The Bluegrass Painter

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I had a nice time in Florida visiting friends and working with some very talented artists while there.  Now that I'm back into my routine here,  I'm working at adding to my inventory of river and working boat themes.  I  call this "The Excursion", based on the excursion steamboat The Homer Smith that plied the Ohio during the first half of the last century.  

"The Excursion", watercolor on paper, 10"x15",  © copyright 2012 Robert Yonke 

As a young boy, I remember my father taking me to watch steamboat races in downtown Pittsburgh. What I saw, reflected below in "The Steamboat Race",  was the last of an era with competing work boats either retired or soon to be out of service. They were exciting to watch as they raced up the Monongahela belching smoke.   

"The Steamboat Race", original watercolor on paper, 15"x22", © copyright 2012 Robert Yonke 

...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. 

 

 

Exhibit Showcasing Pittsburgh Industry

The Fein Art Gallery in Pittsburgh is opening a new show on January 29 that features artwork themed on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's industrial background. The Bluegrass Artist is proud to have been invited to be a part of this endeavor. From what I saw when i dropped off my three works, the show is of a very high quality...and the Fein Gallery is a first-rate facility.

The art I've submitted relates to river transportation which has been one of the supporting roots of western Pennsylvania industry of all sorts.

I call this "In The Wash"

The other two paintings that I have hanging in this show are "Working Margaret" and "Anna S" have been posted here before and are at appalachianstudio.com.

The PITTSBURGH INDUSTRIAL exhibit opens with a reception from 5:00 to 9:00 on Friday, January 29 and runs through March 12th. Fein Art Gallery hours are 9:00 to 5:00, Mon. thru Sat. Check out their site at www.feinartgallery.com. Gallery owners are Stuart Epstein and Bruce Klein. The Curator is Kathleen Zimbicki.

Waterworks 2009

Head out to the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society's Waterworks 2009 Exhibit, currently showing at The Pittsburgh Technical Institute in Oakdale, PA.  The show runs through May 27.  This is the PWS's annual member show and each member is allowed to enter one piece.  My entry is "Working Margaret" pictured below. 

Leaving Lock No. 3

A number of years ago I did some sketches of tows passing through Lock No. 3 near Elizabeth, PA on the Monongahela River. I came across some remnants of those sketches just last week and did this watercolor from one of them. The word is that Lock No. 3 is to be closed in the next few years and replaced be another at a different location. I understand that it will make the current pool smaller.  I call this painting Leaving Lock No. 3.

New Riverboat Art

Long, cold winter days around this part of the country always seem to get me painting riverboats. Here are two new ones.

 

This full sheet watercolor is of a working stern wheeler set in front of an interpretation of the Pittsburgh skyline of sixty years ago. The boat is called the Margaret and I have painted her before from old photo source. I call this "Heading Up The Mon".

This second painting, also a full sheet, is of the Ingram Barge Company tow, the William E. Porter. The scene is of this tow pushing upstream into a fog bank on a cold day. Bill Porter, the man for whom this vessel is named is the sales manager for Ingram here in Pittsburgh and has helped guide me to gathering source for my river themed work. 

The Anna S.

 

The Anna S. is another towboat I worked on this year.  She is a part of the River Salvage Company fleet.  This picture was captured on one of my visits down to the Mon.

Down To The River

Regular visitors to this blog know that your old bluegrass painter likes to paint river scenes. Above is a recent painting of the Ingram Barge Line boat, Alvin C. Johnson. Ingram Barge serves just about all of the Mississippi and Ohio river systems and is headquartered in Nashville. Wonder if there is more of a bluegrass connection than just the bluegrass painter?

Another boat I've painted recently is the Wes McDonald owned by Consol Energy. The scene below here is based on a photo I took near Elizabeth, PA on the Monongahela.