Idle Minutes

I’m back from the vacation and finally caught up. Things got a bit hectic when we returned and I simply didn’t have time to post.

While we were in Seattle/Victoria, we went pedal to the metal the entire time. We were either on the move, in a dense crowd, with friends, or totally exhausted and too tired to sketch. In the process I came to a conclusion: Practically all places worth visiting have been drawn, sketched and photographed to death. And usually it’s the same material that is captured in some form of art…over and over…thousands of times a day.

For example, there were at least ten artists in the Pike Place shopping district selling paintings, photos and note cards…all of the same scenes. Seattle landmarks, scenes of whales breaking the surface, salmon running up stream, sailboats, and of course, still lifes of coffee related paraphernalia.

All were beautifully executed and would make a fine rememberance for any visitor seeking an artistic souvenir to remember Seattle or Victoria B.C. But such a competition! Ten plus separate artists selling the same subject matter in about an eight block zone. And those are just the ones where I took the time to look.

That said, I just decided to take photos of the places and scenes that interested me. The off-beat stuff along with the must see stuff. I packed my sketch kit with me each day but danged if there simply wasn’t a moment I felt like sketching. Too crowded, too tired, too busy, too grimey, too hungry…so, I’ll create a few paintings and sketches from those photos later, after I digest them. I’ll post them as the mood inspires.

To get my head back in normal mode and home bound again, I took a little time to go sit by the Chattahoochee River, near where I live. It’s a favorite place to go and think, I just seek out a good place at the waters edge, scramble down the bank, and park it for a while.

I took a few snapshots and made a rough sketch of the scene in front of me that included a log and some Canada Geese grazing on underwater bugs and plants on the shoals. The opposite bank was full of brushy trees and debris…logs, downed trees, piles of sticks and limbs washed ashore. Certainly nothing about that scene would inspire ten different artists to capture it in bronze, paint, kodachrome, pastel, encaustic or otherwise, and pedal it within four blocks of each other, hoping to convince a hoard of tourists to buy their version.

Perhaps that’s why I liked the scene and why I like the Chattahoochee.

I sat down last night to create a watercolor of what I connected to during my visit to the river. I realized it was the edge…where all the debris ends up. Pretty much the place where I sat with an embellishment or two.

It’s not a painting of a landmark, or hot spot, or “not to be missed” attraction. It’s just a painting of a place that provided me with peace, rest, and comfort after visiting all those landmarks, hot spots, and places that couldn’t be missed in Seattle and Victoria.

Both of which are really interesting cities well worth spending some time exploring and sketching. In fact, each is loaded with great, off the beaten path material for paintings and sketches. But, you’d better take a camera unless you’re a seasoned on-site sketcher and used to crowds and moving targets.