booked a fairly full month of workshops and demonstrations for February. All of them are in the state of Florida which makes the Queenbee happy since she loves the opportunity to get to a warmer clime if only for a short while.

So far, all of the workshops are for private groups with the exception of a demonstration of water color on canvas to be held in Sun City on February 27.

Winter has been milder than most so far and I guess that is good except that I find painting winterscapes with lots of snow a favorite thing to do. Not that lack of snow should hinder the painting of such but it an issue of stimulation. Anyhow, I've retreated to subject matter that is always appealing to me and that is the rivers and riverboats. Here is a quick watercolor that I just finished of the towboat "WES McDONALD" that I did from an earlier sketch made from a vantage point in Elizabeth, PA.

This is a practice for placement of selective detail and contrasts and use of a limited palette.

I do want to get back to painting bluegrass music themes as well. Last weekend was the annual  Ice Jam in Butler, PA. I did spend Saturday afternoon there and had a great time talking to some old friends and picking a bit with some new ones. 

 

 

In Full Swing...

The Our Town Theater Christmas Market in Oakland, MD is the unofficial start of the season for us. Great turnout, music, arts and crafts and lots of fun with weather more like a spring day than early December. If you didn't make it this year put it on your calendar for next. 

 

Our Town Theatre Christmas Market

If you are near Oakland, MD this weekend stop by and visit us at the Our Town Theatre Christmas Market being held in St. Peter's Catholic Church social hall on Saturday. That's December 3, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Plug Rte 135 and 4th street into your GPS.

There will be many vendors and we will have some new work to show along with our line of winter and Christmas cards. Pictured here is a watercolor on canvas, Winter Rush. Finished image size is 30 X 40 inches.

"Tennis Week"

This is art I produced for the Mountain Lake Park Tennis Club for the 90th annual Western Maryland Tennis Championship.  The Western MD Championships are the oldest sanctioned tournament in the state and "Tennis Week" has been a tradition in Garrett County since 1915. 



Prints were sold during the event, held August 4th - 7th,  and are still available for purchase here.

Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival

Next weekend is one of my favorite events of the year - the annual Deep Creek Lake Art & Wine Festival.  Attendees get to visit with over 30 outstanding artisans while sampling wine from local and national wineries and the event benefits the Western Potomac Chapter of the American Red Cross. If my memory serves me correctly, this will be my fifth year to exhibit at the event.   I'm planning on exhibiting mostly from my works on canvas and have a number of new pieces to present this year.   If you are attending, please stop by and say hello.